Lesson Proper for Week 1

Historiography and Its Importance

The term historiography is the craft of writing history. It is the art of historical writing and communicating in writing what the historian
thinks he knows about the past. Thus, when we speak of Chinese historiography, we refer to all or at least the known written histories of
China's people. Nigerian historiography refers to the available historical works in Nigeria. In another aspect, historiography is
preoccupied with other men's interpretation of history; it is studying other people's understanding of the historical process and the
historian's craft. The historian's task is the trend of past events and the historian's craft through the historical process.

Simply put, his/her task is the discovery of what happened in the past. Historiography does not deal with specific histories; history
does not seek to discover what happened in the past nor account for past actions. However, it looks into what others have said about
history and how they have interpreted the past. Therefore, historiography traces the trend of historical thought in specific localities and
the world at large.
History and historiography as intertwined concepts

Historiography is the subject matter of history. In other words, without the study of the past called history, historiography would not
exist. Thus, historiography is derived from history, thereby showing its importance. In the next portion of this study session, we shall
examine the justifications for history as an academic discipline and a worthwhile pursuit.
Importance of History

 Knowledge of Society. History provides societies with knowledge about themselves. A society can know itself only by acquiring
knowledge of its history. Society must know itself and understand its relationship with the past, other societies, and other cultures.
History meets this need; it makes people aware of the character of their own time by providing them with information about their
past that they can study and compare with other peoples' experiences.

 Used in problem-solving. History is useful in meeting new situations and solving the present's problems because a full
understanding of human behavior in the past allows us to solve present issues intelligently.

 A bridge of all disciplines. As a mediating discipline, history is also useful because everything has a history. Medicine, banking,
legal practice, teaching religion, commerce, etc., have history. Thus, history, as a discipline, covers a wide range of issues. A nurse
would find a knowledge of the history of nursing in her locality useful, while military personnel can also find the history of the force
invaluable. Therefore, history becomes a meeting ground for different disciplines, thereby making it fascinating.
Why Study History?

According to Peter Stearns (1998), we should study history because it is essential to individuals and society and harbors beauty.
We can discuss the subject's real functions in many ways because of different historical talents and paths to historical meaning. All
definitions of history's utility, however, rely on two fundamental facts.

1. History Helps Us Understand People and Societies

In the first place, history offers a storehouse of information about how people and societies behave. Understanding the operations
of people and communities is difficult, although several disciplines attempt it. Exclusive reliance on current data would needlessly
handicap our efforts. How can we evaluate war if the nation is at peace other than using historical materials? How can we understand
genius, the influence of technological innovation, or the role that beliefs play in shaping family life if we do not use what we know about
past experiences? Several social scientists attempt to formulate laws or theories about human behavior. However, even these
recourses depend on historical information, except for limited artificial cases in which scientists can do experiments to determine how
people act under certain circumstances. Significant aspects of a society's operation, such as mass elections, missionary activities, or
military alliances, cannot be set up as precise experiments.

Consequently, history must serve, however imperfectly, as a replacement for experiments. Data from the past must serve as our
most vital evidence in determining why our society behaves within our current setting. History offers the only extensive evidential base
for the contemplation and analysis of how societies function. People also need to have some sense of how societies work simply to run
their own lives.

2. History Helps Us Understand Change and How the Society We Live in Came to Be

The second reason why history is inescapable as a subject of serious study follows the first one closely. The past causes the
present and the future. Any time we want to know why something happened, that is, whether a shift in political party dominance in the
American Congress, a significant change in the teenage suicide rate, or a war in the Balkans or the Middle East, we have to look for
factors that took shape earlier. Occasionally, recent history will explain a significant development, but often we need to look further back
to identify the causes of change. Only through studying history do we grasp how things change and begin comprehending the factors
that cause these changes and understand what elements of an institution or a society persist despite change.
 3. Importance of History in Our Own Lives

The two fundamental reasons for studying history underlie specific and relatively diverse uses of history in our own lives. A well-told
history is beautiful. Many of the historians who most appeal to the general reading public know the importance of dramatic and skillful
writing and accuracy. Biography and military history appeal in part because of the tales they contain. History as art and entertainment
serves a real purpose on aesthetic grounds and the level of human understanding. Well-told stories reveal how people and societies
have functioned and prompt thoughts about the human experience in other times and places. The same aesthetic and humanistic goals
inspire people to immerse themselves in reconstructing relatively remote pasts, far removed from the immediate, present-day utility.
Exploring what historians occasionally call the "pastness of the past," that is, how people in distant ages constructed their lives, involves
a sense of beauty and excitement and ultimately another perspective on human life and society.

4. History Contributes to Moral Understanding

History also provides a terrain for moral contemplation. Studying the stories of individuals and situations in the past allows a history
student to test their moral sense and hone it against some real complexities that individuals have faced in challenging settings. People
who have weathered adversity not only in works of fiction but in historical circumstances can inspire. "History is teaching by example"
describes this use of a study of the past, that is, a study of certifiable heroes (i.e., the great men and women of history) who
successfully worked through moral dilemmas and ordinary people who provide lessons in courage, diligence, or constructive protest.

5. History Provides Identity

History also helps provide identity, which is one reason all modern nations encourage its teaching in some form. Historical data
includes how families, groups, institutions, and whole countries were formed and how they have evolved while retaining cohesion. For
many Americans, studying one's family history is the most obvious use of history because it provides facts about genealogy and (at a
slightly more complex level) a basis for understanding how the family has interacted with considerable historical change. Family identity
is established and confirmed. Many institutions, businesses, communities, and social units, such as ethnic groups in the United States,
use history for similar identity purposes. Defining the group in the present pales compared with the possibility of forming an identity
based on a rich past. Nations also use identity history and abuse it occasionally. Narratives that tell the national story, emphasizing
distinctive features of the national experience, are meant to provide an understanding of national values and a commitment to national
loyalty.

6. Studying History Is Essential for Good Citizenship

A study of history is essential for good citizenship. The need for good citizenship is the most common justification for history in the
school curricula. The advocates of citizenship history also hope to promote national identity and loyalty through a history spiced by vivid
stories and lessons in individual success and morality. However, the importance of history for citizenship goes beyond this narrow goal
and can even challenge it at some points.
The history that lays the foundation for genuine citizenship returns to the essential uses of the study of the past. History provides
data about the emergence of national institutions, problems, and values because it is the only significant storehouse of such data.
History also offers evidence about how nations have interacted with other societies, providing international and comparative
perspectives essential for responsible citizenship. Studying history also helps us understand how recent, current, and prospective
changes that affect citizens' lives are emerging or may emerge and what causes are involved. Studying history also encourages habits
of mind that are vital for responsible public behavior, whether as a national or community leader, an informed voter, a petitioner, or a
superficial observer.

What Skills Does a Student of History Develop?

What does a well-trained student of history, schooled to work on past materials and case studies in social change, learn how to do?
The list is manageable, but it contains several overlapping categories.
Ability to Assess Evidence. The study of history builds experience in dealing with and assessing various types of evidence, that is,
the kind of evidence historians use in shaping the most accurate pictures of the past that they can. Learning how to interpret past
political leaders' statements helps form the capacity to distinguish between the objective and the self-serving among statements made
by present-day political leaders. Learning how to combine different kinds of evidence, such as public statements, private records,
numerical data, and visual materials, develops the ability to make coherent arguments based on various data. This skill can also be
applied to information that is encountered in our everyday life.
Ability to Assess Conflicting Interpretations. Learning history means gaining skill in sorting through diverse, often conflicting
interpretations. Understanding how societies work, which is the central goal of studying history, is inherently imprecise. The same is
also correct for understanding what is going on in the present day. Learning how to identify and evaluate conflicting interpretations is an
essential citizenship skill for which history, as an often-contested laboratory of human experience, provides training. Studying different
historical interpretations is one area in which the full benefits of historical study occasionally clash with the simplistic analysis of the past
to construct identity. Experience in examining past situations provides a constructively critical sense applicable to partisan claims about
the glories of national or group identity. The study of history for no reason undermines loyalty or commitment, but it teaches the need
for assessing arguments and provides opportunities to engage in debate and achieve perspective.

Experience in Assessing Past Examples of Change. Experience in assessing past examples of change is vital to understand the
difference in society today; it is an essential skill in our "ever-changing world." The analysis of change means developing some capacity
for determining the magnitude and significance of change because some changes are more fundamental than others. Comparing
specific changes to relevant examples from the past helps history students develop this capacity. The ability to identify the continuities
that always accompany even the most dramatic changes also comes from studying history, similar to the skill to determine the probable
causes of change. Learning history helps one determine if one main factor, such as a technological innovation or a deliberate new
policy, accounts for a change or whether because generally, several factors combine to generate the actual change that occurs.
Hence, the study of history is crucial to developing a well-informed citizen. It provides necessary factual information about our
political institutions' background and about the values and problems that affect our social well-being. It also contributes to our capacity
to use evidence, assess interpretations, and analyze change and continuities. No one can ever deal with the present as the historian
deals with the past—we lack the perspective for this feat, but we can move in this direction by applying historical habits, and we will
function as good citizens in the process.

