TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

MODULE 1

INTRODUCTION TO
HISTORY: Definition,
Nature, Methodology and
Importance
RATIONALE:

Module 1 introduces to students the discipline of History and its domain. The students are
expected to understand the methodology of History and appreciate its importance.

Practically, this module aims to develop student’s skill in evaluating historical sources for their
credibility, authenticity, and provenance, as well as analyzing the context, content, and
perspective of different kinds of sources, especially in this times of historical revisionism and post-
truth.

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE USER:

1. The user is to study this module at his own pace within the time frame set by the
instructor. Check the OBTL syllabus for guidance.
2. Video links for subtopics are also provided in this module.
3. References, Supplemental and Additional readings are also given for further
understanding and appreciation of the lesson.
4. Self-Check Test are also available for student’s self-assessment. Respective
instructors may ask the students to submit answers via agreed platforms

ATTENTION!!!
Before you go to the next page, PLEASE ANSWER MODULE PRE-TEST
GOOD LUCK!!! 😊

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 MODULE 1

NAME: ________________________________________ DATE: ___________

SECTION: _____________________________________ SCORE: __________

PRE- TEST 1

I. Write “TRUE” if the statement is true and “FALSE” if otherwise

_______________ 1. Everything that happened in the past is part of Philippine history.

_______________ 2. The study of History is based on evidences.
_______________ 3. History is a branch of Social Science.
_______________ 4. History has no use for the present. So, the saying “past is past” holds
true.
_______________ 5. History and chronology are synonymous.
_______________ 6. We look at the past to learn about the people of today.
_______________7. History is an eastern concept which failed to account unrecorded or
unwritten sources of history like oral traditions in the case of the Philippines.
_______________ 8. Anthropology is a scientific study of material remains of past human life and
activities.
_______________ 9. A secondary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event,
object, person, or work of art.
_______________10. A historian therefore must be able to analyze and interpret the contents of
documents in their real meaning
List at least five historical sources you are familiar with.

1.___________________________ 4._________________________
2.___________________________ 5._________________________
3.___________________________

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 MODULE 1 OUTLINE

I. Introduction to History
A. Etymology and Definition
B. Historiography
C. Elements
D. Nature
E. Why Do We Study History (Importance)
F. History in relation with other social sciences
II. Sources in History
A. Primary
B. Secondary
C. Tertiary
D. Types of historical sources
III. Historical Criticism
A. External
B. Internal
C. Debunking “Sa Aking Mga Kabata” and “Code of Kalantiaw” through
Historical Criticism

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the definition, nature, methodology and domain of History
2. Appreciate the importance of History
3. Distinguish between primary and secondary sources
4. Evaluate sources for their credibility, authenticity, and provenance
5. Validate sources through historical criticism

I. Introduction to History

Why do people do the things we do?

How can we explain human behavior?
Under what circumstances do people take certain actions, and in what circumstances do they
take surprising actions?

One can derive answers for these questions from an academic discipline known as History. By
examining past events of humans, we can compare their situations to different periods and draw
conclusions as to what we can learn from these past events. Lessons learned from these past
events can provide understanding of present day phenomenon. We look at the past, but we do
so to learn about people today. By studying history, we are able to know and understand the story

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of our nation, trace our roots and identity, find lessons from the past that will address problems of
today and be able to use these to move forward to the future. “Today’s events are tomorrow’s
history” as the saying goes.
A. Etymology and Definition

