St. Louis Anne Colleges of San Pedro, Laguna Inc.

San Pedro, Laguna

Since 1986
Name: ___________________________________ Date: ____________
Grade & Section: _____________________ Contact No: _____________

Module in Readings in Philippine History

S pecific Objectives
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
1. Explain the meaning of history.
2. Identify the importance of studying history
3. Differentiate primary and secondary sources
Understand the concept of historical criticism

L esson and Discussion

MAIN POINTS AND HIGHLIGHTS

 MEANING OF HISTORY
 SOURCES OF HISTORY
 HISTORICAL CRITICISMS
 BIRTH OF PHILIIPINE HISTORY

REQUIRED READING/S
 Levin, M., & Pforr, B. (1962). Ethnographic and Anthropological Materials as Historical
Sources. Arctic Anthropology, 1(1), 51-57. www.jstor.org/stable/40315540
 Baumgartner, J. (1981). NEWSPAPERS AS HISTORICAL SOURCES. Philippine
Quarterly of Culture and Society, 9(3), 256-258. www.jstor.org/stable/29791732

Meaning of History

As everyone knows, History is derived from the Greek word “historia” which means learning by
inquiry. Aristotle, the Greek Philosopher, looked upon at the history as systematic accounting of
a set of natural phenomena, that is, taking into consideration the chronological arrangement of
the account. This explain that knowledge is derived through conducting a process of scientific
investigation of past events.
There are theories constructed by historians in investigating history: the factual history and
speculative history. Factual history presents readers the plain and basic information vis-à-vis the
events that took place (what), the time and date with which the events happened (when), the
place with which the events took place (where), and the people that were involved (who).
Speculative history, on the other hand goes beyond facts because it is concerned about the
reasons for which events happened (why), and the way they happened (how).

Sources of Historical Data

As we go along on the discussion, let us now focus on the sources of historical data.

Historical data are source from artifacts that have been left by the past. These artifacts can either
be relics or remains, or the testimonies of witnesses to the past. Therefore, historical sources are
those materials from which the historians construct meaning. The historian deals with the
dynamic (the becoming) as well as the static (the being) and aims at being interpretative
(explaining why and how things happened and were interrelated) as well as descriptive (telling
what happened, when and where, and who took part). Besides, such descriptive data as can be
derived directly and immediately from surviving artifacts are only small parts of the periods to
which they belong.

There are written and non- written sources of history. Let us explain each.
First, written sources of history are usually categorized in three ways: (1) narrative or literary, (2)
diplomatic or juridical, and (3) social documents.

Narrative or literature are chronicles or tracts presented in narrative form, written to impart a
message whose motives for his or her compositions vary widely.
Examples:, biography, novel or film, and hagiography

Diplomatic Sources are understood to be those which document/ record an existing legal
situation or create a replacement one, and it's these sorts of sources that professional historians
once treated as the purest, the “best” source. Example: Charter

Social documents are information concerning economic, social, political, or judicial significance.
They are records kept by bureaucracies.
Examples: government reports such as municipal accounts, research findings, and documents
like these parliamentary procedures, civil registry records, property registers, and records of
census.

Second, unwritten sources - these are as essentials as written sources. There are two types: the
fabric evidence and oral evidence.

Material evidence, also referred to as archaeological evidence is one among the foremost
important unwritten evidences.
Examples: pottery, jewelry, dwellings, graves, churches, roads, and others that tell a story about
the past.

Oral evidence is additionally a crucial source of data for historians. Examples of this are tale
sagas of an ancient peoples and the folk songs or popular rituals from the pre-modern period of
the Philippine history.

Primary versus Secondary Sources

It is very important to know the difference between primary and secondary sources. These two
concepts will help readers for better understanding of the past.

Primary sources are original, first -hand account of an occasion or period that are usually written
or made during or on the brink of the event or period. These sources are basically original and
factual.
Examples: Diaries, journals, letters, newspapers and magazines articles (factual accounts),
government records, photographs, maps, postcards, posters, recorded or transcribed speeches

Secondary sources are materials made by people long after the events. These sources provide
valuable interpretations of historical events. - interprets and scrutinizes primary sources.
Examples: biographies, histories, literary criticism

Historical Criticism

Historical Criticism examines the origins of the earliest text to appreciate the underlying
circumstance upon which the text came to be (Soulen & Soulen, 2001). It has two important
goals:

First, to discover the original meaning of the text in its primitive or historical context and literal
sense.

Second, to create a restoration of the historical situation of the author and receivers of the text.

There are two parts to historical criticisms.

1. External criticism determines the authenticity of the source. The authenticity of the fabric
could also be tested in two ways, by paleographical (the deciphering and dating of historical
manuscripts) and diplomatic criticism (critical analysis of historical paper to understand how the
document came to be, the information transmitted, and the relationships between the facts
purported in the document and the reality).

2. Internal criticism determines the historicity of the facts contained within the document. It is
not necessary to prove the authenticity of the material or document. However, the facts contained
in the document must first be tested before any conclusion pertaining to it can be admitted. In
determining the worth of the facts, the characters of the sources, the knowledge of the author,
and therefore the influences prevalent at the time of writing must be carefully investigated.
The Birth of the Philippine History

The history of the Philippines (according to H.O. Beyer’s Migration Theory) is believed to have
taken off with the arrival of the first humans using rafts or boats at least 67,000 years ago as the
2007 discovery of Callao Man suggested. Negrito tribes first inhabited the isles and more groups
later migrated to the islands like the story of the Ten (10) Bornean Datus.

Philippines is rich in history however the written record started with the coming of the Spaniards.
Many believed that Spaniards destroyed the earlier records as completely as possible. The same
scenario happened when the Philippines was under the American and Japanese colonization.
Many precolonial records were lost and were no longer retrieved. Therefore, much of what is
known about Pre- Spanish days are still insufficient. There are still much to be uncovered. Other
said that some of our recovered records came from other countries which were in touch with the
islands. Take for example, Murillo-Velarde Map. It was a hydrographical and chorographical
chart of the Philippines Island drawn by the Jesuit Father Pedro Murillo Velarde (1696-1753)
and published in Manila in the year 1734. It was the first and believed to be the most important
map of the maritime routes from Manila to Spain and to those colony of Spanish Empire in the
new world. The map contains captions, it also shows of great from the geographic point of view,
and as an ethnographic document.

History as Records of the Past

The process of critically examining and analyzing the records and survivals of the past is very
important in order for us, readers to really understand history. Historians create their narratives
through a survey and analysis of primary sources available in the archives, libraries or the
antique collections of document enthusiasts. Relying on different materials and resources (both
primary and secondary) will truly help us to bring us back to the past events that may lead us for
better understanding of the present.

REFERENCE

Ligan, V., Espino, L., Andrada, J., et. al. (2018) Readings in the Philippine History, Malabon
City. Mutya Publishing House, Inc. Chapter 1 (pages 1-15)