History Is Useful in the World of Work

History is useful for work. Its study helps create exemplary businesspeople, professionals, and political leaders. The number of
explicit professional jobs for historians is considerable, but most people who study history do not become professional historians.
Professional historians teach at various levels, work in museums and media centers, do historical research for businesses or public
agencies, or participate in the growing number of historical consultancies. These categories are essential to keep the necessary
enterprise of history going, but most people who study history use their training for various professional purposes. History students find
their experience directly relevant to jobs in multiple careers and studying law and public administration. Employers often deliberately
seek students with the kinds of capacities historical study promotes. The reasons are not hard to identify; history students acquire a
broad perspective that gives them the range and flexibility required in many work situations by studying different phases of the past and
various societies in the past. These students develop research skills, the ability to find and evaluate sources of information, and the
means to identify and evaluate diverse interpretations. Work in history also improves basic writing and speaking skills. It is directly
relevant to many analytical requirements in public and private sectors, where the capacity to identify, assess, and explain trends is
essential. Historical study is an asset for various work and professional situations.

Still, historical study generally does not directly lead to a particular job slot as the students of some technical fields do. However,
history particularly prepares students for the long haul in their careers, its qualities helping adaptation and advancement beyond entry-
level employment. In our society, many people who are drawn to historical study worry about its relevance. In our changing economy,
people are concerned about future job opportunities in most fields. However, historical training is not an indulgence; it applies directly to
many careers and can help us in our working lives.
Why study history? The answer is because we must gain access to the laboratory of human experience. When we study history
reasonably well and acquire some usable habits of mind and some necessary data about the forces that affect our lives, we emerge as
people with relevant skills and an enhanced capacity for informed citizenship, critical thinking, and simple awareness. The uses of
history are varied. Studying history can develop several "salable" skills but must not be pinned down to the narrowest utilitarianism.
Some history that is confined to personal recollections about changes and continuities in the immediate environment is essential to
function beyond childhood. Some history depends on personal taste, where one finds beauty, the joy of discovery, or intellectual
challenge.

FOUNDATION OF DATA
Primary Source(s)

 It is a document created during the time of your research subject about your research subject. These documents are directly
connected with the events or people being researched (Concordia University Texas Library, 2020).

 It contains original information that is not derived from interpretation, summarizing, or analyzing someone else's work (Eastern
Institute of Technology, nd).

 These are firsthand accounts created when a historical event occurred or are records of original ideas. It consists of information
that has not been analyzed, commented on, or interpreted. It can be biased, depending on the viewpoint of the author. These
sources are valuable because they give an exact account of historical events or new ideas (Westminster Giovale Library, nd)

 These sources are original or new materials, such as an activist giving a speech, a scientist conducting original research, a student
drawing original conclusions from others' works, an artist creating a piece of artwork, or your grandmother writing an
autobiography. Primary sources are firsthand and not interpreted by anyone else; they offer a personal point of view and are
created by witnesses of, or participants in, an event (except in cases of historical research written after the fact). Researchers also
create primary sources (Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, 2013).

Example of primary sources:

 Autobiographies and memoirs

 Books, articles, or news stories written at the time of the event

 Diaries and journals

 Data and original research

 Speeches and interviews

 Letters and memos

 Government documents from that period

 Census statistics

 Organizational records from that period

 Documentaries that rely on primary source materials

 Photographs

 Art (from a period)

 Maps (from a period)

 Personal narratives

 Internet communications (including listservs and emails)

 Any of the above reprinted in the original format and language

Questions to Ask When Determining If Something is a Primary Source:

 Was the author the first to create this research?

 Is the information uninterpreted data or statistics?

 Is the source an original work?

 Did the information come from personal experience?

Why Use Primary Sources?

Sources that present new research, original conclusions based on the data, or an author's actual perspective are useful for your
needs. The use of these resources allows one to interpret the information instead of relying on the interpretations of others, which s is
why your instructors may require you to find original research for your assignments.
Note: Given that primary sources reflect the true meanings and ideas introduced by authors, the information itself may not be
completely objective, well-reasoned, or accurate.
Secondary Source(s)

 It is a document created at a much later than the period of the event being researched by someone who did not experience the
said event. These documents have no direct personal connection with the events or people being studied, but they may benefit
from being able to put the event "in context" or perspective (Concordia University Texas Library, 2020).

 These works have been based on primary or secondary sources. These sources are generally an interpretation, a summary, an
analysis, or a review (Eastern Institute of Technology, nd).

 It offers commentary, analysis, or interpretation of the primary sources. These sources are written many years after an event or by
people that are not directly involved in the event. These sources are often written by people who have expertise in the field and
can be biased, depending on the author's viewpoint (Westminster Giovale Library, nd).
 These sources interpret, include, describe, or draw conclusions based on works written by others. Authors use secondary sources
to present evidence, back up arguments and statements, or represent an opinion using and citing multiple sources. Secondary
sources are often referred to as "one step removed" from the actual occurrence or fact (Saint Mary's University of Minnesota,
2013).
Example of secondary sources:

 Encyclopedias

 Chronologies

 Biographies

 Monographs (a specialized book or article)

 Most journal articles (unless written at the time of the event)

 Most published books (unless written at the time of the event)

 Abstracts of articles

 Paraphrased quotations

 Dictionaries

 Textbooks

 Webpages

 Documentary movies

 Analysis of a clinical trial

 Commentaries

 Literature reviews and meta-analyses

Questions to Ask When Determining If Something Is a Secondary Source:

 Did the author consult multiple sources to create this work?

 Is this information an interpretation or paraphrasing of another author's work?

 Did the information come from second-hand reporting?

 Is the source a textbook, review, or commentary?

Why Use Secondary Sources?

Secondary sources are best for uncovering the background or historical information about a topic and broadening your
understanding of a subject by exposing you to others' perspectives, interpretations, and conclusions. However, critiquing an original
information source (primary source) is a better option if you plan to reference it in your work.
Lesson Proper for Week 2

THE PHILIPPINES as an archipelago

As an archipelago nation, the Philippines has more than 7,100 islands with a coastline that stretches 10,850 miles. The
archipelago has no land boundaries. Taiwan is the nearest country to the north, Brunei, and Malaysia to the southwest, Indonesia to the
south, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest. The South China Sea surrounds the Philippines in the west, the Pacific Ocean
in the east, the Sulu and Celebes Seas in the south, and the Bashi Channel in the north. These tropical and mountainous islands have
a land area of 115,831 square miles. Also, the country comprises three major regions: Luzon, the largest island in the north; the
Visayas, which is an island group in the center; and Mindanao, which is the largest island in the south. These regions have distinct
political, social, and cultural differences. The capital city of the country is Manila in Luzon, where the climate is always tropical and
warm because the Philippines is 5° to 20° north of the equator. The Philippines is a part of the Southeast Asian nations. Its neighboring
countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei, East Timor, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. It has a strategic
location and is open to diverse cultural influences coming from Asia and beyond. Filipinos are primarily Malay people. Additionally, the
archipelago lies on the edge of the so-called Ring of Fire, a chain of active volcanoes marking the intersection of two tectonic plates.
The presence of the Ring of Fire makes the possibility of an earthquake or volcanic eruption an ever-present danger and the islands are
originally volcanic and primarily mountainous. It has been said that the highest point in the country is the peak of Mount Apo in
Mindanao, which is 9,692 feet above sea level, followed by Mount Pulag in Luzon, which is 9,324 feet above sea level. The worst
recorded calamity in the Philippines occurred in June 1991 when Mount Pinatubo in central Luzon blew up, thereby causing widespread
devastation.
The archipelago is geologically a part of the Philippine Mobile Belt, situated between the Philippine Sea Plate, the South China
Sea Basin of the Eurasian Plate, and the Sundra Plate. The Mindanao Trench (also known as the Philippine Trench) is an 820-mile
submarine trench found in the east of the Philippine Mobile Belt and a part of a collision of tectonic plates. The Galathea Depth, which
is the deepest point in the Philippines Sea Plate, has 34,580 feet. The Philippine Fault System comprises a network of seismic faults
that produce several earthquakes each year, most of which are undetectable.

The Philippines is located within many of Southeast Asia’s main bodies of water, such as the South China Sea, Philippine Sea,
Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea, and Luzon Strait. The coastlines of many islands are irregular, with numerous bays, gulfs, and inlets. Manila
Bay is the most commercially important coastline because of its naturally sheltered harbor. The largest gulfs, Leyte and Panay gulfs,
are in located the Visayan Islands. The Philippines’ large rivers are generally not navigable, except for short portions. Streams are
subject to typhoons and flooding during the monsoon season. The longest river is the Cagayan River in north-central Luzon, which
flows northward to the sea. Other long rivers in Luzon are Agno and Pampanga rivers, which cross the central Luzon Valley. Chico
River flows through the Cordillera Central in northern Luzon and irrigates the mountainsides. Pasig River, one of Luzon’s shortest
rivers, flows through Manila, thereby giving it commercial significance. It originates in the island’s largest lake, Laguna de Bay, and
empties into Manila Bay. Mindanao has two main rivers. The Mindanao River (Rio Grande de Mindanao) receives the waters of Pulangi
River. Agusan Rivers flows north into the Bohol Sea. The largest lake in the Philippines is Laguna de Bay, a freshwater lake located 13
kilometers (8 miles) southeast of Manila. Its surface area is 922 square kilometers (356 square miles). Sewage and toxic waste from
the surrounding urban areas contaminate its water. Taal Lake, 56 kilometers (35 miles) south of Manila, occupies a vast volcanic crater
and contains an active volcano. Lake Lanao is the largest lake in Mindanao and the source of the Agusan River, which exits the lake at
the Maria Christina Falls. Lake Lanao is 347 square kilometers (134 square miles) in area.
Controversial Territory

The Philippines’ territorial sea claims extend 100 nautical miles off the coastline all around the country under the 1898 Treaty of
Paris. A 1978 presidential decree increased the share to 285 nautical miles into the South China Sea, encompassing the disputed
Spratly Islands, known as the Kalayaan (Freedom) Islands in the Philippines. The United States indicates that the claim is excessive,
thereby violating the international freedom of navigation. However, the Philippines also claims sovereignty over its continental shelf,
extending 200 nautical miles from its coastline, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, China, Malaysia,
Taiwan, and Vietnam make similar claims. The islands at stake are those with underwater oil and natural gas resources. The 2002
Declaration on the Behavior of Parties in the South China Sea helped de-escalate tensions in the Spratly Islands, but it did not establish
a legal code of conduct. In 2005, China’s, the Philippines’, and Vietnam’s national oil corporations inked a collaborative agreement to
conduct maritime seismic research in the Spratly Islands.

