Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND

RIZAL’S CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPANISH RULE 1

This module presents a different perspective of Philippine history prior to the arrival of the
Spanish colonizers. It also accentuates the circumstances that led to Rizal’s change in
perspective on the Spanish rule – from being a propagandist asking for reforms and
campaigning for assimilation to having a more aggressive stance against the corruption of
leaders, particularly the friars.

This module was designed and written by: Johannah Lee Lince
This lesson is divided into two lessons, namely:

Lesson 1: The Search for Filipino Origins

Lesson 2: Rizal’s Change in Perspective of the Spanish Rule

LESSON 1
The Search for Filipino Origins

Instructions: Write TRUE if the statement is true. Otherwise, write FALSE in the space
provided.
________1. In 1565, a compact was sealed in blood between the datu of Bohol and the
Spanish Captain General.
________2. The blood compact served as a solemn ritual and agreement between two
equals, constituting a pledge of eternal fraternity and alliance.
________3. The blood compact did not become the reason the Philippines was
conquered.
________4. Jose Rizal stated that the blood compact was a political treaty the
Philippines and Spain engaged in good faith through their representatives.
________5. Pacto de Sangre between Sikatuna and Legazpi was integrated in the
founding of Filipino nationhood.
________6. Between 1889 to 1890, Jose Rizal spent several months in Paris as he tried
to improve his mastery of the English.
 Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND
RIZAL’S CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPANISH RULE 2

________7. Rizal was granted a reader’s pass to the British museum where he
stumbled upon Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.
________8. Rizal finished 640 annotations on every nuance in Filipino cultural practices
that Morga wrote about, and even on Morga’s typographical errors.
________9. The 1609 original work of Morga was reprinted in full until the publication
of Rizal’s work in 1889 in Paris.
_______10. In 1909, Wenceslao Retana made a production of the original work of
Morga including the misprints drawn from the Archivo General de Indias in
Seville.

Pacto de
Sangre

Rizal's
Annotations
of Morga
The Search for
Filipino Origins

(This map above shows how the Philippines was during the Pre-Spanish Colonization)

In this lesson, you are expected to:

 analyze the importance of Pacto de Sangre to Filipino nationalism;
 discuss the possible reasons why the Philippines was colonized by Spain; and
 Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND
RIZAL’S CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPANISH RULE 3

 compare and contrast Rizal and Morga’s differing views of the Filipinos and Philippine
culture.

Collective Memory Struggle: Redrawing the Philippines

Instructions:
1. From past lessons, recall any knowledge you have on pre-colonial Philippine society and
culture.
2. Based on your recollection, write a descriptive paragraph of your visualization of pre-
colonial Philippines.
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PACTO DE SANGRE: WHY WE WERE CONQUERED

In 1565, a compact was sealed in blood

Pacto de Sangre between the datu of
Bohol, Datu Sikatuna, and that Spanish
Captain General Miguel Lopez de
Legazpi to ensure peace and friendship
between the two nations that they

The Blood Compact by Juan Luna

 Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND
RIZAL’S CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPANISH RULE 4

represented. Each made a small cut on his arm and let two or three drops of blood drip onto a
cup of wine, and they both drank from it.

The blood compact between Legazpi and Sikatuna has often been among the starting
points in discussing the history of sapish colonization in the Philippines. However, minimal
interpretations and significance have been attributed to it. According to Aguilar (2010), the blood
compact served as the solemn ritual and agreement between two equals, constituting a pledge
of eternal fraternity and alliance. It is a symbolic transfusion that wedded Filipinos to Spanish
culture and civilization.

Moreover, the blood compact also became the reason the Philippines was conquered. As
an ancient tradition in the Philippine archipelago, it was usually done by parties who were
former enemies and wished to reconcile or those who wanted to avoid being enemies. In the
case of Legazpi and Sikatuna, the blood compact was initiated for the second reason.