History ( from the Greek word Historie or Historia which means “learning, inquiry and or
investigation”) is a branch of the Social Sciences that deals with the systematic study of significant
past, a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events and which concerns people
and human nature.
Being a branch of the social sciences, History centers on the study of people and the society.
Which is why, the people are considered as the focal point in the study of history. The definition
emphasizes that it is a “systematic” study. This means that history as a discipline follows a
methodology in order to establish and be able to validate facts and evidences. The definition
mentions of “significant” past as the subject matter of history. By “significant past” it entails that
only past events which has affected the political, cultural, social and economic aspects of the
society or of the lives of the people, are considered part of history. It does not follow that
everything that happened in the past is considered part of Philippine History i.e On June 14, 2001,
Pedro threw a ball of paper in the trashcan. That is a past event but cannot be considered as part
of Philippine History. Consistently, the definition of history only covers those which are “recorded”
or “written” events. It is important to note, that “history” is a western concept which failed to
account unrecorded or unwritten sources of history like oral traditions in the case of the
Philippines. These issues regarding the western concept of “history” and our Filipino concept of
“kasaysayan” will be further tackled in our next module.
B. Historiography

Historiography on the other hand refers to the study of history itself. Historiography analyzes
who is the history writer, the motives of the writer, the sources of the writer, theories applied and
other historical methods. It also analyzes the context when the history was written.

C. Elements of History

1. The Historian. This refers to the person writing the history.

2. Place. The location where the history was written
3. Period. Refers to the context of the time when the history was written.
4. Sources. Refers to the basis of claims or analysis of the historian such as documents, written
or oral accounts.

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 D. Nature of History as an academic discipline

A. History has no subject matter of its own. Of course, the subject matter of history covers all the
persons and all events that have happened in the past. It is actually very broad since it does
cover everything that has happened in the society including all aspects from political, economic
social, culture etc.
B. History synthesizes knowledge from other fields. Since it covers all phenomena, History as a
branch of the Social Sciences analyzes the relations of different events, their cause and effects
using also the knowledge used in other fields of the Social Sciences such as Anthropology,
Sociology Economics etc.
C. History illuminates pieces of the past. History provides for explanations of things that happened
in the past. By looking at relationships of different events and phenomena, it provides
explanations for seemingly unexplainable gaps.
D. History is constantly changing. Since claims to historical facts are based on personal accounts,
documents and artifacts, a historian makes an analysis based only on available sources of data.
The historian cannot conclude something which is baseless. Unlike other Social Sciences which
can gather actual and real time data or conduct experiments to test their hypothesis, historians
have to rely on what is available. Therefore, when new data are discovered, previous historical
accounts can be changed.
E. History sheds light to truth. Since a historian constantly write about previous phenomena using
historical sources as basis, all claims therefore supports only the truth base on the data available.
This however does not preclude the fact that a historian uses also unwritten sources such as oral
accounts and traditions.
E. Importance of the study of history

The study of History is important because it provides us with the capacity to analyze previous
events and phenomena which therefore will provide us with proper basis on how to view the
present and the future. This being the case history will provide is with a strong basis for providing
answers for problems that pervades at present. A lot of people in our modern day society would
say that history is no longer important. That the study of history is out dated already.
However, our historical view will in itself provide us with the manner by which we view the present
and how we prepare for the future.
According to E. Kent Rogers, we study History because of the following:
First, “to know more about the roots of our current culture”. This being the case history will provide
us with the basis by which we can understand better different cultural institutions and constructs.
For example, why is it that in the modern-day Philippines a lot of Filipinos value having white
complexion when in fact we are naturally brown skinned? An analysis of our historical background
will of course reveal that because we have been colonized by white complexioned people
particularly the Spaniards and Americans, having white skin is viewed as somewhat of higher
status than the brown skinned;

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Second, “to learn about human nature by looking at trends that repeat through history” and “learn
about mistakes of those who have gone before us”. History deals with analysis therefore, by
studying different trends that happened before this could provide us with a clear analysis of
causes of events that happened. If the result of the event is negative then we could navigate
another path to seek for a better state of affairs. On the other hand, if the result of the events are
positive then we can recommend to repeat it to get the same result. Either way by analyzing
historical facts we can use the result in decision making or future planning
F. History in Relation with other Social Sciences

Archaeology is scientific study of material remains of past human life and activities as stated by
Merriam and Webster. Archaeologists usually excavates the earth in search of artifacts. Through
investigations of artifacts such as pottery, weapons, jewelry etc, the historian can draw important
analysis and interpretation from them and make a description of the lives and culture of the people
that owned the artifacts.
Another field of the social sciences that provides relevant input to History is Anthropology.
Anthropology is the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in
relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture. (Merriam and
Webster.) The cultural analysis of ancestors of man will also provide for sources of historical data
that the Historian can make use in writing history.

