1. Understanding History
A. Definition and Significance of History: History is
1. Etymological Meaning: History is from Greek and Latin word historia which means information; a
learning or knowing by inquiry; narrative of past events, account, tale or story.
2. History as defined by Authors/ Known Personalities
Authors/ Individuals Definition and Significance of History
Nick Joaquin A process of creation or a formation of culture, specifically a natural
culture.
Aristotle An account of the unchanging past.
E.H. Carr History is the unending dialogue between the past and the present.
De Kooning, Willem The past does not influence me; I influence it.
Gardner, John W. History never looks like history when you are living through it.
Kierkegaard, Søren Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backward.
McCullough, David History is who we are and why we are the way we are.
Tomlin, Lily Maybe if people started to listen, history would stop repeating itself.
Jose Rizal History offers the key to national identity and the basis for future
development.
3. Broad Definitions of History
 History is the study of past events.
 The recording and analysis of experiences of a society comprise the totality of a people’s
history.
 The use of correlated disciplines is necessary to understand the reasons and consequence of
human actions.
 Ang Kasaysayan ay pagsasalaysay ng isang sanaysay na may saysay.
B. Theories explaining how and why events happen in societies
1. Challenge and Response Theory (Arnold Toynbee)
 Man responds to situation placed before him. Thus, mankind’s approach in coping with
challenges determines history.
 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.
2. Exchange Theory (Alvin Scaff)
 It 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.
3. Role of Historical Man (George Wilhelm Hegel)
 Man has a task to do so that events may happen.
 The role of the historical man follows a principle, which he called Weltgeist or world spirit, which
embodies ideals like patriotism, heroism, and unity.
4. Materialistic Concept of History (Karl Marx)
 The prevailing economic system determines that form of societal organization and the political
and intellectual history of the epoch, which thus attribute actions and events in history to
economic motives.
5. Method of Historiography (Fernand 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 man’s past.
6. Analyzing Conditions of the Masses (Teodoro Agoncillo- Father of Filipino Nationalist
Historiography)
 Philippine past should be written by analyzing the situation of the masses.
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2. 7. Philippine History as People’s History (Renato Constatino)
 History is “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.
C. Sources of History: Information provide the evidence from which the historian obtain facts about the past.
1. Early Sources of Philippine History
 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.
 Sarsila- Genealogical records of the datus or sultans of Sulu to preserve the lineage
of the ruling class
 Tarsila- Genealogical records of the datus or sultans of Maguindanao to preserve
the lineage of the ruling class
 Kitab- A book attributed to the late Hadji Butu Abdul Baqui, Wazir of Sulu Sultanate,
who tried to record the historical and personal events of his time.
 Philippine Insurgent Records (Philippine Revolutionary Records) represents the records during
the US suppression of Filipino from 1899-1903.
2. Laws pertaining to the Repository of Filipiniana Materials
 Public Law Act No. 1935- Creation of the Philippine Library, to consolidate all libraries in the
Philippine Colonial Government
 Public Law No. 3477- Separation of National Museum and National Library
 Executive Order No. 486, s. 1951 (Pres. Elpidio Quirino) & Executive Order No. 39, s. 1963
(Pres. Diosdado Macapagal)- Collection of histories and customs of each locality by public
school teachers. These records were known as the Historical Data Papers or Provincial
Histories, intended to replace government records destroyed during WWII.
3. Classifications of Historical Sources
 Primary sources are those who have witnessed the event that took place or have been part of
the incident being studied. These include written records (e.g. narratives, manuscripts, public
documents, letters, and diaries) fossils, artifacts, and testimony from living witnesses.
 Secondary sources are sources have not been part of the event being considered. It also
refers to articles written about the primary sources (e.g. magazines, newspapers, pamphlets,
typescripts, and 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:
-
Archaeologists Contribution
Alfred Marche He conducted the first major expedition on archaeological undertakings
in the Philippines particularly at Marinduque and other sites in Central
Philippines.
Feodor Jagor A German traveler reported having encountered a priest in Naga,
Camarines Sur who collected artifacts from ancient graveyards.
Carl Guthe He led the team of the 2nd
major archaeological expedition at Palawan,
Bohol, Northern Mindanao and other places in Central Philippines to
collect Chinese ceramics exported to Philippines from China.
Henry Otley Beyer He published the Outline Review of Philippine Archaeology by Islands
and Provinces, a pioneering research activity in Philippine prehistory.
Von Koenigswald He retrieved a fossilized tooth of a dwarf elephant in Cabarruyan Island
in Lingayen Gulf. He named the specie of the dwarf elephant as Elephas
Beyeri after H. Otley Beyer, the Father of Philippine Archaeology and
Prehistory. He is a Paleontologist known for his work on Java Man.
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3. Wilhelm Solheim II He conducted the 1st
postwar excavations in Masbate Island from 1951-
1953. Alfredo evangelista and E. Arsenio Manuel assisted him.
Robert Fox and Alfredo
Evangelista
They recovered tradeware ceramics from China and Thailand in
Calatagan. Robert Fox conducted a systematic arcaeological work in
Cagayan Valleywere new fossil discoveries such as those of crocodiles,
giant tortoise, pigs, and deer were found in Cagayan.
Neil McIntosh He undertook the analysis and x-rays of the Tabon skull cap and
mandible in 1975.
Marcelino Maceda He is from San Carlos University who conducted archaeological
excavations at Kulaman Plateau in Bukidnon and recovered a number of
limestone burial jars.
Samuel Briones A graduate student of Silliman University who reported the presence of
the limestone burial jars in several caves he visited in 1966.
Karl Hutterer and Rosa
Tenazas
Both form San Carlos University who recovered prehistoric artifacts in
the middle of Cebu City.
Cecilia Locsin, Maria Isabel
Ongpin, and Socorro
Paterno
The team of students from Ateneo de Manila who conducted
archaeological diggings from 1968- 1970 at Lemery, Batangas.
Avelino Legaspi Toigether with Wilhelm Solheim II, they dug in the area of Davao del Sur
were they found tools made from large sheels, manufactured through a
flaking technique similar to that used in making stone tools.
D. 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.
- Story of Maragtas- It is about the 10 Malay Datu from Borneo who settled into the Philippine
Islands.
- Code of Kalantiaw- It was said to be a set of ancient laws promulgated in 1433 by Datu
Bendara Kalantiaw of Aklan, the 3rd
Muslim ruler of Panay.
- Legend of Princess Urduja- It is about the legendary woman warrior named Urduja. She has
been adopted as a symbol of a woman of distinguished courage, an inspiration for women in
the country.
References:
Halili, Maria Christine N. (2010) Philippine history. Manila: Rex Bookstore, Inc.
Quotations about history. http://www.quotegarden.com/history.html. Date Retrieved: June 24, 2013
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