In an article that appeared in La Solidaridad on Septemper 30 1889, Marcelo H. Del Pilar

stated that the blood compact was a political treaty the Philippines and Spain engaged in good
faith through their representatives. The treaty, according to del Pilar, was valid but subject to the
fulfillment of its terms, that is, that Spain would annex the Philippines and in return the
Philippines could be assimilated. The Philippines satisfactorily complied with such terms but
Spain reduced the Filipino race to an inherent position of inferiority. It was the same point that
Andres Bonifacio insisted the blood compact was a valid agreement but Sikatuna was misled by
the Spaniards in their promise of enlightenment and prosperity. Bonifacio, in Ang Dapat Mabatid
ng mga Tagalog (1896), emphasized that before the Spaniards came, the Filipinos were living in
complete abundance and were able to trade with other countries. However, the Spaniards
deceived Sikatuna and made him believe that they would treat Filipinos as equals. It was
recognizing this deceit that stirred nationalism among the Filipinos towards the end of the
Spanish rule in the Philippines.

Historically, the Pacto de Sangre between Sikatuna and Legazpi was integrated in the
founding of Filipino nationhood. It was also the same Pacto de Sangre that the ilustatrados used
in demanding reforms from the Spanish colonial government, a desire for change fueled by
what has been called nationalism.
 Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND
RIZAL’S CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPANISH RULE 5

PRE-COLONIAL PHILIPPINES: RIZAL’S ANNOTATIONS OF MORGA

Between 1889 to 1890, Dr.

Jose P. Rizal spent several months
in London as he tried to improve his
mastery of the English language. He
stayed as a boarder with the Beckett
Family at 37 Chalcot Crescent,
Primrose Hill, Camden town, Greater
London. During this time, Rizal was
greatly interested in studying pre-
colonial Philippines. He believed that
the Philippines already had an
established community, way of life,
and society, and was not as backwards and inferior as the Spaniards claimed. On the contrary,
Rizal was resolved that the arrival of the Spaniards contributed to the decline of the rich pre-
colonial Filipino society and culture. As such, through a letter of introduction from Reinhold Rost,
the Director of the India Office Library, Rizal was granted a reader’s pass to the British Museum
where he stumbled upon Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (1609). Rizal
laboriously copied the entire 351-page work while
making annotations. After four months of intense
historical research, Rizal finished 639 annotations on
every nuance in Filipino cultural practices that Morga
wrote about, and even on Morga’s typographical errors.
Rizal’s dedication to annotate Morga’s work was further
enriched by the promise of publication by a wealthy
Filipino exile in London, Antonio Regidor. Re committed
to equally divide the profits between him and Rizal as
soon as his investments were recovered. Unfortunately,
Regidor backed out of the deal prompting Rizal to
publish the manuscript by himself on September 1889

Rizal’s Annotations of Morga’s Sucesos

de las Islas Filipinas
 Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND
RIZAL’S CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPANISH RULE 6

with the title, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas por el Doctor Antonio de Morga, Orba piblicada en
Mejico en el ano de 1609, nuevamente sacada a luz y anotada por Jose Rizal y precedida de
un prologo del prof. Frnando Blumentritt (Events in the Philippine Islands by Dr. Antonio de
Morga, a work published in Mexico in the year 1609, reprinted by Rizal and preceded by an
introduction by professor Ferdinand Blumentritt).

According to Ambeth Ocampo (1998), Rizal’s choice of Morga’s cweork as his primary
source for studying Philippine pre-colonial history instead of Antonio Pigafetta’s was due to the
objectivity and civil nature of the former in contrast to the religious nature of the latter. Morga
was said to be not only an eyewitness but also a major actor as he narrated his accounts.

The 1609 original work of Morga was not reprinted in full until the publication of Rizal’s
work in 1889 in Paris. In 1909, Wenceslao Retana made a reproduction of the original including
the misprints drawn from the Archivo General de Indias in Seville. Rizal’s Spanish version was
republished in 1958 in the Philippines, and an English translation was commissioned and
published in 1961 by the Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission.

