Readings in Philippine History Chapter 1

READINGS IN THE PHILIPPINE HISTORY CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY: DEEINITION, ISSUES, SOURCES, AND METHODOLOGY Defini on and Subject Mater History has always been known l as the study of the past, Students of general educa on o en dread the subject for its notoriety in requiring them to memor...

READINGS IN THE PHILIPPINE HISTORY CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY: DEEINITION, ISSUES, SOURCES, AND METHODOLOGY Defini on and Subject Mater History has always been known l as the study of the past, Students of general educa on o en dread the subject for its notoriety in requiring them to memorize dates, places, names, and events from distant eras, This low apprecia on of the discipline may be rooted from the shallow understanding of history's relevance to their lives and to their respec ve contexts. While the popular defini on of history as the Study of the Past is not wrong, it does not give jus ce to the complexity off the subject and its importance to human civiliza on History Was derived from the Greek word historia which means "knowledge acquired through inquiry or inves ga on" History as a discipline existed for around 2.400 years and is as old as mathema cs and philosophy. This term was then adapted to classical La n Where it acquired a new defini on. Historia became known as the account of the past of a person or of a group of people through writen documents and historical evidences. That meaning stuck un l the early parts of the twen eth century. History became an important academic discipline. It became the historian's duty to write about the lives of Important individuals like monarchs, heroes, saints, and nobili es. History was also focused on wri ng about wars, revolu ons, and other important breakthroughs. It is thus important to ask: What counts as history? Tradi onal historians lived with the mantra of "no document, no history" t means that unless a writen document can prove a certain historical event, then it cannot be considered as a historical fact. But as any other academic disciplines, history progressed and opened up to the possibility of valid historical sources, which were not limited to writen documents, like government records, chroniclers' accounts, or personal leters. Giving premium to writen documents essen ally invalidates the history of other civiliza ons that do not keep writen records. Some were keener on passing their history by word of mouth. Others got their historical documents burned or destroyed in the events of war or coloniza on. Restric ng historical evidence as exclusively writen is also discrimina on against other social classes who were not recorded in paper. Nobili es, monarchs. the elite., and even the middle class would have their birth, educa on, marriage, and death as maters of government and historical record But what of peasant families or indigenous groups who were not given much thought about being registered to government records? Does the absence of writen documents about them mean that they were people of no history or past? Did they even exist? This loophole was recognized by historians who started using other kinds of historical sources, which may not be in writen form but were just as valid. A few of these examples are oral tradi ons in forms of epics and songs, ar facts, architecture, and memory. History thus became more inclusive and started collabora ng with other disciplines as its auxiliary disciplines. With the aid of archaeologists, historians can use ar facts from a bygone era to study ancient civiliza ons that were formerly ignored in history because of lack of documents. Linguists can also be helpful in tracing historical evolu ons, past connec ons among different groups, and flow of cultural influence by studying language and the changes that it has undergone. Even scien sts like biologists and biochemists can help with the study of the past through analyzing gene c and DNA paterns of human socie es. Ques ons and Issues in History Indeed, history as a discipline has already turned into a complex and dynamic inquiry. This dynamism inevitably produced various perspec ves on the discipline regarding different ques ons like: What is history? Why study history? And history for whom? These ques ons can be answered by historiography. In simple terms, historiography is the history of history. History and historiography should not be confused with each other. The former's object of study is the past, the events that happened in the past, and the causes of such events. The later's object of study, on the other hand, is history itself (i.e., How was a certain historical text writen? Who wrote it? What was the context of its publica on? What par cular historical method was employed? What were the sources used?). Thus, historiography lets the students have a beter understanding of history. They do not only get to learn historical facts, but they are also provided with the understanding of the facts' and the historian's contexts. The methods employed by the historian and the theory and perspec ve, which guided him, will also be analyzed. Historiography is important for someone who studies history because it teaches the student to be cri cal in the lessons of history presented to him. History has played various roles in the past. States use history to unite a na on. It can be used as a tool to legi mize regimes and forge a sense of collec ve iden ty through collec ve memory. Lessons from the past can be used to make sense of the present. Learning of past mistakes can help people to not repeat them. Being reminded of a great past can inspire people to keep their good prac ces to move Posi vism is the school of thought that emerged between the eighteenth and nineteenth century. This thought requires empirical and forward. observable evidence before one can claim that a par cular knowledge is true. Posi vism also entails an objec ve means of arriving at a conclusion. In the discipline of history, the mantra "no document, no history" stems from this very same