 History is a western concept while kasaysayan is a

Filipino concept. Are the two concepts completely the
same?
 It is consistent that the definition of history studies only
recorded past. Is this the same with kasaysayan?
 How does history link the past, present and future?
 Is history just a matter of chronology?

Questions to Ponder

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 II. Sources of History

Historians study the sources that the past has left behind. No statement about the past can
carry conviction unless it can be supported by reference to the historical sources, the evidence
upon which historians base their ideas and interpretations. Historians inevitably spend a lot of
time reading each other’s writings, but the real historical work is done – and the real enjoyment
is to be had – instudying the sources, the actual ‘stuff’ of history. (University of Cambridge
website)
Historical evidences are important proof of the truthfulness of the past. In the aim towards
objectivity of the writing of history, these evidences become the sources of historical data.
“Sources”/ “Batis”/ “Sanggunian” refers to the basis of claims or analysis of the historian. They
serve as the evidences utilized in the study of history.
In history, sources are classified mainly into:
Primary and Secondary Sources. Primary and secondary sources form the cornerstones of
historical research. A modern-day work of history is essentially a description and interpretation of
primary sources, along with commentary of secondary sources, both using them in reference to
the subject matter at hand, and agreeing and disagreeing with them.
A. Primary Sources

A primary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of
art. These are the evidences by eyewitnesses or created by people who experienced the said
event or phenomena. The historian’s responsibility is to organize the primary sources into a
coherent account to become secondary source.
In effect, a primary source is direct source of historical information dating from the period in
question. A baptismal register of 1866 in the parish of Concepcion, Tarlac would be a primary
source about Spanish colonial period in Philippine History. A Philippine coin minted in 1910 would
be a primary source about the American colonial period. A newspaper printed in 1943 would be
a primary source from the Japanese period..
Primary sources include historical and legal documents, eyewitness accounts, results of
experiments, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, audio and video recordings, speeches,
and art objects. Interviews, surveys, fieldwork, and Internet communications via email, blogs, and
newsgroups are also primary sources.
In the natural and social sciences, primary sources are often empirical studies—research where
an experiment was performed or a direct observation was made. The results of empirical studies
are typically found in scholarly articles or papers delivered at conferences.
B. Secondary Sources

Secondary sources, on the other hand, are interpretations of history They describe, discuss,
interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. These
are the products of people or writers who were not part of the event or phenomena.
One can consider them as history books, although this is a bit misleading, as secondary sources
can include articles, movies, audio recordings, or any other source of media that interprets history.

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Teodoro Agoncillo’s Malolos: The Crisis of The Republic, though deals with the events of 1899 is
a secondary source because it interprets facts of the past; though dealing with the time-frame , it
is not from the period in question.
Secondary source materials can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie
reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate someone else's original
research.
C. Tertiary Sources

Others cite another classification, the Tertiary Sources. Tertiary sources contain information that
has been compiled from primary and secondary sources. Tertiary sources include almanacs,
chronologies, dictionaries and encyclopedias, directories, guidebooks, indexes, abstracts,
manuals, and textbooks.
D. Types of historical sources

