Kaye Yra A.

Espinosa
BSGE 2-1
Analysis (Let’s Think About it!)

1.) What is the significance of case study 1, that of Francisco Albo’s log and the
account of Antonio Pigafetta, Primo viaggio intorno al mondo (First Voyage Around
the World)?
The only two major sources used by historians to determine the location of the
first Mass in the Philippines were Francisco Albo's record and Antonio Pigafetta's
testimony.

2.) What is the significance of case study 2, i.e., the Cavite Mutiny?
The Cavite Mutiny is one of the most significant events in Philippine history
because it emphasized the Indios' effort to overthrow the Spanish administration, which
paved the way for the Philippine Revolution in 1896.

3.) What is the background of each author of the abovementioned sources:

a. Francisco Albo;
His role as one of Magellan's navigators, who maintained a log of Magellan's first
trip around the world, made him to be known..

b. Antonio Pigafetta;
Antonio Pigafetta was a chronicler who was commissioned by the King of Spain
to accompany and document a trip to expand the Spanish realm. He was also of
aristocratic heritage, descended from a wealthy family in Italy. He was also one of the
18 soldiers that returned to Spain under the leadership of Juan Sebastián Elcano in
1522, out of the roughly 240 soldiers that went out three years earlier. These guys
completed the world's first circumnavigation.

c. Jose Montero y Vidal

The episode was reported and highlighted as an effort by the Indios to overthrow
the Spanish authority in the Philippines by Jose Montero y Vidal, a famous Spanish
historian.

d. Gov. Gen. Rafael Izquierdo

He was a military officer, politician, and statesman from Spain. From April 4, 1871
until January 8, 1873, he was Governor-General of the Philippines. He was well-known
for his usage of "Iron Fist" rule, in contrast to his predecessor, Carlos Mara de la Torre y
Navacerrada's liberal government. During the 1872 Cavite insurrection, he was the
Governor-General, and 41 of the mutineers, including the Gomburza martyrs, were
executed. From March to April 1862, Izquierdo also served as Governor-General of
Puerto Rico.

e. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera

He was a Filipino scholar and researcher who penned the Filipino account of the
horrific Cavite incident. According to him, the episode was only a mutiny by the Cavite
Kaye Yra A. Espinosa
BSGE 2-1
arsenal's native Filipino troops and employees, who were upset with the removal of their
privileges.

f. Edmund Plauchut
Edmund Plauchut, a French writer, backed up Tavera's narrative by affirming that
the event (Cavite Mutiny) occurred as a result of dissatisfaction among the arsenal
employees and troops at Cavite fort. The Frenchman, on the other hand, focused on the
execution of the three martyr priests, which he observed firsthand

4.) What is the context of each document in relation to the controversial site of the
first Catholic Mass in the Philippines?
Albo and Pigafetta were members of Magellan's first tour of the globe, which
resulted in the first Mass being written in the Philippines as part of their journey record.
Albo was the captain of the Victoria, the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. Pigafetta,
on the other hand, was Magellan's personal aide and kept a diary of their travels.

5.) What is the context of each document in relation to the conflicting accounts of
the Cavite Mutiny of 1872?
The records containing contradictory testimonies were produced as a result of the
Filipino troops and workers' efforts to depose the Spanish administration. Montero, a
Spanish historian, wrote the Spanish chronicles during the Cavite Mutiny, while Izquierdo
was the GovernorGeneral. Their narratives focused more on the role of the indigenous
clergy, who were involved in the drive for secularization. Meanwhile, Tavera and
Plauchut's stories were on the Filipinos' displeasure with the loss of their privileges,
notably the local troops and laborers of the Cavite arsenal.

6.) What is the contribution of Albo’s log and Pigafetta’s accounts on the
controversial site of the first Mass in the Philippines towards understanding
Philippine history especially in its 500th Year of Christianity?
Albo's record and Pigafetta's narratives were both important sources on the
contentious location of the first Mass in the Philippines. They presented the Limasawa
evidences, which were the testimony of two witnesses to the occurrence and were
regarded first-hand testimony. These include the maps, directions, itinerary, two native
kings, the seven days at Mazaua, and the argument from omission, which backed the
assertions that the first mass took place in Limasawa rather than Butuan.

7.) What is the contribution of the differing accounts of the Cavity Mutiny in 1872,
i.e. the so-called Spanish accounts (Montero and Izquierdo) and that of Pardo de
Tavera’s and Edmund Plauchut’s accounts in awakening Filipino nationalism?
The different accounts of the Cavite Mutiny in 1872 blossomed to the Philippine
Revolution and later to the Declaration of Independence by Emilio Aguinaldo which also
took place in Cavite.
Kaye Yra A. Espinosa
BSGE 2-1
Application (Let’s Do It!)
1. Online Portfolio Writing Prompt. In 200 words or more, write a reflection on the
theme, “The importance of identifying bias and agenda in historical interpretation.”

