1.
In its broadest meaning, history is
the study of past events. It generally presents the known past.
2.
Arnold Toynbee's challenge and
response theory is based on the idea that man responds to the situation placed
before him. His actions are based on his thoughts.
3.
The exchange theory of Alvin Scaff refers
to the systematic statement of principles that govern the exchange of goods
(tangible goods like property or money and intangible goods like peace or
prestige) between individuals, between groups, between organizations, and even
between nations. This is based on the idea of reciprocity.
4.
For Georg Wilhelm Hegel (1770-1831),
an idea is the moving force of History. However, man has tasks to do so that
events may happen. Hegel's role of historical man follows a principle, which he
called Weltgiest or world spirit, which embodies ideals like patriotism,
heroism, and unity.
5.
In understanding history, another
theory to be considered is the materialist concept of history or economic
theory by Karl Marx, another German philosopher. He asserts that the prevailing
economic system determines the form of societal organization and the political
and intellectual history of the epoch, which thus attribute actions and events
in history to economic motives.
6.
The method of historiography was developed by Fernand Braudel
(1902-1985), considered as the father of historical structuralism. According to
him, human actions are not only based on human decisions but also on
'structures' that may be natural (like topography and natural resources) or
man-made (like existing laws and technological devices).
7.
Teodoro Agoncillo (1912-1985) is considered as the father of
Filipino nationalist historiography. He wrote the conditions of the Philippine
past by analyzing the conditions of the masses.
8.
As defined by Renato Constantino, history is "the recorded
struggle of people for ever increasing freedom and for newer and higher
realization of the human person." It is not about the story of man as the
individual, but man as the associated man.
9.
From 1926 to the outbreak of the Second World War, much of the
archaeological discoveries were done by Henry Otley Beyer (1883-1966) born in
Edgewood, Iowa who had married Lingayu Gambuk, the 15-year- old daughter of a
powerful Ifugao chief in 1910. He was considered as the Father of Philippine
Archaeology and Prehistory
10.
During the pre-Spanish era, early Chinese
traders and geographers already knew the Philippines. Sung Dynasty sources in
982 A.D. referred the islands as
Ma-yi. Chau Ju-kua, a Chinese trade official, gave a detailed
account of his travel to various parts of the islands in 1225, which he called Ma-i.
11.
In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan named the
islands, Islas de San
Lazaro (Archipelago of St. Lazarus) when he first set foot on our
native soil. Many other names have been given to the archipelago.
12.
The name Philippines came from the word Filipinas given by the
Spanish navigator Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1543 in honor of Prince Philip of
Asturias, who became King Philip II of Spain, successor to King Charles I. The
word Felipina
was at first given by Villalobos's men to refer to Leyte and Samar. Later, it
was given to the whole archipelago.
13.
In 1751, Fr. Juan J. Delgado, a Jesuit
historian called Manila, Pearl of
the Orient since it became a rich outlet of Asian trade even
prior to the coming of the Spaniards in the archipelago. Dr. Jose Rizal, the
country's foremost hero, gave the name
Pearl of the Orient Seas to his native land on the eve of his
execution in 1896.
14.
The name
Filipinas first appeared in a rare map published in Venice in
1554 by Giovanni Battista Ramusio, an Italian geographer. The Spanish Filipinas or Felipinas was later changed
to Philippine Islands (P.I.) during the American colonial era. It was renamed
Republic of the Philippines (R.P.) after the recognition of its independence in
1946.
15.
The Philippines, found in the Western
Pacific Ocean, has an astronomical location of 4023'-21°25' N.
Latitude and 116°-127°E. Longitude. It is situated in the southeastern portion
of Asia. Taiwan bounds the country on the north, on the west by South China Sea
and Vietnam, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Celebes Sea
and Indonesia and, on the southwest by Malaysia and Singapore.
16.
The country is an archipelago of 7,107
islands and islets. It has a total land area of 300,000 square kilometers.
Manila is the capital and largest city of the country. It is also the chief
port and main commercial center of the islands.
17.
The country has 16 regions.
18.
As of 2002, the number of provinces has
increased to 79, with the creation of Compostela Valley in 2000 and Zamboanga
Sibugay in 2001.
19.
The ARMM was created by Republic Act No.
6734 in 1989. The region has jurisdiction over administrative organizations,
family relations, natural resources, economic, social and tourism development.
It does not have powers over certain matters, including national defense and
security, monetary and fiscal policies, citizenship, international relations
and foreign trade. The ARMM is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao
del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Basilan.
20.
Chocolate Hills is one of the geological
monuments of the country. The other four national geological monuments are Taal
Volcano in Batangas, Montalban Caves in Rizal Province, Sand Dunes in llocos
Norte, and Hundred Islands in Pangasinan.