truth, where historians were required to show writen primary documents in order to write a par cular historical narra ve. Posi vist historians are also expected to be objec ve and impar al not just in their arguments but also on their conduct of historical research. Postcolonialism is a school of thought that emerged in the early twen eth century when formerly colonized na ons grappled with the idea of crea ng their iden es and understanding their socie es against the shadows of their colonial past. Post colonial history looks at two things in wri ng history: first is to tell the history of their na on that will highlight their iden ty free from that of colonial discourse and knowledge, and second is to cri cize the methods. effects, and idea of colonialism. Postcolonial history is there fore a reac on and an alterna ve to the colonial history that colonial powers created and taught to their subjects. I1 history Is writen with agenda or is heavily influenced by the historian, is it possible to come up with an absolute historical truth? Is History and the Historian history an objec ve discipline? If it is not, is it s ll worthwhile to study history? These ques ons have haunted historians for many genera ons. Indeed, an exact and accurate account of the past is impossible for the very simple reason that we cannot go back to the past. We cannot access the past directly as our subject mater. Historians only get to access representa on of the past through historical sources and evidences. sources and evidences. There fore, it is the historian’s job not just to seek historical evidences and facts but also to interpret these facts. "Facts cannot speak lo themselves " It is the job of the historian to give meaning to these facts and organize them into a meline, establish causes, and write history. Meanwhile, the historian is not a blank paper who mechanically interprets and analyzes present historical fact. He is a person of his own who is influenced by his own context, environment, ideology, educa on, and influences, among others. In that sense, his interpreta on of the historical fact is affected by his context and circumstances. His subjec vity will inevitably influence the process of his historical research: the methodology that he will use, the facts that he shall select and deem relevant, his interpreta on, and even the form of his wri ngs. Thus, in one way or another, history is always subjec ve. If that is so, can history s ll be considered as an academic and scien fic inquiry? Historical research requires rigor. Despite the fact that historians cannot ascertain absolute objec vity, the study of history remains scien fic because of the rigor of research and methodology that historians employ. Historical methodology comprises certain techniques and rules that historians follow in order to properly u lize sources and historical evidences in wri ng history. Certain rules apply in cases of conflic ng accounts in different sources, and on how to properly treat eyewitness accounts and oral sources as valid historical evidence. In doing so, historical claims done by historians and the arguments that they forward in their historical wri ngs5, while may be influenced by the historian's inclina ons, can s ll be validated by using reliable evidences and employing correct and me culous historical methodology. The Annales School of History is a school of history born in France that challenged the canons of history. This school of thought did away with the common historical subjects that were almost always related to the conduct of states and monarchs. Annales scholars like Lucien Febvre, Marc Bloch, Fernand Braudel, and Jacques Le Goff studied other subjects in a historical manner. They were concerned with social history and studied longer historical periods. For example, Annales scholars studied he history of peasantry, the history of medicine, or even the history of environment. The history from below was pioneered by the same scholars. They advocated that the people and classes who were not reflected in the history of the society in the grand manner be provided with space in the records of mankind. In doing this, Anales thinkers married history with other disciplines like geography, anthropology, archaeology. and linguis cs. For example, if a historian chooses to Use an oral account as his data in studying the ethnic history of the Ifugaos in the Cordilleras during the American Occupa on, he needs to validate the claims of his inforrmant through comparing and comobora ng it with wniten sources. Therefore, while ibias is inevitable, the historian can balance this out by relying to evidences that back up his claim In this sense, the historian need not let his bias blind his judgment and such bias is only acceptable i e maintains his rigor as a researcher Historical Sources With the past as history's subject mater, the historian's most important research tools are historical sources. In general, historical sources can be classified between primary and secondary sources. The classifica on of sources between these two categories depends on the historical subject being studied. Primary sources are those sources produced at the same me as the event, period, or subject being studied. For example, if a historian wishes to study the Commonwealth Cons tu on Conven on of 1935, his primary sources can include the minutes of the conven on, newspaper clippings, Philippine Commission reports of the U.S. Commissioners, records of the conven on, the dra of the Cons tu on, and even photographs of the event. Eyewitness accounts of conven on delegates and their memoirs can also be used as primary sources. The same goes with other subjects of historical study. Archival documents, ar facts, memorabilia, leters, census, and government records, among others are the most common examples of primary sources. On the other hand, secondary sources are those sources, which were produced by an author who used primary sources to produce the material. In other words, secondary sources are historical sources, which studied a certain