GOODLUCK AND HAPPY READING!

ENJOY PHILIPPINE HISTORY

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Module 1. Introduction to
History: Definition,
Sources, Importance and
Methodology

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this module, you will be able to:1. Evaluate primary sources for their
credibility, authenticity, and provenance.
1. Analyze the context, content and perspective of different kinds of primary sources
2. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources.
3. Demonstrate the ability to use primary sources to argue in favor or against a
particular issue.
4. Manifest interest in local history and concern in promoting and preserving our
country’s national patrimony and cultural heritage.

TIP:!!!!
Search the internet for online archives and libraries on Philippine history and culture. Explore
ways of getting historical information from varied digital sources. Present your findings in a
tabular presentation with profiles of web sites detailing their collection of sources and
providing important information on how to access their files. (This is only for self-learning
purposes not an assignment but it might come out as a recitation)

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v MEANING OF HISTORY

The Greek philosopher Aristotle used the word history which meant a
systematic account of a set of natural phenomena, whether or not chronological
ordering was a factor in the account; and that usage, though rare, still prevails in
English in the phrase natural history. In the course of time, however, the equivalent
Latin word scientia (English, science) came to be used more regularly to designate non-
chronological systematic accounts of natural phenomena.
History deals with the study of past events presented in chronological order
and often with explanation. Others define it as His story and sanaysay na may saysay.
Individuals who write about history are called historians. They seek to understand the
present by examining what went before. They undertake arduous historical research
to come up with a meaningful and organized reconstruction of the past. But whose
past are we talking about? This is a basic question that a historian needs to answer
because this sets the purpose and framework of a historical account. Hence, a salient
feature of historical writing is the facility to give meaning and impart value to a
particular group of people about their past.
By its most common definition, the word history now means “the past of
mankind.” Compare the German word for history – Geschichte, which is derived from
geschehen, meaning to happen. Geschichte is that which has happened. This meaning
of the word history is often encountered in such overworked phrases as “all history
teaches” or “the lessons of history.”
It requires only a moment’s reflection to recognize that in this sense history
cannot be reconstructed. The past of mankind for the most part is beyond recall. Even
those who are blessed with the best memories cannot re-create their own past, since
in the life of all men there must be events, persons, words, thoughts, places, and
fancies that made no impression at all at the time they occurred, or have since
forgotten. A fortiori, the experience of a generation long dead, most of whom left no
records or whose records, if they exist, have never been disturbed by the historian’s
touch, is beyond the possibility of total recollection. The reconstruction of the total
past of mankind, although it is the goal of historians, thus becomes a goal they know
full well is unattainable.
The practice of historical writing is called historiography. Traditional method
in doing historical research focuses on gathering of documents from different libraries
and archives to form a pool of evidence needed in making a descriptive or analytical
narrative. However, modern historical writing does not only include examination of
documents but also the use of research methods from related areas of study such as
archaeology and geography.

v SOURCES OF HISTORY

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a. Documents – handwritten, printed, designed, drawn and other composed

materials
e.g. books, magazines, maps, journals, architectural perspectives, newspapers,
paintings, advertisements, and photographs

Relacion de las Islas Filipinas Sucesos de las Islas

Filipinas
Colonial records such as government reports and legal documents form
a significant part of our collection of documents here and abroad, particularly in Spain
and the United States. In the 20th century and up to now, memoirs of personal
accounts written by important historical personages constitute another type of
documents. Philippine presidents such as Emilio Aguinaldo, Manuel Quezon, and
Diosdado Macapagal wrote their memoirs to highlight their roles as nation-builders.

b. archaeological records – preserved remains of human beings, their activities and

their environment

• fossils – remains of animals, plants and other organisms

In the Philippines, the most significant excavated human remains include

Callao Man’s toe bone (dated 67000 BCE) and the Tabon Man’s skullcap (22000 BCE).

Aside from human remains, other archaeological records are generally

categorized as fossils and artifacts.

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• artifacts – remnants of material culture

Laguna Copperplate Inscription Manunggul Jar

c. oral and video accounts – audio-visual documentation of people, events and

places

These are usually recorded in video and audio cassettes, and compact discs.
Aside from scholars, media people also use oral and video accounts as part of their
news and public affairs work.

v GENERAL KINDS OF HISTORICAL SOURCES

a. Primary – documents, physical objects, and oral/video accounts by an individual or

group present at the time and place being described

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- The testimony of eyewitness, or of a witness by any other of the senses, or of a

mechanical device like the Dictaphone – that is, of one who or that which was
present at the events of which he or it tells (hereafter called simply eyewitness)

b. Secondary - materials made by people long after the events being described had
taken place
- The testimony of anyone who is not an eyewitness – that is, of one who was not
present at the events of which he tells