21.
Large rivers traverse the principal islands
of the country. The Cagayan River, with a length of 513 kilometers, is the
longest river in the country.
22.
Between Samar and Leyte is the San Juanico
Strait, the narrowest strait in the world. Laguna de Bay is the largest
freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The deepest among the lakes of Laguna is
Lake Calibato, which is 176 meters deep.
23.
In the middle of the tropical blue and
emerald green waters of the Sulu Sea and Palawan lies the Tubbataha Reef, just
one of the sandbars and reefs known for its rich beautiful dive sites and
marine resources.
24.
Boracay is the perfect island getaway. It
is known for its warm blue waters, powder-fine white sand, and a palm fringed
four-kilometer beach.
25.
The largest plain in the archipelago is the
Central Plain in Luzon, known as the "Rice Granary of the
Philippines."
26.
The
Waling-waling (Vandasanderiana) is regarded as the "Queen of
Philippine Orchids."
27.
Famous of the Philippine woods is narra,
proclaimed as the country's national tree in accordance with an executive
proclamation of Governor General Frank Murphy dated February 1,1934
28.
Some unique animals in the world are also
found in the Philippines: the tamaraw or
Bubalus mindoretisis of Mindoro, which looks like a dwarf
carabao; the tarsier of Bohol, the smallest monkey in the world; and the
Calamian deer or Cervus
calamianensis (pilandok) of Palawan, the world's smallest deer.
29.
The largest insect in the country is the
giant moth (Attacus atlas),
with a wingspan of one foot. The largest and smallest bats in the world are
found in the country.
30.
The world's second largest after the Harpy
eagle found in the Amazon forests is the Philippine eagle (Pithecopaga jefferyi),
found in the jungles of Luzon and Mindanao. It has earned the title of
"King of Philippine Birds." In 1996, the Philippine eagle was
officially named the national bird of the country by virtue of a presidential
proclamation.
31.
Other interesting birds in the country are
the kalaw, which the
Spanish colonizers dubbed as "clock of the mountains,"
32.
Also found in the Philippines is the
world's rarest shell, called Glory of the Sea (Connus
gloriamaris) and the
Tridacna gigas, which is the world's largest shell and has a
length of one meter and weighs 600 pounds. The smallest shell in the world, the
Pisidum, is also found in our country. It is less than one millimeter in
length.
33.
Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Period
(50,000-10,000 B.C.) is the era of crude stone tools and weapons. In the
Philippines, it was believed to have started in Cagayan Valley.
34.
The New Stone Age or Neolithic Period
(10,000-500 B.C.) is also known as
age of Agricultural Revolution by anthropologists. Root crops
like taro (gabi)
and yarn (ubi)
were among the important crops. This period also indicates that upland rice
farming has been
developed.
35.
The
Manunggul jar (now at the National Museum), an example of funerary
vessel dating between 890 B.C. and 710 B.C., is now considered a National Cultural Treasure of the
Philippines. The upper portion of the jar
has curvilinear incised st roll designs,
painted with red
hematitite (iron oxide).
On the lid cover is a form of a boat with
two human figures. The figure at the back is a boatman steering the "ship
of the dead."
36.
The
Early Metal Age (500 B.C.) refers to the time in the development
of human culture where tools and weapons were made of metal, which gradually
replaced stone tools. The metal implements at this stage were crudely
fashioned.
37.
The first metal to be widely used was
copper. Raw copper was then pounded into ornaments and to some extent into
tools.
38.
Jewelry as an ancient art began as amulets
and charms to ward off bad spirits or to give supernatural powers to the
wearer. In particular tribes like the T'boli, they wore body ornaments to
please the gods and to signify the status of the wearer.
39.
This phase of Filipino prehistory is known
to the anthropologists as the Age of
Contact (500-1400 A.D.), which is the period of trading relations
with neighboring islands, mostly by Asian traders.
40.
The discovery of
balangay boats in Butuan, Agusan del Norte in the late 1970s
served as pieces of evidence to further prove the technical know-how of the
early Filipinos. The first boat, now preserved and displayed in a site museum
in Libertad, Butuan City had a carbon-date of 320. While the second boat, which
was dated 1250 A.D., has been transferred to the National Museum in Manila.
41.
In the middle of the 14th
century, the Muslim traders from Malaysia brought Islam (in Arabic means
"submission to the will of God") to the Philippines. It spread
through the southern parts of the islands.
42.
On May 3,1493, Pope Alexander VI,
attempting to settle the rivalry between Spain and Portugal, issued a papal
bull known as the Inter caetera.
43.
