1

Overview
This unit attempts to discuss the following: the interpretation of historical events using primary resources, the
geographical setting of the Philippines and its early Stone Age Period, the early Philippine culture focusing on the
life of the early inhabitants of the islands. Furthermore, this unit covers the Spanish colonization in the Philippines,
a period that spanned for more than 300 years. Particular attention will be given to the Battle of Mactan written
by Antonio Pigafetta, chronicler of the Magellan Expedition. It includes excerpts from primary sources
documenting the Spanish colonial institutions. In order to understand and appreciate the Propaganda Movement,
it is important to consider the Philippine conditions in the nineteenth century. It will also discuss the American
Occupation of the Philippines.

Intended Learning Outcome

Working with groups, you are expected to analyze the context, content, and perspective of different kinds of
primary sources through critical essay.

Module Objectives
• Familiarize the primary documents of different historical periods of the Philippines;
• Study history through primary sources; and
• Properly interpret and understand primary sources through examining its content and context.
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Course Materials
Activities under this Module shall be accomplished by group. As you interact with your peers, this will allow co-
learners to engage and involve themselves more actively in the learning process. Learn your strengths and
weaknesses as a group to acquire new ways of better handling activities. With this, you will have the time and
plan to share and divide the readings and tasks.

Read:
Your group are required to read the lesson topics posted in the MOLE Classroom under Module 2.
• Read the content of the different topics.
• Take down relevant notes that you find helpful in completing the required outcome in this module.
Watch:
You are also required to watch the Surigao Treasure (Gintong Pamana) Documentary film and the lecture video
through the links provided under Module 2.
• Please see to it that you will note important details that you consider helpful in this module. As part of
accomplishing the final outcome then, you have to analyze the artifacts shown in the videos. Analysis
will be done through the Application exercise below.

Application:
Critical Essay: Analysis on Primary Sources
The final output in Module 1 introduced you to the foundations of Historical Method as far as appreciating the
importance of a particular primary source is concerned. Using your own artifact in Module 1, you have carefully
examined the credibility, reliability, and provenance of such source. How about we let you examine materials
that are not yours to begin with? Hence, the final output in this Module 2 will let you discuss the importance of
various sources directly related to Philippine History. The text or object, the author’s background, the context of
the sources and its contribution in understanding our history, are the basic questions you need to ponder. Go to
the Learning Package (Instructional Material) or MOLE Classroom for such activities and materials.

Artifacts
Relevant to the ‘Watch Activity’ above, this task requires you to analyze selected Pre-16th century
artifacts in the Philippines. Similar to Module 1, this will let you familiarize the artifacts and develop
critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources. You will write an analysis of the said primary
sources using the Activity Sheet (1) provided in the Learning Package or (2) attached via MOLE classroom.

Documents
In this task, you will analyze the First Voyage Around the World by Antonio Pigaffeta and the Kartilya ng
Katipunan, Decree regulating services of Filipinos. Felipe III; Aranjuez, May 26, 1609, Bene . Again, you
will write an analysis of the said primary sources using the provided Activity Sheet.

Analyzing Political Cartoons

Lastly, you will reflect on the key messages that the cartoonist was trying to convey. Compare them
regarding several issues and make sure to identify the different methods — like symbols, allusions, or
exaggeration — that the cartoons used, to persuade the intended audience.

Synthesizing Sources
Using the Primary sources assigned to the group you are tasked with synthesizing sources for you to
draw a conclusion and contextual analysis of the selected sources assigned to the group. You will look
for areas where your sources agree or disagree and try to draw broader conclusions about what your
primary sources say. Writing a historical narrative usually requires synthesizing the available sources in
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order to provide new insight or a different perspective into your particular topic (as opposed to simply
restating what each individual source says about your context). In this activity you are required to apply
the two types of syntheses: explanatory syntheses and argumentative syntheses. Explanatory synthesis
seeks to bring sources together to explain a perspective and the reasoning behind it. Argumentative
synthesis seeks to bring sources together to make an argument. Both types of synthesis involve looking
for relationships between sources and drawing conclusions. In order to successfully synthesize your
sources, you might begin by grouping your sources by chronological order and looking for connections.
After you have a good idea of what your sources are saying, you may want to construct your body
paragraphs in a way that acknowledges different sources and highlights where you can draw new
conclusions. Your paper should present an original context that responds to one another.

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
George Santayana
 4

READING GUIDE:
CONTENT AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF
SELECTED SOURCES IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

INTERPRETATION OF HISTORICAL EVENTS USING PRIMARY RESOURCES

Primary sources provide compelling, direct evidence of human activity. Users who encounter primary
sources gain a unique perspective on the subject they are studying, and an opportunity to learn firsthand
how primary sources are used for original research. As users learn to successfully engage with primary
sources, they also gain important skills that help them navigate the use of other information sources,
and further develop their critical thinking skills. Primary sources can also be challenging to those who
use them. The formats of primary sources may be unique and unfamiliar. They require critical analysis
due to their creators’ intents and biases; the variety of contexts in which they have been created,
preserved, and made accessible; and the gaps, absences, and silences that may exist in the materials.

