Philippine History:
Controversies
Spaces
for
Conflict
and
Making Sense of the Past: Historical Interpretation
History- the study of the past and how it impacts the
present through its consequences.
Geoffrey Barraclough defines history “the attempt to
discover, on the basis of fragmentary evidence, the
significant things about the past."
He also notes “the history we read, though based on
facts, is strictly speaking, not factual at all, but a series of
accepted judgments.”
Historians- they utilize facts collected from primary
sources of history and then draw their own reading so
that their intended audience may understand historical
events "makes sense of the past."
Multiperspectivity- a way of looking at historical events,
personalities, developments, cultures, and societies from
different perspectives.
Historical writing- is biased, partial, and contains
preconceptions.
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Historian decides on what sources to use, what
interpretation to make more apparent,
depending on what his/her end is.
Historians may misinterpret evidence, attending
to those that suggest that a certain event
happened, and then ignore the rest that goes
against the evidence.
Historians may omit significant facts about their
subject, which makes the interpretation
unbalanced.
Historians may impose a certain ideology to their
subject, which may not be appropriate to the
period the subject was from.
Historians may also provide a single cause for an
event without considering other possible causal
explanations of said event.
Case Study 1: Where Did the First Catholic Mass Take
Place in the Philippines?
Butuan- has long been believed as the site of the first
Mass (over 3 centuries).
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culminating in the erection of a monument in
1872 near Agusan River, which commemorates
the expedition’s arrival and celebration of Mass
on 8 April 1521.
2 primary sources that historians refer to in identifying
the site of the first Mass:
1. Francisco Albo’s Log- a pilot of one of Magellan’s
ship, Trinidad. Didn’t mention mass, plantation or cross
lang in Limasawa
He was one of the 18 survivors who returned
with Sebastian Elcano on the ship Victoria after
they circumnavigated the world.
2. Account by Antonio Pigafetta- Primo viaggio
intorno al mondo (First Voyage Around the
World).
Pigafetta and Albo, was a member of the Magellan
expedition and an eyewitness of the events, the first
Mass.
Albo and Pigafetta’s testimonies coincide and
corroborate each other. Pigafetta gave more details on
what they did during their weeklong stay at Mazaua.
Case Study 2: What Happened in the Cavite Mutiny?
1872- a historic year of 2 events:
1. Cavite Mutiny - a major factor in the awakening
of nationalism among the Filipinos of that time.
2. Martyrdom of the three priests: Mariano Gomez, Jose
Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, GOMBURZA.
These events are very important milestones in Philippine
history and have caused ripples throughout time, directly
influencing the decisive events of the Philippine
Revolution toward the end of the century.
Spanish Accounts of the Cavite Mutiny
Jose Montero y Vidal (Spanish historian)– his documentation
centered on how the event was an attempt in
overthrowing the Spanish government in the Philippines.
His account of the mutiny was criticized as woefully
biased and rabid for a scholar.
Governor General Rafael Izquierdo- Another account
from the official report implicated the native clergy, who
were then, active in the movement toward secularization
of parishes.
20 January 1872- district of Sampaloc celebrated feast of the Virgin of
Loreto and came with it were some fireworks displays. The Cavitenos
allegedly mistook this as the signal to commence with the attack.
17 February 1872, the GOMBURZA were executed to serve as a threat
to Filipinos never to attempt to fight the Spaniards again.
*These two accounts corroborated each other.
Exemption from the Tribute
1. TAXATION Filipinos paid taxes to Spain
A. TRIBUTE (TRIBUTO) the Filipinos were compelled to
pay tribute called TRIBUTO, to the colonial government.
Those who paid tribute were individuals BETWEEN 16 TO
60 Y.O
B. CEDULA (Personal Identification Paper) In 1884,
Tribute was nullified and replaced by the CEDULA. The
cedula was a certificate identifying the taxpayer. It
recorded his name, age, birthplace, marital state,
occupation, place of residence, nationality and sex.
C. DIEZMOS PREDIALES or TITHES The diezmos prediales
was a tax consisting of one-tenth (1/10) of the produce
of one's land.
