Philippine History Module 3

Study Notes

Historians use facts from primary sources to draw their own readings, making sense of the past for their intended audience.
Not all primary sources are accessible to the general audience, and without proper training, non-historians may misinterpret sources.
Interpretations of the past vary depending on who reads the primary source, when it was read, and how it was read.
Historical interpretations change over time, making it essential to track these changes to understand the past.

Multiperspectivity is a way of looking at historical events, personalities, developments, cultures, and societies from different perspectives.
Each perspective can be equally valid and partial, containing discrepancies, contradictions, and ambiguities.
Exploring multiple perspectives in history requires incorporating source materials that reflect different views of an event.
Different sources can provide different historical truths, and different historical agents can create different historical truths.

The site of the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines is a topic of debate, with Butuan and Limasawa as the two main contenders.
Butuan has been believed to be the site for three centuries, based on an elementary reading of primary sources.
A more nuanced reading of the available evidence suggests that Limasawa may be the correct site.
Primary sources:
- Albo's Logbook
- Pigafetta's Testimony on the Route of Magellan's Expedition
- Evidence from the Legazpi expedition
Evidence for Limasawa:
- Albo's account of the location of Mazava
- Pigafetta's testimony and map
- The two native kings
- The seven days at "Mazaua"
- Argument from omission
Evidence for Masao:
- The name of the place
- The route from Homonhon
- The latitude position
- The geographical features (bonfire, balanghai, house, abundance of gold, and developed settlement)

The Cavite Mutiny and the martyrdom of the three priests (GOMBURZA) are significant events in Philippine history.
The event has caused ripples throughout time, directly influencing the Revolution at the end of the century.
There are different perspectives on the event, supported by primary sources:
- Spanish Perspective:
  - Documentation by Spanish historian Jose Montero y Vidal
  - Official Report of Governor General Rafael Izquierdo
- Filipino Perspective:
  - Account of Dr. Trinidad Hermenegildo Pardo de Tavera
  - Account of French writer Edmund Plauchut
Basic facts that remained unvarying:
- Dissatisfaction among workers of the arsenal and native army
- Rigid policies introduced by Gen. Izquierdo
- Failure of the Central Government to conduct an investigation
- Active participation of Filipino clergy in the secularization movement

Jose Rizal is a hero of the revolution, and his writings aimed to end colonialism and liberate Filipino minds.
A document, known as "The Retraction," allegedly written by Rizal a few hours before his execution, declares his belief in the Catholic faith and retracts everything he wrote against the church.
There are four interactions of the texts of this retraction:
- Published in La Voz Española and Diario de Manila
- Appeared in Barcelona, Spain, in the magazine La Juventud
- Found in the archdiocesan archives
- The Balaguer Testimony
Doubts on the retraction document abound, especially since only an eyewitness account of the writing of the document exists – that of Fr. Vicente Balaguer.
Other eyewitness accounts and critical analyses:
- The Testimony of Cuerpo de Vigilancia
- Fr. Pio Pi's Statement
- Rafael Palma's Critical Analysis
- Austin Coates's Critical Analysis