Historical Interpretations in

Philippine History

Spaces for Conflict and Controversies

Making sense of the past
• History is the study of the past, but a more contemporary definition is
centered on how it impacts the present through its consequences
• Geoffrey Barraclough:
• history as the attempt to discover, on the basis of fragmentary evidence, the
significant things about the past
• the history we read, though based on facts, is strictly speaking, not factual at
all, but a series of accepted judgments
• Judgments of historians on how the past should be seen make the
foundation of historical interpretation
Historical Interpretation
• Historians utilize facts collected from primary sources of history and
then draw their own reading so that their intended audience may
understand historical events, a process, that in essence, “makes sense
of the past.”
• The premise is that not all primary sources are accessible to a general
audience, and without the proper training and background, a non-
historian interpreting a primary source may do more harm than good
– a primary source may even cause misunderstandings; sometimes,
even resulting to more problems.
Historical Interpretation
• Interpretations of the past, therefore, vary according to who reads the primary
source, when it was read, and how it was read.
• Recognize different types of interpretations, why these may differ from each
other, and how to critically sift these interpretations through historical
evaluation.
• There might be conflicting and competing accounts of the past that needs
one’s attention, and can impact the way we view our country’s history and
identity.
• It is important, therefore, to subject to evaluation not only the primary source,
but also the historical interpretation of the same, to ensure that the current
interpretation is reliable to support our acceptance of events of the past.
Multiperspectivity
• Multiperspectivity is a way of looking at historical events, personalities,
developments, cultures, and societies from different perspectives
• This means that there is a multitude of ways by which we can view the world,
and each could be equally valid, and at the same time, equally partial as well.
• Historical writing is biased, partial, and contains preconceptions.
• What sources to use
• What interpretation to make
• Misinterpret evidence
• Omit significant facts
• Impose a certain ideology to their subject
• Provide a single cause for an event without considering other possible causal
explanations
Multiperspectivity
• With multiperspectivity as an approach in history, we must
understand that historical interpretations contain discrepancies,
contradictions, ambiguities, and are oftentimes the focus of dissent.
• Exploring multiple perspectives in history requires incorporating
source materials that reflect different views of an event in history,
because singular historical narratives do not provide for space to
inquire and investigate.
• Different sources that counter each other may create space for more
investigation and research, while providing more evidence for those
truths that these sources agree on
Multiperspectivity
• Different kinds of sources also provide different historical truths – an
official document may note different aspects of the past than a
memoir of an ordinary person on the same event.
• Different historical agents create different historical truths, and while
this may be a burdensome work for the historian, it also renders more
validity to the historical scholarship.
• Taking these in close regard, it may provide a more complex, but also
a more complete and richer understanding of the past.
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
• Butuan has long been believed as the site of the first mass. In fact,
this has been the case for three centuries, culminating in the erection
of a monument in 1872 near Agusan River, which commemorates the
expedition’s arrival and celebration of Mass on April 8, 1521. The
Butuan claim has been based on a rather elementary reading of
primary sources from the past.
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
• Toward the end of the nineteenth century and the start of the
twentieth century, together with the increasing scholarship on the
history of the Philippines, a more nuanced reading of the available
evidence was made, which brought to light more considerations in
going against the more accepted interpretation of the first Mass in
the Philippines, made both by Spanish and Filipino scholars
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
• There are only two primary sources that historians refer to in
identifying the site of the first Mass:
1. The log kept by Francisco Albo, a pilot of one of Magellan’s ship, Trinidad.
He was one of the 18 survivors who returned with Juan Sebastian Elcano on
the ship Victoria after they circumnavigated the world.
2. The other, and the more complete, was the account by Antonio Pigafetta,
Primo viaggio intorno al mondo (First Voyage Around the World). Pigafetta,
like Albo, was a member of the Magellan expedition and an eyewitness of
the events, particularly, of the first Mass.
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
• Primary Source #1: Albo’s log
• Source: Diario o derotero del viage de Magallanes
desdde el cabo se S. Agustin en el Brazil hasta el
regreso a Espana de la nao Victoria, escrito pro
Francisco Albo, “Document no. xxii in Collecion de
viages y descubrimientos que hicieron por mar los
Españoles desde fines del siglo VX, Ed. Martin
Fernandez de Navarette (reprinted Buenos Aires
1945, 5 Vols.) IV, 191-255. As cited in Miguel A.
Bernard “Butuan or Limasawa? The site of the First
Mass in the Philippines: A Reexamination of
Evidence” 1981, Kinaadman: A Journal of Southern
Philippines. Vol. III , 1-35.
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
• It must be noted that in Albo’s account, the location of Mazaua fits
the location of the island of Limasawa, at the southern tip of Leyte, 9°
54’N. Also, Albo does not mention the first Mass, but only the
planting of the cross upon mountain-top from which could be seen
three islands to the west and southwest, which also fits the southern
end of Limasawa.
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
• Primary Source #2: Pigafetta’s Testimony on the
Route of Magellan’s expedition
• Source: Emma Blair and James Alexander
Robertson, The Philippine Islands, Vols. 33 and
34, as cited in Miguel A. Bernard, “Butuan or
Limasawa? The Site of the first Mass in the
Philippines: A Reexamination of Evidence” 1981,
Kinaadman: A Journal of Southern Philippines,
Vol. III, 1-35.
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
• It must be pointed out that both Albo and Pigafetta’s testimonies
coincide and corroborate each other. Pigafetta gave more details on
what they did during their weeklong stay at Mazaua.
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
• Using the primary sources available,
Jesuit priest Miguel A. Bernard in his
work Butuan or Limasawa: The site
of the First Mass in the Philippines: A
Reexamination of Evidence (1981)
lays down the argument that in the
Pigafetta account, a crucial aspect of
Butuan was not mentioned – the
river.
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
• Butuan is a riverine settlement,
situated on the Agusan River. The
beach of Masao is in the delta of the
said river. It is a crucial omission on
the account of the river, which
makes part of a distinct
characteristic of Butuan’s geography
that seemed to be too important to
be missed.
Case study 1: Where did the Catholic Mass
take place in the Philippines?
• It must be pointed out that later on, after Magellan’s death, the
survivors of his expedition went to Mindanao, and seemingly went to
Butuan. In this instance, Pigafetta vividly describes a trip in a river. But
this account already happened after Magellan’s death.
Group Activity
• Case study 2: What happened in the Cavite Mutiny?
• The year 1872 is a historic year of two events: the Cavite Mutiny and the
martyrdom of the three priests, Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto
Zamora (GOMBURZA).
• These events are very important milestones in Philippine history and have
caused ripples throughout time, directly influencing the decisive events of the
Philippine Revolution toward the end of the century.
• While the significance is unquestioned, what made this controversial is the
different sides to the story, a battle of perspectives supported by primary
sources.
• In this case study, we zoom in to the events of the Cavite Mutiny, a major
factor in the awakening of nationalism among the Filipinos of that time.
Group Activity
• Case study 2: What happened in the Cavite Mutiny?
• Four groups through breakout rooms
• Retell the story based on the primary source
• Room 1: Excerpts from Montero’s Account of the Cavite Mutiny
• Room 2: Excerpts from the Official Report of Governor Izquierdo on the Cavite
Mutiny of 1872
• Room 3: Excerpt from Pardo de Tavera’s account of the Cavite Mutiny
• Room 4: Excerpts from Plauchut’s account of the Cavite Mutiny
• How is the Cavite Mutiny viewed from the primary source that you
have read?
It’s an elephant!