Polos y Servicios (force labor)
All male Filipinos (polistas) from 18 to 60 years of age
were required to give their free labor, called polo, to the
government. This labor was for 40 days a year, reduced
to 15 days in 1884.
Differing Accounts of the Events of 1872
Two other primary accounts exist that seem to counter
the accounts of Izquierdo and Montero.
1. Dr. Trinidad Hermenegildo Pardo de Tavera- a Filipino
scholar and researcher, who wrote a Filipino version of
the bloody incident in Cavite.
2. Edmund Plauchut- A French Writer, complement
Tavera account and analyzed the motivations of the 1872
Cavite Mutiny
Case Study 3: Did Rizal Retract?
Jose Rizal -a hero of the revolution for his writings that
center on ending colonialism and liberating Filipino
minds to contribute to creating the Filipino nation.
La Liga Filipina- org of Rizal
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo- His essays vilify
not the Catholic religion, but the friars.
“The Retraction”- a document declares Rizal’s belief in
the Catholic faith and retracts everything he wrote
against the Church.
The Balaguer Testimony (Fr. Vicente Balaguer)
He said Rizal woke up several times, confessed four
times, attended a Mass, received communion, and
prayed the rosary, all of which seemed out of character.
Testimony of Cuerpo de Vigilancia
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No Fr. Balaguer mentioned in the testimony.
Case Study 4: Where Did the Cry of Rebellion Happen?
Cry of Rebellion- Momentous events swept the Spanish
colonies in the late 19th century, including the
Philippines.
“El Grito de Rebelion” to mark the start of these
revolutionary events, identifying the places where it
happened.
This happened in August 1896, northeast of Manila,
where they declared rebellion against the Spanish
colonial government.
Teodoro Agoncillo- emphasizes the event when Bonifacio
tore the cedula or tax receipt before the Katipuneros who also
did the same.
Some writers identified the first military event with the
Spaniards as the moment of the Cry, for which, Emilio
Aguinaldo commissioned an “Himno de Balintawak” to inspire
the renewed struggle after the Pact of the Biak-na-Bato failed.
Cry of Balintawak- celebrated every 26th of August. The site of
the monument was chosen for an unknown reason.
Different Dates and Places of the Cry
Lt. Olegario Diaz- a guardia civil, identified the Cry to
have happened in Balintawak on 25 August 1896.
Teodoro Kalaw- Filipino historian, marks the place to be
in Kangkong, Balintawak, on the last week of August
1896.
Santiago Alvarez- a Katipunero and son of Mariano
Alvarez, leader of the Magdiwang faction in Cavite, put
the Cry in Bahay Toro in Quezon City on 24 August 1896.
Pio Valenzuela- known Katipunero and privy to many
events concerning the Katipunan stated that the Cry
happened in Pugad Lawin on 23 August 1896.
Historian Gregorio Zaide- identified the Cry to have
happened in Balintawak on 26 August 1896
Teodoro Agoncillo- put it at Pugad Lawin on 23 August
1896, according to statements by Pio Valenzuela.
Research by historians Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel
Encarnacion, and Ramon Villegas claimed that the event
took place in Tandang Sora’s barn in Gulod, Barangay
Banlat, Quezon City, on 24 August 1896.
Source:
Guillermo Masangkay, “Cry of Balintawak”
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On August 26th, a big meeting was held in
Balintawak, at the house of Apolonio Samson,
then cabeza of that barrio of Caloocan.
Pio Valenzuela, “Cry of Pugad Lawin”
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Using primary and secondary sources, four
places have been identified:
Balintawak
Kangkong
Pugad Lawin
Bahay Toro
Dates vary: 23, 24, 25, or 26 August 1896.
Valenzuela’s account- is red flag kay pa iba-iba.
Guerrero, Encarnacion, and Villegas- all these places are
in Balintawak, then part of Caloocan, now, in Quezon
City.
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As for the dates, Bonifacio and his troops may
have been moving from one place to another to
avoid being located by the Spanish government,
which could explain why there are several
accounts of the Cry.