Course Description

Philippine history as viewed from the lens of selected In 1991, the Ateneo De Manila University published a
primary sources in different periods, analysis and collection of Shumacher’s essays “THE MAKING OF A
interpretations NATION: ESSAYS ON NINETEENTH CENTURY FILIPINO
NATIONALISM” which reflects the core premises of
The end goal is to enable students to understand and
Schumacher about FILIPINO NATIONAL
appreciate our rich past by deriving insights from those
CONSCIOUSNESS for over 30 years of historical writing
who were actually present at the time of the event
about the Philippines.
1. Context Analysis -Abbott, W. (2014). Demise of Fr. John N Schumacher, SJ

Consider the following:

In Search for Genuine Philippine Historical Past
 The historical context of the source (time and
place it was written and the situation at the “THERE IS A FILIPINO HISTORY BEFORE THE COLONIAL
time) ERA (1872)”
 The author’s background, intent (to the extent
Schumacher’s Arguments:
discernable), and authority on the subject
 The source’s relevance and meaning today - Lack of method than a lack of history
- Cracks in Filipino history; Spanish-dominated
2. Content Analysis
- How to put questions to the documents
 Identify the author’s main argument or thesis (unintended references)
 Compare points of view
 Identify biases
WHY IS IT SO HARD TO RETRIEVE THE GENUINE FILIPINO
 Evaluate the author’s claim based on evidences HISTORY SUCH THAT THE HISTORY WE HAVE TODAY
presented or other available evidence at the TENDS TO GLORIFY OUR COLONIZERS RATHER THAN US,
time FILIPINOS?
Mandatory topics included

 Philippine Constitution DIPESH CHAKRABARTY’S “The Difference-Deferral of a

 Agrarian Reform Colonial Mentality (1997)
 Taxation
- IMPERIAL HISTORICISM ENABLED EUROPEAN [and
AMERICAN] domination of the world in the 19th
century by positioning historical time as a measure
John N. Schumacher’s
of the cultural distance for they imposed the so-
The Historian’s Task in the Philippines
called UNIVERSAL STANDARDS OF CIVILIZATION
PROFILING THE AUTHOR: Fr. John N. Schumacher, SJ integrated through institutional developments
which alienated the other culture .
- PhD degree obtained from Georgetown University
- M.A. History degree holder
- Authored “Readings in Philippine Church History” in
THE PHILIPPINES FORMATIVE CENTURY
1979
- Died in 2016 due to cardiac arrest - According to Schumacher (1991), there is a
- Obtained full Filipino citizenship in 1976 disproportionate amount of the total research into
- Main Curriculum Developer of the subject Rizal and Philippine history has been devoted to the
the Emergence of the Philippine Nation in Ateneo Revolutionary Period and the American Colonial
- Authored the Propaganda Movement 1880-1895 period.
- Recipient of National Award on Philippine
Historiography
- M.A. Philosophy degree holder
INSIGHTS OF SCHUMACHER ABOUT THE HISTORY OF NATIONALIST HISTORY
PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION
 An expectation in every Filipino historian who
- Much attention was given about the study of friar loves his country
lands than the growth of non-friar haciendas  Nationalist History tends to OBSTRUCT, instead
- A Deeper Cultural Understanding Must Be Applied of PROMOTING, the national cause
in understanding the different regions of the
country (Negros region, Iloilo, Tagalog) in relation
with the time of American colonialism Futility of Reconstructing the Filipino Past
INSIGHTS OF SCHUMACHER ABOUT THE HISTORY OF TENDENCY:
AMERICAN COLONIALISM
Historical fiction – distortion of reality to craft an
- The real history of Revolution is still to be written idealized image
(not just Cavite, Malolos or Luzon)
- History of Revolution must be done through a VERSUS:
thorough research of each region TRULY FILIPINO HISTORY – a history of the Filipino
masses and their struggles

The Question of Objectivity in History?

CAN HISTORY BE OBJECTIVE? TRUE FILIPINO PEOPLE’S HISTORY

 History is always written from a point of view └ Filipino People as Primary Agents of their HISTORY
 Documents are NOT self-interpreting └ HISTORICAL RESEARCH THAT AIMS TO PROVIDE
SOCIAL JUSTICE to all FILIPINOS
 Historian may bring his point of views, biases and
└ Understanding ALL the ASPECTS of the
prejudices
EXPERIENCES of the FILIPINOS
 OBSERVING TRUISM IN WRITING HISTORY
└ REFORMING AND RESHAPING the society towards a
TRUISM better future
(ala 19th century approach to history)
AS EDUCATORS OF HISTORY:
History is a science with laws
WE TEACH HISTORY:
HOW?
in an attempt to discover (on the basis of
Through CRITICAL METHOD fragmentary evidence) the significant things of the past
and to create accepted, valid judgements on the
 Documentation, Assertions and Interpretation truthfulness of the historical evidences.
based on facts, Content Validity of the
document

DOCUMENTS AS SOURCES OF HISTORY

Official Documents
 Declaration of Philippine Independence from
Spain (June 12, 1898)
Memoirs and Letters
 Rizal’s Correspondence
Literary Works
 Ileto’s Pasyon and Revolution
 Using Primary sources The Source: The Basis of Our Knowledge about the Past

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription BY: Howell and Prevenier

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription What is a source?