Primary sources are materials in a variety of formats that serve as original evidence documenting a time
period, an event, a work, people, or ideas. Primary source literacy is the combination of knowledge, skills,
and abilities necessary to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, and ethically use primary sources within
specific disciplinary contexts, in order to create new knowledge or to revise existing understandings.

This definition of primary source literacy, and the vision for this document, are deliberately broad.
Defining the terms primary source literacy, primary source, or even source, is inherently problematic.
The concept of what makes a source “primary” relies on the research question at hand, varies based on
the discipline, depends on the interplay with secondary sources, and is subject to the different
interpretive process researchers bring to their projects. Research questions can develop out of
encounters with primary sources, or primary sources can be used to refine or answer questions already
developed. Primary source literacy is not a binary state, but rather exists across a spectrum.
Furthermore, instructors who are teaching these skills may be simultaneously concerned with conveying
the excitement of research with primary sources, or giving students a memorable or transformative
experience while using such sources. Although important goals, these are abstract qualities that resist
assessment and are not explicitly covered as part of these guidelines.

Primary source literacy intersects with other “literacies,” including information literacy, visual literacy,
and digital literacy, and concepts like collective memory, cultural heritage, and individual/cultural
perspectives. Thus, users of primary sources, and those who seek to guide them in the process, are not
working in isolation from other skills and disciplines.
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IDENTIFICATION OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF TEXT

The following are concepts to be considered in the identification of historical importance of text:
a. Analytical Concepts
The nature of primary sources requires researchers to engage with them analytically. Users activate
primary sources through hypothesis, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, critical thinking, and evaluation;
they use sources to develop both questions and arguments. Primary source analysis requires the
interrogation of materiality, historical context, and narrative. Users need to understand how sources
were produced and delivered. Interpretation of sources occurs on a continuum from the creation of the
source to its utilization by the current user, and includes mediation by librarians, archivists, and database
creators or designers. Self-reflective users consider primary sources in the context of their own projects
as well as their agency in creating new primary sources.

b. Ethical Concepts
Users need to understand the ethical concepts related to applicable laws and regulations, privacy rights,
cultural context, donor agreements, copyright, and intellectual property when working with primary
sources. They must understand how these concepts affect their ability to use primary sources in their
work, and they should responsibly consider how their scholarship may potentially affect the creators,
donors, owners, and readers of these primary sources.

c. Theoretical Concepts
Theoretical concepts such as evidence, authority, power, authenticity, context, materiality, historical
empathy, agency, value, absences, and privilege underpin the collection, arrangement, and presentation
of primary sources. Collections in cultural heritage institutions reflect and reinforce societal power
structures. Users must seek to understand resulting silences and absences by critically considering what
sources were never created, what sources may no longer exist, and what sources are collected, as well
as communities' abilities to engage in these activities. The iterative nature of research and the interplay
between primary and secondary sources must also be considered throughout the research and
production process as users seek to contextualize and understand their sources. Collections and
databases are always mediated in some way, and exhibits, digital collections, and guides or other access
tools reflect the selection, reproduction, and presentation decisions of many individuals – decisions that
may not be self-evident.

d. Practical Considerations
There are practical considerations particular to using primary sources that users should be aware of.
Practical skills necessary for primary source research include finding, accessing, gathering, and handling
primary sources in a variety of formats and locations. In order to reach their goals, users should
understand what is and is not accessible in specific institutions or databases, and must be aware of
procedures and terminology specific to primary source research that may vary from institution to
institution. They will need to be aware of how these sources are described in familiar search tools, and
may need to engage with additional tools developed in a repository to provide access to primary sources.
They will need strategies for capturing and managing research data, including transcription,
photography, and downloads.
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EXAMINATION OF AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND, MAIN ARGUMENT AND POINT

OF VIEW
The following can be done in order to examine the author’s background, main argument and point of
view:

1. Conceptualize
• Distinguish primary from secondary sources for a given research question. Demonstrate an
understanding of the interrelatedness of primary and secondary sources for research.
• Articulate what might serve as primary sources for a specific research project within the
• Draw on primary sources to generate and refine research questions.
• Understand that research is an iterative process and that as primary sources are found and analyzed
the research question(s) may change.

2. Find and Access

• Identify the possible locations of primary sources.
• Use appropriate, efficient, and effective search strategies in order to locate primary sources.
Befamiliar with the most common ways primary sources are described, such as catalog records and
archival finding aids.
• Distinguish between catalogs, databases, and other online resources that contain information about
sources, versus those that contain digital versions, originals, or copies of the sources themselves.
• Understand that historical records may never have existed, may not have survived, or may not be
collected and/or publicly accessible. Existing records may have been shaped by the selectivity and
mediation of individuals such as collectors, archivists, librarians, donors, and/or publishers, potentially
limiting the sources available for research.
• Recognize and understand the policies and procedures that affect access to primary sources, and that
these differ across repositories, databases, and collections.