“The importance of identifying bias and agenda in historical interpretation.”

Bias is a predisposition or tendency to offer or hold a partial perspective, which is

frequently coupled by a failure to examine the advantages of competing viewpoints.
Biases have been a feature of historical study since the discipline's inception, whether
conscious or taught implicitly within cultural contexts. As a result, history is a great
illustration of how prejudices may alter, adapt, and even vanish. Knowing the context of
the writer of a historical narration or document is like identifying bias and agenda in
historical interpretation. Furthermore, we know from earlier debates that historians are
influenced by their emotions, ideology, surroundings, beliefs, and so on, thus we might
expect varied interpretations of a certain history. Since a result, we should also study and
be critical of how they came up with their works, as this will affect our understanding of a
certain historical period.

There were several accounts presented, much as there were during the Cavite
Mutiny. One is from a Spanish point of view, while the other is from a Filipino point of
view. These instances demonstrate that the narratives were varied because they both
had distinct intentions and backgrounds, which influenced how they presented their
works. It is critical that we acknowledge these things in order to understand why they
spoke or wrote what they did. Furthermore, despite their differing viewpoints, it aids us in
broadening our knowledge and comprehension of the circumstances that caused them to
write or interpret that history. We will be able to grasp their perspectives once we have
discovered the bias and agenda in a historical interpretation.

2. Organizing Facts. Students will create a table organizing the arguments for and
arguments against these two sites to explain why the National Historical Commission of
the Philippines, in 1998, decided that the site is in Limasawa.

Arguments Limasawa Butuan

Pro The first mass was not Magellan expedition

mentioned by Francisco
Albo, the pilot of Magellan's
flagship, but he reports that
they constructed a cross on
a peak overlooking three
islands to the west and
southwest.
determined that Butuan
was the site of the
Massacre because of 93.44
degrees latitude and his
reading of longitude
coordinates from other
sources.
Kaye Yra A. Espinosa
BSGE 2-1
Contra The Ambrosiana Codex (a Because these navigational
high-resolution digital copy coordinates were estimates
of Pigafetta's manuscript and scientifically imperfect,
kept in Milan, Italy) was longitudinal measurements
"heavily altered and full of during the Age of
mistakes," and should not Exploration were "imprecise
be used to determine the and inaccurate."
Magellan expedition's
nautical coordinates in
comparison to Alexander
Robertson's (an American
scholar who translated
Pigafetta's manuscript into
English).
Kaye Yra A. Espinosa
BSGE 2-1
3. Identifying Agenda. Students will identify the agenda apparent in the accounts of
Cavite Mutiny by carefully reading the primary sources and filling in the table below.
Montero and
Izquierdo Accounts
Agenda Both Montero and Izquierdo
stated that the abolition of
privileges enjoyed by Cavite
arsenal workers, such as
non-payment of tributes and
exemption from forced
labor, were the main
reasons for the "revolution,"
as they called it;
nevertheless, other causes
were enumerated by them,
such as the Spanish
Revolution, which
overthrew the secular
throne, and dirty
propagandas proliferated by
unrestrained media. Most
significant, the presence of
native clergy who, enraged
by the Spanish friars,
“conspired and supported”
the rebels and foes of
Spain.
Pardo de Tavera
and Plauchut’s
Accounts
According to Pardo de
Tavera, the incident was
only a mutiny by native
Filipino troops and
employees of the Cavite
arsenal who were upset with
the loss of their privileges.
Tavera indirectly criticized
Gov. Izquierdo's cold-
blooded actions, such as
the repeal of privileges for
employees and native army
soldiers of the arsenal, and
the restriction on the
establishment of schools of
arts and trades for Filipinos,
which the general saw as a
cover-up for the formation of
a political club.
Kaye Yra A. Espinosa
BSGE 2-1
Quotes from accounts that They claimed that the According to Tavera, the
support the elimination of advantages Spanish friars and Izquierdo
identified agenda enjoyed by Cavite arsenal utilized the Cavite Mutiny as
employees, such as non- a strong lever by
payment of tributes and exaggerating it as a full-
freedom from forced labor, fledged conspiracy
was the driving factor for including not only the native
the "revolution." troops but also people of
Cavite and Manila, and
most significantly, the native
clergy, to destroy the
Spanish authority in the
Philippines.