READINGS IN THE

PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Lesson 1: MEANING AND RELEVANCE OF HISTORY

HISTORY
 ‘history’ was derived from the Greek word ‘historia,’ which means ‘inquiry
or knowledge acquired by investigation’
 covers information derived from largely written records of past experiences.
 It is the interpretative and imaginative study of surviving records of the past,
either written or unwritten, in order to determine the meaning and scope of
human existence.
TRADITIONAL DEFINITION
 History is the record of the past.
 History is a record of the human past from the time written records began to
appear.
 According to Gottschalk, history is actuality, hence it must study the past as it
happened. Interviews or oral history and oral traditions, and cultural artifacts
are not considered.
MODERN DEFINITION
 History is the reconstruction of the past based on written records, oral history,
cultural artifacts and folk traditions.
 It is the imaginative reconstruction of the past, the study of events concerning
people in the past.
 Aside from recording, a historian should do two other important tasks: To
interpret facts in an orderly an orderly and intelligible manner and To
discover patterns and trends which govern the behavior of people and of
nations, and to make generalizations.

HISTORIOGRAPHY
 refers to how, what, and why history is written.
 It is about the methods and practices used in producing history, the
development of history as a discipline, or the philosophy or significance of
historical writing.
 the writing of history based on the critical examination of sources, the
selection of particular details from the authentic materials used in those
sources, and the synthesis of the details into a narrative that stands the test of
critical examination.
 The term historiography also refers to the theory and history of historical
writing; study of history.

PREHISTORY
 refers to that period where information of the past were recorded in materials
other than written documents, which may no be understood by a historian.
These include artifacts, drawings, paintings, sculptures and any other forms.
 The prehistory of the Philippines is said to cover the events until 21 April 900
(equivalent in the Proleptic Gregorian Calendar), the date indicated on the
Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI) – the earliest written document known
in the Philippines today.

IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY
 Bridging the gap between the  Promoting nationalism and
present and the past patriotism
 Explaining causes of things and  Interpreting conditions of a
events given space and time
 Projecting the future 

BATIS OF HISTORICAL INFORMATION

 Sources are also Called Batis….

TYPES OF SOURCES
 PRIMARY SOURCES
̵ Provide a first-hand account of an event or time period and are considered to
be authoritative. They represent original thinking, reports on discoveries or
events, or they can share new information.
̵ These sources are created at the time the events occurred but they can also
include sources that are created later. They are usually the first formal
appearance of original research.
̵ If exploring how an event affected people at a certain time, this type of source
would be considered a primary source.
ᴑ Autobiographies & memoirs ᴑ Work of art and literature
ᴑ Diaries, personal letters, and ᴑ Books, magazine, and
correspondence newspaper articles and adds
ᴑ Interviews, surveys, and field published
works ᴑ Public opinions polls
ᴑ Internet communications on ᴑ Speeches and oral histories
email, blogs, and new groups ᴑ Original documents (birth
ᴑ Photographs, drawings, and certificates, property deeds, trial
posters transcripts)
 ᴑ Research data, such as census
statistics,
ᴑ Official and unofficial records
of organizations and govt.
agencies
ᴑ Artifacts of all kinds such as
tools, coins, cloths etc.
ᴑ Audio recording, DVDs,
ᴑ Govt. documents(reports)
ᴑ Patents

 SECONDARY SOURCES
̵ Involve analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of primary sources.
̵ They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.
̵ Scholarly journals, although generally considered to be secondary sources,
often contain articles on very specific subjects and may be the primary source
of information on new developments.
̵ If exploring the event, then the opinion piece would be responding to the
event and therefore is considered to be a secondary source
ᴑ Bibliographies ᴑ Literature reviews and review
ᴑ Biographical works articles
ᴑ Reference books, including ᴑ History books and other popular
dictionaries, encyclopedia and or scholarly books
atlases ᴑ Works of criticism and
ᴑ Articles from magazines, interpretation
journals, and newspapers after ᴑ Commentaries and treatises
the event. ᴑ Textbooks
ᴑ Indexes and abstracts