READ, UNDERSTAND, AND SUMMARIZE

• Examine a primary source, which may require the ability to read a particular script, font, or language,
to understand or operate a particular technology, or to comprehend vocabulary, syntax, and
communication norms of the time period and location where the source was created.
• Identify and communicate information found in primary sources, including summarizing the content
of the source and identifying and reporting key components such as how it was created, by whom,
when, and what it is.
• Understand that a primary source may exist in a variety of iterations, including excerpts,
transcriptions, and translations, due to publication, copying, and other transformations.

INTERPRET, ANALYZE, AND EVALUATE

• Assess the appropriateness of a primary source for meeting the goals of a specific research project.
• Critically evaluate the perspective of the creator(s) of a primary source, including tone, subjectivity,
and biases, and consider how these relate to the original purpose(s) and audience(s) of the source.
• Situate a primary source in context by applying knowledge about the time and culture in which it was
created; the author or creator; its format, genre, publication history; or related materials in a
collection.
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• As part of the analysis of available resources, identify, interrogate, and consider the reasons for silences,
gaps, contradictions, or evidence of power relationships in the documentary record framework of an
academic discipline or area of study and how they impact the research process.
• Factor physical and material elements into the interpretation of primary sources including the relationship
between container (binding, media, or overall physical attributes) and informational content, and the
relationship of original sources to physical or digital copies of those sources.
• Demonstrate historical empathy, curiosity about the past, and appreciation for historical sources and
historical actors.

USE AND INCORPORATE

• Examine and synthesize a variety of sources in order to construct, support, or dispute a research
argument.
• Use primary sources in a manner that respects privacy rights and cultural contexts.
• Cite primary sources in accordance with appropriate citation style guidelines or according to repository
practice and preferences (when possible).
• Adhere to copyright and privacy laws when incorporating primary source information in a research or
creative project.

Primary Sources as Documents

Document 1
FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD BY MAGELLAN BY
ANTONIO PIGAFETTA
Overview:
The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan led the first
voyage around the world, beginning in 1519. Sailing
southward along the coast of South America, Magellan
discovered the strait that today bears his name and became
the first European to enter the Pacific Ocean from the east.
Magellan died while exploring the Philippines, but his ships
continued west to complete the circumnavigation of the
globe. The following account of the difficult passage through
the Strait of Magellan was written by a member of the crew,
Antonio Pigafetta.
The captain came to a cape, which he named the Cape of the
Eleven Thousand Virgins. Then he came to the Cape de la
Baya. Two ships sent to find the way out from the said Cape.
Of an opening which they found for leaving the cape, and
Image Retrieved from kobo.com
into which they threw themselves perforce. Then having
discovered the strait they returned to the captain. See
excerpts of chapters from their travelogue in the succeeding
pages.
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CHAPTER X
“After going and setting course to the fifty-second degree toward the said Antarctic
Pole, on the festival of the eleven thousand virgins, we found by miracle a strait which
we called the Cape of the Eleven Thousand Virgins. Which strait is in length one
hundred and ten leagues, which are four hundred and forty miles, and in width
somewhat less than half a league. And it falls into another sea called the Pacific Sea.
And it is surrounded by very great and high mountains covered with snow. In this place
it was not possible to anchor, because no bottom was found. Wherefore it was
necessary to put cables ashore of twenty-five or thirty cubits in length. This strait was a
circular place surrounded by mountains (as I have said), and to most of those in the
ships it seemed that there was no way out from it to enter the said Pacific Sea. But the
captain-general said that there was another strait which led out, saying that he knew
it well and had seen it in a marine chart of the King of Portugal, which a great pilot and
sailor named Martin of Bohemia had made. The said captain sent forward two of his
ships, one named Santo Antonio and the other Concepción, to seek and discover the
outlet of the said strait, which was called the Cape de la Baya. And we with the other
two ships (namely the capitana, named Trinidade, and the other Victoria) remained
awaiting them in the Baya. And in the night we had a great storm, which lasted until
noon of the next day. Wherefore we were compelled to raise the anchors, and to let
the ships ply hither and thither in the Baya. The other two ships had such a passage
that they could not round a cape forming the Baya, and trying to return to us they
were hard put not to run aground. But approaching the end of the Baya (thinking
themselves lost) they saw a small opening, which did not seem an opening but a creek.
And like desperate men they threw themselves into it, so that perforce they discovered
the strait. Then seeing that it was not a creek but a strait with land, they went on, and
found a bay. Then going further they found another strait, and another bay larger than
the first two. Very joyful at this, they at once turned back to inform the captain-general.
We thought indeed that they had perished, first because of the great storm, and then
we had not seen them for two days. And while in suspense we saw the two ships
approaching under full sail and flying their banners, coming toward
us. When near us, they suddenly discharged their ordnance, at which we very joyously
greeted them in the same way. And then we all together, thanking God and the Virgin
Mary, went forward.

