SOCSCI 1100

Readings in Philippine History

Module 1
Title: Introduction to History: Definition, Relevance, Sources and Methodology
The Definition and Meaning of History

 History cannot be restricted to the common definition as the “study of the past of mankind”.
 History is derived from the Greek noun, iotopia (historia) which means learning or knowledge
acquired through inquiry or investigation.
 According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, history meant a systematic account of a set of natural
phenomena .
 Fortiori – a generation of long dead, the reconstruction of the total past is unattainable.
 Ambeth Ocampo (2012) provided another definition of history, it is a narrative which can be
written, visual, oral or a combination of all three about past events that has meaning to a certain
group of people in a given time and place.
 These two components of kasaysayan --- salaysay and saysay are inseparable. Without both, you
cannot have true history.
 Renato Constantino (1985) defined history as the recorded struggle of people for increasing
freedom and newer and higher realization of human person.
Why the need to study History?
1. History raise our historical consciousness essential to national development.
2. It enable us to exercise the faculty of criticism through intelligent reading.
3. It helps us learn what man did in the past and to gain insights into the nature of our present difficulties
by projecting people’s history.
4. It gives us the proper perspectives to formulate correct policies in the future.
5. Though history, we learn lessons from the past in order to apply to the present so that we may act correctly
in the future.
6. It is our scientific guide to understanding the present and future.
7. It raises our historical consciousness so as to develop a commitment for the oppressed.
Historiography

 Santillian, Neil Martial R. (2016) expounded that individuals who write history are called the
historians.
 Historians seek to understand the present by examining what happened before. They undertake
laborious historical research and investigation to come up with meaningful and organized
(noticeable/important)
reconstruction of the past.
/
 Historiography is a salient feature of historical writing, and it is the ability to give meaning and
impart value to a particular group of people about their past.
 The old way of conducting research in history focuses on gathering documents from libraries and
archives to form a pool of evidence in writing an analytical historical narrative.
  The modern historical writing does not only involve the examination of documents but utilize
scientific research methods and complements with archeology and geography’s related study areas.
Sources of History

 Basic in doing historical research involve the use of various sources such as documents,
archeological records, oral and video accounts.
 Documents are the handwritten, printed, drawn, designed and other composed materials.
 Archeological records refer to the preserved remains of the human beings.
o The most significant archeological finds in the Philippines include the Callao man’s toe
bone (dated 67,000 BCE) and the skullcap of the Tabon Cave woman (22,000 BCE).
o Fossils are the remains of animals, plants and other organisms from the distant past, while
artifacts are the evidences of the remnants of material culture developed by humans.
 The third kind of historical source are the oral and video accounts or audio-visual documentations
of people, places and events.
 A lot of historical narratives rely heavily on documentary sources due to voluminous written
records. Several historical documents about an event are counterchecked for facts, but many
historical researchers are confronted with the basic challenge of reading and translating sources
written in foreign languages.
 A good knowledge of the Spanish language is a huge advantage, a skill which is now unusual
among contemporary historians who prefer to read the English translations of primary sources like
the 55-volume The Philippine Island (1493-1898) edited by Emma Blair and James Robertson.
Historical criticism

 Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of
criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the
text"
 To determine the authenticity and reliability of a document, the historian need to employ two levels
of historical criticism.
o External criticism is the practice of verifying the authenticity (genuineness) of evidence or
document by examining its physical characteristics, consistency with the historical
characteristic of the time when it was produced. It answers questions related to the
genuineness of a historical text by identifying who compose the material, locating when
and where the historical material was produced. Examples of the things that will be
examined when conducting external criticism of a document include the quality of the
paper, the type of ink, the language and words used in the document.
o Internal criticism on the other is the examination of the truthfulness and factuality of the
evidence by looking at the author of the source, its context, the agenda/motive behind its
creation, the knowledge which informed it and its intended purpose among others. It looks
at the content of the source/document and examines the circumstance of its production,
deals with the credibility and reliability of the content of the source as well as
understanding the substance , the content and message of the narrative. It entails the
historian to acknowledge and analyze how such reports can be manipulated for propaganda.

