luenced his narrative, his sel ‘an sorization of the people and: rpretation and . F of carto and retelling of : a aa and geography, Pigat oe Pape ies phy climate of the places that their voyage give detail In reading Pigafetta’s descripti eee ary : iption of th: : that he was coming from a sixteenth cuit ae oe a keep in mind _ the reader might notice how Pigafetta, whether implicitly or ex saa regarded the indigenous belief systems ee soto and way of life as inferior to that of Christianity and of the Europeans. He would always remark ae i nakedness of the natives or how he was fascinated by their exotic culture. Pigafetta also noticeably emphasized the natives’ amazement and illiteracy to the European artillery, merchandise, and other goods, in the same way that Pigafetta repeatedly mentioned the abundance of spices like ginger, and of precious metals like gold. His observations and assessments of the indigenous cultures employed the European standards. Hence, when they saw the indigenous attires of the natives, Pigafetta saw them as being naked because from the European standpoint, they were wearing fewer clothes indeed. Pigafetta’s perspective was too narrow to realize that such attire was only appropriate to the tropical climate of the islands. The same was true for materials that the natives used for their houses like palm and bamboo. These materials would let more air come through the house and compensate for the hot climate in the islands. \éelocts on, It should be understood that such observations were rooted from the context of Pigafetta and of his era. Europe, for example, was dominated by the Holy Roman Empire, whose loyalty and purpose was the domination of the Catholic Church all over the world. Hence, other belief systems different from that of Christianity were perceived to be blasphemous and barbaric, even demonic. Aside from this, the sixteenth century European economy was mercantilist. Such system measures the wealth of kingdoms based on their accumulation of bullions or precious metals like gold and silver. It was not surprising therefore that Pigafetta would always mention the abundance of old in the islands as shown in his description of leaders wearing gold rings and golden daggers, and of the rich gold mines. An empire like that of the pain would indeed search for new lands where they could acquire mor® gold nd woalth to be on top of all the European nations. The obsession with spites ht be odd for Filipinos because of its ordinariness in the Philippines, #of the | s after their revolutionary victory. n Philippines immediately which resulted in the Philip War that lasted until the earliest years of the twentieth century. ‘The proclamation also gives us the impression on how the victorious revolutionary government of Aguinaldo historicized the struggle for independence. There were mentions of past events that were seen ag important turning points of the movement against Spain. The execution of the GOMBURZA, for example, and the failed Cavite Mutiny of 1872 was — narrated in detail. This shows that they saw this event as a significant awakening of the Filipinos in the real conditions of the nation under Spain, Jose Rizal’s legacy and martyrdom was also mentioned in the document, However, the Katipunan as the pioneer of the revolutionary movement was only mentioned once toward the end of the document. There was no mention of the Katipunan’s foundation. Bonifacio and his co-founders were also left out. It can be argued, thus, that the way of historical narration found in the document also reflects the politics of the victors. The enmity between Aguinaldo’s Magdalo and Bonifacio’s Magdiwang in the Katipunan is no secret in the pages of our history. On the contrary, the war led by Aguinaldo's men with the forces of the United States were discussed in detail. The point is, even official records and documents like the proclamation of independence, while truthful most of the time, still exude the polities and biases of whoever is in power. This manifests in the selectiveness of information that can be found in these records. It is the task of the historian, thus, to analyze the content of these documents in relation to the dominant politics and the contexts of people and institutions surrounding it. This” tells us a lesson on taking primary sources like official government records — within the circumstance of this production. Studying one historical subject, thus, entails looking at multiple primary sources and pieces of historical evidences in order to have a more nuanced and contextual analysis of our ‘ past. 30 Readings in Philippine HistoryThe Independent. pr between clients and parties composed of the cartoon where tl dole outs for membe, looked on and waited i parties to enforce ce eed continues up to the Patrons the elite '¢ United Sta: TS of the Federalista while ne, and its complications, were also depicted 's the unprecedented increase of motorized in an cartoons. One example i vehicles in the ci i res ° en Automobiles became a popular mode of transportation i y and led to the emergence of taxis. However, the laws and policy implementation was mediocre. This resulted in the increasing colorum and unlicensed vehicles transporting people around the city. The rules governing the issuance of driver’s license was loose and traffic police could not be bothered by rampant violations of traffic rules. This is a direct consequence of the drastic urbanization of the Philippine society. Another example is what McCoy called the “sexual revolution” that occurred in the 1930s. Young people, as early as that period, disturbed the conservative Filipino mindset by engaging in daring sexual activities in public spaces like cinemas. Here, we can see how that period was the meeting point between the conservative past and the liberated future of the Philippines. d the conditions of poor Filipinos United States. From the looks of Lastly, the cartoons also illustrate in the Philippines now governed by the it, nothing much has changed. For example, a oe ny authorities oppress petty Filipino criminals while hoarders w! i i warehouses ders who monopolize goods in their huge a i ther cartoon depicts A Chinese merchants). The othe: ‘ = jects. BY ilipi i ha Filipinos through seemingly hi ! eae their consciousness and mentality, Americans 8° Filipinos. on depicted how police a blind eye on (presumablyais 211 a os gh ateythe eyensocthaucies de Vigilancia, ‘of the accused Jose Rizal, informs me on this date of the following: At 7:60 yesterday morning, Jose Rizal entered death row accompani, by his counsel, Senor Taviel