A History of the Philippines. David P. Barrows
is the most readable and, in many ways, the most valuable attempt at a history of the Philippines. His narrative closes with the English occupation of Manila in 1763.
Recent Histories and Other Historical Materials.—The sources for the conditions and history of the islands during the last century differ somewhat from the preceding. The documentary sources in the form of public papers and reports are available, and there is a considerable mass of pamphlets dealing with special questions in the Philippines. The publication of the official journal of the Government, the Gazeta de Manila, commenced in 1861. It contains all acts of legislation, orders of the Governors, pastoral letters, and other official matters, down to the end of Spanish rule.
A vast amount of material, for the recent civil history of the islands exists in the Archives of the Philippines, at Manila, but these documents have been very little examined. Notable among these original documents is the series of Royal Cedulas, each bearing the signature of the King of Spain, “Yo, el Rey.” They run back from the last years of sovereignty to the commencement of the seventeenth century. The early cedulas, on the establishment of Spanish rule, are said to have been carried away by the British army in 1763, and to be now in the British Museum.
Of the archives of the Royal Audiencia at Manila, the series of judgments begins with one of 1603, which is signed by Antonia de Morga. From this date they appear to be complete. The earliest records of the cases which came before this court that can be found, date from the beginning of the eighteenth century.
Of modern historical writings mention must be made of the Historia de Filipinas, three volumes, 1887, by Montero y Vidal, and the publications of W. E. Retana. To the scholarship and enthusiasm of this last author much is owed. His work has been the republication of rare and important sources. His edition of Combes has already been mentioned, and there should also be mentioned, and if possible procured, his Archivo del Bibliofilo, four volumes, a collection of rare papers on the islands, of different dates; and his edition, the first ever published, of Zuñiga’s Estadismo de las Islas Filipinas, an incomparable survey of the islands made about 1800, by the priest and historian whose history was mentioned above.
Accounts of Voyagers Who Visited the Philippines.—These references give some idea of the historical literature of the Philippines. They comprise those works which should be chiefly consulted. There should not be omitted the numerous accounts of voyagers who have visited these islands from time to time, and who frequently give us very valuable information. The first of these are perhaps the English and Dutch freebooters, who prowled about these waters to waylay the richly laden galleons. One of these was Dampier, who, about 1690, visited the Ladrones and the Philippines. His New Voyage Around the World was published in 1697. There was also Anson, who in 1743 took the Spanish galleon off the coast of Samar, and whose voyage is described in a volume published in 1745. There was an Italian physician, Carreri, who visited the islands in 1697, in the course of a voyage around the world, and who wrote an excellent description of the Philippines, which is printed in English translation in Churchill’s Collection of Voyages.
A French expedition visited the East between 1774 and 1781, and the Commissioner, M. Sonnerat, has left a brief account of the Spanish settlements in the islands as they then appeared. (Voyage aux Indes Orientales et à la Chine, Paris, 1782, Vol. 3.)
There are a number of travellers’ accounts written in the last century, of which may be mentioned Sir John Bowring’s Visit to the Philippine Islands, 1859, and Jagor’s Reisen in der Philippinen, travels in the year 1859 and 1860, which has received translation into both English and Spanish.
Bibliographies.—For the historical student a bibliographical guide is necessary. Such a volume was brought out in 1898, by Retana, Catalogo abreviado de la Biblioteca Filipina. It contains a catalogue of five thousand seven hundred and eighty works, published in or upon the Philippines. A still more exact and useful bibliography has been prepared by the Honorable T. H. Pardo de Tavera, Biblioteca Filipina, and is published by the United States Government.
It is lamentable that the Philippines Government possesses no library of works on the Archipelago. The foundation of such an institution seems to have been quite neglected by the Spanish Government, and works on the Philippines are scarcely to be found, except as they exist in private collections. The largest of these is said to be that of the Compañia General de Tabacos, at Barcelona, which has also recently possessed itself of the splendid library of Retana. In Manila the Honorable Dr. Pardo de Tavera possesses the only notable library in the islands.
Since the above was written the Philippines Government has commenced the collection of historic works in the Philippines, and a talented young Filipino scholar, Mr. Zulueta, has gone to Spain for extensive search, both of archives and libraries, in order to enrich the public collection in the Philippines.
The publication of a very extensive series of sources of Philippine history has also been begun by the Arthur H. Clark Company in the United States, under the editorship of Miss E. H. Blair and Mr. J. A. Robertson. The series will embrace fifty-five volumes, and will contain in English translations all available historical material on the Philippines, from the age of discovery to the nineteenth century. This notable collection will place within the reach of the student all the important sources of his country’s history, and will make possible a more extensive and accurate writing of the history of the islands than has ever before been possible.
In addition to the published works, there repose numerous unstudied documents of Philippine history in the Archives of the Indies at Seville.
Historical Work for the Filipino Student.—After reading this book, or a similar introductory history, the student should procure, one by one, as many as he can of the volumes which have been briefly described above, and, by careful reading and patient thought, try to round out the story of his country and learn the lessons of the history of his people. He will find it a study that will stimulate his thought and strengthen his judgment; but always he must search for the truth, even though the truth is sometimes humiliating and sad. If there are regrettable passages in our own lives, we cannot find either happiness or improvement in trying to deny to ourselves that we have done wrong, and so conceal and minimize our error. So if there are dark places in the history of our land and people, we must not obscure the truth in the mistaken belief that we are defending our people’s honor, for, by trying to conceal the fact and excuse the fault, we only add to the shame. It is by frank acknowledgment and clear depiction of previous errors that the country’s honor will be protected now and in the future.
Very interesting and important historical work can be done by the Filipino student in his own town or province. The public and parish records have in many towns suffered neglect or destruction. In all possible cases these documents should be gathered up and cared for. For many things, they are worthy of study. They can show the growth of population, the dates of erection of the public buildings, the former system of government, and social conditions.
This is a work in which the patriotism of every young man and woman can find an expression. Many sites throughout the islands are notable for the historic occurrences which they witnessed. These should be suitably marked with tablets or monuments, and the exact facts of the events that took place should be carefully collected, and put in writing. Towns and provinces should form public libraries containing, among other works, books on the Philippines; and it should be a matter of pride to the young Filipino scholar to build up such local institutions, and to educate his townsmen in their use and appreciation.
But throughout such studies the student should remember that his town or locality is of less importance, from a patriotic standpoint, than his country as a whole; that the interests of one section should never be placed above those of the Archipelago; and that, while his first and foremost duty is to his town and to his people, among whom he was born and nurtured, he owes a greater obligation to his whole country and people, embracing many different islands and different tongues, and to the great Government which holds and protects the Philippine Islands, and which is making possible the free development of its inhabitants.