EXTERNAL CRITICISM
 It is also known as Lower Criticism,
 It is a tool used by historians and exegetes to determine the validity of a
document, particularly a document with some sort of historical significance

INTERNAL CRITICISM
 also called Higher Criticism
 It is the technique of testing the reliability of the information found in a
document. It is concerned with the authenticity of the information and its
purpose is to establish the trustworthiness of the contents of the document.
Historical Reliability
Louis Gottschalk
ᴑ Notes that “few documents are accepted as completely reliable”.
ᴑ “for each particular of a document the process of establishing credibility
should be separately undertaken regardless of the general credibility of the
author”.
ᴑ An author’s trustworthiness in the main may establish a background
probability for the consideration of each statement, but each piece of
evidence extracted must be weighed individuality.
MAJOR VIEWS OR PHILOSOPHIES IN THE STUDY OF
HISTORY

CYCLICAL VIEW - History repeats itself

 All human events occur in cycles
 Famous exponents were Herodotus and Spencer
PROVIDENTIAL VIEW - History is determined by God.
 It consist of recording the death struggle between good and evil.
 Famous exponent was St. Augustine
PROGRESSIVE VIEW /LINEAR VIEW - History is the product of
mankind.
 Mankind is getting better and better
 Famous exponents Bousset, Vicot, Leibnitz, Marx

LESSON 2: THE FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE

WORLD

ANTONIO PIGAFETTA (1491– C.1534)

 Born sometime in 1491 in Vicenza, a town about a hundred kilometers
West of Venice, Italy.
 Eldest son of Giovanni Pigafetta to second wife Angela Zoga.
 Studied astronomy, geography and cartography; worked in the ships
owned by the Knights of Rhodes. Well educated young man, possessing
avid curiosity of the world around him.
 Joined the delegation of Monsignor Francesco Chieregati when he was
assigned as Papal Nuncio to Spain in 1519. In the same year, he became
acquainted with the lucrative spice trade and heard the news of the voyage
to be undertaken by Ferdinand Magellan.
 Presented his credentials to Magellan and to the Casa de la Contratacion,
the office in charged of voyages to New World. He was admitted as one of
the sobresalientes (supernumeraries)*
 Survived the challenges and catastrophes that the expedition encountered
along the way and he even got wounded in the Battle of Mactan.
 Returned to Spain on September 6, 1522 aboard the Victoria with Juan
Sebastian Elcano and more than a dozen more survivors.
 Presented himself to Charles V (now Holy Roman Emperor), a book
written by his own hand, in which were set down the things that happened
from day to day during their voyage. Now known as Magellan's Voyage.
A narrative account of the First Circumnavigation, a detailed tale of
exploration and exotica. Emperor Charles was apparently not impressed,
and Pigafetta received no honor beyond his wages. On his way home he
 passed by Portugal and France and shared to the people the things he knew
about Magellan’s expedition. In Italy the Pope was impressed enough to
give him residence while he prepared his manuscript for publication.
 Joined the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in its battle against the Turks.
 Died sometime in 1534.

