CARAMOAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Caramoan, Camarines Sur

Instructor: Ms. Aleli Ann S. Sceretario – BEED I

Subject:

(Reading in Philippine History)

MODULES 4
Analysis of Selected Primary Sources in
Philippine History

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of Unit 1, pre-service teachers should be able to:

1. Familiarize oneself with the primary documents in different historical

period of the Philippines.

2. Learn history through sources.

3. Properly interpret and understand the primary sources through

examining the content and context of the documents.
 Pre-test

1. Portuguese navigator who led the first voyage around the world.
a. Ferdinand Magellan
b. Pigafetta
c. Theodore Cachey
d. Francisco Chericati

2. Author of “Customs of the Tagalogs”

a. Emilio Jacinto
b. Pigafetta
c. Theodore Cachey
d. Fray de Plasencia

3. Most houses of the Tagalogs were made of

a. cement
b. tiles
c. bamboo
d. metals

4. Author of “Kartilya ng Kaptipunan”

a. Emilio Jacinto
b. Pigafetta
c. Theodore Cachey
d. Fray de Plasencia
5. Author of Philippine Cartoons
a. Alfred Theodore and Alfred Cachey
b. Alfred de Asis and Alfred Madrid
c. Alfred McCoy and Alfred Rocess
d. Alfred Sy and Alfred Neo
 Activity – Let’s Read These

A. Planting rice – Fernando Amorsolo

Mayon is a celebrated symbol of the Philippines, and its presence in Amorsolo's

painting emphasizes his wish to represent the spirit of the nation on canvas.
'Planting Rice with Mayon Volcano' is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of
Manila.

PLANTING RICE

Analysis – Let’s Analyze

In your own point of view, what deeper meaning does the painter
wants to portray from the painting?
 Abstraction – Let’s Conceptualize

In this module, we are going to look into a number of primary sources from
different historical periods and evaluate these documents content in terms of historical value, and
examine the context of their production.
The primary sources that we are going to examine are:

 Antonio Pigafetta’s “First Voyage around the World”,

 Customs of the Tagalogs
 Emilio Jacinto’s “Kartilya ng Katipunan”,
 The 1898 Declaration of Philippine Independence,
 Political Cartoon’s Alfred McCoys,
 Corazon Aquino’s Speech before the US Congress
 Works of Luna and Amorsolo

These primary sources range from chronicles, official documents, speeches and
cartoons to visual arts.
These types of sources require different kinds of analysis and contain different
levels of importance.

