HISTORIOGRAP

HY
The Meaning and Relevance of History
History
 Greek word
 Ἱστορία (learning/inquiry)

  a systematic account of a set of natural

phenomena
 whether or not chronological ordering

was a factor
History
 “the past of mankind”

 The dilemma of
history is..
 recollection
History
 Goal of historian
 The reconstruction of the total past of
mankind
 It is a goal that is unattainable

 Why??
The Facts of History
 Objectivity vs Subjectivity

1. Who discovered the Philippines?

2. Who is the first person to
circumnavigate (go over) the world?
3. Who killed Magellan?
4. How did Magellan died?
ARRIVAL OF THE
CONQUERORS
In Search for Spices
The Arrival
 March 16, 1521
 3 ships commanded by Ferdinand Magellan arrived at
the Limasawa Island, Leyte
 San Lazaro
The Arrival
 Originally: They were searching for the spice island
Moluccas (Eastern Indonesia)

 They planned to settle for a while to treat their sick

members
Surprise Visit
 March 18, 1521
 A group of local men spotted and approached them
Surprise Visit
 March 18, 1521
 A group of local men spotted and approached them
 Instead of a fight, the local tribesmen welcomed them
 The first meeting between the would be Filipinos and the
Europeans
The Quest for the Spice Island
 From Leyte, Magellan was led to the islands of
Cebu
 Haring Humabon
 Demanded that Magellan must first pay tributes or buwis
 Magellan refused
 He is representing a great king who paid no tributes to anyone
 Threatened that if they insist they might regret it
Winds of Change
 After consulting his advisers, Haring Humabon
welcomed the group of Magellan
 Trade Relations
Blood Compact
Getting to Know Stage
 The two were able to develop good relationship
 Christianity
 Baptism
 HaringHumabon – Don Carlos
 Hara Amihan – Doña Juana

 ‘Pakimkim’
Sto. Nino de Cebu
In Defiance
 Datu Zula
 One of the chieftains of Mactan refused to recognize
the authority imposed by Magellan and the authority of
the king of Spain

 Lapu-Lapu
Battle at Mactan
 Battle at Mactan
 Magellan underestimated the capabilities of Lapu-
Lapu
 Who would have thought that native arrows were
effective than the European cannon balls
 Magellan tried sounding off retreat
 April 27, 1521
Battle at Mactan
Battle at Mactan
 With the death of their leader, the Spanish voyagers
decided to go home under the command of the next
officer in line
 Sebastian El Cano
 Victoria
 18survivors out of 270 members
 Sept. 6, 1522
 It took 16 months for El Cano to return to Spain
 Completing almost 3 years of Magellan expedition
The Facts of History
 Objectivity vs Subjectivity

 Representative of something or mere

symbolism only
 Illusory or based upon personal

considerations
 Possibility of being untrue or biased

 Makes it debatable
Sources of History
 What makes a good source of history?
 Source is an object from the past or
testimony concerning the past on which
historians depend in order to create their
own depiction of the past

 Artifacts, relics, ruins, parchments, coins

survived from the past
Sources of History
 Are these enough to reconstruct the
historical truth?

 Small parts of the whole

 “Human setting”
 If the parts can be reconstructed to give a
clearer picture of the whole
Limited Historical Knowledge
“Only a part of what was observed in the past
was remembered by those who observed it; only
a part of what was remembered was recorded;
only a part of what was recorded has survived;
only a part of what has survived has come to the
historians’ attention; and only a part of what is
credible has been grasped; and only a part of
what has been grasped can be expounded or
narrated by the historian.”
Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History
The Subjective Process of Recreation

 History is the version told to you by your

teacher the way your teacher understood it
 History is the story of victors and winners

 Historians are not perfect and not always

accurate
 The historian tries to get as close as possible

an approximation to the truth about the past

The Method
 Historical Method
 The process of critically examining and analyzing the
records and survivals of the past
 Historiography
 The imaginative reconstruction of the past from
available data

 The task is directed towards re-creation and not

creation of history
The Method

1. The selection of a subject for

investigation
2. The collection of probable sources of
information on that subject
3. The examination of those sources for
genuineness
4. The extraction of credible particulars
from the sources proven genuine
Historical Sources
Written and Unwritten Sources
 Written Sources – anything in print
1. Narrative/Literary

2. Diplomatic/Juridical

3. Social Documents
 Written and Unwritten Sources
 Unwritten Sources –
anything not in print
1. Material
- archaeological
evidence

2. Oral
- tales/sagas of
ancient people
- interviews
- folk songs and popular
rituals
Historical Sources
 There are two classes of historical
sources
1. Primary Source

2. Secondary Source
Primary Source
 Contemporary accounts of an event, personally
written or narrated by the person who directly
experienced or participated in the said event.

 Aside from testimonies of eyewitnesses, primary

sources include documents or objects created
during the time of the event.
 Primary Source
 These accounts are considered as
original documents that directly narrate
the details of the event.
E.g. diaries, letters, memoirs,
journals, speeches, oral
testimonies, manuscripts,
interviews, official records such
as government publications,
minutes reports, photographs,
images, art works, artifacts, and
video recordings
Secondary Source
 They serve as interpretations of primary
sources.
 It is the testimony of anyone who is not an

eyewitness.
 Usually the author incorporates his personal

insights and interpretations thus detaching the

original value or her component from the
subject being discussed.
 Secondary Source
 These usually contain analysis and
digestion of primary sources by experts,
academic, and professionals.
 These are usually in the form of
published works such as academic
journals, articles, reviews, books,
conference proceedings, and
documentaries.
 They can also be based on
interpretations of other secondary
sources, or a combination of primary
source data and secondary sources.
Secondary Source
 At present, most
of the sources of
historical records
are under this
category such
that there is great
tendency that the
original
substance of the
historical record
is compromised.
e.g. Documentaries
Primary and Secondary Source
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqXHO7bT
Pnw&feature=
youtu.be
Primary vs Secondary

Which of the two types of sources is

more important?

 Both sources are important because they

contain primary particulars or details that can
lead to primary documents
Evaluation of Sources
1. How does the author know the given details? Was
the author present at the event or how soon was
author on the scene of the event?
2. Where did the information come from? Is it a
personal experience, an eyewitness account, or a
report made by another person?
3. Are the author’s conclusions based on a single
piece of evidence, or many sources have been
taken into account?