Magellan left the port of San Lucar de
Barrameda, Spain, on September 20,1519 with five ships namely: Trinidad, Conception, Santiago, San
Antonio, and Victoria
together with about 250 men. The expedition intended to circumnavigate the
earth in the service of Spain. Accompanying him were Fr. Pedro de Valderrama
(fleet chaplain), Antonio Pigafetta (chronicler of the expedition), Duarte
Barbosa (Magellan's brother-in-law), and his Malay slave Enrique of Malacca
(acting as interpreter).
44.
Magellan and his men bravely sailed on and
by March 6, 1521 they had reached an island in the Western Pacific. He called
it Islas Ladrones (or
Islands of Thieves, later to be named Marianas, in honor of Maria Ana of
Austria, Queen Regent of Spain) because some of the native Chamorros had stolen
a boat from the flagship.
45.
At the dawn of Saturday, on March 16, 1521,
they saw the towering heights of Samar and named the island Islas de San Lazaro,
for it was the feast day of St. Lazarus.
46.
Lapulapu's real name was Cali Pulacu
47.
Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494,
the Eastern Hemisphere was reserved to Portuguese colonization. However, with
the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529, a
new demarcation line was fixed
48.
In 1542, King Charles I sent another
expedition. He instructed Ruy Lopez de Villalobos
to command a fleet of six ships and around 400 men. He exhorted
Villalobos to avoid any of the Spice Islands in their voyage to Islas del Poniente.
49.
Villalobos reached Baganga Bay in Eastern
Mindanao on February 2,1543 after three months of sailing. He named Mindanao Caesarea Caroli, or
the imperial island of Charles. Searching for food, they reached the southern
island of Sarangani, which Villalobos renamed
Antonia in honor of Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza of Mexico. Some of
his men went as far as Leyte, which they renamed
Felipina, in honor of the future king Philip II of Spain.
50.
During the reign of King Philip II, Spain
was at the height of its power. He wrote to Mexican Viceroy Velasco ordering
him to prepare an expedition for the conquest of the Philippines. The command
of this expedition was given to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi (1505-1572), a soldier,
lawyer, and administrator.
51.
Later, Legazpi landed in Bohol and
befriended two native kings, Sikatuna and Sigala. On March 16, 1565, Legazpi
and Sikatuna made a blood compact. A few days later, Legazpi and Gala did a
similar pact.
52.
It was on November 16,1568 when King Philip
II issued instructions to Legazpi to establish cities and towns and create encomiendas to be
distributed to deserving soldiers, in the first three decades of Spanish rule,
the Philippines was divided into
encomiendas. With a cross in one hand and a sword in the other,
the Spanish conquistadores imposed upon the Filipinos this feudal system of
administration. The word encomienda
comes from the verb encomendar
meaning "to commend or to commit to one's care."
53.
Encomienda in the
Philippines was not a land grant. It was more of an administrative unit for the
purpose of exacting tribute from the natives and to use the personal services
of the King's vassals in the encomienda.
The encomendero
undertook ways to look after the well-being of his people and to educate them
with Spanish norms of conduct. In the domain of relations, the encomienda had been
considered as a kind of benevolent paternalism. In reality, the encomienda was looked
upon by its beneficiaries as a pretense for slavery.
54.
Haciendas and encomiendas are not the same
though both were forms of colonial appropriation. The
demands or exactions of an encomendero were incidental to
his position as representative of the King, thus, he exacted tribute and drafted labor. The hacendero on the other hand,
under the fiction of partnership (with the tenant
as companion or kasama),
had the right of inheritance and free disposition of the land.
55.
Because of the abuses perpetrated by the encomenderos, the encomiendas were
replaced by a system of provincial government. There were two types of provincial administrations: the alcaldia-mayor or the
province, where peace had been established by the Spanish government placed
under a civil official called
alcalde-mayor; and the
corregimientos or territories that had not been completely
pacified under the charge of
corregidores or politico- military governors.
56.
The province was divided into towns or pueblo, which were
administered by gobernadorcillos.
The office of the gobernadorcillo was open to Filipinos. This local position
was at first occupied by pre-colonial chieftains and their descendants and
later elected by an electoral board composed of the outgoing gobernadorcillo and
twelve members of the principalia.
The principalia (social
and political aristocracy) referred to the prominent land-owning and propertied
citizens who could read, write, and speak Spanish.
57.
Each town had several villages or barangays
placed directly under the cabezas de
barangay. This position remained an appointive office.
58.
The king appointed the governor general and
other colonial officials administering the country. The governor general was
the chief executive as well as the commander-in-chief of the military forces in
the colony. Aside from this, he was also the vice-royal patron wherein he has
the power to recommend priests in parishes, and the authority to intervene in controversies between
religious authorities. The governor general could also reject or suspend the
implementation of any royal decree or law from Spain with his cumplase power, if in
his opinion, the conditions in the colony did not justify its implementation.