Two ships, the Santo Antonio and Concepción, sent to see the two openings found.
The ship Santo Antonio returned to Spain. The river of the Sardines found. The sea found.
Of the Cape of Desire. Of the ship Concepción. Of the products of this Pacific Sea.
And of the catching of fish.”
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CHAPTER XI
After entering within this strait, we found that there were two openings, one of them to
the southeast, and the other to the southwest. Wherefore the captain sent back the
two aforesaid ships Santo Antonio and Concepción to see whether the opening
toward the southeast issued forth into the said Pacific Sea. And the one of these two
ships named Santo Antonio would not await the other ship, because those on board
her wished to return to Spain, which they did. And the principal reason was that the
pilot of the said ship had before been displeased with the said captain-general,
because, before this fleet was fitted out, this pilot had gone to the Emperor to arrange
to have some ships for discovering land. But by the coming of the said captain- general
the Emperor did not give them to the said pilot. Wherefore he conspired with certain
Spaniards. And the following night they seized the captain of his ship, who was the
captain-general's brother, and named Alvaro de Mesquita, whom they wounded and
put in irons. And so they took it back to Spain. In this ship which went away was one of
the aforesaid two giants whom we had taken, but when he felt the heat he died. And
the other ship Concepción (because she could not keep up with the former)
continued to wait for her, plying hither and thither. For the other took the night course
(as they say) in order to return. When this happened by night, the captain's ship and
the other ship went together to discover the other opening to the southwest, and
continuing on we found the same strait. But at length we came to a river which we
called the River of Sardines, because we found great quantity of them. And so we
remained there four days awaiting the other two ships. Soon after we sent a boat well
furnished with men and provisions to discover the cape of the other sea. They spent
three days going and returning, and told us that they had found the cape and the
great and wide sea. Wherefore the captain, for the joy that he had, began to weep
and gave this cape the name Cape of Desire, as a thing much desired and long
sought. This done, we turned back to find the two ships which had gone to the other
side, but we found only Concepción, of whom we demanded what had become of
the other, her consort. To which the captain of the said ship, named João Serrão (who
was pilot of the first ship that was lost, as has been told), replied that he knew nothing
and that he had never seen her since she entered the opening. But we sought for her
throughout the strait as far as the said opening by which she set her course for return.
And besides this, the captain general sent back the ship named Victoria to the very
entrance of the strait to see whether the said ship was not there. And he told the men
of this ship, if they did not find the other ship that was missing, to put a flag on the
summit of a small mountain, with a letter in a pot buried at the foot of the staff, to the
end that if the said ship perchance returned she would see this flag and also find the
letter, which would inform her of the course taken by the captain. This arrangement
had from the beginning been ordered by the captain, to cause any ship which was
separated to rejoin the others. So the people of the said ship did what the captain had
ordered, and more. For they set up two flags with letters. One of the flags was set up
on a small mountain at the first bay, the second on an islet in the third bay, where there
were many sea wolves and large birds. The captain general waited for her with the
other ship near the river named Isleo. And he caused a cross to be erected on a small
island near that river. The river flowed between high mountains covered with snow,
and it fell into the sea near the other River of Sardines.

If we had not found this strait, the captain-general had decided to go as far as seventy-
five degrees toward the Antarctic Pole. Now in such a latitude, in the summertime,
there is no night, or very little. And likewise, in winter there is no day, or very little. And
 10

that all may believe that this is so, when we were in the said strait, the night lasted only
three hours in the month of October.

The land on the left in the said strait faced toward the Siroco, which is the wind
between east and south. And we called it the Pathagonico strait. In it we found at
every half league a good port, and anchorage, good water, and wood all of cedar,
and fish also like sardines, Missiglioni, and a very sweet herb called Appio, of which
there is also some of the same sort that is bitter. And this herb grows near springs, and
(because we found nothing else) we ate of it for several days. And I think there is in the
world no more beautiful country or better place than that. In that Ocean Sea there is
seen a very amusing hunt of fishes, which are of three sorts, a cubit or more in length,
named Dorades, Albacores, and Boniti. They follow and hunt another kind of fish which
flies and is calledColondriny, a foot or more in length and very good to eat. And when
these three kinds of fish find in the water some of these flying fish, forthwith they make
them leave the water and fly more than a crossbow’s flight as long as their wings are
wet. And while these fish fly, the other three run after them in the water seeing and
following the shadow of those that fly. And no sooner have they fallen than they are
seized and eaten by those which hunt them. Which is a marvelous and merry thing to
see. And this chase we saw several times.…
The captain in the Pacific Sea. The troubles which he and his men suffered there. Of
the malady in their gums. Of the dead and the sick men. Of the Isles of Misfortune, and
in what degree they lie.

CHAPTER XII
After entering within this strait, we found that there were two openings, one of them to
the southeast, and the other to the southwest. Wherefore the captain sent back the
two aforesaid ships Santo Antonio and Concepción to see whether the opening
toward the southeast issued forth into the said Pacific Sea. And the one of these two
ships named Santo Antonio would not await the other ship, because those on board
her wished to return to Spain, which they did. And the principal reason was that the
pilot of the said ship had before been displeased with the said captain-general,
because, before this fleet was fitted out, this pilot had gone to the Emperor to arrange
to have some ships for discovering land. But by the coming of the said captain- general
the Emperor did not give them to the said pilot. Wherefore he conspired with certain
Spaniards. And the following night they seized the captain of his ship, who was the
captain-general's brother, and named Alvaro de Mesquita, whom they wounded and
put in irons. And so they took it back to Spain. In this ship which went away was one of
the aforesaid two giants whom we had taken, but when he felt the heat he died. And
the other ship Concepción (because she could not keep up with the former)
continued to wait for her, plying hither and thither. For the other took the night course
(as they say) in order to return. When this happened by night, the captain's ship and
the other ship went together to discover the other opening to the southwest, and
continuing on we found the same strait. But at length wethe captain, for the joy that
he had, began to weep and gave this cape the name Cape of Desire, as a thing
much desired and long sought. This done, we turned back to find the two ships which
had gone to the other side, but we found only Concepción, of whom we demanded
what had become of the other, her consort. To which the captain of the said ship,
named João Serrão (who was pilot of the first ship that was lost, as has been told),
replied that he knew nothing and that he had never seen her since she entered the
opening. But we sought for her throughout the strait as far as the said opening by which
she set her course for return. And besides this, the captain general sent back the ship
 11

