Understanding History Definitions

Defining History

• The American Historical Association currently defines history in a way that is not specified in the text.
• The essence of history, according to Sebastian and Rosales (2008), is not specified in the text.
• The classic definition of history, according to Zeus Salazar, is not specified in the text.
• History is considered valuable by Collingwood (1976) because it provides a means to understand the human experience.

Etymology and Dictionary Definition

• The term 'history' originates from the Greek word "historia", meaning "inquiry" or "knowledge obtained by investigation".
• According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, history refers to "the study of past events, particularly in human affairs" or "the record of past events and human affairs".

Perspectives on History

• Salazar emphasizes that the essence of history depends on whose history is being narrated, highlighting the importance of perspective and bias in historical accounts.
• According to Peter Stearns (1998), history provides a means to understand the past and its relationship to the present.
• Aristotle defined history as a form of poetry that deals with the particular, rather than the universal.

Historical Sources

• Salazar's definition implies that the entirety of the past is subjective and dependent on the narrator's perspective.
• According to Louis Gottschalk, a primary source constitutes a document or artifact that was created during the time period being studied.
• A type of historical source is an artifact, which can be a physical object, document, or other item that provides evidence of the past.
• A newspaper article is not considered a primary source, but rather a secondary source.

Archives and Depositories

• The ties between the Philippines and the Viceroyalty of New Spain ended during the Spanish colonial period.
• Historical sources that ended up in the British Museum after a brief period of British occupation include documents and artifacts from the Philippines.
• The National Library of the Philippines houses a wide array of general and rare collections on Philippine history, including the Historical Data Papers and the Philippine Revolutionary Records.
• The Archivo General de Indias in Spain offers free access to digitized copies of documents and other sources through the Portal de Archivos Españoles (PARES).
• The Biblioteca Nacional de España is a Spanish depository associated with the Spanish government's launch of the Portal de Archivos Españoles (PARES).