Antonio Pigafetta’s “First Voyage around the

World
The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan led the first voyage around the world,
beginning in 1519. Sailing southward along the coast of South America, Magellan discovered
the strait that today bears his name became the first European to enter the Pacific Ocean
from the east. Magellan died while exploring the Philippines, but his ships continued west to
complete the circumnavigation of the globe.
The following account of the difficult passage through the Strait of Magellan was
written by a member of the crew, Antonio Pigafetta. On September 8, 1522, the crew of the
Victoria cast anchor in the waters off of Seville, Spain, having just completed the first
circumnavigation of the world. On board was Antonio Pigafetta, a young Italian nobleman
who had joined the expedition three years before, and served as an assistant to Ferdinand
Magellan en route to the Moluccas Islands. Magellan was dead. The rest of the fleet was
gone: the Santiago shipwrecked, the San Antonio overtaken, the Concepcion burned and the
Trinidad abandoned.
Of the 237 sailors who departed from Seville, eighteen returned on the Victoria.
Pigafetta had managed to survive, along with his journal—notes that detailed the discovery of
the western route to the Moluccas. And along the way, new land, new peoples: on the far
side of the Pacific, the fleet had stumbled across the Marianas archipelago, and some three
hundred leagues further west, the Philippines.
Pigafetta’s journal became the basis for his 1525 travelogue, The First Voyage Around
the World. According to scholar Theodore Cachey Jr., the travelogue represented “the
literary epitome of its genre” and achieved an international reputation.
One of Pigafetta’s patrons, Francesco Chiericati, called the journal “a divine thing”
and Shakespeare himself seems to have been inspired by work: Setebos, a deity invoked in
Pigafetta’s text by men of Patagonia, makes an appearance in The Tempest. First Voyage,
Cachey points out, is intent on marveling at what it encounters—and therein lies much of its
appeal.
 It is a work that is intent on wonder. On astonishment. In travel writing, one often must
recreate the first moment of newness, that fresh sense of awe, on the page for the reader;
Pigafetta does it again and again, by reveling in odd and odder bits of detail. We watch
Pigafetta wonder at trees in Borneo whose leaves appear to walk around once shed, leaves
that "have no blood, but if one touches them they run away. I kept one of them for nine days
in a box. When I opened the box, that leaf went round and round it. I believe those leaves live
on nothing but air.” We marvel, in the Philippines, at sea snails capable of felling whales, by
feeding on their hearts once ingested.
On a stop in Brazil, we see an infinite number of parrots, monkeys that look like lions,
and "swine that have their navels on their backs, and large birds with beaks like spoons and
no tongues". And yet, the very newness that can give travel writing so much of its power
creates problems of its own. For the travel writer there is, on the one hand, the authority of his
or her observational eye, and on the other, the call for humility in confronting the unknown.
Pigafetta, encountering a new people, tries to earn his authority through a barrage of detail.
He attempts to reconstruct their world for us--what they look like, where they live, what they
eat, what they say--he gives us pages and pages of words, from Patagonia, from Cebu, from
Tidore. But there is little humility, and one can hardly expect there to be so, not early in
sixteenth century, a few decades after the Pope had divided the unchartered world between
Spain and Portugal,and certainly not on this expedition, where Magellan and his partners
have been promised, in a contract agreement with the Spanish monarchy, the titles of
Lieutenants and Governors over the lands they discover, for themselves and their heirs, in
perpetuity. And cash sums.

CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS

- Written by Fray de Plasencia in 1589 and currently kept in Archivo General de
Indias in Seville, Spain. Its English version appeared on Volume VII of Blair and
Robertson’s collection of Spanish documents. It contains extensive information
about political and socio cultural history of Tagalog region.

- It discusses the early Tagalogs:

1. Social Classes

Datu, Maharlika, Timawa, Alipin (Namamahay and Saguiguilir)

2. Houses

Made of bamboo, wood and nipa palm

3. Ornaments

Adds distinction to a person (Kalumbiga and Agimat)

4. Dressing

Male: Putong, Kangan, Bahag

Female: Baro, Saya

5. Government

Barangay System (30-100 families)

 6. Marriage

Paninilbihan, Bigay-kaya, Panghihimuyat, Bigay-suso

7. Religious beliefs (Paganism/Animism)

Badhala (Supreme Being), Idayanale (Agriculture), Sidapa (death),

Agni (fire), Balangaw (rainbow), Mandarangan (war), Lalahon
(harvest), Siginaguran (hell)

8. Economic life

Agriculture, fishing, hunting, shipbuilding, foreign trades

9. Language

Baybayin

10. Burials

Normal people buried beside their house. Datu buried under a porch
after a four-day mourning. Mourning was accompanied by drinking.

11. Witchcraft

Mancocolam. Hocloban, Manggagauay, Tigbalang, Patianac

KARTILA NG KATIPUNAN
- Written by Emilio Jacinto in 1896.

- Codified document listing the duties and responsibilities of every Katipunan

member.

- It was influenced by:

a. Age of Enlightenment

b. French Revolution

c. Masonry

d. Propaganda Movement

e. La Liga Filipina
THE 1898 DECLARATION OF PHILIPPINE
INDEPENDENCE
“During the Spanish-American War, Filipino rebels led by Emilio Aguinaldo proclaim
the independence of the Philippines after 300 years of Spanish rule. By mid-August, Filipino
rebels and U.S. troops had ousted the Spanish, but Aguinaldo’s hopes for independence
were dashed when the United States formally annexed the Philippines as part of its peace
treaty with Spain.”
“The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were
ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines
became a self-governing commonwealth. Manuel QUEZON was elected president and was
tasked with preparing the country for independence after a 10-year transition. In 1942 the
islands fell under Japanese occupation during World War II, and US forces and Filipinos
fought together during 1944-45 to regain control. On 4 July 1946 the Republic of the
Philippines attained its independence.”
On June 12, between four and five in the afternoon, Aguinaldo, in the presence of a
huge crowd, proclaimed the independence of the Philippines at Cavite el Viejo (Kawit). For
the first time, the Philippine National Flag, made in Hongkong by Mrs. Marcela Agoncillo,
assisted by Lorenza Agoncillo and Delfina Herboza, was officially hoisted and the Philippine
National March played in public. The Act of the Declaration of Independence was prepared
by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, who also read it. A passage in the Declaration reminds one
of another passage in the American Declaration of Independence. The Philippine Declaration
was signed by ninety-eight persons, among them an American army officer who witnessed
the proclamation. The proclamation of Philippine independence was, however, promulgated
on August 1 when many towns has already been organized under the riles laid down by the
Dictatorial Government.
PHILIPPINE CARTOONS: POLITICAL CARICATURE OF THE AMERICAN ERA

- Written by Alfred McCoy and Alfred Rocess.

- American period in the Philippines provided Leeway in the publication of
independent newspapers but in strict manner.
- The censorship loosened when civil government was established in 1901.
- Many Filipino artists made us of cartoons as political commentaries to expose the
ills of the American colonial government.
- McCoy provided an analysis of the issues during American period through cartoons
and Roces compiled these cartoons on a book.
* Lipag-kalabaw (Tagalog and Spanish newspaper with satiric cartoons)
* El Renacimiento (campaigned for the right of free press)
* La Vanguardia (survived until WW2 and one of Manila’s leading newspapers)
CORAZON AQUINO’S SPEECH BEFORE THE US CONGRESS
(September 18, 1986)
- Written by Corazon Aquino as she was invited by the US Congress to convene a
Joint Meeting for the purpose of hearing an address from a foreign leader
- The speech was delivered seven months after being sworn into office under
revolutionary government

The speech targeted two goals:

1. To express gratitude towards US for helping Filipinos regain freedom from Marcos
dictatorship
2. To seek help from US in restoring government, considering her decision to honor the
foreign debts the Philippines incurred during Marcos administration

WORKS OF LUNA AND AMORSOLO

Juan Luna’s Paintings
- Illustrates literary and historical scenes that carried political commentaries

Spoliarium The Death of Cleopatra

The blood compact Las Damas Romanas

Fernando Amosolo’s paintings

- Depicted life during late American period and Japanese occupation in the country,
and also other focused on rural landscapes

Dalagang Bukid Making of the Philippine flag

The Mestiza The bombing of intendencia

 Application – Let’s Apply

Differentiate the works of Juan Luna and Fernando Amorsolo based on the
meanings that they want to portray from their paintings.
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Let’s Check for Understanding

1. In our present situation now a days, how are you going to explain in your
own words, the importance of Corazon Aquino’s speech?

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2. Choose one primary source from the seven(7) given above. Then give your own
meaning and appreciation with that piece.
Let’s Reflect
Double Entry Journal
Two things I learned from this My thought/s or reaction/s
Chapter
 Based from the ideas of the historians you learned in this lesson, write a reflection
paper on how these ideas help you or will help you as a student and as a future
professional.

(Title of your Paper)

REFLECTION PAPER NO. 1

(Post-Test)
1. Portuguese navigator who led the first voyage around the world.
a. Ferdinand Magellan
b. Pigafetta
c. Theodore Cachey
d. Francisco Chericati

2. Author of “Customs of the Tagalogs”

a. Emilio Jacinto
b. Pigafetta
c. Theodore Cachey
d. Fray de Plasencia

3. Most houses of the Tagalogs were made of

a. cement
b. tiles
c. bamboo
d. metals

4. Author of “Kartilya ng Kaptipunan”

a. Emilio Jacinto
b. Pigafetta
c. Theodore Cachey
d. Fray de Plasencia
5. Author of Philippine Cartoons
a. Alfred Theodore and Alfred Cachey
b. Alfred de Asis and Alfred Madrid
c. Alfred McCoy and Alfred Rocess
d. Alfred Sy and Alfred Neo
 REFERENCES

Primary Reference

- www.DepedCommons.Com

- Pallavi Talekau, Dr, Jyotremayee Nayak, Dr. S Harichandan 2019.

Reading in the Philippine History