The same claim was placed on the Malaysia’s Sabah state. The Sultanate of Brunei granted this region to the Sultanate of Sulu as
a reward for assisting him against his enemies. In 1878, the Sultanate of Sulu leased Sabah to the British North Borneo Company for
5,000 Malaysian ringgits per year and firearms to fight the Spaniards. Sabah became a British crown colony in 1920. Sabah was
formally handed to Malaysia by the British in 1963. Violent mass deportations of Filipinos living in Sabah sparked debate about the
assertion in 2003. Malaysia still pays the annual rent of 5,000 Malaysian ringgits (approximately US$1,500) to the Sultan of Sulu’s heirs.
Topography

The Philippines lies between Taiwan and Borneo in the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. Nearly 3,000 islands out of the
more than 7,000 islands in the Philippines are named. The 11 largest islands account for more than 90% of the total land area. More
than 70% of the population resides on the two largest islands, that is, Luzon and Mindanao, which together comprise more than 70% of
the land area.

Luzon, which is the largest island, has an area of 104,690 square kilometers (40,421 square miles). Three parallel mountain
ranges run from north to south in Luzon. The longest range, which is the Sierra Madre, is on the east coast. The Cagayan River Valley,
which separates the Sierra Madre from the western Cordillera Central range, is on the west coast. Mountainside rice terraces create
deep steps into the slope of the Cordillera Central, which is more than 6 meters (20 feet) high. Luzon’s highest peak, that is, Mount
Pulag, is 2,930 meters (9,613 feet) high. The Zambales Mountains are in the westernmost part of Luzon and ends at Manila Bay. The
southern end of the island, which is called the Bicol Peninsula, is mountainous and has many volcanoes. Southeastern Luzon has the
low-lying Ragay Hills and a 91-meter (299-foot) deep river gorge. Luzon has two lowland areas, that is, the Central Plain and the
Cagayan Valley. Central Plain is the largest at 240 kilometers (149 miles) long and 64 kilometers (40 miles) wide. The plain has many
swamps because it is only slightly above sea level. Cagayan Valley has an area of 10,360 square kilometers (4,000 square miles).
Mindoro is the island to the southwest of Luzon; its land area is 9,736 square kilometers (3,759 square miles). A mountain range runs
from north to south across the island with coastal plains on either side. The highest peak, that is, Mount Halcon, is 2,587 meters (8,488
feet) high. As the largest island, it is composed of six main regions, namely, the National Capital Region, Cordillera Administrative
Region, Ilocos (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3), Southern Tagalog (Region 4), and Bicol (Region 5).
The Visayan island group includes more than half the Philippine islands. Seven of these islands are populated. The group has a
total land area of 61,077 square kilometers (23,582 square miles). The major islands are Samar (13,079 square kilometers), Negros
(12,703 square kilometers), Panay (11,515 square kilometers), Leyte (7,213 square kilometers), Cebu (4,421 square kilometers), Bohol
(3,865 square kilometers), and Masbate (3,268 square kilometers). The easternmost islands of Samar and Leyte are connected by a
bridge. Samar and Leyte have dense jungle forests, and each has a central mountain range. Southern Samar has rocky hills. Chocolate
Hills, which is cone-shaped mounds covering 52 square kilometers (20 square miles), is located southwest in Bohol. Chocolate Hills
range from 50 meters to 200 meters (164–656 feet) high and are covered in vegetation that turns brown during summer. The rest of the
island consists of plateaus. To the west is Cebu, which is a long, narrow island with a hilly interior. Negros, which is the island to the
west of Cebu, is primarily lowlands. The volcanic rock Tablas Plateau is located in the southwest. Negros has one high volcanic
mountain range. Panay is the westernmost island in the system; it has a hilly western coast and northern lowlands. Masbate is located
in the north of Visayas and has hilly areas. Palawan is a part of the Calamian Islands in the eastern Philippines. The total land area of
Palawan is 11,655 square kilometers (4,500 square miles), 8–48 kilometers (5 to 30 miles) wide, and more than 442 kilometers (275
miles) long. Mountains run the entire length of the island, surrounded by a narrow coastline. The highest peak is 2,085 meters (6,841
feet) high. The major region comprises three main regions, namely, western (region 6), central (region 7), and eastern Visayas (region
8).

Mindanao, which is the country’s second largest island, has a total land area of 94,630 square kilometers (36,537 square miles).
The Pacific Cordillera range lies on the island’s eastern coast. Agusan River separates itself from the Cordillera central range to the
west. Mount Apo in the central mountain system is the highest elevation in the country at 2,804 meters high (9,199 feet). The two
ranges end in the Bukidnon-Lanao Plateau, which has several deep canyons and extinct volcanoes. The plateau has an elevation of
609 meters (1,998 feet). The Davao-Agusan Trough is a lowland area in the east that becomes flooded seasonally. South-central
Mindanao has two marshes. Western Mindanao, which is a mountainous area, is called the Zamboanga Peninsula. The Sulu
Archipelago is southwest between the Zamboanga Peninsula and Indonesia. It comprises more than 800 small islands with a total area
of approximately 4,144 square kilometers (1,600 square miles). Mindanao consists of the following regions: western Mindanao (region
9), northern Mindanao (region 10), southern Mindanao (region 11), central Mindanao (region 12), and Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao.
Climate and Environment

As a tropical climate country, the Philippines remains hot and humid throughout the year. The monsoons blow from the southwest
from May to October and from the northeast from November to February. The western part of the country has two seasons. One is
summer, which is the rainy season, and begins in May and ends in November. And the other is winter, which is the dry season in most
of the Philippines, and starts in December and ends in May. December through February is cool and dry, but March through May is hot
and dry. The tropical storm season lasts from June to October, with most of the storms coming from the southeast. Unfortunately,
typhoons annually lash out in the islands, especially those closest to the Pacific. Even a weak typhoon can now cause flash flooding
and tragic loss of human life and property because of deforestation.

An example is what happened when Typhoon Uring hit Ormoc, Leyte, on November 5, 1991. The land of the Philippines is
characterized by irregular coasts, alluvial plains, narrow valleys, and rolling hills and mountains running from north to south. It used to
have a lush and tropical forest cover with a diverse ecosystem. However, deforestation reduced forests to only 19.4% by the end of the
20th century. Deforestation occurs when lumber companies cut down all forests in a given area without replanting trees, although they
are required by law to do so at present.

Specifically, the two distinct seasons in the country are wet and dry. The wet season is generally the time for rice planting. The
population as of the 2000 census is 76.5 million and is concentrated in 12 major islands, which constitute 95% of the available land
space. This value represents an increase of 11.5% or 7.9 million over the 1995 census count of 68.6 million people. The population
grew at a rate of 2.36% annually between 1995 and 2000. If the annual growth rate continues to increase at 2.36%, then the Philippine
population is expected to double in approximately 29 years. The life expectancy at birth for the total population is estimated at 68.12
years.

Another problem is that several corrupt timber magnates and Filipino politicians conspire in illegal timber export. Deforestation
continues to be one of the major sources of ecological damage in the country, thereby threatening all animal and plant species.
Resource-rich marine mangroves and coral reefs are also rapidly disappearing due to huge commercial trawling, aquaculture, pollution,
and illegal fishing practices that include the use of cyanides and dynamite to increase the catch.
Race and Ethnicity

The most significant ethnic minority in the Philippines is Chinese. Many Filipinos have Chinese ancestry only because of
intermarriage. However, the colonization of the islands by the Spaniards (1565–1898) and Americans (1898–1946) has influenced the
development of Philippine society and culture. Up to 170 different spoken languages and 500 dialects exist across the archipelago, all
belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian linguistic family. While the majority of Filipinos can speak the national language, called Tagalog,
and they share the same national identity, each group tends to identify with the primary language group to which it belongs. The two
principal languages are Tagalog, which is spoken in the provinces around Manila, and Cebuano, which is used throughout the Visayas
and Mindanao. Other major languages are Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Bicol, Waray, Kapampangan, and Pangasinense. But at the same time,
English is widely used throughout the islands and the language of education and trade. It is understood by 40% of the population and
serves as the lingua franca in the government, business, mass media, and academia.

These tribal groups are historically and culturally different from the mainstream group of Filipinos and have long struggled to keep
their land and cultural identity intact. The Philippines is the only Christian nation in Asia. More than 60% of Asia’s Christian population
lives in the Philippines, and their number is increasing. In 1986, over 50 million people in the Philippines were Christians. By the 1990s,
this number reached over 65 million. Approximately 11 million people in the Philippines are non-Catholic Christians, practicing in over
350 organizations, most of which operate under the umbrella organization of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. The
largest denomination includes the gospel-style Philippines for Jesus Movement and the Iglesia ni Cristo. The largest religious minority
group is the Muslim population, with Islam being a much older presence than Christianity. The estimates of the Muslim population range
between 3.9 million and 7 million or 5%–9% of the population. Approximately 94% of these Filipino Muslims are concentrated in the
western and southern parts of Mindanao, the Sulu archipelago, and the southern part of Palawan.
Anthropologists believe that the islands of the Philippines are being inhabited for 250,000 years. The inhabitants were the Aetas,
Malays and Indones who came to the Philippine islands in different time periods. It is now believed that these ethnicities did not come in
batches. Instead, they arrived in the islands around the same time and repeated the process through the country’s pre-colonial history.
The different groups adapted to the unique environment of the island they inhabited. For instance, some Aeta groups became masters
of fishing. This is suggestive of the idea that the culture of one ethnicity is not inferior or more advanced than the other.