historical subject. For example, on the subject of the Philippine Revolu on of 1896, students can read Teodoro Agoncillo's Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Ka punan published originally in 1956. The Philippine Revolu on happened in the last years of the nineteenth century while Agoncillo published his work in 1956, which makes the Revolt of the Masses a secondary source. More than this, in wri ng the book, Agoncillo used primary sources with his research like documents of the Ka punan, interview with the veterans of the Revolu on, and correspondence between and among Ka puneros. However, a student should not be confused about what counts as a primary or a secondary source. As men oned above, the classifica on of sources between primary and secondary depends not on the period when the source was produced or the type of the source but on the subject of the historical research. For example, a textbook is usually classified as a secondary source, a ter ary source even. However, this classifica on is usual but not automa c. Ifa historian chooses to write the history of educa on in the 1980s, he can u lize textbooks Used in that period as a primary source. If a historian wishes to study the historiography of the Filipino-American War for example, he can use works of different authors on the topic as his primary source as well. Both primary and secondary sources are useful in wri ng and learning history. However, historians and students of history need to thoroughly scru nize these historical sources to avoid decep on and to come up with the historical truth. The historian should be able to conduct an external and internal cri cism of the source, especially primary sources which can age in centuries. External cri cism is the prac ce of verifying the authen city of evidence by examining its physical characteris cs; consistency with the historical characteris c of the me when it was produced; and the materials used for the evidence. Examples of the things that will be examined when conduc ng external cri cism of a document include the quality of the paper, the type of the ink, and the language and words used in the material, among others. Internal cri cism, on the other hand, is the examina on of the truthfulness of the evidence. It looks at the content of the source and examines the circumstance of its produc on. Internal cri cism looks at the truthfulness and factuality of the evidence by looking at the author Of the source, its context, the agenda behind its crea on, the knowledge which informed it, and its intended purpose, among others. For example, Japanese reports and declara ons during the period of the war should not be taken as a historical fact has ly Internal Cri cism entails that the historian acknowledges and analyzes how such reports can be manipulated to be used as war propaganda. Valida ng historical sources is important because the use of unverified, falsified, and untruthful historical sources can lead to equally false conclusions. Without thorough cri cisms of historical evidences, historical decep ons and lies will be highly probable One of the most scandalous cases of decep on in Philippine history is the hoax Code of Kalan aw. The code was a set of rules contained in an epic, maragtas , which was allegedly writen by a certain Datu Kalan aw. The document was sold to the Na onal Library and was regarded as an important precolonial document un l 1968, when American historian William Henry Scot debunked the authen city of the code due to anachronism and lack of evidence to prove that the code existed in the precolonial Philippine society Ferdinand Marcos also claimed that he was a decorated World War II soldier who led a guerilla unit called Ang Maharlika. This was widely believed by students of history and Marcos had war medals to show. This claim. however. was disproven when historians counterchecked Marcos's Claims with the war records of the United States. These cases prove how decep ons can propagate without rigorous historical research The task of the historian is to look at the available historical sources and select the most relevant and meaningful for history and for the subject mater that he is studying. History, like other academic discipline, has come a long way but s ll has a lot of remaining tasks to do. It does not claim to render absolute and exact judgment because as long as ques ons are con nuously asked, and as long as me unfolds, the study of history can never be complete. The task of the historian is to organize the past that is being created so that it can offer lessons for na ons, socie es, and civiliza on. It is the historian's job to seek for the meaning of recovering the past to let the people see the con nuing relevance of provenance, memory, remembering, and historical understanding for both the present and the future. Philippine historiography underwent several changes since the precolonial period un l the present. Ancient Filipinos narrated their history through communal songs and epics that they passed orally from a genera on to another. When the Spaniards came. their chroniclers started recording their observa ons through writen accounts. The perspec ve of historical wri ng and inquiry also shi ed. The Spanish colonizers narrated the history of their colony in a bipar te view. They saw the age before coloniza on as a dark period in the history of the islands, un l they brought light through Western thought and Chris anity. Early na onalists refuted this perspec ve and argued the tripar te view. They saw the precolonial society as a luminous age that ended with darkness when the colonizers captured their freedom. They believed that the ight would come again once the colonizers were evicted from the Philippines. Filipino historian Zeus Salazar introduced the new guiding philosophy for wri ng and teaching history: pantayong pananaw (for us-from us perspec ve). This perspec ve highlights the importance of facilita ng an internal conversa on and discourse among Filipinos about our own history, using the language that is understood by everyone.