HISTORY OUTLINE

Renato Constantino John Schumacher

TOWARDS A PEOPLE’S THE HISTORIAN’S TASK IN
HISTORY THE PHILIPPINES
Issues on post-  Filipino historians were  Hispanocentric view of
colonial captives of Spanish and historical sources – bias
historiography American historiography.  Distortion/Falsification of
 Colonial education and documents
historical misconception.  Different responses to colonial
 Heroic act of great men. situations were not recognized.
What constitutes a  People’s history has to be  Filipino people as primary
People’s history general in order to serve as agents of their own history –
a concrete guide for not just a subject of colonial
understanding a developing policies.
society.
Historian’s Task  Advancing the writing of a  Historian are interpreters –
truly Filipino history they need to present a clearer
 Collective effort of Filipino view of the history
masses should be
recognized
 Social Forces
Relevance of  We need to know the  Understanding of our past
history (why do we collective effort of the  Cultivation of our national
have to study Filipino masses identity
history?)  Historic struggle  Inspiration for the future
 “the past should explain the
present”

THE SOURCE: THE BASIS OF OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PAST

 Sources – artifacts that have been left by the past
- exist either as relics/remains
- materials from which historians construct meaning
 Testimonies – oral or written reports
 Authors of testimonies – can provide the historian information about what happened, how and in
 Relics – objects practical use in daily life

SOURCES TYPOLOGIES, THEIR EVOLUTION, AND COMPLEMENTARY

Written Sources – narrative/literary, diplomatic/juridical, or as social documents
1. Narrative/Literary – include chronicles or tracts presented in narrative form, written in order to
impart a particular message.
Example: Diary, memoir, newspaper
2. Diplomatic Sources – are understood to be those which document an existing legal situation or create
a new one
- Professional historians treated as the purest, “best” source
Example: Charter (legal instrument)

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Composed of 3 Parts:
 Protocol – generally quite stereotypical
- Includes the names of the author or issuer and of the recipient
- A standard opening or salutation
- An appeal to some higher authority that legitimates the legal act – perhaps a god (In the
name of the Father…)
 Content – the recitation of the case and its determination
- The form is variable, being determined largely by the purpose of the document
 Closing – eschatol
- The form is stereotypical, containing various authenticating formulas, witnesses, dates
and so on.

3. Social Documents – products of record-keeping by bureaucracies such as state, ministries, charitable

organizations, foundations, churches, and schools.
- Containing information of economic, social, political, or judicial import
- Provide accounts of particular charges or agencies, of meetings, of business policy.

Example: Ambassador’s reports, Municipal accounts, the findings of a particular

commission, Parliamentary debates, the property registers of a monastery, tax rolls, registers
of births, marriages and deaths, lists of citizenship registrations, list of rules, cabinet officers,
and legislators.

UNWRITTEN SOURCES

1. Archaeological Evidence – articles from daily life, artistic creations

Examples: jewelry or vase, dwellings, graves, roads, churches, or fortifications, coin hoards

2. Oral Evidence

Examples: tales, sagas of ancient people, folk songs, rituals, protest songs, or other kinds of
artistic performances

ANTON POSTMA, THE LAGUNA-PLATE INSCRIPTION: Text and Commentary

A. ASSUMPTIONS
 It’s not from the PH, it is from Indonesia.
 It’s a fake document.
 It has a similarity with the Old Tagalog Language.
 Primary Source (context of examination) Written Source (form)

B. EXTERNAL CRITICISM
 Date of Writing
a) King Balitung
b) Copper Plates
 Language – Old Malay => Old Tagalog
a) For communication with other countries
b) Issued by: Sriwijayan authorities
 Similar Script – early Kawi Script
 Material – LCI is made up of Copper
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 C. INTERNAL CRITICISM
 Type of document – contract
 Names
 Places
 August 1990

D. INFERENCES FROM THE CONTENTS OF THE LCI ABOUT EARLY PHILIPPINE SOCIETY
1. Dating System
2. Debt
3. Legal System
4. Slavery
5. Social Stratification
6. Use of Copper
7. System of Measurement
8. Influences from India and Indonesia
9. Communication with the rest of South East Asia

E. OTHERS
 Dr. De Casparis
 10 lines (LCI)
 900 A.D
 1987 – Laguna de Bay
 Company of Gravel and Sand (nakakita sa LCI)
 Dutch anthropologist

1. What kind of Historical Source is the Laguna Copper Plate Inscription? Justify your answer/s.
a. As to context of examination:
As to context of examination, it is a primary source. It is a semi-official certificate of acquittal
of a debt incurred by a person in high office, together with his whole family, all relatives, and
descendants. The debt mentioned involved a substantial amount in gold, that apparently was still
unpaid.
b. As to form
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription is written on an artifact that has great significance for the
understanding of the history of the Philippines during the 10th century AD, therefore it is a written
source.

2. How was internal and external criticism used in studying the LCI?
For the internal criticism, the author mentioned that the type of script used in the LCI belongs
to the so-called Early Kawi Script that was also employed in the inscriptions that were found in
Indonesia during a period of time. He described the contents, date and provenance, authenticity and
script, and the language used. He also discussed about the translation of LCI, the personal and place
names involved in the LCI.
For the external criticism, the author checked the validity of the source. It was mentioned that
the LCI bears the Saka date of 822, or 900 A.D. which situates it at the beginning of the reign of King
Balitung of Central Java, without implying that the LCI necessarily originated from that area.

3. What inferences can you make from the contents of the LCI about early Philippine society?
There were different degrees of social recognition in pre-Spanish Philippine society. Those on
top were the Principalities, the Chiefs, the Leaders. They possessed most of the gold and the power
that came with it. However, the territory of the Chief or Dato (also Maginoo) was usually rather limited.

