CHAPTER I

Introduction to History
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Comprehend the definition, nature, methodology

and domain of History
2. Appreciate the importance of History
3. Distinguish between primary and secondary
sources
4. Evaluate sources for their credibility, authenticity,
and provenance
 ETYMOLOGY AND
DEFINITION OF HISTORY
 ETYMOLOGY AND DEFINITION
OF HISTORY

History ( from the Greek word

Historie or Historia which means
“learning, inquiry and or
investigation”)
 ETYMOLOGY AND DEFINITION
OF HISTORY

History is a branch of the Social Sciences

that deals with the systematic study of
significant past, a branch of knowledge
that records and explains past events and
which concerns people and human nature.
HISTORIOGRAPHY
 HISTORIOGRAPHY

Historiography refers to the

study of history itself.
 HISTORIOGRAPHY
Historiography analyzes
 who is the history writer
 the motives of the writer,
 the sources of the writer
 theories applied and other historical methods.
 the context when the history was written.
ELEMENTS OF
HISTORY
 ELEMENTS OF HISTORY

1. The Historian. This refers to the person writing the

history.
2. Place. The location where the history was written
3. Period. Refers to the context of the time when the
history was written.
4. Sources. Refers to the basis of claims or analysis of the
historian such as documents, written or oral accounts.
NATURE OF HISTORY AS AN
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE
 NATURE OF HISTORY AS AN
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE

A. History has no subject matter of its own.

B. History synthesizes knowledge from other
fields.
C. History illuminates pieces of the past.
D. History is constantly changing.
E. History sheds light to truth.
IMPORTANCE OF THE
STUDY OF HISTORY
 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
OF HISTORY

According to E. Kent Rogers, we study History because of

the following:
 “to know more about the roots of our current culture”
 “to learn about human nature by looking at trends that
repeat through history”
 “learn about mistakes of those who have gone before
us”
HISTORY IN RELATION WITH
OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES
 HISTORY IN RELATION WITH
OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES

Archaeology Anthropology
Archaeology is Anthropology is the study
of human beings and their
scientific study of
ancestors through time and
material remains of space and in relation to
past human life and physical character,
activities environmental and social
relations, and culture.
SOURCES OF
HISTORY
 SOURCES OF HISTORY

Historians study the sources that the past has left behind. No
statement about the past can carry conviction unless it can
be supported by reference to the historical sources, the
evidence upon which historians base their ideas and
interpretations. Historians inevitably spend a lot of time
reading each other’s writings, but the real historical work is
done – and the real enjoyment is to be had – in studying the
sources, the actual ‘stuff ’ of history. (University of
Cambridge website)
 SOURCES OF HISTORY

 Historical evidences are important proof of

the truthfulness of the past.
 “Sources”/ “Batis”/ “Sanggunian” refers to
the basis of claims or analysis of the
historian. They serve as the evidences utilized
in the study of history.
 SOURCES OF HISTORY
Primary Sources
• A primary source provides
direct or firsthand evidence
about an event, object,
person, or work of art.
• These are the evidences by
eyewitnesses or created by
people who experienced the
said event or phenomena.
Secondary Sources
• Secondary sources are
interpretations of history.
• They describe, discuss, interpret,
comment upon, analyze,
evaluate, summarize, and
process primary sources.
• These are the products of people
or writers who were not part of
the event or phenomena.
 SOURCES OF HISTORY

Tertiary Sources
Tertiary sources contain information
that has been compiled from primary
and secondary sources.
TYPES OF HISTORICAL
SOURCES
 TYPES OF HISTORICAL
SOURCES

• Archival Material
• Manuscripts and archives are primary sources, including
business and personal correspondence, diaries and journals,
legal and financial documents, photographs, maps,
architectural drawings, objects, oral histories, computer
tapes, and video and audio cassettes. Some archival
materials are published and available in print or online.
 TYPES OF HISTORICAL
SOURCES

• Government Documents
• Government documents provide evidence of activities, functions,
and policies at all government levels. For research that relates to
the workings of government, government documents are primary
sources.
• These documents include hearings and debates of legislative
bodies; the official text of laws, regulations and treaties; records
of government expenditures and finances; and statistical
compilations of economic, demographic, and scientific data.
 TYPES OF HISTORICAL
SOURCES

• Serials
• Journals, magazines, and newspapers are serial publications that
are published on an ongoing basis.
• Serials may also include book reviews, editorials, and review
articles. Review articles summarize research on a particular topic,
but they do not present any new findings; therefore, they are
considered secondary sources. Their bibliographies, however, can
be used to identify primary sources.
 TYPES OF HISTORICAL
SOURCES