A primary source must thus have been produced by a contemporary of the

events it narrates. It does not, however, need to be original in the legal sense of the
word original – that is, the very document (usually the first written draft) whose
contents are the subject of discussion – for quite often a later copy or a printed edition
will do just as well; and in the case of the Greek and Roman classics seldom are any
but later copies available.
“Original” is a word of so many different meanings that it would have been
better to avoid it in precise historical discourse.
A document may be called “original”
1. because it contains fresh and creative ideas
2. because it is not translated from the language in which it was first written
3. because it is in its earliest, unpolished stage
4. because its text is the approved text, unmodified and untampered with
5. because it is the earliest available source of the information it provides

Unfortunately, the phrase “original sources” has become common among

historians, and it is desirable to define its usage accurately. It is best used by the
historian in two senses – (1) to describe a source, unpolished, uncopied, untranslated,
as it issued from the hands of the authors (e.g. original draft of the Magna Carta) or
(2) a source that gives the earliest available information (i.e., the origin) regarding the
question under investigation because earlier sources have been lost.
Primary sources need not be original in either of these two ways. They need to
be “original” only in the sense of underived or first-hand as to their testimony. This
point ought to be emphasized in order to avoid confusion between original sources
and primary sources. The confusion arises from a particularly careless use of the word
original. It is often used by historians as a synonym for manuscript or achival.
Most historical narratives today are so reliant on documentary sources due to
the plethora of written records and the lack of archaeological records and oral/video
memoirs. Although having several documents about an event allows for easier
counterchecking of facts, history researchers are confronted with one basic challenge
with regard primary sources – their ability to read and understand texts in foreign
language.

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Aside from reading the Spanish original documents or translated works,

another daunting task for Filipino historians is to discern the cultural context and
historical value of primary sources because most of these primary documents were
written by colonialists and reflected Western cultural frames. For examples,
derogatory terms used to label Filipinos such as “pagan,” “uncivilized,” “wild,” and
“savage” abound in these colonial documents. Uncovering myths and misconceptions
about Filipino cultural identity propagated by the Spanish and American colonizers is
extra challenging for contemporary Filipino scholars.

If the key function of primary source documents is to give facts, secondary

source documents, on the other hand, provide valuable interpretations of historical
events. The works of eminent historians such as Teodoro Agoncillo and Renato
Constantino are good examples of secondary two phases: the first phase covers the
years from the start of the revolution in August 1896 to the flight of Emilio Aguinaldo
and company to Hong Kong as a result of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, while the second
phase spans from Aguinaldo’s return to Manila from Hong Kong until his surrender to
the Americans in March 1901.

However, Constantino refuted Agoncillo’s leader-centric scheme of dividing

the revolution into two phases by stressing that Agoncillo’s viewpoint implied that the
revolution came to a halt when Aguinaldo left the country. Constantino disputed the
soundness of Agoncillo’s two-phase scheme by asserting that the war of
independence continued even without Aguinaldo’s presence in the country.

Aside from the issue on Philippine Revolution, there are other contending
issues in Philippine history such as the venue of the first Christian mass in the country
and the question of who deserves to be named national hero. By and large,
interpretations serve as tools of discernment for readers of historical sources, but they
should be cautious of frames of analysis for biased, discriminatory, and self-serving
ends.

v HISTORICAL CRITICISM

Many documents have primary and secondary segments. For instance,

examining a newspaper as a historical source entails a discerning mind to identify its
primary and secondary components. A news item written by a witness of an event is
considered as a primary source, while a feature article is usually considered as a
secondary material. Similarly, a book published a long time ago does not necessarily
render it as a primary source. It requires reading of the document to know its origin.

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To ascertain the authenticity and reliability of primary sources to be used in

crafting a narrative, a historian needs to employ two levels of historical criticism,
namely external criticism and internal criticism.

a. External criticism – answers concerns and questions pertinent to the authenticity

of a historical source by identifying who composed the historical material, locating
when and where the historical material was produced, and establishing the material’s
evidential value

b. Internal criticism – deals with the credibility and reliability of the content of a given
historical source. It focuses on understanding the substances and message that the
historical material wants to convey by examining how the author framed the intent
and meaning of a composed material.

v LOCATING PRIMARY SOURCES

a. National Library
b. National Archives
c. Academic Institutions
d. Privately owned museums and archives
e. Religious congregations
f. Abroad

v COLONIAL HISTORIOGRAPHY

Philippine historiography has changed significantly since the 20th century. For
a long time, Spanish colonizers presented our history in two parts: a period of darkness
or backwardness before they arrived and a consequent period of advancement or
enlightenment when they came.