de Andrade, and the Jesuit priest Vilaclar, At the urgings of the former and moments after entering, he was served _ a light breakfast. At approximately 9, the Assistant of the Plaza, Senor Maure, asked Rizal if he wanted anything. He replied that at_ the moment he only wanted a prayer book, which was brought to him shortly by Father March. q Senior Andrade left death row at 10 and Rizal spoke for a long while with the Jesuit fathers, March and Vilaclara, regarding religious matters, _ it seems. It appears that these two presented him with a prepared _ retraction on his life and deeds that he refused to sign. They argued 1 about the matter until 12:30 when Rizal ate some poached egg anda _ little chicken. Afterwards he asked to leave to write and wrote for a long time by himself. At 3 in the afternoon, Father March entered the chapel and Rizal | handed him what he had written. Immediately the chief of the firing 4 squad, Sefior del Fresno and the Assistant of the Plaza, Senior Maure, — were informed. They entered death row and together with Rizal signed _ the document that the accused had written. A aaa At 5 this morning of the 30th, the lover of Rizal arrived at the prison .. dressed in mourning. Only the former entered the chapel, followed bya military chaplain whose name I cannot ascertain, Donning his formal clothes and aided by a soldier of the artillery, the nuptials of Rizal the woman who had been his lover were performed at the point of death (in articulo mortis). After embracing him she left, flooded with tears. This account corroborates the existence of the retraction docu giving it credence. However, nowhere in the account was Fr. Bal mentioned, which makes the friar a mere secondary source to the writin the document. 64 Readings in Philippine HistoryConnection to thi e Kat or of the Katipunan as tipunan is undeni ; 7 July 1892, Rizal may not have been officially part of —— i . Katipuneros showed great appreciation of his work erate goals. Out of the 28 members of the leadership of the Kannuy nae as the Kataas-taasang Sanggunian ng Katipunan) from aaa 1896, 13 were former members of La Li; ilipi i sed Rizal’ iga Filipina. Katipuneros e izal’s name as a password. 2 a 3 In 1896, the Katipuneros decided to inform Rizal of their plans to launch the revolution, and sent Pio Valenzuela to visit Rizal in Dapitan. Valenzuela’s accounts of his meeting with Rizal have been greatly doubted by many scholars, but according to him, Rizal objected to the plans, saying that doing so would be tantamount to suicide since it would be difficult to fight the Spaniards who had the advantage of military resources. He added that the leaders of the Katipunan must do everything they could to prevent the spilling of Filipino blood. Valenzuela informed Rizal that the revolution could inevitably break out if the Katipunan were to be discovered by the Spaniards. Rizal advised Valenzuela that. the Katipunan should first secure the support of wealthy Filipinos to strengthen their cause, and suggested that Antonio Luna be recruited to direct the military movement of the revolution. Where Did the Cry of Rebellion Happen? Case Study Momentous events swept the Spanish colonies in the late nineteenth century, including the Philippines. SOE ee ie Ge 2a oe rase “El Gri pelion” or “Cry of Rebellion” to m sere oe identifying the places where it happened. In the these revolutionary events, : s ‘ 4 i theast of Manila, where they Philippines, this happened in August 1896, nor ek aa declared rebellion against the Spanish colonial governm ———« ee 65place. Teodoro Plata, Briccio Pant: opposed to starting the revolution ee that he would lose in the discussion ‘tien to the people, who were waiting outside’ the leaders. He told the people that th starting the revolution early, aaa leaders were arguing against § : and appe: i Jn which he said: “You remember the fata ¢fbg) co ana a shot in Bagumbayan. Should we return now to the towns, the ee will only shoot us. Our organization has been discovered and we are all ° marked men. If we don’t start the uprising, the Spaniards will get us anyway. What then, do you say?” “Revolt!” the people shouted as one. Bonifacio then asked the people to give a pledge that they were to revolt. He told them that the sign of slavery of the Filipinos were (sic) the cedula tax charged each citizen. “If it is true that you are ready to revolt... I want to see you destroy your cedulas. It will be a sign that all of us have declared our severance from the Spaniards.” Pio Valenzuela Source: Pio Valenzuela, Sonia Zaide, Documental (Manila: National Book S' > in Gregorio Zaide and fei ff Pugad Lawin, Cae a Volume 8 ry Sources of Philippine History, tore, 1990), 301-302. ifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Procopio f refuge of Andres Boni a ee The Bret place of fees of Aaa del Ronni: 0 nifacio, Af a i first five arriving there one tae the asst place where some 500 members of the ‘ met on August 22 1896, was the house and yard of Apolonio S m AU . s :draw up a draft constitution on 17 Septembe: wi wi ae mn. O} Sept i r 1898, which was composed of al A es Close eee anes pe by the Congress on 29 " S 3 guinaldo on 21 January 1899, was titled fhe: Political Constitution of 1899” and written in Spanish. The Seton has 39 articles divided into 14 titles, with eight articles of transitory provisions, and a final additional article. The document was patterned after the Spanish Constitution of 1812, with influences from the charters of Belgium, Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, and the French Constitution of 1793. According to Felipe Calderon, main author of the constitution, these countries were studied because they shared similar social, political, ethnological, and governance conditions with the Philippines. Prior constitutional projects in the Philippines also influenced the Malolos Constitution, namely, the Kartilya and the Sanggunian- Hukuman, the charter of laws and morals of the Katipunan written by Emilio Jacinto in 1896; the Biak-na-Bato Constitution of 1897 planned by Isabelo Artacho; Mabini’s Constitutional Program of the Philippine Republic of 1898; the provisional constitution of Mariano Ponce in 1898 that elne the Spanish constitutions; and the autonomy projects of Paterno in 1898. Primary Source: Preamble of the Political Constitution of 1899 We, the Representatives of the Filipino People, ey ae in order to establish justice, provide for oer ee pe ge the general welfare and insure the benefits o Ys and Cultural Issues in Philippine History 73 Chapter 4 | Social, Political, Economic,