named Victoria to the very entrance of the strait to see whether the said ship was not
there. And he told the men of this ship, if they did not find the other ship that was
missing, to put a flag on the summit of a small mountain, with a letter in a pot buried at
the foot of the staff, to the end that if the said ship perchance returned she would see
this flag and also find the letter, which would inform her of the course taken by the
captain. This arrangement had from the beginning been ordered by the captain, to
cause any ship which was separated to rejoin the others. So the people of the said ship
did what the captain had ordered, and more. For they set up two flags with letters.
One of the flags was set up on a small mountain at the first bay, the second on an islet
in the third bay, where there were many sea wolves and large birds. The captain
general waited for her with the other ship near the river named Isleo. And he caused
a cross to be erected on a small island near that river. The river flowed between high
mountains covered with snow, and it fell into the sea near the other River of Sardines.
If we had not found this strait, the captain-general had decided to go as far as seventy-
five degrees toward the Antarctic Pole. Now in such a latitude, in the summertime,
there is no night, or very little. And likewise in winter there is no day, or very little. And
that all may believe that this is so, when we were in the said strait, the night lasted only
three hours in the month of October.

The land on the left in the said strait faced toward the Siroco, which is the wind
between east and south. And we called it the Pathagonico strait. In it we found at
every half league a good port, and anchorage, good water, and wood all of cedar,
and fish also like sardines, Missiglioni, and a very sweet herb called Appio, of which
there is also some of the same sort that is bitter. And this herb grows near springs, and
(because we found nothing else) we ate of it for several days. And I think there is in the
world no more beautiful country or better place than that. In that Ocean Sea there is
seen a very amusing hunt of fishes, which are of three sorts, a cubit or more in length,
named Dorades, Albacores, and Boniti. They follow and hunt another kind of fish which
flies and is calledColondriny, a foot or more in length and very good to eat. And when
these three kinds of fish find in the water some of these flying fish, forthwith they make
them leave the water and fly more than a crossbow’s flight as long as their wings are
wet. And while these fish fly, the other three run after them in the water seeing and
following the shadow of those that fly. And no sooner have they fallen than they are
seized and eaten by those which hunt them. Which is a marvelous and merry thing to
see. And this chase we saw several times.…
The captain in the Pacific Sea. The troubles which he and his men suffered there. Of
the malady in their gums. Of the dead and the sick men. Of the Isles of Misfortune, and
in what degree they lie.
On Wednesday the twenty-eighth of November, one thousand five hundred and
twenty, we issued forth from the said strait and entered the Pacific Sea, where we
remained three months and twenty days without taking on board provisions or any
other refreshments, and we ate only old biscuit turned to powder, all full of worms and
stinking of the urine which the rats had made on it, having eaten the good. And we
drank water impure and yellow. We ate also ox hides which were very hard because
of the sun, rain, and wind. And we left them four or five days in the sea, then laid them
for a short time on embers, and so we ate them. And of the rats, which were sold for
half an écu apiece, some of us could not get enough. Besides the aforesaid troubles,
this malady was the worst, namely that the gums of most part of our men swelled
above and below so that they could not eat. And in this way they died, inasmuch as
twenty-nine of us died, and the other giant died, and an Indian of the said country of
Verzin. But besides those who died, twenty-five or thirty fell sick of divers maladies,
 12

whether of the arms or of the legs and other parts of the body, so that there remained
very few healthy men. Yet by the grace of our Lord I had no illness. During these three
months and twenty days, we sailed in a gulf where we made a good four thousand
leagues across the Pacific Sea, which was rightly so named. For during this time we
had no storm, and we saw no land except two small uninhabited islands, where we
found only birds and trees. Wherefore we called them the Isles of Misfortune. And they
are two hundred leagues distant one from another. And there is no place for anchoring
because no bottom can be found. And we saw there a very large kind of fish which
they call Tiburoni. The first island is in fifteen degrees of latitude going by the south wind,
and the other island is in nine degrees. By this wind we made each day fifty or sixty
leagues or more, sometimes at the stern, at others at the windward side, or otherwise.
And if our Lord and the Virgin Mother had not aided us by giving good weather to
refresh ourselves with provisions and other things we had died in this very great sea.