To add to all the information above, the basic unit of the Philippine society is the nuclear family, with the father as the head; the
family includes extended relatives of husband and wife. Social stratification is governed by wealth and education, which is a by-product
of Spanish and American influences. The upper class constitutes 11% (e.g., professionals, civil servants, teachers, and business
people), and the lower class comprises 89% (e.g., farmers, laborers, fisherman, merchants, etc.). Literacy is substantially higher in the
Philippines than in other countries in Southeast Asia. According to the 2002 census, 95% of the total population 15 years of age and
over can read and write in at least one language. Literacy ranges from 91.5% in the Greater Manila area to 55%–65% in the rural
countryside. Therefore, a large proportion of the nation’s population uses some form of mass communication. In 2003, 26 broadsheets
are being released (newspapers and tabloids), 12 of which are written in the English language. A total of 366 AM and 290 FM radio
stations and 75 television and broadcast stations also existed in 2003. The Philippine press is one of those that enjoy the most freedom
worldwide because of its propensity for muckraking, which is a legacy of American journalism.
Lesson Proper for Week 3
Prehistory of the Philippines and Southeast Asia

The early history of the Philippines has a remarkable blend of the antiquity of Southeast Asia due to the modern delimitation of the
region. It is connected with the prehistoric times of China. It was distinct to its geographical area, including Burma, Cambodia, East
Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Many questions about the study of pre-colonial settlements in
the Philippines are unanswered. A considerable number of the early evidence of the coastal communities that may have existed and
used by modern archaeologists to learn more about these settlements was washed away when the seas rose due to global warming at
the end of the last ice age, approximately 17,000 years ago. The warm and humid climate in the tropical zone has a disintegrating effect
on bamboo and other plant-like materials used by early inhabitants to build their homes, make tools, and write. Ethnographers have
unevenly studied different ethnolinguistic and cultural groups. American archaeologists of the colonial era (1898–1946) tended to
interpret their findings in a continuous spread and overlay of human settlements that reached into the distant past. In the south, the
Sunda Shelf connected the Philippines with Borneo, Java, and Sumatra, with the entire peninsula of Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and
Cambodia. Northern Luzon was linked to Taiwan and formed the entryway to a broad land corridor leading into China. We know that
people lived in Java and China around the mid-Pleistocene or during the ice age approximately 300,000 years ago as their remains,
along with stone implements and the bones of extinct animals, were found. Similar stone tools and fossil remains of large prehistoric
animals were found in the Cagayan Valley in northern Luzon. At the end of the ice age, when the seas began to rise again, the
Philippines became an archipelago surrounded by water. It was already inhabited by small groups of hunters and gatherers who were
self-supporting and self-sufficient.
Approximately 7,000 years ago, food crops such as rice, millet, and legumes began to be developed in northeastern India, Burma,
Thailand, and China, one of the earliest cradles of the Neolithic or agricultural revolution. Linguists have studied the movement of these
migrating populations by tracing the spread of their language, that is, Austronesian, which refers to a related group of languages
spoken by the peoples of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan as well as in parts of Vietnam. It is also the language of
Polynesians found in the Micronesian islands and some of the Melanesian groups. The recovery of the widely separated Austronesian
language must have a common source that preceded the discovery of the Indo-European language family. Moving beyond Austro-Tai
into Austronesian proper, the reconstruction of linguistic prehistory, which is most widely used today, is based on a family tree of
subgroups and a hierarchy of protolanguages extending from Proto-Austronesian. Blust's (1984) reconstruction favors a geographical
expansion beginning in Taiwan (the birthplace of Austronesian languages, including PAn), then encompassing the Philippines, Borneo,
and Sulawesi, and finally bifurcating, one branch moving west to Java, Sumatra, and Malaya, and the other branch moving east into
Oceania. The reconstructed Proto-Austronesian vocabulary, which is generally related to this early Taiwan-Luzon phase, indicates an
economy well-suited to marginal tropical latitudes with rice, millet, and sugarcane; domestication of dogs and pigs; and the use of
watercraft. The Malayo-Polynesian (MP) subgroup later split into various lower-order Western and Central-Eastern branches as a result
of further colonization excursions across the Philippines into Borneo, Sulawesi, and the Moluccas. The Moluccas are thought to be
where the Central-Eastern MP split, and Eastern MP encompasses all Austronesian languages of the Pacific Islands, with the exception
of a few in western Micronesia. The vocabulary of Proto-MP, which is a linguistic entity that might have been located somewhere in the
Philippines, is of considerable interest because it contains several low economic indicators that were absent earlier and more northerly
Proto-Austronesian stage (Bellwood, 2006).

Several proto-Austronesian speakers carried the rice culture across the sea to northern Luzon, Philippines from Taiwan at
approximately 3,000 B.C.E. Essentially, rice is a tropical and subtropical crop whose cultivation depends on water. Southeast Asia is in
a monsoon zone and has soggy soil that is well suited for rice farming. Rice can be cultivated in two ways, as follows: Dry rice
cultivation is a form of shifting agriculture that involves planting rice on the dry ground either by sowing in the wind or planting seeds in
holes punched by digging sticks after the existing vegetation has been cut. Wet rice cultivation involves the use of germinated seeds
that are planted in a seedbed. When these rice plants are approximately a foot high, they are transplanted. Fields are often plowed with
the help of a carabao, which is a buffalo-like animal in the Philippines. Considering that wet rice irrigation and planting involve
remarkable cooperation between many groups of people, it expanded upon the earlier settlement patterns and increased the
population.

Most of the descendants of the MPs were seafarers, who carried their traditions through the entire expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
Many theories exist about the movement of peoples of the Pacific from the coast of South Asia through the major archipelago of
Southeast Asia in the western borders of the Pacific in Neolithic times. Most of these theories are based on the existence of cultural
traits or artifacts of material culture that exhibit similar characteristics as reported from archaeological sites in these areas. The close
relationship between the early peoples of the Philippines and Polynesia is demonstrated by the similarities in the types of stone tools
and pottery they used. Other similar artifacts made from shells have been found in profusion in the archaeological sites of Oceana.
Domesticated plant and animal evidence are also conclusive. One of the oldest domesticated plants is the taro. The differentiation and
distribution of this plant have been traced by archaeologists as moving from south Asia going north to Japan and south into New
Caledonia, New Zealand, and Fiji. Only three animals, that is, dog, pig, and chicken, are domesticated from Southeast Asia to
Polynesia. These animals have originated from Southeast Asia. Thus, the early Southeast Asian seafarers were highly skilled canoe
builders and navigators who sailed across the Pacific by using their bodily senses as their compass at a time when almost all of the
Europeans thought such travel was impossible. In the last 2,000 years, we can see archaeological and linguistic evidence for the
existence of a world maritime trade economy, which was similar to that of the Mediterranean (only much larger in scale) and connected
the Philippines to China, India, and the Arab and Persian lands. Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian influences were absorbed and
transformed in the Philippines through an interactive process of adoption and adaptation. At approximately 1,200 C.E., Islam began to
spread to Southeast Asia as several sultanates also developed in the Philippines, especially southern Mindanao.

Trade and Rise of Local Rulers

 The warm and tropical monsoon winds, blowing from the northeast in northern winter, and the southeast during the northern
summer contributed to the development of a prosperous and growing regional trade economy. Considering that these winds have
regularly reversed direction every season, the early Southeast Asians learned to plan their seafaring journeys following the changing
winds. They could sail with relative ease across a large expanse of ocean to visit trading partners and relatives. Then, after resting for a
while, they ride home with the wind. The relative ease and safety with which people could travel encouraged increases in material and
cultural exchanges. The tropically rich vegetative cover and congenial topography of the islands made it relatively comfortable to walk
on foot or sail. Many islands around the archipelago are interconnected by landfills and waterways with well-sheltered bays and
protected harbors. Trade over land and sea brought new people in contact with one another, ranging from upland hunters and
gatherers and horticulturalists to the complex chiefdoms and states of South, Southeast, and Northeast Asia. Maritime trade
encouraged widespread social, cultural, and economic changes throughout the region. It introduced new people to different religious
and political backgrounds who shaped, as they were shaped by, the development of local histories and hierarchies.

The geographical boundaries between these communities or mandalas were porous and fluid; foreigners could become friends or
even family if they marry by engaging in trade or an apprenticeship to share sacred knowledge. New leaders who recognized a
potentially powerful trade partner who promised to bring in prestige goods could arise. These rulers occasionally took Indic titles, such
as rajah, which was derived from Sanskrit, to distinguish their descendants as members of a royal lineage. They traded valuable
heirlooms, such as legendary swords, icons, and relics that accorded a spiritual essence that filled them and their people with sacred
power. However, although rajahs could pass down their titles and wealth to their children, they could be usurped from power when
strong leaders emerged. Thus, the office of rajah or chief could be either inherited or achieved through competition in early Philippine
society. Kinship still played an integral role in the development of local hierarchies. In contrast to Northeast Asia (e.g., China, Korea,
and Japan), a large and impersonal state bureaucracy never developed in the Philippines; instead, numerous competing centers of
power whose rulers strove not to colonize their neighbors but to include them in their networks of kith and kin were established.
Communities of relatives and friends were developed as children grew up and got married, thereby building their homes adjacent to
parents on either side of the family. The boundaries separating these communities were in a state of fluidity and shifted as new
alliances were formed, histories coalesced, and new leaders emerged.