Historians can get his sources, primary or secondary, from the following:
Archival Material
Manuscripts and archives are primary sources, including business and personal correspondence,
diaries and journals, legal and financial documents, photographs, maps, architectural drawings,
objects, oral histories, computer tapes, and video and audio cassettes. Some archival materials
are published and available in print or online.
Government Documents
Government documents provide evidence of activities, functions, and policies at all government
levels. For research that relates to the workings of government, government documents are
primary sources.
These documents include hearings and debates of legislative bodies; the official text of laws,
regulations and treaties; records of government expenditures and finances; and statistical
compilations of economic, demographic, and scientific data.
Serials
Journals, magazines, and newspapers are serial publications that are published on an ongoing
basis.
Many scholarly journals in the sciences and social sciences include primary source articles where
the authors report on research they have undertaken. Consequently, these papers may use the
first person ("We observed…"). These articles usually follow a standard format with sections like
"Methods," "Results," and "Conclusion."
Serials may also include book reviews, editorials, and review articles. Review articles summarize
research on a particular topic, but they do not present any new findings; therefore, they are
considered secondary sources. Their bibliographies, however, can be used to identify primary
sources.
Books

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Most books are secondary sources, where authors reference primary source materials and add
their own analysis. “The First Filipino” by Leon Ma. Guerrero is a biography of Jose Rizal. If you
are researching Jose Rizal, this book would be a secondary source because the author is offering
his views about the hero. Books can also function as primary sources. For example, Jose Rizal’s
own letters and essays would be primary sources.
Visual and Audio Materials
Visual materials such as maps, photographs, prints, graphic arts, and original art forms can
provide insights into how people viewed and/or were viewed the world in which they existed.
Films, videos, TV programs, and digital recordings can be primary sources. Documentaries,
feature films, and TV news broadcasts can provide insights into the fantasies, biases, political
attitudes, and material culture of the times in which they were created. Radio broadcast
recordings, oral histories, and the recorded music of a particular era can also serve as primary
source material
III. Historical Criticism

The historian’s role in writing history, to reiterate, is to provide meanings to facts that he gathered
from primary sources (facts from manuscripts, documents) or those that have been gathered by
archaeologists or anthropologists (artifacts). He can only make conclusions and generalizations
based on them. It is therefore his duty to check on the authenticity of the sources that are
presented to him to be used as basis in writing history. Sources have to undergo doubting and
therefore should be critically tested for validity. There are two kinds of criticisms that a historian
can use in the process; these are External and Internal Criticisms
A. External Criticism

The ‘External Criticism’ covers the physical examinations of sources like documents, manuscripts,
books, pamphlets, maps, inscriptions and monuments. In original documents it includes looking
at the paper and ink used whether or not it is within the same circa as the content of the work.
Oftentimes its more difficult to establish the authenticity of manuscripts and records rather than
document simply because the printed document have already been authenticated by the writer.
Following are the elements that have to be taken into consideration in doing validation:
a. Authorship. The name of the author of the document usually provides credence in the
establishment of validity of a certain document. The author’s name in itself can provided for the
test of authenticity. In cases of anonymous writings when the exact name of the author is not
known then the office that holds the record should also be taken into consideration. For example,
if we are studying population records and we use documents from civil registrar’s office then that
will lead to the consideration that the documents are authentic.
b. Date and place of publication. The date of the document including the time and place of
publication should be properly analyzed in order to establish its authenticity. Modern day
documents and publication have their date and place of publication usually printed at the back of
the title page. However, for manuscripts there are usually no date and place of publications
indicated. In such cases, the historian should look for dates mentioned within the manuscript or
cross check with other records. Sometimes an analysis of the language used or the date of birth
and death of the author can also be used as basis for the establishment of its true date.

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c. Textual errors. The historian should always be in the lookout for errors in the text of documents
and manuscripts. There are two kinds of errors in documents unintentional or intentional.
Unintentional errors are mistakes that are caused by typist or scribes usually in spelling, omitted
words or phrases. Intentional error are often made when there is an effort to modify or supplement
existing records or original manuscript for personal intention or interest of the record keeper or
editor. In such cases, efforts should be made by the historian to get the original document and
compare or cross check with other related records or documents.
Sometimes, the style of writing of the author can also be used to authenticate the originality of the
document. If the style of writing does not match the author’s style of writing then the document is
dubious.
d. Meanings of words used. The meaning of words used usually changes from generation to
generation, therefore the historian have to interpret the words used based on the time when the
document was made. Also, there are instances when words mean differently in different places.
In this case, the historian have to take into consideration the place and culture when the document
was made. He must be very careful in understanding the terms, if not any misinterpretation will
lead to historical misunderstandings.
B. Internal Criticism

