Chapter 1
Foundations of History
Why study history?
Marvin Perry in 1988, enumerated the reasons why we need to study history.
• To learn about our past. As we study Philippine history, we would learn
about the challenges and achievements of our ancestors in different
periods of time.
• To understand the present. The more knowledge you gain of the past, the
more insight you will have of the present.
• To appreciate our heritage in a broad perspective. Knowledge of
Philippine history will give you an even greater appreciation of your
heritage.
• To acquire a background for critical thinking. Problems and their solution
are central to any survey of history.
The Meaning of History
1.
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Yesterday of Mankind.
History is the yesterday of mankind;
It is the memory of Filipino both living and dead;
Without knowledge of yesterday, without any memory, there is no guide
to tomorrow.
2. Record of the past.
• One certain thing in history is that conditions change;
• Filipinos believe that the changes can become progress – movement
toward a goal, a better world in which Filipinos can live securely,
meaningfully, nobly;
• Without a guide, without direction, change may be aimless and
meaningless.
3. The story of all Filipinos.
• It is a dramatic account of what had happened to actual men and women
as they strove and searched for the good life.
• It tries to tell not only what happened, why it happened.
4. Historical forces. History has often been shaped by
certain forces
• Geography. The influence of the environment;
• Economy. The kind of living they had;
• Politics. How they governed themselves;
• Education. How science, invention and research played
an important part in their lives;
• Religion. How religion influenced the lives of men;
• Humanities. How the arts – literature, painting,
sculpture, architecture and music reflected the people
who created them;
• Wars. How did men seek peaceful solutions to their
conflicts; and
• Civilization. What led to their rise, fall and decline.
History Defined
It is the scientific discipline, which deals with
the study of significant events in the past in
order to ascertain the truth.
This includes records or accounts usually
written in a sequential arrangement of past
events especially those concerning a particular
nation, people, or field of knowledge as well
as activities.
Two types of historical epoch:
1. Pre-historic past.
• Refers to the time before man invented writing.
• Historians rely on physical evidences like skeletal remains,
fossils and artifacts to ascertain what really transpired
during this period.
2. Historic past.
• Refers to the period where events are recorded through
written documents.
• This period is divided into the ancient past, the medieval or
middle ages, the modern period, and the post modern
period.
How is History Made?
All history (except pre-history) is written in
one way or the other, meaning committed to a
document or documented.
Sources of Historical Data
There are at least five sources of historical data:
1. Written sources. Everything that is written; for
example, letters, diaries, contracts, bulletins,
newspaper accounts, journals, wills, testaments,
books, periodicals, and others.
2. Orally transmitted materials. Everything that is
unwritten and passed on through word or mouth;
for example, myths, folklore, legends, tula,
balagtasan, folksongs, kwentong bayan, pabula,
and others.
3. Artistic production. Such as historical paintings,
portraits, vases, carvings, engravings, sketches,
woven tapestries, and the like.
4. Electronic data. Everything produced through the
use of energy like films, documentaries, radio,
television, computer data, and others.
5. Relics and remains. Include fossils, artifacts,
bones, vases, potteries, language, traditions,
buildings, roads, bridges, trails, and others.
Causative Interpretation of History
Why is there history? What causes a historical event to
happen? These questions have haunted man ever since
the advent of civilization. In various times and in
different places, man has attempted to answer these
philosophical questions.
• According to the Greeks and the Romans, historical
events are determined by fate and destiny; hence, we
cannot do something about it.
• The Christian View of History. There is a divine
concern for the welfare of mankind. All histories will
lead to the universality of a true religion.
• Voltaire. Does not believe in the existence of a divine
creature. Instead, he believes that history is the results
of chance and fortuity.
• Hegel. Formulated the materialistic conception of
history. Hegel’s doctrine was that every epoch in
history was inspired and dominated by some specific
idea.
• The Darwinian theory of evolution as applied to
history, means that in a social institutions, as well as in
animal kingdom, the rule of the survival of the fittest
applies and that acquired characteristics of society are
passed on to succeeding generations.
• The Marxian philosophy applied to history is that
the mode
of production in economic life
primarily determines the general character of the
social, political and cultural processes of life,
which shifts as the economic foundation changes.
• Since the World War of 1914-1918, a rhythm
philosophy explains history as a series of
pulsations, the swing and counter-swing of the
pendulum, a series of summer-fall-winter-spring
seasons, with the present period representing a
very bleak season in civilization and world affairs.
History and Changes
History is only possible because of changes of
whatever kind. Without any changes, there
would be no history because something that is
inert, dormant and dead cannot produce any
kind of change.