Local leaders were distinctive because they can entice followers who cooperated in religious and scholarly, ritual, agricultural,
commercial, and military matters. Such leaders replaced or incorporated the previous ancestral line of the community into their own by
achieving the title of village ancestor. These leaders cultivated followers by engaging in reciprocal exchanges. They possessed divine
spiritual force, which enabled them to maintain harmonious social interactions inside and between groups, as well as between the earth
and the universe. The collapse of a monarch's network of reciprocity and exchange, or the anarchy that occurred in times of natural
tragedy, signaled the decline of a ruler, and people flocked to follow a new authority. Personal authority was seen differently in
Southeast Asia than it is in the Western perspective. Power was an existential fact, not an abstraction as it is in Western social theory.
Indigenous signs indicated a powerful ruler. A powerful leader was seen as pure in terms of his or her ability to concentrate and
disperse power, not in a moralistic sense. The ability to manage one's environment and one's inner self are inextricably linked. The
following are the apparent signs of a leader: one had “radiance” about them, one who was sexually fertile, and one who had surrounded
oneself with sacred objects, and people who held unusual power to absorb it vicariously. Leaders wore and distributed “magic” amulets,
uttered formulaic prayers, and believed that their weapons and personages, were invincible in times of battle. Locals, on the other hand,
saw defeat in combat or a decline in a ruler's wealth as indicators of a leader's waning inner strength. Hence, the projection and
recognition of charismatic leadership and authority around the Philippine archipelago were a local matter. Social transformations
occurred as foreign influences were selectively reinvented, and they were specific to the conventions of a particular community.

Indian and Chinese Influences

Some of the earliest known influences came from Hindu and Buddhist traders and monks who exchanged textiles and other
sacred gifts for local and Chinese wares. They introduced new religious rituals and political forms of behavior. However, the inhabitants
of the Philippine islands did not blindly accept the Hindu belief system and way of life; instead, they selectively integrated what they
perceived to be useful Hindu notions into their already existing animistic beliefs and practices. Early local rulers adopted Hindu titles,
such as rajah, and accompanying accouterments to enhance their spiritual and political power. The term Visaya (Vijaya), which seemed
to refer to the central group of the islands in the Philippines, is suggestive of her place in the Hindu tributary system. Few known Hindu
artifacts include the 1,790-gram 21-karat gold Hindu goddess of Agusan, which is on display in the Chicago Natural History Museum.
The scarcity of ancient Hindu, Buddhist, or shamanistic scripts and material remains may be attributed to the fact that Spanish
colonizers destroyed pagan icons and books in their wake. In contrast to Bali, Indonesia, Hindu temple complexes were never built in
stone in the ancient Philippines. However, substantial archaeological and historical evidence indicated the existence of many small
trading centers that specialized in the production of prestige goods (e.g., potteries, textiles, medicinal plants, and decorative plumes) for
trade and exchange as tributes. One of the earliest known maritime Southeast Asian states to do business with traders in the
Philippines was the Sri-Vijaya Empire from Indonesia, which controlled east-west trade through the Strait of Malacca for 400 years from
700 C.E. to 1,100 C.E. Sri-Vijaya was close to southern Philippines and located at the southernmost tip of Sumatra, inland along the
Musi River, which flows out into the Malacca Strait, at the crossroads of sea trade. The Sri-Vijaya had a powerful navy that punished
pirates and protected foreign ships by allowing them safe passage through the straits. Sri-Vijaya became one of the most important
clearinghouse centers for exchange and export to the west. The river provided inhabitants with access to a wide variety of products and
offered them a safe and secure harbor. At first, this community was self-sufficient in food production. However, over time, the
population multiplied and expanded its territory further upriver to the coasts.
Sri-Vijayans formed a pact with the Javanese, who then supplied them with rice. Although these two communities did not always
agree with each other and even fought occasionally, they mostly prospered together in peace and harmony through marriage and trade
alliances. The Sri-Vijaya Empire began to decline in the 1400s when the Chinese came to dominate Southeast Asian sea trade. A
sudden increase in the population during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 C.E.) in combination with the frequent outbreaks of infectious
diseases, such as the measles and smallpox epidemics in 1407, 1410, 1411, and 1413, may have further instigated the Chinese to
search for additional sources of supplies, especially medicinal herbs. Famous mariners, such as General Zheng He, who
commandeered the emperor’s fleet of 48 treasure ships in 1409, began to develop an elaborate set of tributary networks through the
use of diplomacy; force, if needed; and the giving of tribute to local rulers, who acknowledged China’s supremacy in return. Local
ambassadors and dignitaries were escorted back with the tribute missions to pay homage to the Chinese emperor. They were treated
with remarkable hospitality and accorded the full dignity and splendor of their rank and title. Only local rulers who were recognized by
the Chinese emperor were allowed to participate in its expanding network of trade and exchange. Thus, local and competing Philippine
leaders could build up their power and notoriety with their place in the celestial order of the Middle Kingdom.
Coming of Islam

Islam was transmitted to Sumatra and Java by Arab and Persian traders and missionaries in the 13th century, although earlier
Muslim trading sites existed in the region. As Islam began to spread rapidly after the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632, Arabia
emerged as one of the most important centers of commerce and culture. Arab and other Muslim traders and sailors were the
intermediaries between Asian merchants and European traders. As these Muslims converted local rulers and their retainers, their trade
networks also expanded. One of the earliest rulers to convert to Islam was the banished prince of Palembang origin, Parameswara,
who ran away from the Javanese court to settle in a small fishing village on the island of Malacca. In 1405, he swore his allegiance to
the Chinese emperor, for which he had rewarded a seal of investiture, thereby recognizing Malacca as an independent kingdom.
Parameswara’s maneuver infuriated the Javanese and Siamese; the latter royal courts claimed that the island was their territory, but
they felt helpless to do anything about it for fear of antagonizing the powerful Chinese. Afterward, Malacca became a favorite stopover
for Muslim traders to sit out the long monsoon season. In 1414, they encouraged the prince to adopt Islam and form a marriage alliance
with one of the Muslim princesses of Pasai. Malacca soon became one of the greatest sea emporiums in Southeast Asia,
overshadowing its neighboring ports.
Courtly demeanors and the court language, that is, Malay, which once served as the language of trade and communication
throughout much of Southeast Asia, began to be replaced by Arabic as Arabic beliefs and practices gained in ascendance. However,
the Vijayan courtly demeanor that is based on loyalty, marriage alliances, and trade never went away but remained alongside new
Islamic forms. Therefore, one of the earliest sultanates to develop in the Philippines was the Sulu island chain, which was off the coast
of Borneo. Islam was introduced there by early Chinese traders and Muslim missionaries during the Ming dynasty in the 14th century.
However, in 1450, the Sumatran sultan, Sayyid Abu Bakhr, married a local princess that Sulu became a prominent center of Muslim
trade and culture. Rulers living across the sea on Mindanao and elsewhere in the Philippines soon realized that they could benefit by
participating in the growing Muslim trade networks. They could gain wealth and further solidify their power by surrounding themselves
with large armies and slaves, which strengthened their ability to collect tribute and build new alliances. Although Muslim rulers believed
that all were equal in the eyes of one God and did not believe in slavery, and only debt bondage and freed slaves once converted, they
still believed they could capture and enslave non-Muslims. While this created a new dichotomy between Muslims and non-Muslims, the
division between slaves and masters existed long before the arrival of Islam in Southeast Asia.
Ancient Asian Slavery Systems

Diverse religious and philosophical traditions exerted influence over the formation of different slavery systems in Southeast Asia.
While the institutionalization of slavery may have nothing to do with Buddhism and Confucianism as envisioned by the founders,
namely, Buddha and Confucius, respectively, Confucianism and Buddhism still advocated a specific social order of hierarchy, that is,
that of serving the king. While Buddhism diverged from Hinduism, it continued to be informed by Hindu cultural ideas and practices. The
Buddhist occupation with merit making and harmonious coexistence with all life forms, coupled with Hindu notions of caste and
hierarchy, coalesced with the open system of slavery as practiced in ancient Thailand. In comparison, the Chinese Confucian interest in
following lines of authority through kinship that ranked people according to age level and that placed ancestors over the living, seniors
over juniors, males over females, and male scholars over commoners, fit with the closed system of slavery in ancient Vietnam.
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese Confucianism influenced the development of different Southeast Asian systems of slavery. This was
the case in the precolonial Philippines, where a mixture of Hindu/Buddhist, Confucian, and Islamic notions was selectively integrated
into already existing systems of debt bondage. A basic understanding of the distinctive differences between Buddhism and
Confucianism, as illustrated by the way of ancient Thailand and China, is important to understanding this chapter’s closing discussion
on the early Philippine system that already existed in contrast to Spanish colonial Christianity.
Thai Buddhist Slavery