FEATURES OF THE TRAVELOGUE:

• Characterization of the pre-colonial Philippine terrain
• Description of pre-colonial Filipinos and their exotic culture
• Discriminatory perspective of the European writer on the natives’ amazement and illiteracy to the
European artillery, merchandise and other goods
• Narration of the Battle in Mactan that led to the death of Ferdinand Magellan

Magellan’s last battle, island of Mactan, 1521. Painting by Gregory Manchess. Image Retrieved from https://www.amusingplanet.com.
 13

Document 2
DECREE REGULATING SERVICES OF FILIPINOS. FELIPE III; ARANJUEZ, MAY 26, 1609

Overview:
This text is facsimile of the Royal Decree issued on May 26, 1609 under the reign of King Philip II. The decree
regulates the different conditions under which the repartimiento system can be imposed to the natives.

Decree Regulating Services of Filipinos

We order that, in the Filipinas Islands, no Indians be distributed in repartimiento, in any number, for private or
public means of gain; since for the cutting of wood, navigation of caracoas, and other works of this sort, in which
our royal treasury is interested, and for the public convenience, the Chinese and Japanese found on any desired
occasion in the city of Manila must be (as they are) hired; and, as is understood, there will be a sufficient number
of workmen among them, who will engage in these services for the just price of their toil. From them shall be
employed those who wish to hire themselves out, in order to avoid the concourse of Indians [at Manila]. In case
that the repartimiento cannot be entirely avoided, as will be provided, and if the Chinese and Japanese are either
unwilling or unable to satisfy the actual need of those public works, the governor and captain-general shall take
measures with the Indians so that they may aid in the works freely and voluntarily, making use of the means that
seem advisable to him to effect it. But, granted that there be a lack of voluntary workers, we permit that some
Indians be forced to work in these occupations, under the following conditions, but in no other manner.Page 80

That this repartimiento shall be made only for necessary and unavoidable affairs; for in so odious a matter, the
greater benefit to our royal treasury, or the greater convenience of the community, cannot suffice; and all that
which is not necessary for their preservation, weighs less than the liberty of the Indians.

That the Indians in the repartimiento shall be lessened in number as the voluntary workers shall be introduced,
whether the latter be Indians or those of other nations.

That they shall not be taken from distant districts, and from climates notably different from that of their own villages.
The choice of all shall proceed without any partiality, and so that both the hardship of distances, the burden of the
occupations, and compensation for the other circumstances in which there will be more or less grievance, shall be
shared and distributed equally, so that all may share the greater and less toilsome services, so that the benefit and
alleviation shown to some may not be changed into injury toward others.

That the governor assign the number of hours that they shall work each day, taking into consideration the lack of
strength and weak physical constitutions.

That they be given in full the wages that they earn for their work. And they shall be paid personally each day, or at
the end of the week, as they may choose.

That the repartimientos be made at a time that does not embarrass or hinder the sowing and harvesting of land
products, or the other occasions and periods upon which the Indians have to attend to the profit and management
of their property; for our intention Page 81is that they be not deprived of it, and that they may be able to attend to
everything. Therefore, we order the governor that, at the beginning of the year, he shall take note of the building
and other matters of our service in which the Indians have to be employed; for if the time is chosen, it may be
arranged in such a way that the Indians may receive no considerable injury to their property or persons.
 14

That, granting the poor arrangement and plan of the caracoas, and that when remanded to them many Indians
generally perish, because of sailing without a deck, and exposed to the inclemencies of storms, we order that these
craft be improved and built in such a manner that the Indians may manage the oars without risk of health and life.

In all the above, and in all that may touch their preservation and increase, we order the governor to proceed with
the care and vigilance that we expect, and that he punish signally and rigorously the ill-treatment received by the
Indians from their caciques or from the Spaniards—especially should the latter be our officials, upon whom the
penalties must be more rigorously executed. We request and charge both the secular prelates and the provincials
of the orders to exercise the same attention in the punishment of offenses of this nature, committed by the ministers
of instruction and other ecclesiastical persons. And we order that any omission of the governors, justices, and
officials entrusted, in whole or in part, with the observance and fulfilment of this law be made a matter of their
residencia.

[Law passed in the reign of Felipe III, and dated Aranjuez, May 26, 1609.]

Document 3
KARTILYA NG KATIPUNAN
Overview:
The Kartilya ng Katipunan is Katipunan’s code of conduct. It contains 14 rules that instruct the way a
Katipunero should behave, and which specific values should be upheld. The first group contains the rules
that will make the member an upright individual and the second group contains the rules that will guide
the way he treats his fellowmen.

Source: http://malacanang.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/Kartilya-Filipino-04.png
 15

Features of the Kartilya:

• Reaction and response to certain value systems that the Katipuneros found despicable in the
state of things they are struggling with.
• Upheld rational and liberal ideas in the 18th and 19th century
• Emphasis of equality, tolerance, freedom and liberty in the making of rules
• Emphasis on teaching of how women and children should be treated
• Instruction on Katipunan’s conduct toward other people but also for their members’
development as individuals on their own right

Document 4
THE BENEVOLENT ASSIMILATION PROCLAMATION
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, December 21, 1898.
Overview:
On December 21, 1898, US President McKinley issued the "Benevolent assimilation proclamation", the
declaration which precipitated the war in the Philippines, and is the key to all subsequent dealings of the
Americans with the Filipinos. The words used in the proclamation (full text below) which were regarded by the
Filipinos as "fighting words", i. e., as making certain the long anticipated probability of a war for independence,
are those which appear in bold. The rest of the proclamation counted for nothing with them. They had been
used to the hollow rhetoric and flowery promises of equally eloquent Spanish proclamations all their lives, they
and their fathers before them. Though it contained around a thousand words, the declaration was cabled out to
General Otis on December 27, 1898 to avoid the slow process of mails.