JAMES ALEXANDER ROBERTSON

 Born 1873 in Corry, Pennsylvania.
 Sixth of eight children born to Canadian parents, John McGregor
Robertson and Elizabeth Borrowman Robertson, who became naturalized
U.S. citizens after relocating to Corry in 1866.
 1923: Gained a position as professor at Stetson University in DeLand,
Florida, and lectured there for the next ten years.
 1935: Moved to Annapolis, Maryland as the archivist for the Maryland
State Archives' Hall of Records.
 1902: Robertson became involved in the compilation of a massive
multivolume work on the history of the Philippines, initially called The
Philippine Islands, 1493-1803.
MAGELLAN’S VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD: Historical
Context of the Document
 Spices became the most expensive and in demand commodity among
Europeans because of their numerous uses. Originally, they used them to
preserve foods and keep them from spoiling. Later they found out that
spices have medicinal uses and may also be used for flavoring, coloring
and as food additives.
 Asian goods reached Europe either via the Silk Road or the Arabian-Italian
trade route. Both are expensive and oftentimes disrupted by wars and
natural calamities.
 Since land routes were expensive and required consent of many powerful
armed groups, Portugal explored the ocean as alternative way to the Spice
Islands. Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal put up a maritime school
that trained sailors who would later discover a sea route going to Southeast
Asia via the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. This route enabled them to trade
directly with the producers of spices and other oriental goods.
 The rivalry between Spain and Portugal in the Iberian Peninsula was
exacerbated by trade as both were interested in exploring and developing
trade. Both were located in ideal places to start exploring Africa and to
start thinking about trying to round Africa and find a way to the Spice
Islands in Asia. The competition between Spain and Portugal became
heated enough that the two countries had to get the pope to divide up the
New World into parts that would be Spanish and parts that would be
Portuguese.
  The Royal Crown of Spain supported the plan of Ferdinand Magellan to
go to the east by sailing westward, a proposal that was not supported by
Portugal.
 Along the way the expedition suffered natural and man-made challenges
and out of the five ships that left Spain only three reached the Philippines.
 Magellan’s voyage was instrumental in introducing Christianity in the
Philippines but it also cost his life after the Spaniards lost in the Battle of
Mactan.
 With only two ships, the survivors of Magellan were able to reach the
Spice Island and on September 7, 1522, Juan Sebastian Elcano and 17
more mighty survivors arrived in Spain aboard the ship Victoria.

MAGELLAN’S VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD: About the

Book
 Antonio Pigafetta was one of the survivors who kept a journal that became
the main source about the first encounter of the Spaniards and the
Filipinos. The original journal of Pigafetta did not survive in history and
what was handed down to us are copies of the manuscript that never came
out of the press during his life time. Three of them were in French and two
are kept in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.
 The third one was originally owned by the British Collector Sir Thomas
Phillipp. Later, Beinecke Rare Book bought it and it is now kept in the
Manuscript Library of Yale University in New Haven.
 The fourth copy was written in mixed Italian, Spanish and Venetian
language and could be found in Ambrosian Library in Milan.
 In 1800, Carlo Amoretti published an Italian version of it and the
following year a French version came out in Paris.
 Pinkerton of his part translated it to English and published it in 1819.
 James A. Richardson made his own English version of the Ambrosian
copy and it appeared in The Philippine Islands. This is the copy the is
widely circulated in the Philippines.
 His writing described vividly the physical appearance, social life, religious
beliefs and cultural practices of the people they encountered in the islands
of Samar, Leyte and Cebu.
 He got all this information through the help Enrique de Malaccca,
Magellan’s slave/interpreter.
 Lastly, Pigafetta gave us an eyewitness account of the Battle of Mactan
which resulted to the death of Magellan and him getting wounded.