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 With regard to the different Chiefs referred to in the LCI, their territory would indeed be limited, if the
place names discussed in the LCI, prove to be Pulilan, Paila, Binwangan, and Tondo, because these
places are located within a relatively short distance from each other.
The next social level, below the Chiefs who were a class in themselves, was apparently
occupied by the timawa, the commoner, and the maharlika, who was no longer a slave. Still, they had
their obligations to their Chiefs, and had to avoid the dangers that could cause them to be punished or
even be reduced to enslavement for often flimsy reasons.
The lowest of the social ranks in early Philippine society, probably constituting the majority of
the population, was composed of the slaves, who among themselves had their own ranking system, as
described in the LCI.

ANTONIO PIGAFETTA: PRIMO VIAGGIO INTORNO AL MONDO

(THE FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD)
Context Analysis
Title of the document where the selected text came The Philippine Islands: First Voyage Around the
from: World
Original Language of the Document Italian
Language used in Translation English
Translator James Alexander Robertson
Author’s Name Antonio Pigafetta
Birthdate 1491, Vicenza
Death 1534
Relevant information about the author that would He was the recorder/chronicler of Magellan during
link the author to the primary source: their expedition.
Date of Writing and Publication of the original  Notebook - 1519-1522
document  Written Formal - 1525
 Published - 1550
Place Written Spain
Author’s Purpose To have a detailed account on Magellan’s
expedition in 1519-1522
Social Milieu  Colonization, Navigation
 Finding the Spice Islands
 Rivalry of Spain and Portugal
Who was the intended audience? Spaniards and Portuguese

Content Analysis
Main Topic  The Battle of Mactan
 The death of Magellan
 First Voyage around the World
Groups/People Mentioned  Zula – chief of the Island of Mactan
 Captain – General - Magellan
 Christian King – King Humabon
 Ci Lapulapu
 Natives by the Moro
 Duarte Barbosa – a Portuguese and a
relative of the captain
 Johan Seranno – spandiard commander
 Henrich – Magellan’s slave and interpreter
 Dona Beatrice – wife of Magellan
 San Martin de Sivilla
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  Jovan Carvaio
 60 men armed
Places mentioned Matan, Spagnia, Zubu
Key Topics  Battle of Mactan
 Captain-general died in the battle and his
death was not in vain
 Group of people disobeyed the Christian
King of Spagnia which triggers Magellan to
have the fight and the other opponent didn’t
let their guard down.
Personal Biases  Glorification of Magellan
 Anything that has been discovered by
Spaniards, will be owned by Spain
What can be learned  War plans
 Cooperation
 Resistance of the natives against foreigners
 Presence of military tactics or warfare
tactics

 Diego Bargoza – father of Dona Beatrice

 Magellan proposed his idea to do an expedition towards West
 Trinidad – head ship (where Magellan is)
 1519 – they start the expedition
 1521 – they reached the Philippines
 Victoria – the only ship who returned (1522)
 Magellan – first Spaniard who reached the Philippines
 49 people against 1,500 Natives
 The Spaniards burned the houses of the natives
 Magellan tried to tell his soldiers that they have to go back to the shore
 Villalobos expedition was in 1542
 Villalobos reached the Philippines in 1543 – went to Saranggani and tried to cultivate corns
 Villalobos expedition was unsuccessful because they surrendered to the Portuguese
 Legazpi’s expedition happened 22 years after Villalobos’ expedition (1564)
 Legazpi’s expedition was the most successful

MIGUEL LOPEZ DE LEGAZPI: RELATION OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS AND OF THE

CHARACTER AND CONDITIONS OF THEIR INHABITANTS
Context Analysis
Title of the document where the selected text came Relation Of The Filipinas Islands And Of The
from: Character And Conditions Of Their Inhabitants
Original Language of the Document Spanish
Language used in Translation English
Translator Alfonso de Salvio
Author’s Name Miguel Lopez de Legazpi/El Adelantado/El Viejo
Birthdate 1502 at Zumarraga Gipuzcoa, Spain
Death August 20, 1572
Relevant information about the author that would  A Spanish explorer, he was commissioned
link the author to the primary source: by Luis de Velasco, the viceroy of King of
Spain to lead the expedition in the Pacific
Ocean.
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  Find the Spice Islands.
Date of Writing and Publication of the original July 7, 1569
document
Place Written Manila, Philippines
Author’s Purpose To justify the acts of colonizing the Philippines
(what could be the cause)
Social Milieu Spain wants to establish its colonies in east-indies
(wants to expand their territories)
Who was the intended audience? European Monarch

Content Analysis
Main Topic Inhabitants of the Philippine Archipelago
Groups/People Mentioned  Natives
 Andres de Mirandaola
 Guido de Lavezares
 Spaniards
 Chinese
Places mentioned  Bornei
 Luzon
 Mindanao
 Quavit
 Samboaga
 China
 Japanese Islands
 Xava [Java]
 Borney
 The Malucos
 Nueva Guinea
 Cubu
Key Topics  Character and Lifestyle of the Natives
 Blood Compact
 Socio-political
 Resources that Spaniards can profit
 Existing trade
 Strategy on colonizing
 Building of ports
 Conversion to Christianity
Personal Biases  Describing the socio-political conditions of
inhabitants using standard based on
Eurocentric perspective
 There is no king/lord
 Easily converted to Catholicism
 Natives are not subjected to any Law
 Natives doesn’t have a temple
 If there are a lot of women in the family, it
means that family is rich
What can be learned A Spanish-centered point of view of the customs,
traditions, and ways of life of the Natives

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