Thai history has long been influenced by Buddhist and Hindu social teachings. In contrast to India or China, where genealogical
links are largely traced through the male lines, genealogies are traced bilaterally through the male and female side of the family in
Thailand. Thai daughters, not sons, are expected to take care of their parents when they get old. This horizontal status accorded to
both sexes is offset thus far as Thai females always were considered a property of either their father’s household or husband’s
household. Female slaves were definitively valued for their contribution to sexual reproduction and as second wives and concubines,
although a father or husband who sold his daughter or wife into bondage in times of starvation or financial hardship in former times
could keep her at home as long as he paid the interest on the loan. A free person previously had to demonstrate that he was over his
head in debt and desperately poor before he could legally sell any member of his household or himself into slavery; otherwise, he would
be severely punished according to the law. Buddhism also mitigated some of the harsher effects of slavery as it was viewed as
meritorious, and slaves had some rights against owners who transgressed the boundaries of their sexual rights. Slaves could also
possess private properties, some of which were entrusted in positions of authority over other slaves and free clients. Historically, Thais
practiced an open-ended form of slavery that was theologically oriented around Buddhist ideas of a galactic order, and even the king of
Siam was said to be a slave of Buddha. Similar to India, Thailand has a philosophy of a coming of a just and righteous king. In times of
judicious and benevolent kingship, social life is said to be replete with a bountiful harvest and harmonious relationships that produce a
popular feeling of well-being. Conversely, duplicitous, selfish kingships mark times of bad harvest and social disruption. The ancient
system of slavery in Thailand, similar to precolonial Philippines albeit in a different guise, was a form of debt slavery; men and women
could “buy” their freedom.
 Laws that guaranteed basic rights are in place. Free clients and slaves were often perceived to be living on the same level in terms
of status. Occasionally, slaves (e.g., temple slaves) held substantially higher stations than those who were free of bondage. The king
held most slaves and divided them between princes (and leading monks) in exchange for their loyal service in governing the kingdom.
Slaves were a symbol of luxury and wealth, but Thai society was not oriented around slavery as an economic system because slaves
worked alongside free clients. Typically, freemen and their families were self-sufficient subsistence farmers who worked the king’s land
and who could be called, within reasonable guidelines, by royal administrators to provide food and labor on construction projects for the
kingdom. The Thai system of slavery might be “feudal” in nature. The slave had many of the same modes of entry into slavery that were
found in China, that of conquest, war, capture, and being “sold,” but there is the added aspect of the debt slave, who may or may not be
redeemable. Being redeemable means that one’s debts might eventually either be worked off or paid off, and the condition of slavery
diminished, and the slave freed. Other forms of slavery, such as judicial or temple slaves, are not commonly found in China. The temple
slaves were on occasion those who placed themselves into service because the life of the temple slave might be viewed as better than
the life of the freed person occasionally. Slaves were exempt from mandatory labor requirements, and those services they provide were
lighter than other forms of slavery. Regarding slaves of war and conquest, such as tens of thousands that were taken by the Siamese in
the wars against the Khmer Empire in the 14th century, this was by far the most common because population may decrease that only
an outside infusion of bodies could maintain the community. Frequent warfare was a form of competition for a loyal following, not a
territory, and helped reproduce the local population, which was often ravaged and depleted by the spread of diseases such as malaria
and smallpox, famines, floods, droughts, and raids. These slaves were then redistributed among nobles according to their rank, while
some were donated to temple services. These slaves were commissioned by the king to build new temples in distant and remote
regions to win the local community’s support and loyalty. Slaves served another function as a form of exchange and tribute. Thus, the
use of slaves became more than the acquisition of a labor force and a replacement population. However, a political and economic
exchange that was used to pay off debts influenced the political atmosphere. Thai slaves were mainly absorbed and absolved instead
of freed or made kin. While the entire subject is complicated, the groundwork here is enough to distinguish the Thai system of slavery
from the Euro-colonial type. We now turn to a discussion on the ancient Chinese and the Philippine systems of slavery.
Early Chinese Slavery

China has been long influenced by Confucian social teachings. In contrast to Thailand, where the family tree is traced bilaterally
through the male and female lines, in China, genealogical links are recorded over the generations through male ties. Chinese females
are perceived as outsiders; they are nameless in ancestral rites, and their primary role is to bear male heirs. A female could enter into
domestic household service as a maid or child servant. In that case, she might be adopted as a younger sister and become part of the
family. Alternatively, she would be arranged into an exogamous marriage, occasionally as a child bride. Meanwhile, the bride price for
the first wife was high, it was transformed into a dowry, and the marriage rite itself marked the transference of certain rights and
privileges to her. By contrast, the primary role of second wives was to produce sons, while concubinage was for pleasure. Matchmakers
arranged the sale of maids, brides, concubines, and prostitutes privately. Slaves in ancient China found themselves in a closed system.
As a rule, slaves in China were born as slaves or purchased as children, in addition to the purchase of concubines by the wealthy.
While the potential for slaves to alter or change their status was open in Thailand, that opportunity was extremely limited in China.
Given that China is a strictly patriarchal society, any inclusion of males into the lineage would constitute a threat to existing heirs
because this would cause further division of property at the death of the clan head. Therefore, males who were not purchased as
children for replacement heirs (indicating the absence of other heirs) were suspended in permanent slave status, although eunuchs
were of high status because they were loyal and powerful (e.g., they generally served the emperors royal court). Watson explained that
girls had more freedom than boys did once they became slaves because boys would enter their new life either as an heir or lifelong
servant. Females had more tangible opportunities for improving their situation through marriage. Chinese women were considered as
belonging to, rather than being in, the kinship line even when they married within it. Given that they did not have any inheritance right
that would have been recognized or supported, they were not considered a threat. Therefore, they had more social mobility than men
did. China created its supply of slaves from within by creating stratification within its social structure; taking its slaves from within that
created a “lower” class.
The stigma attached to the status of a slave did not only last a lifetime but for subsequent generations of slaves. This phenomenon
can be traced back to the Chinese practice of ancestor worship. The Chinese viewed belonging to a lineage as a requirement for being
considered a civilized person. Given that the males were carriers of the lineage, even the poorest farmers would resist selling their sons
until all the daughters and even the wife were sold. For example, they would sell their sons to save them from dying from starvation.
This attitude resulted in a few males on the market. Thus, males were priced high. This practice repeatedly disrupted the male slaves’
ancestral lines. Thus, the slaves, in essence, never developed a family line, and their hereditary relatives remained unknown. In some
modern cases, the ancestral line might be invented to conceal a lack of ancestry. This slave market system based on use value and not
exchange value was transformed when the European colonizers came to China. The Europeans brought and introduced their habit of
buying and selling slaves as if they were only material objects, which was an affront and contrary to ancient Asian codes, which
provided slaves with certain rights and social security.
Ancient Philippine Slavery

The Philippines experienced a mélange of religious and philosophical influences before the colonial period. Underlying Hindu,
Buddhist, and Islamic faiths were widespread and intermingled with indigenous beliefs and practices that were informed by animistic
nature worship. The economy was engaged in a maritime trade economy that extended far beyond Southeast Asia. Local communities
were dispersed along estuaries of rivers and coastal shores, with each settlement scattered to protect the residents from the possibility
of offshore slave raiders. Each community’s individual history was made up of a complex of local histories wherein leaders were
legitimated by their followers, relative to even wider concentric networks or mandalas, of power. Chiefdoms existed, that is, the office of
the chief was ordinarily inherited, and a redistributive system wherein slavery was a key component was in place. However, as a check
on their authority, the office of the chief (rajah or datu) was also achieved, and the center of redistribution shifted as new leaders
emerged.
 The system of slavery in the Philippines was a far-reaching and complex system that differed dramatically from, and existed in
utter contradistinction to, the Euro-American transatlantic slave trade system. In contrast to the European colonial system where slaves
were supplied in the market, slaves in the Philippines often shared the same ethnicity, language, and descent as their masters. Parents
frequently arranged the marriage of their young children by turning over several slaves in good faith. Men often sold themselves into
slavery to their fathers-in-law as a form of bride price, which was similar to what Jacob did for the hand of Rachel and Leah as told in
the Bible. Almost everyone was indebted to someone else to some degree, and slavery in this sense was endemic. Generally, slaves
took a good deal of satisfaction in being attached to their masters. Various types of slaves ranged from those captured for ransom in
raids at one extreme to those who sold themselves into slavery to someone for whom they felt a debt of gratitude from the heart in other
extremes. Except for those living inside their master’s house, slaves were expected to support themselves, working part-time for their
owners, while the owners themselves were generally enslaved to other masters. Kinship played an important role in the development of
debt bondage on the islands. Family networks and lineages were traced bilaterally through both the female and male lines. This
phenomenon diminished the importance of status based on lineage connections to a single female or male ancestor; instead, important
genealogical claims were based on achieving a founding line of descent and establishing fictive kin relations horizontally in the present.
This emphasis on the present had an impact on how the master-slave bond emerged locally, where social relations, not private
property, were highly valued. Customary interactions between masters and slaves in this context were mutually respectful. The coming
of the Spanish colonizers to the Philippines with their different habits and worldview was an affront to the cultural ethos and common
sense of mutual well-being. Spanish colonial processes profoundly and irreversibly disrupted and altered local practices, and the effect
of this influence should not be underestimated. However, local motifs and customary forms of behavior continued to re-emerge in new
guises and resisted the colonial design.
Lesson Proper for Week 4
A Historian's Critical Questions

Students who study history sometimes confuse sources with evidence. Good historical sources merely provide raw information
that scholars can reconstruct into evidence. Historians use reconstructed historical evidence to make historical arguments about what
happened in the past. To collect evidence, historians examine sources by reading closely and asking critical questions.

Students of history should also note that sources of history are subjective. Meaning, persons who document and interpret history
usually have his/her unique point of view about what is happening.

