TRINITY POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
MODULE 1 & 2– READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
These include artifacts,
drawings, paintings, sculptures
WHAT IS HISTORY and any other forms.
“An echo of the past in the future; a reflex
from LAGUNA COPPEPPLATE INSCPIPTION (LCI)
the future on the past.” — Victor Hugo FIRST LEGAL The LCI is considered to be the
HISTORY DOCUMENT first legal document recorded in
History as “a chronological record of the Philippines.
significant events (such as those affecting a The plate was found in 1989 by
nation or institution), often including an ALFREDO EVANGELISTA in
explanation of their Lumban river near in Laguna DE
causes.” BAY.
It is said to contain the release
‘History’ was derived from the Greek word of the children of Namwaran, the
‘historia’, which means “inquiry bearers, from their obligation.
or knowledge acquired by investigation.” translated by Dutch
HISTORIOGRAPHY Anthropologist Antoon Postma
Defines historiography as the Writing of in level of the Old Malay
history based on the critical examination of inscription in year 822 of the
sources, the selection of particular details Saka Era,
from the authentic materials used in those
sources, and the synthesis of the details into a
narrative that stands the test of critical
examination.
The term historiography also refers to the
theory
and history of historical Writing.
It is about the methods and practices used in
producing history, the development of history
as a discipline, or the philosophy or significance
of
Historical writing.
HISTORIAN
- a scholar who studies and writes about the
past and is regarded as an authority on it. HISTORY
Historians are concerned with the
continuous, methodical narrative and period when man started to write and record
research of past events as relating to the events using a system of writing • analyzed
human race; as well as the study of all through wood carves, engraved metals,
written papyrus, written papers
history in time.
Divisions of History
PREHISTORY
period where no written
records exist or when the
writings of people were not
preserved
• analyzed through fossils and
artifacts by Archaeologists and
Anthropologists.
Historical Sources
Primary sources are firsthand, contemporary accounts of events created
by individuals during that period of time or several years later (such as
correspondence, diaries, memoirs and personal histories). These original
records can be found in several media such as print, artwork, and audio and
visual recording. Examples of primary sources include manuscripts,
newspapers, speeches, cartoons, photographs, video, and artifacts. Primary
sources can be described as those sources that are closest to the origin of
the information. They contain raw information and thus, must be interpreted
by researchers.
Examples of Primary sources:
✓ The Jesuit historian Horacio de la Costa published “Readings in Philippine
History” in 1965, a thoughtful and well-translated compilation of primary
source materials arranged to tell the story of the Philippines.
✓ Gregorio Zaide, the most popular textbook historian of his generation,
published “Documentary Sources for Philippine History,” a 12-volume
compilation of documents annotated with the assistance of his daughter
Sonia Zaide, and now a standard reference.
✓ the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, has been quietly
publishing and reprinting key works by Apolinario Mabini, Marcelo H. del
Pilar, Artemio Ricarte, Emilio Aguinaldo, Pedro Paterno, as well as 19th-
century French travel accounts of the Philippines.
✓ First Voyage Around the World by Antonio Pigafetta
Sample situation:
If a historian wishes to study the Commonwealth Constitution Convention of
1935, his primary sources can include the minutes of the convention,
newspaper clippings, Philippine Commission reports of the U.S
Commissioners, records of the convention, the draft of the constitution, and
even photographs of the event.
Secondary sources are closely related to primary sources and often
interpret them. Secondary sources are those sources, which were produced
by an author who used primary sources to produce the material. These
sources are documents that relate to information that originated elsewhere.
Secondary sources often use generalizations, analysis, interpretation, and
synthesis of primary sources. Examples of secondary sources include
textbooks, articles, and reference books.
Examples of Secondary sources:
✓ The Revolt of the Masses by Teodoro A. Agoncillo of 1896.
✓ French Consular Dispatches on the Philippine Revolution by Ma. Luisa T.
Camagay
✓ History and Culture, Language and Literature: the selected essays of
Teodoro A. Agoncillo.
Sample situation: On the subject of the Philippine Revolution of 1896,
students can read Theodoro Agoncillo’s Revolt of the Masses: The Story of
Bonifacio and the Katipunan published originally in 1956. The Philippine
revolution happened in the last years of the nineteenth century while
Agoncillo published his work in 1956, which makes the Revolt of the Masses
a secondary source.
Note: The classification of sources between primary and secondary
depends not on the period when the source was produced or the type of the
source but on the subject of the\historical research. If a historian chooses to
write the history of education in the 1980s, he can utilize textbooks used in
that period as a primary source.