 The Laguna Copperplate Inscription was found in  Artifacts that have been left by the past
1989 near the mouth of the Lumbang River near  Exist as relics, “remains”
Laguna de Bay , by a man who was dredging sand to  Testimonies of witnesses to the past
turn into concrete.
 Suspecting that the artifact might have some value, Relics or remains
the man sold it to an antique dealer who, having - Clue about the past by virtue of their existence
found no buyers, eventually sold it to the National - Eg. Wooden columns in prehistoric settlements
Museum of the Philippines, where it was assigned - involves all aspect of culture
to Alfredo E. Evangelista, head of
its anthropology department TESTIMONIES

- Oral or written
Antoon Postma (28 March 1929 – 22 October 2016) - Simple or complex
(example: record of property exchange,
└ Dutch anthropologist who married into and lived donations, speeches, commentaries)
among the Hanunuo, a Mangyan sub-tribe in
southeastern Mindoro, Philippines. WHAT HAPPENED
└ He is best known for being the first to decipher the HOW AND IN WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES
Laguna Copperplate Inscription, and for WHY IT OCCURRED
documenting the Hanunó'o script, paving the way historian supplements the raw material available in
for its preservation. the source

Background of the LCI Relics and testimonies

The LCI bears the Saka date of 822 or 900AD - Created for specific purpose of the age
Proof that the LCI did not originate from Java: - Relics – objects of practical use > historical source
- Testimonies – oral or written contemporary proof
- Copperplate inscriptions from the same era in Java of an act or right
bear the name of the King (at that time was King - HISTORIAN: PRINCIPAL TASK IS TO UNCOVER THE
Balitung) and are charters or Royal Decrees ORIGINAL PURPOSE OR FUNCTION OF THE RELICS
- CI from Java were written in OJ language OR TESTIMONIES THAT HAVE COME DOWN TO
POSTERITY
o The script used was the aksara Kawi or Kawi script – - PURPOSES THEY SERVE AT THE TIME CREATED
originated in Java and widely used across Southeast
Asia from 8AD- 1500AD TESTIMONIES AND ARTIFACTS
o The language used was Old Malay, Old Tagalog, and - ORIGINALLY TO SERVE AS RECORDS > intentional
some Old Java words - Other purpose > unintentional
o The LCI bore the date saka warsatita 822 waisakha o (Eg. Kennedy’s assassination filmed for
– the Saka was a dating system (calendar) private enjoyment)
- HISTORIAN: CONSIDER THE CONDITIONS UNDER
WHICH SOURCE PRODUCED

Materials should be checked based on their:

1. RELIABILITY and
2. HISTORICAL CONTEXT
HISTORICAL AND HISTORIOGRAPHICAL CONTEXTS = BIOGRAPHY – praise the subject’s worth or
HEART OF HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION achievement

SOURCES – materials from which historians construct NARRATIVE SOURCE are BROADER THAN FICTION
meanings NOVELS and POETRY

- object from the past or testimony which historians EGO DOCUMENTS – intentionality
depend >>>> create own depiction of the past
o individual perspective from which it was written
- historical work or interpretation is the result
- historical interpretation is an argument about the MEMOIRES – selective accounts
event
o (e.g. Rizal’s diary) o highly edited accounts of the life being recorded

PRIMARY SOURCES – direct or indirect You can comprehend the EXPERIENCES of the author >
POLITICAL INTENTIONS and TACTICS , IDEOLOGY and
Direct sources – letters or chronicles from 18th century CULTURE OF THE AGE
businessman
2. DIPLOMATIC SOURCES
o law code
o letters of books from an educated woman’s - Once treated as best source
study (training and intellectual interests) - Legal instrument COMPLETION OF A LEGAL
o sales of Barnes and Noble TRANSACTION, proof of juristic fact, serve as
evidence in judicial proceeding
Primary source indirect a. Issued by public authorities (kings,
pope, congress)
o Church history left by Eusebius of Caesaria (265-
b. Private parties
340)
o Interpreting first Christian history
FUNCTIONS of Diplomatic Source
HISTORIAN: RESPONSIBILITY IS TO DISTINGUISH
LAW – GIVING = ordinances, declaration of law, statutes
INFORMATION FROM SOURCE ITSELF OR A PERSONAL
INTERPRETATION JURIDICAL – judgements of courts
Source typologies, their evolution and VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS – contracts wills, social
complementarity agreements
WRITTEN SOURCES TRIPARTITE SCHEME: 3. SOCIAL DOCUMENTS
- NARRATIVE OR LITERARY - products of record keeping by bureaucracy, state
- DIPLOMATIC/JURIDICAL ministries, charitable organizations, foundations,
- SOCIAL DOCUMENTS churches and schools
- economic, social, political and judicial import
- account particular charges, meetings, business
1. NARRATIVE OR LITERARY
policy fiscal structure, social structure, political
CHRONICLES – to impart a particular message administration

SCIENTIFIC TRACT – inform contemporaries or ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE – one of the most

succeeding generations important category of unwritten evidence

NEWSPAPER – shape opinion - Culture, way of life, ambitions, commercial, socio

cultural interconnections
EGO DOCUMENT – personal narratives > justice of the
author’s action Coin hoards, paper currencies > government,
economic condition
NOVEL OR FILM TO ENTERTAIN, MORAL TEACHING,
RELIGIOUS CAUSE ORAL EVIDENCE – tales and sagas of ancient people
PROTEST SONGS, ARTISTIC PERFORMANCES

In the study of history as an academic discipline, a

primary source (also called an original source or
evidence) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript,
autobiography, recording, or any other source of
information that was created at the time under study.

Sreedharan believes that primary sources have the

most direct connection to the past and that they "speak
for themselves" in ways that cannot be captured
through the filter of secondary sources.
Sreedharan, E. (2004). A Textbook of Historiography,
500 B.C. to A.D. 2000. Orient Longman. p. 302. ISBN 81-
250-2657-6.