• Books
• Most books are secondary sources,
where authors reference primary
source materials and add their own
analysis.
 TYPES OF HISTORICAL
SOURCES

• Audio and Visual Materials

• Visual materials such as maps, photographs, prints, graphic arts, and
original art forms can provide insights into how people viewed and/or
were viewed the world in which they existed.
• Films, videos, TV programs, and digital recordings can be primary
sources. Documentaries, feature films, and TV news broadcasts can
provide insights into the fantasies, biases, political attitudes, and
material culture of the times in which they were created. Radio
broadcast recordings, oral histories, and the recorded music of a
particular era can also serve as primary source material
HISTORICAL
CRITICISM
 HISTORICAL CRITICISM

The historian’s role in writing history, to reiterate, is to

provide meanings to facts that he gathered from primary
sources (facts from manuscripts, documents) or those that
have been gathered by archaeologists or anthropologists
(artifacts). He can only make conclusions and generalizations
based on them. It is therefore his duty to check on the
authenticity of the sources that are presented to him to be
used as basis in writing history.
 HISTORICAL CRITICISM

• External Criticism
a) Authorship
b) Date and Place of Publication
c) Textual Errors
d) Meanings of Words Used
• Internal Criticism
 HISTORICAL CRITICISM

• External Criticism covers the

physical examinations of sources
like documents, manuscripts, books,
pamphlets, maps, inscriptions and
monuments.
 HISTORICAL CRITICISM

a) Authorship. The name of the

author of the document usually
provides credence in the
establishment of validity of a
certain document.
 HISTORICAL CRITICISM

b) Date and place of publication.

The date of the document
including the time and place of
publication should be properly
analyzed in order to establish its
authenticity.
 HISTORICAL CRITICISM

c) Textual Errors. The historian should

always be in the lookout for errors
in the text of documents and
manuscripts.
Two Types of Textual Errors: Intentional
and Unintentional
 HISTORICAL CRITICISM

d) Meaning of Words Used. The meaning

of words used usually changes from
generation to generation, therefore the
historian have to interpret the words
used based on the time when the
document was made.
 HISTORICAL CRITICISM

• Internal Criticism refers to understanding of both

literal and real meaning of words. A historian
therefore must be able to analyze and interpret the
contents of documents in their real meaning.
• Historians should refrain from making their own
conclusions so as not to convey their own
interpretation rather than the true meaning of the
content.
 Question and
Answer Portion
DEBUNKING “ SA AKING MGA KABATA” AND
“THE CODE OF KALANTIAW” THROUGH
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
 SA AKING MGA KABATA

According to Dr. Nancy Kimuell Gabriel on her tesis

masterado “Timawa: Kahulugan, Kasaysayan at
Kabuluhan sa Lipunang Pilipino,” on UP Diliman,
2001the poem shows falseness. Historian Ambeth
Ocampo ,National artist of the Philippines and writer
Virgilio S. Almario and others have debunked Rizal's
traditional authorship of the poem based on the
following.
 SA AKING MGA KABATA

• a.) AUTHORSHIP
• No manuscript for Sa Aking Mga Kabatà written in Rizal's
handwriting exists. The poem supposedly wrote in 1869
where he was only 8 years old then.
• b.)DATE AND PLACE OF PUBLICATION
• The poem was first published in 1906, a decade after his
death, in a book authored by the poet Hermenigildo Cruz.
 SA AKING MGA KABATA

• c. TEXTUAL ERRORS
• In Rizal’s childhood they spelled words with a “c” rather than “k.”
Further, the word “kalayaan” (freedom) is used twice.(No manuscript
EXIST)
• d.)MEANINGS OF WORDS USED
• Kalayaan was not a common word in 1869 and there is irrefutable
evidence that Jose Rizal himself did not learn the word until he was 25
years old. Rizal first encountered the word atleast by 1872 the years
after the execution of GOMBURZA
 CODE OF KALANTIAW

William Henry Scott, examined the

pre-Hispanic history of the
Philippines. Scott raised issues on the
existence of the Code of Kalantiaw,
specifically on:
 CODE OF KALANTIAW

• LACK OF HISTORICAL EVIDENCE

 No written/ pictorial documents from that time in Philippine history
 No documents from other countries that mentions Kalantiaw
• LACK OF EVIDENCE FOR A KALANTIAW LEGEND
 No recorded Filipino legend about Kalantiaw other than the doubtful Pavon
manuscripts before the 20th century
 Historian Diego Alba looked for Kalantiaw in local folklore but found none
• DOUBTFUL PAVON MANUSCRIPTS
 Two inconsistent versions on how Jose Marco obtained the manuscripts  ( looters
and cook stories)
 Mistakes in the Pavon manuscripts