Chapter I

Knowing Philippine History

1. Understanding History

from Greek and Latin historia which means information; a learning or knowing by inquiry; narrative of past
events, account, tale or story.
a process of creation or a formation of culture, specifically a natural culture. ~ Nick Joaquin
An account of the unchanging past. ~ Aristotle
History is the unending dialogue between the past and the present. ~ E.H. Carr
In its broadest sense, history is the study of past events.
The recording and analysis of experiences of a society comprise the totality of a peoples history.
the use of correlated disciplines is necessary to understand the reasons and consequence of human actions.
Challenge and response theory of Arnold Toynbee presents that man responds to situation placed before him.
Thus, mankinds approach in coping with challenges determines history.
According to Toynbee, history reflects the progress of civilizations and societies.
The past is a succession of civilization and not of political entities
General pattern: GROWTH, BREAKDOWN, and DISSOLUTION.
The failure of a civilization to survive was a result of its inability to respond to challenges.
The exchange theory of Alvin Scaff on the other hand refers to the systematic statement of principles that
govern the exchange of goods (tangible and intangible) between individuals, between groups, between
organizations, and even nations.
For G.W.F Hegel, an idea is the moving force of history. He believes that man has a task to do so that events
may happen. Hegels role of the historical man follows a principle, which he called Weltgeist or world spirit,
which embodies ideals like patriotism, heroism, and unity.
Karl Marxs the materialist concept of history asserts that the prevailing economic system determines tha form
of societal organization and the political and intellectual history of the epoch, which thus attribute actions and
events in history to economic motives.
Another approach to historical studies is the method of historiography developed by Fernand Braudel.
According to Braudel, human actions are not only based on human decision but also of structures that may be
natural or man-made.
to achieve total history is to integrate all aspects of mans past.
For Rizal, history offers the key to national identity and the basis for future development.
Teodoro Agoncillo, considered the father of Filipino nationalist historiography, wrote the conditions of
Philippines past by analyzing the conditions of the masses.
Agoncillos works where reactions to the traditional presentations of Philippine history being colonial and elitist.
On the other hand, Renato Constatino defined history as the recorded struggle of people for ever increasing
freedom, and for higher realization of the human person.
He presents the idea of the associated man, a man who interacts with nature and other men.
History is not just presenting a long, unbroken chain of events but instead, it illustrates movement of people and
ideas over time and space.
for William Dilthey absolute objectivity is inconceivable, for our views will always be tainted by external factors
and thus creating subjectivity.

2. Sources of History

Sources of information provide the evidence from which the historian obtain facts about the past.
Religious orders which chronicled the history of the Philippines include Augustinian, Franciscans, Dominicans,
Jesuits, and Recollects.
Fray Pedro Chirino (1604) a Jesuit, and Fray Juan Plasencia (1589) are among the religious friars who recorded
observations of Filipino Society and culture.
Filipino Muslims were also able to preserve written materials of great historical value such as the sarsila or
tarsila and kitab.
Philippine Insurgent Records (Philippine Revolutionary Records) represents the records during the US
suppression of Filipino from 1899-1903.
Important repository of Filipiniana material is the National Library, which later separated into two entities, the
National Library and the National Museum.
Historical Data Papers or Provincial Histories are records of history and culture of localities collected by teachers
to replace government records destroyed during World War II.
Sources of history may be classified as primary and secondary.
Primary sources are those who have witnessed the event that took place or have been part of the incident being
studied.
Secondary sources are sources have not been part of the event being considered. It also refers to articles
written about the primary sources.
Archeology studies and reconstructs the cultural events of the past through the material remains left by people.
Archeologists study artifacts and fossils.
Archeological excavation refers to the systematic recovery and study of these pieces of material evidence.
Archeology gives us an idea on how things might have looked like at a particular time.
Archeologists who made significant contributions in the development of Philippine history are the following:
o Alfred Marche
o Feodor Jagor
o Carl Guthe
o Henry Otley Beyer
o Von Koenigswald
o Wilhelm Solheim II
o Robert Fox and Alfredo Evangelista
o Neil McIntosh
o Marcelino Maceda
o Samuel Briones
o Karl Hutterer and Rosa Tenazas
o Cecilia Locsin, Maria Isabel Ongpin, and Socorro Paterno
o Avelino Legaspi

3. Unhistorical Data

There were some narratives that have been previously accepted in Philippine History as facts but later were
found out to be historical errors.
These unhistorical accounts include the Maragtas (story), the Code of Kalantiaw, and Legend of Princess Urduja.