ISLAND OF HOMONHON
 At the dawn on Saturday, March sixteen, 1521, we came upon a high
land at a distance of three hundred leagues from the islands of Landroni-
an island name Zamal (Samar). The following day, the captain- general
 desired to land on another island which was uninhabited and lay to the
right of the above mentioned island.
 -March 18, we saw a boat coming towards us with nine men in it.
Therefore, the captain- general ordered that no one should move or say a
word without his permission. When those men reached the shore, their
chief went immediately to the captain-general, giving signs of joy because
of our arrival. Five of the most ornately adorned of of them remain with
us, while the rest went to get some others who were fishing, and so they all
came.
 The captain-general seeing that they were reasonable men, ordered food to
be set before them, and gave them red caps, mirrors, comb, bells, ivory,
bocasine, and other things. When they saw the captain’s courtesy, they
presented fish, a jar of palm wine, which they call uraca (arrack), figs
more than one palm long (bananas), and others which were smaller and
more delicate, and two coconuts and many other foods within four days…
 At noon on Friday, March 22, those men came us they had promised us
in two boats with coconuts, sweet oranges, a jar of palm- wine and a cock,
in order to show us that there were fowls in that district they exhibited
great signs of pleasure at seeing us. The chiefs wears cotton cloth
embroidered with silk at the ends by means of needle.
 They are dark, fat, and painted. They anoint themselves with coconut and
with beneseed oil, as protection against the sun and wind. They have very
black hair that falls to the waist and use of daggers, knives and spears.
 On Thursday morning, March twenty-eight, as we had seen a fire on an
island the night before, we anchored near it. We saw a small boat which
the natives call baloto (baroto) with eight men in it, approaching the
flagship. A slave belonging to the captain- general, who was a native of
Zamatra (Sumatra), which was formerly called Taprobana, spoke to them.
 The captain, seeing that they would not trust us, threw them out a red cap
and other things tied in a bit of wood. They received them very gladly, and
went away quickly to advise their king. About two hours later we saw two
balanghai coming. They are large boats and are so called (by those
people). They were full of men, and their king was in larger of them, being
seated under an awning mats.
 Next day, holy Friday, the captain-general sent his slave, who acted as our
interpreter, ashore in a small boat to ask the king if he had any food to
have it carried to the ships; and to say that they would be well satisfied
with us, for he (and his men) had come to the island as friends and not as
enemies. The king came with six or eight men in the same boat and
entered the ships.
 The captain told them that God made the sky, the earth, the sea and
everything else, and that He had commanded us to honor our fathers and
mothers, and that whoever did otherwise was condemned to eternal fire,
that we are all descendant from Adam and Eve, our first parents; that we
have immortal spirit; and many other things pertaining to the faith. The
 captain replied; if they wish to become Christian, our priest would baptize
them, and that he would next time bring priests and friars who would
instruct them in our faith. They answered that they would first speak to
their king, and that then they would become Christians we all wept with
great joy.

ANALYSIS of the Important HISTORICAL

INFORMATION
by ROMULO ‘IKIR’ LANUGAN
“pantayong pananaw” is employed for the presentation of the analysis.

Important personages cited in the document

 Ferdinand Magellan (Portugese: Fernao de Magalhaes) – captain-
general (leader) of the expedition
 Antonio Pigafetta (Italian) – official chronicler of the expedition
 Raia Colambu (Raja Kulambu) – king of Mazaua (Limasawa)
 Raia Siaui (Raja Siagu) – king of Butuan
 Raia Humabon – king of Zubu (Cebu)
 Raia Cilapulapu and Raia Zula - chiefs (kings) of Matan (Mactan)

Geographical Position of the Islands

 Zamal – three hundred leagues from the islands of Ladroni
 Mazaua – latitude: nine degrees and two-thirds degrees toward the
Arctic Pole; longitude; one hundred and sixty-two degrees from the line
of demarcation, and twenty-five leagues from the Acquada (Humunu-
Homonhon)
 Twenty leagues from Mazaua to Gatighan
 Fifteen leagues from Gatighan to Zubu (Cebu)