Spanish chroniclers wrote a lot about the Philippines but their historical
accounts emphasized the primacy of colonization to liberate Filipinos from their
backward “barbaric” lifeways. In the same manner, American colonial writers also
shared the same worldview of the predecessors by rationalizing their colonization of
Filipinos as a way to teach the natives the “civilized lifestyle” which they said the
Spaniards forgot to impart including personal hygiene and public administration.
Colonial narratives have portrayed Filipinos as a people bereft of an advanced culture
and a respectable history. This perception challenged Filipino intellectuals beginning
in the 1800s to rectify such cultural bias or prejudice. In 1890, Jose Rizal came out with
an annotation of Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Events in the

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Philippine Islands), a book originally published in 1609. He used de Morga’s book, a

rare Spanish publication that positively viewed precolonial Filipino culture, as a retort
to the arrogant Spaniards. However, cultural bias against Filipino culture continued
even after Rizal’s death and the end of Spanish colonialism.

Learning from the fate of its colonial predecessor, the United States did not
only use brute force but also effected ingenious ways of pacification such as the use
of education as a tool to control their subjects and increase political and economic
power of the elite few. These colonial instruments were so ingrained among Filipinos
that they perceived their colonial past in two ways: initially maltreated by “wicked
Spain” but later rescued by “benevolent America.” This kind of historical consciousness
has effectively erased from the memories of Filipino generations the bloody Filipino-
American War as exemplified by the Balangiga Massacre in Eastern Samar and the
Battle of Bud Bagsak in Sulu. Consequently, such perception breathes new life to the
two part view of history: a period of darkness before the advent of the United States
and an era of enlightenment during the American colonial administration. This view
has resonated with Filipino scholars even after the Americans granted our
independence in 1946.

v PHILIPPINE HISTORIOGRAPHY AFTER WORLD WAR II

The stark reality of Filipino historians thinking like their colonial counterparts
during the postcolonial period troubled a small group of professors and cultural
workers who were mostly alumni of the University of the Philippines. This spurred the
emergence of Filipino scholars who challenged the narrow view of colonial narratives
and developed historical writing from the viewpoint of a nationalist agenda.

In the 1950s, Teodoro Agoncillo pioneered

nationalist historiography in the country by
highlighting the role of the Filipino reformists
and revolutionaries from 1872, the year that saw
the execution of the GomBurZa priests, to the
end of the Philippine Revolution as a focal point
of the country’s nation-building narrative. Two
of his most celebrated books focus on the
impact of the Philippine Revolution: The Revolt
of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the
Katipunan (1956) and Malolos: The Crisis of
the Republic (1960). His writings veered away
from emphasizing colonial period and regarded
events before 1872 as part of the country’s “lost
history.”

Teodoro Agoncillo

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The discourse of “lost history” was not accepted

by another known scholar, Renato
Constantino, whose published work entitled,
“The Miseducation of the Filipino” became a
staple reading for academics and activists
beginning in the late 1960s. Constantino
advanced the idea of a “people’s history” – a
study of the past that sought to analyze society
by searching out people’s voices from colonial
historical materials that typically rendered
Filipinos as decadent, inept and vile. Following
this mode of historical inquiry, he authored The
Philippines: A Past Revisited (1975), a college
textbook that offered a more critical reading of
Philippine history compared to Agoncillo’s
History of the Filipino People (1973).
Undoubtedly, these two nationalist scholars
inspired or challenged other historians to
reevaluate the country’s national history.
Renato Constantino
Other Filipino historians set new directions in
redefining Philippine historiography in the last
30 years of the 20th century. The first of these
scholars is Zeus Salazar who conceptualized
“Pantayong Pananaw” as an approach to
understanding the past from our own cultural
frame and language. He emphasized the value
of our Austronesian roots in defining Filipino
culture and encouraged other scholars to
conduct outstanding historical researches in
Filipino such as the work of Jaime Veneracion’s
Kasaysayan ng Bulacan (1986).

Zeus Salazar

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Equally important is the contribution of

Reynaldo Ileto who wrote about his “history
from below”treatise in his ground-breaking
work, Pasyon and Revolution: Popular
Movements in the Philippines, 1840-1910
(1979). In this work, Ileto endeavored to
recognize the way of thinking of ordinary folks
by using alternative historical sources such as
folk songs and prayers. His other works spurred
new interpretations such as common topics such
as Jose Rizal, Philippine-American War, and
American colonization.

Reynaldo Ileto
There is also Samuel Tan, another prolific historian who is best remembered for
mainstreaming the role and relevance of Filipino Muslims in the country’s national
history. His definitive work, The Filipino Muslim Armed Struggle, 1900-1972 (1978),
sought to examine the struggle of Filipino Muslims in the context of 20th century
nation-building dynamics during the American colonial regime and subsequent
postcolonial Filipino administrations. In his book, A History of the Philippines (1987),
Tan attempted to write a national history reflective of the historical experiences not
only of lowland Christianized Filipinos but also of the other cultural communities in
the archipelago.

v CHARACTERISTICS OF CONTEMPORARY PHILIPPINE HISTORIOGRAPHY

a. Political Narratives

Most of our national histories today favour narratives that deal with the
political aspects of nation-building such as the legacies of political leaders and
establishment of different governments.