Positive criticism refers to understanding of both literal and real meaning of words. A historian
therefore must be able to analyze and interpret the contents of documents in their real meaning.
Document contains the idea of the person who wrote or made the evidences, therefore they
should be understood within that context. Historians should refrain from making their own
conclusions so as not to convey their own interpretation rather than the true meaning of the
content. One important characteristic that a historian should possess is the capacity to doubt all
documents and facts when these are not yet subjected to authentication. The historian should
question the motive of the writer and question the accuracy of the document. Likewise, the
historian should verify if the writer of the document has a first had information or had experience
the phenomena he wrote and how long the time elapsed between the occurrence of the event
and the time the document was written. In cases of contradicting records, the historian should
corroborate the facts from other claims or documents. The truthfulness or veracity of the
document should be established
C. Debunking “ Sa Aking Mga Kabata” and “The Code of Kalantiaw” through Historical
criticism

1. Jose Rizal’s “ Sa Aking Mga Kabata”

According to Dr. Nancy Kimuell Gabriel on her tesis masterado “Timawa: Kahulugan,
Kasaysayan at Kabuluhan sa Lipunang Pilipino,” on UP Diliman, 2001the poem shows falseness.
Historian Ambeth Ocampo,National artist of the Philippines and writer Virgilio S. Almario and
others have debunked Rizal's traditional authorship of the poem based on the following.
a.) AUTHORSHIP
No manuscript for Sa Aking Mga Kabatà written in Rizal's handwriting exists. The poem
supposedly wrote in 1869 where he was only 8 years old then.

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  A young revolutionary? Another questionable aspect of this poem is the precocious social
commentary of its alleged young author. The poem contains some very mature insights
for an eight-year-old boy – the “stinky fish” line notwithstanding. There are some bold
statements that are just as much about freedom and nationhood as they are about
language.
The language is too precocious even for an eight-year-old prodigy like Jose Rizal
b.)DATE AND PLACE OF PUBLICATION
The poem was first published in 1906, a decade after his death, in a book authored by the poet
Hermenigildo Cruz.
 Rizal had 35 years to publish or assert authorship. He did not. The poem was published
posthumously.
c. TEXTUAL ERRORS
In Rizal’s childhood they spelled words with a “c” rather than “k.” Further, the word “kalayaan”
(freedom) is used twice.(No manuscript EXIST)
d.)MEANINGS OF WORDS USED
Kalayaan was not a common word in 1869 and there is irrefutable evidence that Jose Rizal
himself did not learn the word until he was 25 years old. Rizal first encountered the word atleast
by 1872 the years after the execution of GOMBURZA.
 The historian Zeus Salazar, however, refuted the claims of Andrade and Yanga in his
essay Ang Kartilya ni Emilio Jacinto in 1999. He maintained that the word laya and its
various conjugations “were already a part of Tagalog vocabulary at that time [and]
therefore, could not have been invented by anybody.” However, he also wrote,
“Laya/calayaan was not yet needed in writing before 1864 and even later, especially
since timawa/catimaoan was still widely used back then as meaning ‘free/freedom.’”
Evidently, Rizal had not encountered the word kalayaan until he saw it in Marcelo H. del
Pilar’s Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa [Love for the Native Land], which was his Tagalog
translation of Rizal’s own Spanish essay, Amor Patrio. Naturally, if Rizal didn’t know the
word kalayaan when he was 25 years old, he could not have written a poem in which the
word appears twice when he was only eight years old. Whichever case is true, young
Jose’s alleged use of the word kalayaan in 1869 is no less curious. Moreover, even if
kalayaan was a term known to some people in Bulakan, the fact that it did not appear in
Florante at Laura, the poem that Rizal consulted, is telling because it was written by the
most famous poet of Bulakan, Francisco (Balagtas) Baltazar. We know this because of a
letter he wrote to his brother Paciano in 1886. Jose had written a Tagalog translation of
Friedrich Schiller’s German play Wilhelm Tell and he wanted Paciano to review it. He
explained that he found it difficult to translate some of the concepts in the play.
My Dear Brother,
There I’m sending you at last the translation of Wilhelm Tell by Schiller… I lacked many
words, for example, for the word Freiheit or liberty. The Tagalog word kaligtasan cannot
be used, because this means that formerly he was in prison, slavery, etc. I found in the