Content Analysis and Synthesis

Instructions: In 1896, Andres Bonifacio wrote “Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog” to
denounce Spain’s maltreatment of the Filipinos and to elicit support for calls to separate from
Spain. Make a content analysis and synthesis using the guide below.

Reading:
 Bonifacio, A. (1896). Ang dapat mabatid ng mga Tagalog. Retrieved from
http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/kalayaan-the-katipunan-newspaper/andres -bonifacio-
ang-dapat-mabatid-ng-mga-tagalog-c-march-1896

1. Overall Impression of the Text

a. Author’s Purpose
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 Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND
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b. Readers
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c. Context
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2. Content Analysis
a. Thesis Statement and Main Ideas

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b. Supporting Details
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3. Synthesis
a. What do you think was the reason why Bonifacio wrote “Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga
Tagalog?”
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b. What have you realized after reading the text?

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c. Write a response to Bonifacio in the form of a letter using your own pen name.

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 Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND
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Behind the Painting. Paint me a Picture.

Juan Luna’s Blood Compact (1885) is a depiction of the blood compact that transpired between
Datu Sikatuna of Bohol and Captain General Miguel Lopez de Legaspi of Spain.

Instructions:
1. Note at least three significant observations you can find in this Juan Luna masterpiece.
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2. From your observations, infer the intention/s of Luna in making the painting.
 Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND
RIZAL’S CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPANISH RULE 10

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3. Write your own interpretation of the meaning of the painting.
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The Philippines: A Look Back

Instructions: Make a comparison of Rizal and Morga’s view of pre-colonial Filipino culture.
Write a 200- to 300-word essay on these comparisons.

Reading:
 Rizal, J. (1962). Historical events of the Philippin Islands: published in Mexico in 1609 by
Antonio de Morga; recently brought to light and annotated by Jose Rizal: preceded by a
prologue by Ferdinand Blumentritt. Manila, Philippines: Jose Rizal National Centennial
Commission.

Rubric
Quality of Writing 50%
Grammar, Usage, and 50%
Mechanics

Total 100%
 Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND
RIZAL’S CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPANISH RULE 11

 Pacto de Sangre: Why We Were Conquered presents a view of the blood compact
between early Spanish conquistadors led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and community
rulers led by Sikatuna and its significance to the development of Filipino nationalism.
 Rizal’s Annotations of Morga discusses insights from Rizal’s research and Annotations
of Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.

Instructions: Write TRUE if the statement is true. Otherwise, write FALSE in the space
provided.
________1. In 1565, a compact was sealed in blood between the datu of Bohol and the Spanish
Captain General.
________2. The blood compact served as a solemn ritual and agreement between two
equals, constituting a pledge of eternal fraternity and alliance.
________3. The blood compact did not become the reason the Philippines was
conquered.
________4. Jose Rizal stated that the blood compact was a political treaty the Philippines
and Spain engaged in good faith through their representatives.
________5. Pacto de Sangre between Sikatuna and Legazpi was integrated in the
founding of Filipino nationhood.
________6. Between 1889 to 1890, Jose Rizal spent several months in Paris as he tried
to improve his mastery of the English.
________7. Rizal was granted a reader’s pass to the British museum where he stumbled
upon Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.
________8. Rizal finished 640 annotations on every nuance in Filipino cultural practices
that Morga wrote about, and even on Morga’s typographical errors.
________9. The 1609 original work of Morga was reprinted in full until the publication of
 Module 3 – THE SEARCH FOR FILIPINO ORIGINS AND
RIZAL’S CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE ON THE SPANISH RULE 12

Rizal’s work in 1889 in Paris.

_______10. In 1909, Wenceslao Retana made a production of the original work of Morga
including the misprints drawn from the Archivo General de Indias in Seville.

Books:
Clemente, J., Cruz, G. (2019). The Life and Works of Rizal. C&E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City,
Philippines

Web Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucesos_de_las_Islas_Filipinas
https://www.slideshare.net/superekaa/rizal-in-london-52133406
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blood_Compact