Questions such as the following are focal points in these narratives: Who was
the first Spanish governor-general vital in implementing the encomienda policy? Who
was the governor-general responsible for the massive employment of Filipinos on the
American colonial bureaucracy? Who served as the last president of the Philippine
Commonwealth and the inaugural chief executive of the Third Republic? The challenge
to the present-day historian is to present a more holistic history that goes beyond
politics by means of integrating other aspects of nation-building such as its economic
and cultural aspects.

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b. Colonial Histories in Historical Narratives

Another weakness of most national histories is the importance given to

colonial histories. This continues to breed Filipinos who are more familiar with stories
about our colonial history rather than stories of our precolonial past.

Up to now, some social studies textbooks misrepresent ancient Filipinos as

savages or barbarians by portraying colonizers, especially the Spaniards and
Americans, as liberators of the Filipinos from cultural backwardness. The key to
uncover such cultural prejudices is to examine available historical sources and to write
about our past by understanding the myths and misconceptions that characterize the
Filipino culture for centuries.

c. Elite-centric Perspectives in Historical Narratives

Some historical narratives focus on the contribution of the elite in nation-

building such as what the ilustrados (educated Filipinos) fought for in the 19th century
or how local politicians negotiated with their American counterparts to obtain an
independence law during the first half of the 20th century. Though eminent historians
such as Constantino and Ileto reiterated the importance of a “people’s history” and
“history from below,” respectively, so much has to be done in terms of writing about
the roles played by ordinary people in our country.

d. Patriarchal Orientation in Historical Narratives

Most of the country’s historical narratives highlight the heroism of men in

different ways: leading revolts and liberation wars against colonizers, championing the
cause of independence, and spearheading political and economic development.
Women, on the otherhand, are viewed by several historians as merely support to men.
Let us take for example the women leaders such as Gabriela Silang, Tandand Sora, and
Corazon Aquino. Silang assumed the leadership of the Ilocos revolt after her husband
was murdered. Tandang Sora’s decision to offer her barn and farm to revolutionaries
was linked to her son’s involvement in the Katipunan. Aquino rose to prominence as
a martyr’s widow who led a movement to depose a dictatorship. These
representations show women’s roles as consequences of their connection to the men
in their lives. With this bias in mind, it is imperative for contemporary historians to use
gender-sensitive approaches in understanding history to avoid typecasting women as
dependent, emotional, less important, passive, submissive and weak.

e. Emphasis on Lowland Christianized Filipinos

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National histories tend to show partially toward lowland Christianized Filipinos

at the expense of other national cultural communities such as Muslim Filipinos and
other indigenous peoples. Celebrated figures of our past are all lowlander Christians
and predominantly Tagalogs including Jose Rizal, the leading propagandist; Andres
Bonifacio, the Katipunan founder; and Emilio Aguinaldo, the revolutionary leader who
declared independence. Non-Christians and highlanders remain unrecognized in
historical narratives. Muslim Filipinos, in particular, have been subjected to negative
characterization by lowland Christians in published works such as history books. This
is caused by the culture of mistrust that developed between Christians and Muslims
during colonial periods. Muslim Filipinos are depicted as brutal, cruel, ferocious, and
vicious as exemplified by their attacks of Christian towns. This narrow-minded view
has to be reevaluated in order to correct misrepresentations of Muslim Filipinos in this
age of political correctness and cultural sensitivity.

TEST YOURSELF J
1. What are the benefits of using primary sources?
2. Why do you think most history textbooks are secondary sources?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of accessing online primary sources?

4. What are the challenges of understanding our country’s past mindful of the problems
that characterize the writing of our national history?

APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT

(FOR THIS IT IS BETTER IF YOU HAVE DONE IT BEFORE COMING TO CLASS,
INSTRUCTOR WILL ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS DURING THE
VIDEOCONFERENCING) AGAIN NOT AN ASSIGNMENT BUT READING WORK
ONLY.

A. Directions: Discuss the following questions.

1. Are primary sources always unbiased and accurate?
2. Are secondary sources always unbiased and accurate?
3. If sometime in the future you wanted to study who you were and what your life was like,
what primary or secondary sources might they turn in to?

B. Distinction of Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary Sources Secondary Sources

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C. Direction: Resarch ten books online and fill out the matrix below. Write the
information that are asked below.

Name of the Author Background: Title of the Description about

Information about Book/Written or the Book/Written or
the Author Printed Work Printed Work
1.

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