 Validating historical sources is important because the use of unverified, falsified, and untruthful
historical sources can equally lead to false conclusions. Without thorough criticisms of historical
evidences, historical deceptions, distortions, lies and revisionism will be highly probable.
 Introduction to Philippine Historiography (Sources and Discourses
History
- both facts and interpretation
- refers to the historian’s reconstruction of the past
R.Constantino- history is the recorded struggle of the people for increasing freedom and for newer and
higher realization of human person.
Teodoro Agoncillo- history is an accurate record and interpretation of the past using a lot of historical
imagination.
Louis Reichenthal Gottschalk- history was not simply a chronicle of events, but could and should
encompass the methodology and insights of other disciplines. Establish the relation of historical research
methods to life and learning.
Martha Howell & Walter Prevenier- asserted that each generation of historians develops its own
perspective and that our understanding of the past is constantly reshaped by the historian and the world he
or she inhabits. Explore the methods employed by historians to establish the reliability of materials: how
they choose, authenticate, decode, compare, and finally, interpret those sources.

 Without facts, the historian is restless and futile, and without the historian, facts are dead and
meaningless.
 Use history to understand ourselves better.
 All interpretations are valid, unique, distinct, and good for particular historical situation.
 Conclusions in history are not final. Everything is rewritten by every generation using the same
document but interpretation varies according to time.
How should we write, teach or study history?
1. First school of thought- history must be written, taught or studied for its own sake. This is premised
on the principle that history is an intellectual pursuit of truth.
2. Second school of thought- study the past in the light of the present. Use the past as the key to
understand the present and look into the future.
Renato Constantino- there is a need for a nationalist framework of analysis to redress the imbalances in
colonial historiography. To judge historical events on the basis on whether they benefited the majority or
merely the selfish ends of the colonizers and politicians.

 Absolute objectivity is impossible because of the subjectivity of the colonial historians who wanted
to mask their real motives.
 Show the Filipinos not merely as a victims of colonial oppression but as a member of society and
culture capable of acting and asserting one’s identity under adverse conditions.
Teodoro Agoncillo- in historical imagination, data are the bones of history.

 The flesh and blood is supplied by the historian’s imagination (imaginative understanding).
 As for the methodology, write with lucidity, creatively and with literary freshness, with logical
reasoning.
  Review facts with feelings and passion and use data carefully, judiciously.
 Be descriptive but analytical. Bring discussion to the realm of value judgment.
 Be original, contribute something new.
Historiography
- is the practice of historical writing based on research.
- traditional method of historical research gather and examines documents from libraries/archives to
form a pool of evidences for analytical narrative
- modern method of historical research utilizes other research methods used by related disciplines
like Archeology and Geography

SOURCE TYPOLOGIES, THEIR EVOLUTION AND COMPLEMENTARITY

Written Archaeological Oral New sources

Narrative Articles from daily life Tales and sagas Photos
Diplomatic sources Artistic creations Folk songs and popular Films/movies
rituals

Social documents Fortifications Artistic performances Videos

Interviews ICT generated sources

Primary sources- documents, physical objects, oral /video accounts made by individuals or a group present
at the time and place being described.
- Key function: to give facts
- Initially, historical documents are: handwritten, printed, drawn, designed, composed materials.
- Historical documents includes: books, newspapers, journals, maps, paintings, architectural
perspectives, advertisements, photographs, government reports, legal documents, memoirs,
conference/seminar proceedings.
- Archaeological records like fossils and artifacts/relics are the unwritten historical primary
documents.
- Third type of historical documents (unwritten) include: oral and video accounts.
Complementarity of sources
- Oral sources can complement written sources and can give us clues on the socio-political, economic
and cultural contexts at play in a specific period being studied.
- Oral sources can be trusted so long as they can be verified through external evidence of another
kind ( language, material, non-material culture).
- Interviewing as a method in oral history must be handled skillfully. Interviews must be analyzed
with extreme care against threats of biases.
Locating primary sources
- National Library and National Archive- major repositories of documentary sources
 - National library houses complete microfilm copies of the Philippine Revolutionary
records, rare Filipiniana Serials, historical data papers.
- Private museums and archives- Ayala Museum in Ayala, Lopez Museum in Pasig city.
- Religious archival holdings- Augustinians, Dominicans, Jesuits and Recollects.
- Outside Philippines: Archivo General de Indias in Sevilla, Spain holds major bulk of Spanish
document, US Library of Congress, Houghton’s Library (Harvard U), Bently Historical Library
(U. of Michigan).
- Open Access Online Archives on Filipino History and Culture: Digital Filipiniana collection of (U.
of Michigan), Chicago Field Museum at University of Illinois –houses Dean Worcester’s
photograph collections.
Challenges and daunting tasks
- ability to read and understand texts in foreign languages
- ability to discern the cultural context and the historical value of primary sources (reflected western
frames and colonial biases)
- ability to uncover “myths” and “misconceptions” about Filipino cultural identity propagated by
Spanish and American colonizers
Filipino historians’ preference for the English translation of Spanish texts:
1. Emma Blair and James Robertson’s 55-volume The Philippine Island (1493-1898)
2. Antonio Pigafetta’s Primo Viaggio intorno al mundo (1524)
3. Miguel Loarca’s Relacion delas Yslas Filipinas (1582)
4. Juan de Plasencia’s Relacon delas Islas Philipinas (1592)
Secondary sources- are the materials made by people long after the events being described had taken place.
- Key function: to provide valuable interpretations of historical events
- Works of Teodoro Agoncillo and Renato Constantino are good examples of authoritative secondary
sources
Historical Criticism- requires a meticulous reading of the document to know its origin
1. External Criticism (Contextual Analysis)- answers concerns and questions pertinent to the
authenticity of historical source. Identify who composed the material. Locating when and
where it was produced. Establish the material’s evidential value.
2. Internal Criticism (Content Analysis)- deals with credibility and reliability of the content of
the material. Understand the substance and message.
What problems have been encountered in writing, teaching, and the study of history?
Colonial Historiography
1. Spanish Chroniclers
- rationalized the primacy of colonization
- described Filipinos as uncivilized and with no history -> challenged Filipino
intellectuals like Rizal to rectify cultural prejudices