THE BENEVOLENT ASSIMILATION PROCLAMATION

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, December 21, 1898.
The destruction of the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Manila by the United States naval squadron commanded by
Rear-Admiral Dewey, followed by the reduction of the city and the surrender of the Spanish forces, practically
effected the conquest of the Philippine Islands and the suspension of Spanish sovereignty therein. With the
signature of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain by their respective plenipotentiaries at Paris
on the 10th instant, and as a result of the victories of American arms, the future control, disposition, and government
of the Philippine Islands are ceded to the United States.

In the fulfilment of the rights of sovereignty thus acquired and the responsible obligations of government thus
assumed, the actual occupation and administration of the entire group of the Philippine Islands becomes
immediately necessary, and the military government heretofore maintained by the United States in the city, harbor,
and bay of Manila is to be extended with all possible despatch to the whole of the ceded territory.

In performing this duty the military commander of the United States is enjoined to make known to the inhabitants
of the Philippine Islands that in succeeding to the sovereignty of Spain, in severing the former political relations,
and in establishing a new political power, the authority of the United States is to be exerted for the securing of the
persons and property of the people of the islands and for the confirmation of all their private rights and relations.

It will be the duty of the commander of the forces of occupation to announce and proclaim in the most public
manner that we come not as invaders or conquerors, but as friends, to protect the natives in their homes, in their
employments, and in their personal and religious rights.
 16

All persons who, either by active aid or by honest submission, co-operate with the Government of the United States
to give effect to these beneficent purposes will receive the reward of its support and protection. All others will be
brought within the lawful rule we have assumed, with firmness if need be, but without severity, so far as possible.
Within the absolute domain of military authority, which necessarily is and must remain supreme in the ceded
territory until the legislation of the United States shall otherwise provide, the municipal laws of the territory in respect
to private rights and property and the repression of crime are to be considered as continuing in force, and to be
administered by the ordinary tribunals, so far as practicable.

The operations of civil and municipal government are to be performed by such officers as may accept the
supremacy of the United States by taking the oath of allegiance, or by officers chosen, as far as practicable, from
the inhabitants of the islands. While the control of all the public property and the revenues of the state passes with
the cession, and while the use and management of all public means of transportation are necessarily reserved to
the authority of the United States, private property, whether belonging to individuals or corporations, is to be
respected except for cause duly established.

The taxes and duties heretofore payable by the inhabitants to the late government become payable to the
authorities of the United States unless it be seen fit to substitute for them other reasonable rates or modes of
contribution to the expenses of government, whether general or local. If private property be taken for military use,
it shall be paid for when possible in cash, at a fair valuation, and when payment in cash is not practicable, receipts
are to be given.

All ports and places in the Philippine Islands in the actual possession of the land and naval forces of the United
States will be opened to the commerce of all friendly nations.

All goods and wares not prohibited for military reasons by due announcement of the military authority will be
admitted upon payment of such duties and other charges as shall be in force at the time of their importation.

Finally, it should be the earnest wish and paramount aim of the military administration to win the confidence,
respect, and affection of the inhabitants of the Philippines by assuring them in every possible way that full measure
of individual rights and liberties which is the heritage of free peoples, and by proving to them that the mission of
the United States is one of BENEVOLENT ASSIMILATION substituting the mild sway of justice and right for
arbitrary rule. In the fulfilment of this high mission, supporting the temperate administration of affairs for the greatest
good of the governed, there must be sedulously maintained the strong arm of authority, to repress disturbance and
to overcome all obstacles to the bestowal of the blessings of good and stable government upon the people of the
Philippine Islands under the free flag of the United States.

WILLIAM McKINLEY (Signed)

 17

Political Cartoon

ALFRED MCCOY’S1 PHILIPPINE CARTOONS: POLITICAL CARICATURE OF THE AMERICAN ERA

Overview:
Philippine political cartoons gained full expression during the American era. Filipino artists recorded
national attitudes toward the coming of the Americans as well as the changing mores and times. In the
book of Alfred McCoy, 377 cartoons were compiled in the book, including the extensive research of
McCoy in the Philippine and American archives providing a comprehensive background not only to the
cartoons but to the turbulent period as well. Artist writer Alfredo Roces, who designed the book cover,
contributed an essay on the Philippine graphic satire on the period.