Chronology of Dates
 March 16, 1521 (dawn of Saturday) – the Spanish colonizers arrived
at Zamal (Samar)
 March 17, 1521 – their captain-general desired to land at Humunu
(Homonhon) and which he named, Acquada da li buoni Segnialli (“the
Watering-place of Good Signs”) and later the entire group of island as
Archepalago of St. Lazaro
 March 18, 1521 – they met and exchanged goods with our ancestor
from the island of Zuluan
 March 25, 1521 – they weight anchored and changed course toward
west southwest
 March 28, 1521 – they anchored near the island of Mazaua
(Limasawa) and they met the king who came in balanghai
 March 29, 1521 (Holy Friday) – they finally met the king who entered
their ship
  March 31, 1521 (Easter Sunday) – they went ashore to say mass and
set up cross on the summit of the mountain
 April 7, 1521 (Sunday) – they entered the port of Zubu (Cebu)
 Monday – their notary together with their interpreter went ashore to
met with the king of Zubu
 Tuesday – the king of Mazaua and later the prince of Zubu went
aboard their ship
 Wednesday – they consecrated the place and buried their two dead
crews
 Friday – they showed our ancestors with different merchandise
 April 14, 1521 (Sunday) – they baptized our ancestors from Zubu and
few from neighboring islands
 April 26, 1521 (Friday) – Raia Zula came to seek help to fight the
other chief of Matan, Cilapulapu
 April 27, 1521 (Saturday) – the Spaniards wave ashore in the island of
Matan and fighting commenced between them and men of Raia
Cilapulapu and led to the death of Magallanes
 May 1, 1521 (Wednesday) – 21 Spaniards were massacred by the
Zubuanos thus forcing the remaining Spaniards to depart Zubu
immediately

Descriptions of Our Ancestors

 Seignior (king/chief)
 Matured (old man in some
encounters)
 Some are bit larger than his
men and the finest looking
man
 Some are painted (tattooed)
 Wore gold earrings
 Some have black hair and
hung to shoulders
 Head covered with silk
(kerchiefs)
 Wore cotton cloth all
embroidered with silk which
covered him from the waist
to the knees
 Some have spots of gold on
every tooth
 Some are perfumed with
storax and benzoin
 Wore armlets and other rings
for the feet
 Wore necklace of great value
 Others (men)
 Naked, with cloth woven
from a bark of a tree about
(cover) their privies
 Dark, fat and painted
(tattooed)
 Anointed with their bodies
with coconut and beneseed
oil as a protection against
sun and wind
 Some have dark hair that
hung to the waist
 Have their penises pierced
from one side to the other
near the head with a gold or
tin bolt as large as a goose
quill.
 Others (Women)
 Clad in tree cloth from waist
down
 Hair is black and reaches the
ground
  They are as white and as
large as the Spaniards
 Holes on their ears which are
filled with gold (earrings)
 Constantly chewing a fruit
which they call areca which
resembles a pear, cut into
four and wrapped with betre
(betel) leaves
 Women age six upward have
their vaginas gradually
opened because of the men’s
penises

Customs, Traditions
 Thanksgiving/Gratitude - Raised clasped hands and face towards the
sky and then turned
to others
 Friendship (casi-casi) - A ritual of friendship wherein one has to
shed a drop of his
blood from his right arm and the other
will do the same and
partake each others’ blood
 Marriage - One can have many wives as they wish but one of
them is the
principal wife
 Entertainment - Our ancestor played musical instruments like
drums, metallic
discs, gongs and bells. Also, our
ancestors can dance
 Religion - Our ancestors don’t have formal religion but they
have God
which they call “Abba”. Although, no
religion they have idols
made of wood, hollow and lack of
back parts
 Food - Our ancestors eat umay (rice), coconut, meat and
fish, and drink
uraca (arrack) – a wine taken from
palm (coconut)
 Animals and Other Produce - Dogs, cats, swine, fowls, goats, rice,
ginger, coconuts, figs
(banana), oranges, lemons, millet,
panicum, sorgo, wax and
gold
 Dwellings - Built up from the ground on huge posts of wood
and thatched
with fig and palm leaves
 Terminologies
 Chri
 uraca (arrack) – palm wine,  baloto – small boat
this resembles tuba at  balanghai – big boat
present (resembles fusta in Spanish)
 (h)umay – rice  aghon – gongs (resembles
 caphri – heathen bells in Spanish)
 anime – a gum of a tree  laghan – a large sea snails
wrapped in palm or fig which kills whales by eating
(banana) leaves for lights whale’s heart