We get historical information from primary and secondary sources. Analyzing historical information includes answering the
following:

 Who produced this source, and what is his/her background? Is the author’s biography (i.e. point of view and personal experience)
relevant to comprehending this source? Was the author biased or dishonest? Did he/she have a plan/agenda?

 When and where was this source created? Is it similar to other sources from the same period? In what ways is it a product of the
time, place, or context in which it was created?

 What motivated the author to create this source? Who was his/her intended audience? And what’s the point? Is the author’s
purpose (or argument) stated explicitly or implicitly? Was it meant to be used in a public or private setting? Is it a scholarly work, a
work of fiction, a work of art, or a piece of propaganda?

 How does this source compare to the other sources you’ve looked at for this study? Is it biased toward a particular argument?
Incorporate or neglect significant pieces of evidence? Does it structure its argument according to similar (or different) periods,
geographies, participants, themes, or events?

Sources of History

1. Primary Sources of History

Primary sources are materials produced in the period studied. They reflect the immediate concerns and perspectives of those who
are experiencing the historical events studied. Typical examples of primary studies are diaries, correspondence, dispatches, newspaper
editorials, speeches, economic data, literature, art, and film. This type of historical source allows the historian to see the past through
direct participants' points of view.

The primary sources used in this research are from the time period under consideration. These sources include witnesses and
artifacts. Familiar primary sources include newspapers, correspondence, memoirs, laws, official documents, and published works.

(Mariano Peji and Filipino sailors at the U.S. Naval Academy posed in basketball uniforms circa 1926, UMD Libraries Digital Collections
Filipino American Community Archives)
 Looking at the primary source above, we can make assumptions about the American Occupation in the Philippines. First, we can
say that the sport basketball has reached our shores. Another assumption we can make is about how Filipinos dressed when playing
sports. Lastly, we may be able to assume some information based on the building behind the people in the picture.

(The Royal Kandit, Villegas, 2004)

Non-text materials are also considered as primary sources of history if they were made by people experiencing the historical
events in question. The golden Royal Kandit shown above is an artifact dating from between the 10th and 13th century and was found
in Surigao. It is made of gold, about 74 centimeter, and weighs about a kilogram. If we analyze the information about the golden belt,
we may ask questions about how ancient Filipinos in Surigao were able to craft and own ornate pieces of precious gold.
Evaluating Primary Sources

Like an investigative report, historical arguments try to establish how things may have happened. Still, we have to be careful with
interpreting primary sources as these are not perfect documentations of historical events. Thus, we should also compare sources with
each other to check their credibility.

A fair reading of history involves asking questions about historical sources. You can be a critical reader if you use your historical
imagination and envision what could have happened if historical characters were in different circumstances. Primary source analysis
will help you gather information about details that can be put together to form an idea of a historical event or period.
Professor Patrick Rael, who was a Professor of History at Bowdoin College, developed an acronym for evaluating primary source
texts (PAPER) (Rael, 2004):

1. P – Purpose of the maker in preparing the source

Knowing the purpose of the author or maker of a primary source includes finding out the role or place of that person in the society
he/she lived in. The social structure and culture of the maker will help us form a basis for the development of the source.

2. A – Arguments and strategies used to achieve these goals

What ideas are the maker trying to convey by documenting a historical event or period? You may also ask who the maker’s
audience is and what is the maker’s strategy in communicating to his/her audience. For instance, Anne Frank, who lived in the Nazi
Period in Germany, made a dairy. The diary contents are most probably intended for her private reading. At present, historian now
know that Anne’s father edited some pages to remove sensitive content. Knowing these details helps us read between the lines and
assume the “unwritten.” This analysis also enables us to know how credible or reliable the source is.

(Anne Frank's Diary, The History Channel, 2018)

1. P – Presuppositions and values

We can also analyze a primary source by examining how the beliefs of the maker differ or are similar to ours. This process
highlights the values of the maker. At times, it may be uncomfortable to us to read about slave-raiding of ancient Filipino tribes, but we
consider their behavior as a product of their time because they value different things (i.e. familial ties and food production).
 2. Epistemology

An epistemological reading of a primary source will give us information that can be factually proven. These facts are not explicitly
shown in the material. For instance, we can date Anne Frank’s diary using the material of the paper or the ink that was used.

3. R – Relate to other texts

We can infer some things from reading various primary sources from different makers or writers. We can do this by
highlighting repetitive themes across sources. An example would be the current reading of Ferdinand Magellan’s purpose in
coming to the Philippines: some historians suggest that he came for trade and not as a conquistador, effectively dating the
Spanish Colonization of the Philippines to 1565 instead of 1521. (Gerona, 2021)
Secondary Sources of History

Another source of history is secondary sources. If you tried to answer the questions above or made interpretations about the
primary sources in the previous photos, the documentation of your ideas can be considered a secondary source of history.

Secondary sources are materials produced after the period that is studied and is made by a person who did not experience the
historical events he/she was writing about. Secondary source creators typically lived during the time period being examined, but their
work was based on a primary source. Historians use secondary sources to learn how other historians have viewed the past.
Historians using secondary sources consider the historical subject with ample background of the sources' origin and generally
select, analyze, and incorporate evidence (derived from primary sources) to make an argument. Works of scholars are the most
common secondary sources.

(5000 Php Banknote with Lapulapu and the Philippine Eagle, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, 2021)

A common secondary source of history are Philippine banknotes. The 5,000-peso banknote shown above shows a realistic sketch
of Lapulapu. The way he looks in the banknote is informed by investigating the bodily adornment customs and the physical
characteristics of Visayans. It is NOT a photograph of Lapulapu. In other words, the banknote does not give a perfect picture of what
Lapulapu looks like because it is only a rendition.
 The book cover in the photo shows a volume of secondary historical material written by Rolando Borrinaga. He conducted a
modern and Waraynon reading of the correspondence among Waray, Bicolano, Tagalog, and Cebuano revolutionaries in the Spanish
and American Colonial Periods. His opinions and inferences are informed by other primary sources such as maps, laws, and
photographs.

Secondary sources are also reliable sources of information, despite them being mere copies of primary sources. They are reliable
because they tend to be informed by analysis of culture and historical periods. Secondary works such as scholarly work usually show
readers what part of the work are facts and what are opinions or intelligent guesses. Secondary sources will alert you to any historical
controversies, disagreements, or key questions that historians are grappling with. Additionally, makers of secondary sources are not
emotionally tied to the period they are examining.
Similar to primary sources, we need investigative skills in reading secondary historical material. Secondary sources can be
interpreted in different ways since each reader will know a different set of information and will have a different point of view. We need to
think through the material and connect it to other sources. We also need to be careful in distinguishing between scholarly and non-
scholarly secondary sources.

When we join history classes, we are usually asked by our teachers to explore the discussions of other scholars by writing essays.
Our historical essays can be considered as secondary sources, as long as we provide enough information about the following:

 Maker or writer of the source/material

 The maker’s or author’s expertise, training, and theoretical approach

 The maker’s or author’s explanation of why and how the events happened

 The maker’s or author’s argument or point of view about the historical period or event talked about

 The evidence that the maker or author cited to support his/her argument

 The parts of the material that makes the argument weak

 The structure and form of the source (text, art, film, etc.)
 Any competing material that affects the way the material being studied is structured

 How different or similar to works on the same topic is the material.

Credibility and Reliability

Aside from analyzing the content of sources, historians also examine the credibility and reliability of historical sources.
A. Credibility
Credible sources are those that are transparent about approaches, biases, and points of view. They do this by highlighting what is
not known at the moment and what are accepted as facts while making arguments.
B. Reliability
Reliable sources are those that are relay as facts those that can be verified with evidence. For example, dates in historical material
can be corroborated by other materials such as laws or new reports.
Lesson Proper for Week 5
A. Book or article
Bangka, Kaluluwa, at Katutubong Paniniwala
Maria Bernadette L. Abrera

Since the fifteenth century, variously characterized as a small and light vessel to a large commercial boat, “bangka” has been the
general Philippine name for all types of seacraft. This name does not exist in seventeenth-century Visayan and Bikol dictionaries;
instead, the term “baloto” arises, which is similar in appearance and function to the bangka.

The bangka’s ceremonies demonstrate that it is more than a water vessel in Philippine culture: it is a storehouse for an entire
indigenous society’s belief system. The entire procedure is enveloped with rituals and religious implications, from the selection of the
tree to its fall, digging out, or hewing into planks, through the construction, and finally to its launching into the sea. The bangka reflects
the indigenous animist belief system in a clear and obvious way. The funeral ceremonies and the use of the bangka as a vessel to
transfer the deceased to the next life are examined, exposing Filipinos’ worldview. These all indicate the belief not just in the bangka as
a “soul boat” but in a “soul of the boat” itself.
Visit this site for full text: https://bangkanixiao.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/abrera-bangka-kaluluwa-at-katutubong-panininwa.pdf

Massive Balangay “Mother Boat” Unearthed in Butuan

By Timothy James Dimacali
Published August 9, 2013 4:04 pm | Updated August 16, 2013 12:00 am
Link: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/science/321334/massive-balangay-mother-boat-unearthed-in-butuan/story/

The world’s largest sailing vessel is being uncovered in Butuan City, Mindanao, and it has the potential to rewrite Philippine
maritime history as we know it. The plank vessel, which is thought to be roughly 800 years old, could be centuries older than the ships
used by European explorers in the 16th century when they first discovered the archipelago that was eventually dubbed Las Islas
Felipinas after a Spanish monarch.