2. American Colonial Historiography

 - Benevolent assimilation effectively erased from Filipinos’ memories the atrocities they
committed against Filipinos during the “Filipino-American” War (e.g. Balangiga
Massacre)
- ingenuously used education to miseducate Filipinos
- Early writers of Philippine history were ethnocentric and tend to disregard native
customs and values that do not conform to their colonialists’ tastes.
- There were indiscriminate recording of events basically because colonial chroniclers
were not trained as socio-anthropologists.
Post-War Philippine Historiography
What is the status of Philippine historiography after World War 2?
- spurred the emergence of Filipino scholars who challenged the narrow view of colonial narratives
- developed historical writing from the viewpoint of nationalist framework
Historical Icons
1. Teodoro Agoncillo- pioneered nationalist historiography in 1950’s and highlighted role of
Filipino reformists and revolutionists.
(Works: Revolt of the Masses: the story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan)
2. Renato Constantino- did not accept Agoncillo’s observations about “lost history” referring
to historical events before 1872.
3. Zeus Salazar- pantayo pananaw, as an approach to understand the past from our own cultural
frame and language. Emphasized the value of our Austronesian roots.
4. Reynaldo Ileto- known for his “history from below” with his PASYON AT REBOLUSYON:
Popular Movements in the Philippines 1840-1910. Used alternative historical sources like folk
songs and prayers.
Characteristics of Philippine Historiography
- dominated by political narratives
- influenced by colonial histories
- elite-centric perspective
- patriarchal orientation
- continuous to emphasize lowland Christianized Filipinos
- Manila-centric
- not familiar with stories of pre-colonial past
- misrepresent ancient Filipinos as savages or uncivilized
- portrayed Spanish and Americans as liberators of Filipinos from cultural backwardness.
- has omissions or data-gaps relative to local history.
- local histories have not gained academic importance or official recognition.

 Filipino historians were captives of colonial historiography who viewed/interpreted our history
from the eyes of the colonizers.
 Historians are fallible, capable of error, with personal biases, political beliefs, economic status, and
idiosyncrasies. Historians could excessively focus on his/her own viewpoint.
 History is gender blind.
Contentious issues
 - Venue of the first Christian mass
- Agoncillo’s leader-centric description of the Revolution, who implied that the revolution stopped
after Aguinaldo left Phil for Hongkong
- Constantino disputed Agoncillo’s two-phase scheme of the revolution
- the question of who deserves to be named as national hero
Conclusion
- History is not the lifeless study of the dead past.
- Learning how historians think and sharpening the analytical and communication skills are
essentials for success in college and professional life.
- The methods of history are not especially complicated and confusing... still doing history is not
altogether easy.

Historical Revisionism and Fake News

According to data of Amnesty International regarding martial law (1972-1981)
- 3,240 killed
- 70,000 imprisoned
- 34,000 tortured