Christian Names given to our Ancestors

 Raia Humabon – Don Carlos
 Son of Raia Humabon
(prince) – Fernando
 Raia Culambo – Johanni
 A Muslim - Christoforo
 Queen (Amihan) – Johanna
 her daughter (wife of the
Prince) - Catherina
 Queen of Mazaua - Lisabeta

LESSON 3: THE TEJEROS CONVENTION

 alternate names include Tejeros Assembly and Tejeros Congress

 was the meeting held between the Magdiwang and Magdalo factions of the
Katipunan at San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias, but the site is
now at Rosario), Cavite on March 25, 1897.

ANALYSIS OF MEMOIRS OF GENERAL

Gen Santiago Alvarez
 A revolutionary general and a founder and honorary president of the first
directorate of the Nacionalista Party.
 He was born on July 25, 1872 and died on October 30, 1930; Also known as
Kidlat ng Apoy (En: Lightning of Fire; Fiery Lightning) because of his
inflamed bravery and dedication as commander of Cavite's famous battles
(particularly that in Dalahican), he was celebrated in present-day Cavite City
as the Hero of the Battle of Dalahican.
 A native of Imus, Cavite, Santiago was the only child of revolutionary general
Mariano Alvarez (1818–1924) and Nicolasa Virata.
 After his birth, his family immediately moved to Noveleta, Cavite where he
acquired his early education at age seven under Sr. Antonio Dacon. He was
later transferred to another private school located in the present Cavite City
where he was taught by Don Ignacio Vilocillo.
 Since his parents wanted him to become a teacher, he was sent to Manila and
enrolled at a school situated along Camba street in Tondo, Manila and was
headed by Don Macario Hernández.
 However, his academic endeavors were interrupted by the revolution in 1896.
 After the revolution, he enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas but later
transferred to the Colegio de San Juan de Letran where he obtained a
Bachelor of Arts. He then took up law at the Liceo de Manila.

ANALYSIS OF THE REVOLTS OF THE MASSES

Teodoro Agoncillo (November 9, 1912 – January 14, 1985)
 He was a prominent 20th-century Filipino historian. He and his contemporary
Renato Constantino were among the first Filipino historians renowned for
promoting a distinctly nationalist point of view of Filipino history (nationalist
historiography).
 Born in Lemery
Personal Ties
 It is also known as the ‘normal residence’ which means the place where a
person usually lives, that is for at least 185 days in each calendar year,
because of personal and occupational ties, or, in the case of a person with no
occupational ties.
 It is also show a close links between that person and the place where they are
living.

LESSON 4: WORKS OF LUNA & AMORSOLO

FERNANDO AMORSOLO
 famous for rural scenarios and landscapes
 Planting Rice  A Basket of  Man with
with Mayon Mangoes, Oil on Cockerel
Volcano (1969) Canvas, 1949  Market Scene
 Along the  The Palay Maiden  Old Spanish
Mountain Trail  Washing Scene, Church
 Rice Harvesting 1953  Under the Arbor
 Making the  Princess Urduja  Washing the
Philippine Flag  Baguio Carabao
 El Clego (The  Landscapes, 1951  Water Carrier
Blind Man), 1929  Lavandera

JUAN LUNA
 Romanticism and Realism Painter
 Spoliarium, 1884
 The Parisian Life,  El Pacto de  Tampuhan
1892 Sangre (The  Espana y Filipina,
 La Bulaquena, Blood Compact), 1886
1895 1886  La Muerte de
 Governor Ramon  Damas Romanas, Cleopatra, 1881
Blanco, 1880’s 1882  En el Balcon,
 Souvenir, 1899  The Battle of 1884
 Odalisque, 1885 Lepanto  Puesto Del Sol,
 Ensuenos de  Portrait of Rizal 1880’s
Amor, 1890  Esopo  La Marquesa de
 Mi Hermana Monte, 1881