See succeeding pages (pp. 19-22) for Political Cartoons during American Period:

Political Cartoon 1

The White Man's Burden appeared on Judge Magazine an April 1 1899. The idea was originally from the poet Rudyard Kipling. It seeks
to justify the colonization of the Philippine ls by the U.S.A

1 Alfred W. McCoy holds the Harrington chair of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he teaches classes on the Vietnam
War, modern empires, and U.S. foreign policy. Most recently, he is the author of "In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and
Decline of U.S. Global Power" (Chicago, 2017). He is also the author of "Policing America's Empire: The United States, the Philippines, and
the Rise of the Surveillance State" (Madison, 2009) which won the Kahin Prize from the Association for Asian Studies.
Features:

• Demonstration of different strands of changes and shifts in the culture, society and politics of
the Philippines’ transition from the Spanish colonial period to the American occupation
• Illustration of certain media outfits about the Philippine society from the Spanish Colonial
period to the American Occupation period
• Description of the unchanging conditions of poor Filipinos

Political Cartoon 2

The second work below, The Filipino's First Bath,

depicts America’s moral burden to civilize the
Filipinos. This cartoon was published on June
1899, after the Treaty of Paris where the
Philippines were turned over to the US by Spain.
This shows the Filipino resistance to the new
master colonial ruler.

Page 18 of 22
Political Cartoon 3
The work at the bottom, American Progress is an 1872 painting by John Gast, a Prussian-born painter, printer,
and lithographer who lived and worked most of his life in Brooklyn, New York. American Progress, an allegory of
Manifest Destiny, was widely disseminated in chromolithographic prints.

Page 19 of 22
Political Cartoon 4

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (mural study, U.S. Capitol),
1861, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Sara Carr Upton, 1931. Leutze’s
mural study for the Capitol in Washington celebrated the idea of Manifest Destiny just when the Civil
War threatened the republic. The surging crowd of figures records the births, deaths, and battles fought
as European Americans settled the continent to the edge of the Pacific. Like Moses and the Israelites
who appear in the ornate borders of the painting, these pioneers stand at the threshold of the Promised
Land, ready to fulfill what many nineteenth-century Americans believed was God’s plan for the nation.

SAMPLE GUIDE QUESTIONS:

ln the first illustration, who do you think are the People being depicted? Who are the individuals Carrying
the baskets full of other People? Who are those being carried? And where are they going? What does
the pile of rocks represent in the caricature? How are the Americans and British depicted compared to
the apparently Chinese, Indians, and other non-Western People? What does the caricature say about
the nature of these People?

For the second illustration, who are the man in the middle? What is he doing? And who is the child he is
holding bathing? Compare the child to the other children at the background. What can you say about
them? What does the caricature say about the nature of these people?

Page 20 of 22
REFERENCES:
Alvarez, Santiago V. The Katipunan and the revolution: memoirs of a general: with the original Tagalog text.
Ateneo University Press, 1992.
Behan McCullagh, Justifying Historical Descriptions, Cambridge University Press: New York (1984). ISBN 0-521-
31830-0.
Bellwood, Peter, J. Fox and D. Tyron. The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative
by 709 thousand years ago
Camagay, Maria Luisa T. Unraveling the Past: Readings in Philippine History. Quezon City: Vibal Group, Inc., 2018.
Candelaria, John Lee P. Readings in Philippine History. Quezon City, Philippines: Rex Book Store, Inc., 2018.
Earliest known hominin activity in the Philippines
Gilbert J. Garraghan, A Guide to Historical Method, Fordham University Press: New York (1946). ISBN 0-8371-
7132-6
Howell, Martha C., and Walter Prevenier. From reliable sources: An introduction to historical methods. Cornell
University Press, 2001.
Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History: A Primer of Historical Method, Alfred A. Knopf: New York (1950). ISBN
0-394- 30215-X.
Martha Howell and Walter Prevenier, From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods, Cornell
University Press: Ithaca (2001). ISBN 0-8014-8560-6.
Perspective. Canberra: The Australian National University, 1995.
Pigafetta, Antonio. The first voyage around the world, 1519-1522: an account of Magellan's expedition.
University of Toronto Press, 2007.
R. J. Shafer, A Guide to Historical Method, The Dorsey Press: Illinois (1974). ISBN 0-534-10825-3
Salevouris, Michael J., and Conal Furay. “Uses and Nature of History.” Chapter. In the Methods and Skills of
History: A Practical Guide, 3–20. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2017.
Salevouris, Michael J., and Conal Furay. The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical Guide. Chichester, West
Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2017.
Scott, William Henry. A critical study of the prehispanic source materials for the study of Philippine history.
University of Santo Tomas Press, 1968.
SOLHEIM, WILHELM G. "The Nusantao Hypothesis: The Origin and Spread of Austronesian Speakers." Asian
Perspectives 26, no. 1 (1984): 77-88. Accessed August 9, 2020.

Video Resources:
How Magellan circumnavigated the globe
GINTONG PAMANA Documentary Video, a documentary of ABS-CBN hosted by Miss Cheche Lazaro.
Selected Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of the American Era

Online Museum
Ayala Museum
https://www.ayalamuseum.org/online-resources/
Filipina Heritage Library
https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/filipinas-heritage-library
Museo de Intramuros
https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/intramuros-administration
National Museum - 360 Virtual Tour
https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/Firefly/Go_Museum.html

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