1. What was the reason for Morga's Writing Successos Delas Islas Filipinas?

• Antonio de Morga is the author of Successos Delas Islas Filipinas. The reasons
why he wrote it is because he wants other people know all the achievements and
efforts of the Spaniards as they discover the Philippines. Also, he wants to share
his experiences, observations and fortunes in the country. He truly believed that
Spaniards plays a big role in influencing the Filipinos in terms of tradition, beliefs
and culture. Lastly, he believed that during Spanish colonization, our country
developed and became richer in all aspects (culture, tradition, beliefs, natural
resources, etc.).
2. Why did Rizal react to the content of the book of Morga? What are his reasons for

Choosing Morga's book?

• The reason why Dr. Jose Rizal reacted to the content of the Successos Delas Islas

Filipinas of Morga is because there are misconceptions in the content of the book.

As all we know, Rizal has this trait of being a critical thinker, great observer, and

nationalistic. Rizal realized that the past is one of the greatest and most important

weapons or tool in order for the people in the present time understand the current

situation and it can also be used for the future references. He wants the truth to be

unveiled and be brought to the present time. There are many reasons why Rizal

chose Morga’s book, the first reason is that the original book was rare. Based on the study

of Cummins, there are only 25 copies released. Blumentritt also said that there are

Just a few libraries have that copy, which is why they take good care of it. Second

reason is it is the only book that is not related and do not have religious content

because as all we know, during that time, friars, missionaries and those who have

higher positions in the government and churches are the ones who are publishing

a book that is mostly related to religion or Catholicism. The third reason is the

book is more objective and trustworthy than those written by religious missionaries

that has a content of miracles and ghosts or spirits. Fourth reason is the book shows
sympathy especially to the indios unlike from the books that was made by the friars

who are more biased and show racism. Last reason is Rizal saw Morga as a

primary source on the Philippines and its people at the point of first contact with

Spain.

3. In what way that Jose Rizal’s annotation of Antonio Morga’s work enabled the Filipino
people’s confidence in their pre-conquest past?
The act of annotating Morga’s work by Rizal has three objectives in a way to boost
the confidence of the Filipino people in regards to their pre-conquest past. First, the
objective of Rizal was to arouse the consciousness of the Filipinos concerning the
outstanding ways of their prehistoric past. Then, to correct what has been implanted to
the mind of Filipino people because of the distorted facts about the Philippines when the
Spanish colonized it. Lastly, to boost the Filipino confidence by proving that the Filipinos
are already civilized even before the Philippines was colonized by the Spaniards.

1. Why is Jose Rizal’s annotation of Antonio Morga’s work important in the understanding
of our country’s history?
Morga’s work of Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas was the first book that discussed
our Philippine history. It tackles the events within and outside our country from the year
1493 to 1603. His work discussed the different aspects such as political, social, and
economic events between the colonizer and its colonized country. The book of Sucesos
was a book by honest observers that are knowledgeable on all the events within the
country. Jose Rizal’s annotation of Morga’s work is very significant as it provides the early
history of the Philippines, at the time of pre-Spanish history. In addition to the importance
of Rizal’s annotation was to present to the Filipino people their own authenticity of culture
and identity.
Jose Rizal chose to annotate the Sucesos because it is about the testimonies of
Spaniards who governed and witnessed the Philippines from the era before and until the
last ancient nationality. Rizal’s purpose in creating his own annotations regarding Morga’s
book was to let the Filipino people realize that they were not equal to Spanish colonizers
because they have their own unique civilization but were only destroyed by the colonizers.
His annotations were composed of clarifications and amplifications of mentioned data by
Morga, then disproving information when it seems invalidated, and confirming information
that was verified from other sources.

Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas is one of the important works depicting the Philippines
during the colonization of Spain, written and published based on the experience and
observation by Antonio De Morga in Mexico 1609.

Rizal found the book while he was in London at the British Museum’s reading room. He
hand-copied the whole 351 pages of the book

Antonio de Morga Sánchez Garay (1559 – July 21,1636) was a Spanish lawyer and a
high-ranking colonial
official for 43 years, in the Philippines (1594 to 1604),
How did Morga describe the religious beliefs of the early Filipinos?

Answer: The early Filipinos were described as devil worshippers. Morga saw the
anitos as the devil and called the early Filipinos as pagans and barbarous. They
worshipped anything around them, specifically, the sun, moon, birds, and even
the crocodiles. Their leaders were not priests but were considered by Morga as
witches and sorceres.