The discovery also supports notions that the Philippines, and especially Butuan, was an important center for Southeast Asian
cultural, religious, and commercial interactions.
Dr. Mary Jane Louise A. Bolunia, a National Museum archaeologist who leads the study team at the site, says the recently
discovered “balangay” is gigantic in practically every way.
As though grabbing a Coke can, she raises her hand and folds her fingers into a circle. Bolunia explains, “That’s simply one of the
treenails utilized in its construction.”
A “treenail” is a wooden peg or dowel that is used in place of iron nails in boat construction.
Bolunia creates an onionskin piece of paper with a meticulously inked map of the archeological site. An approximately pea pod-
shaped boat wreck around 15 meters long sits in the upper corner, one of eight similar-sized balangays discovered at the site since the
1970s. But just next to it, discovered only in 2012, are the ruins of a ninth balangay that appears to be so large that it could easily house
the smaller boat twice over – and that’s just the part that’s been excavated so far.
The boat is expected to be at least 25 meters long, despite the fact that it has yet to be entirely excavated.
 Aside from the treenails, the planks themselves are as wide as a man’s chest – approximately twice the width of those used in
other balangays on the site. According to Bolunia, the planks are so massive that they can no longer be copied because there are no
more trees large enough to make boards that size today.

Visiting the Site

On August 14, GMA News went to the site and discovered the excavation site was soggy, requiring more digging and
investigation. Bolunia, on the other hand, assured that for the time being, preserving the antiquities in this state is actually beneficial to
their conservation. “We just leave it alone and let the water seep in since it’s better protected that way than if it’s dried. It would
disintegrate if you expose it without adequate conservation,” she revealed to GMA News.

The Butuan Museum’s officer-in-charge, Jorge Absite, is optimistic that the new discovery may reveal more about our forefathers.
The Butuan Museum is in charge of overseeing the preservation and management of the balangay excavations and any objects
discovered there.
“Kung ano ba talaga ang uring pamumuhay meron ang mga ninuno natin, ito ang kasagutans a ‘missing link’ ng kultura
natin,” Absite added.

“The ability of Filipinos to construct or build large boats is not new… Before the Chinese arrived in the Philippines, Filipinos traveled
to China via the Butuanons,“ Bulonia emphasized.

Historians, including Bolunia, warn that much more work is needed before the boat can be definitively dated and identified.
“The newly-discovered boat will require more technical verification to establish its connection and relationship with the other boats
already excavated, so that we can know its date, boat typology, and technology,” said Dr. Maria Bernadette L. Abrera, professor and
chairperson of the Department of History at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, in an email interview.
“We have to be cautious,” said Ramon Villegas, a researcher who has studied pre-colonial Philippine history extensively. “There
hasn’t been enough study time (the artifacts). It may be a Chinese junk or a Spanish boat.”

Aside from carbon dating to identify the age of the wood, the building techniques used, as well as the type of wood itself, must all
be determined before a definitive conclusion can be reached.

Dr. Jesus Peralta, an archeologist and anthropologist, notes, “Everything depends on the construction, on how the boat was built,
before you can legitimately term it is a ‘balangay.’” He stated that he has yet to see the newly discovered boat.
Nevertheless, the boat’s proximity to prior sites of buried balangays is likely to cause consternation among academics.
Bolunia said without hesitation, "It’s a ‘mother boat,’ and it’s transforming the way we think about ancient Filipino sailors.”
Changing the Course of Philippine History

It has long been known that Filipinos journeyed throughout Southeast Asia in groups called balangays as early as the 10th century,
reaching Champa on Vietnam’s eastern coast.

The term “barangay” – the Philippine government’s smallest administrative decision – perpetuates the impression that these flotillas
are made up of similarly-sized small vessels.

However, according to Bolunia, this latest discovery implies that these were likely only support vessels for a much bigger main
boat, where trade items and other supplies were likely stored for safekeeping.
The discovery also implies that Filipino seafarers were significantly more ordered and structured than previously assumed.
Butuan As A Major Center of Culture and Trade

This balangay “confirms past excavation discoveries about Butuan’s position as a commerce and population center in precolonial
Philippines,” Abrera told GMA News.

“The harbor of Butuan has maintained long-standing trading ties with Champa and Guandong” (China). “You can trace the
significance of (the newly discovered boat) by using it as an archeological key to the period when Butuan was a busy link to the pan-
Asian cultural and commercial intercourse,” historian Arnold M. Azurin told GMA News through Facebook chat.

Indeed, Filipino seamen from Butuan were exploring Asia over a thousand years ago, long before our Chinese neighbors: the Song
Dynasty reported the arrival of a diplomatic delegation from the “Kingdom of Butuan” as early as 1001.
“In 1003 AD, a Butuan chieftain petitioned the Chinese Imperial Court to allow his people to send their goods directly to Guandong
rather than utilizing Champa as the entrepôt*(major trading post),” Azurin continued.

The petition was denied, according to Azurin, since the Court insisted on regulating trade through Champa.

He also believes Butuan may have played a significant role in the spread of culture and religion in the Philippines, long before
Christianity or even Islam arrived.

“The boat’s deeper meaning could be that it was one of the first carriers of Hindu-Buddhist cultural impact in the Philippines, long
before Islam and Christianity arrived. Many experts believe that the baybayin script arrived in the same way that Champa did. As a
result, you can enrich our forefathers’ cultural inheritance,” Azurin remarked.

Older than Magellan and Jung He

While the newfound boat has yet to be precisely dated, its structure and proximity to a balangay from the 1200s strongly suggest
that it is a balangay from the same era.

If this is the case, the boat predates Magellan’s arrival and death in the Philippines in 1521, as well as the Chinese explorer Zheng
He’s trip across Asia in 1400, by hundreds of years.
“For over a thousand years, trade and settlement patterns and routes across Asia connected select islands (of the Philippines),
particularly those with adequate harbors and a constant supply of local products,” Azurin explained.

“The mention of slaves-for-sale in Magellan’s chronicler Pigafetta’s account of the first circumvention is especially interesting: Raja
Humabon boasted to Magellan that some boatloads of slaves had just left Cebu for Cambodia and Champa – likely in need of warm
bodies for their succession wars, or new stonecutters for their megalithic shrines,” he continued.

Could balangays of Filipino craftsmen have aided in the construction of ancient Asian temples like Angkor Wat?

“Given that archeologists such as Robert Fox, H. Otley Beyer, and others have pointed out that various islands in the southern
Philippines had communities related to these areas,” he added, “that’s a plausible conjecture.”
Continuing A Seaworthy Tradition

According to Dr. Bolunia, the “mother boat” and the smaller balangays in Butuan were “clearly intended for exploring the high
seas.”
Their overall design and construction, she claims, are more adapted to navigate deep ocean waters than shallow rivers. A quarter
rudder and sails would also indicate a seagoing vessel, however these have yet to be discovered, according to Dr. Bolunia.
“That’s especially true for a boat this big,” she explains, referring to the massive balangay.
The Sama-Badjao of Sulu continue to use boatbuilding techniques that are very similar to those used in the Butuan boats today.

In 2010, replica balangays created by Sama-Badjao artisans and operated by Filipino explorers completed a 14,000-kilometer
journey across Southeast Asia, demonstrating the genuine balangays’ seaworthiness and the traditional woodcraft used to build them.
The 15-meter-long “DiwatangLahi,” one of the boats, is now on permanent exhibit outside the National Museum in Manila.

AUTHOR’S ARGUMENT AND POINT OF VIEW

 The idea or belief that an author wishes to persuade readers to believe is referred to as the author’s argument.
Identify the Issue

 The author’s problematic topic is referred to as the tissue.

The death penalty, gun regulation, foreign policy, and abortion are all examples of contentious issues.

 “Is the author writing a contentious issue?” you might wonder.

Determine the Author’s Point of View

 The author’s argument expresses his or her point of view on a particular topic.

 “What is the author’s position on the issue?” you might wonder.

Step 1: Determine the Author’s Premises

 The author’s assumptions are things he takes for granted without providing any evidence (to put it another way, what the author
believes or accepts as factual and uses to support his argument).

 “What does the author take for granted?” you might wonder.

 The entire argument will be flawed if the author’s assumptions are irrational or inaccurate. Unless readers recognize the author’s
preconceptions, they may be mislead.
Step 2: Determine the Different Types of Assistance

 The types of evidence that the author employs to support his or her argument are referred to as types of support.

 “What kind of backup does the author present to back up the argument?” you might wonder.

 Research findings, case studies, personal experience or observation, examples, facts, analogies, expert testimony, and views can
all be used as evidence.
Step 3: Determine the Support’s Relevance

 Relevance refers to how closely the support relates to the argument.

 “Is the support directly tied to the argument?” you might wonder.

 Unless the author is a specialist, his or her personal experience or viewpoint may be irrelevant.
Step 4: Assess the Author’s Objectiveness

 When the author’s argument is supported by facts and other obvious proof, it is objective.

 “Does the author give facts and clear proof as support?” you might wonder.
Step 5: Assess the Completeness of the Argument

 If the author provides appropriate support and defeats opposing ideas, the argument is complete.

 Authors occasionally fail to provide adequate support.

 Authors sometimes omit material that would undermine their position. If they stated and countered their point, it would be more
powerful.
Step 6: Check to See if the Argument is True

 If an argument is logical, it is legitimate (has validity).

 “Is the argument logical (well-reasoned)?” you might wonder.

Step 7: Assess the Credibility of the Argument

 If an argument is believable, it has credibility (convincing).

 “Is the author’s argument credible?” you might wonder.

 Because an argument that is not valid will not be believable, validity and credibility are tightly linked.