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 translation of Amor Patrio the noun malayà, kalayahan that Marcelo del Pilar uses. In the
only Tagalog book I have – Florante – I don’t find an equivalent noun.”

2. The Code of Kalantiaw

William Henry Scott, examined the pre-Hispanic history of the Philippines. Scott raised issues on
the existence of the Code of Kalantiaw, specifically on:

 LACK OF HISTORICAL EVIDENCE

 No written/ pictorial documents from that time in Philippine history
 No documents from other countries that mentions Kalantiaw

 LACK OF EVIDENCE FOR A KALANTIAW LEGEND

 No recorded Filipino legend about Kalantiaw other than the doubtful Pavon
manuscripts before the 20th century
 Historian Diego Alba looked for Kalantiaw in local folklore but found none

 DOUBTFUL PAVON MANUSCRIPTS

 Two inconsistent versions on how Jose Marco obtained the manuscripts
 ( looters and cook stories)
 Mistakes in the Pavon manuscripts

 Does it always follow that primary sources should be given more weight than secondary
sources?
 What are the significance of understanding sources and historical criticism?

Questions to Ponder

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 KEY POINTS

 History is a branch of the Social Sciences that deals with the systematic study of
SIGNIFICANT PAST, a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events and
which concerns people and human nature

 History has no subject matter of its own. It synthesizes knowledge from many fields. It
illuminates pieces of the past. It constantly changing. It is subjective and it searches for
the truth

 Historiography refers to the study of history itself. It analyzes who is the history writer, the
motives of the writer, the sources of the writer, theories applied and other historical
methods. It also analyzes the context when the history was written.

 The elements of history are: the historian, place, period and sources

 The focal point in the study of history are the people and its nature. History being a branch
of social science

 There are bountiful reasons why we have to learn history.

 Other fields of knowledge such as Archaeology, Anthropology, Sociology, Economics,

Politics are important in the study of history.

 History being a discipline follows a methodology in order to establish facts or evidences.

Evidences in history are known as Sources. They can be primary, secondary or tertiary.

 In order to validate these sources, they must undergo Historical Criticism , first is external
then internal.

 Jose Rizal’s poem “ Sa Aking Mga Kabata” and the alleged pre-colonial written code “ The
Code of Kalantiaw” were debunked through historical criticism

ATTENTION!!!
Before you go to the module, PLEASE ANSWER the ACTIVITY 1
GOOD LUCK!!! 😊

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REFERENCES:

1. Agoncillo, Teodoro. History of the Filipino People. Eighth Edition. Quezon City: C& E
Publishing, 1990. (pp. 184-187).

2. Alvarez, Santiago. Katipunan and the Revolution: Memoirs of a General, Quezon City:
Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1992. (pp. 184-187)

3. Fox, Robert B. The Tabon Caves. Manila: Monograph of the National Museum, No. 1, 1970.
xiii, 197 pp. Appendix, References, Tables, Illustrations, n.p.l.

4. Gottschalk, Luis. Understanding History: A Primer of Historical Method. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 1950.(pp. 41- 61; 117-170).

5. Scott, William Henry Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History. Manila:
University of Santo Tomas Press, Manila, 1968. (pp. 90- 135)

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