59.
However, checks to gubernatorial powers
were made possible through the following: first, the
Audiencia Real or
Royal Audiencia established in 1583 to act as the Supreme Court
of the colony also served as advisory body to the governor and audited the
expenditures of the government; second, the residencia,
which was a judicial institution headed by the incoming governor general to conduct
a trial of an outgoing governor general and other Spanish officials for the
purpose of punishing those guilty of corruption, but the case may be appealed
to the King for clemency; third, the
visitador-general, who was the investigator sent by the King or
an official dispatched by the Council of Indies in Spain to check the behavior
of the high officials in the colony; fourth, the Archbishop and clergy who were
appointed by the Pope upon the recommendation of the King; and fifth,
subordinate public officials and influential private citizens.
60.
The local officials as well as the Spanish
high officials became the main instruments of "pacification." The
subjugation of the natives became complete after they have agreed to pay the
tribute. One tribute corresponds to one family, consisting of husband, wife,
and minor children. Half of the tribute has to be paid by an unmarried man or
woman. One tribute is equivalent to eight (8) reales or one peso. It may be
paid in money or in kind like rice, honey, corn, and the like. In 1851, it was
increased to 12 reales or one peso and a half, in 1884, the cedula tax replaced
the tribute.
61.
Polo or
forced labor instituted in 1580 was another form of pacifying the natives. Male
Filipinos between 16 to 60 years of age rendered manual service for the country
for the purpose of building ships, churches, roads, and other forms of
infrastructure.
62.
The
polista or worker has to work 40 days a year in the labor pool.
In 1884, forced labor was reduced to 15 days a year. To be excluded from the
polo, one has to payfalla
(exemption fee), which only a few Filipinos could actually pay. The chieftains
and their eldest sons were also excused from forced labor.
63.
Bandala, which
was instituted in the first half of the 17th century by Governor
General Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera was another way to overpower the
Filipinos.
64.
The political condition in the Philippines
was worsened with the union of Church and State. The friars, like the
government officials, exercised political, economic, and other non-spiritual
powers. They controlled the educational system as well as the collection of
taxes and the conscription of natives into the army. They even controlled
municipal elections and censored plays and reading materials.
65.
The Church and State inseparably carried
out Spanish policy in the country. When the Spaniards came into the country, they destroyed the carved
idols out of wood and stone because these artworks were regarded as abominable
to the faith.
66.
Since most secular colonial officials had
no intention of living far from home, the friars took on the roles as the
King's representatives and interpreters of government policies in the
countryside. Spanish urbanization was centered in the city of Manila, within a
walled city called Intramuros.
67.
The Spaniards imposed the feudal system and
created towns and estates by converging the people through reduction, referring
to the resettlement of inhabitants in Spanish-style poblaciones - or at least - bajo de las campanas
(within hearing distance of the church bells).
68.
The Spanish model for a poblacion (town
center) was organized around a rectangular plaza, with the church (the most
important structure of the plaza complex) and convent on one side, bounded by
the tribunal or municipio,
and by the houses of Spanish officials and
principales (elite). The presence of
principalia residences in the plaza complex reflected the
existence of socioeconomic ascendancy.
69.
Basic education was rendered by parochial
schools, established primarily for religious instruction. The first one was
established in Cebu.
70.
Higher education was established
exclusively for the Spaniards and Filipinos, referring to those born in the
colony to Spanish parents. Colleges and universities were closed to indios. (The natives
were only allowed in these institutions after 200 years of colonial rule).
71.
The Jesuits in Manila founded the first
college for boys in 1589. It was originally called College of Manila (for the
scholastics), and later changed to College of San Ignacio. In 1621, it was
elevated to the rank of a university by Pope Gregory XV and was named
University of San Ignacio.
72.
Academic reforms were later on implemented,
after the Spanish government conceded to its growing demand. The Educational Decree,
dated December 20, 1863 introduced a system of public education that opened
opportunities to Filipinos for higher learning.
73.
Damian Domingo founded the Academy of Fine
Arts, the first school in painting in Manila in 1820. With this, he was called
the "Father of Filipino Painting."
74.
The early missionaries were also the first
to establish a printing press in the Philippines. Books were being printed by
xylographic method, using engraved wood blocks. The earliest book printed was
the Doctrina Christiana en lengua española
y tagala (1593), written by Fray Juan de Oliver.
75.
During the first half of the 19,h
century Jose de la Cruz was the most prominent poet in the oral tradition. He
was said to have written many literary pieces in elegant Tagalog language. Among
them were: Doce Pares de
Francia; Bernardo Carpio; and,
Adela at Florante. He was popularly known as Huseng Sisiw because
whenever zealous writers approached him for guidance in their verses, he
required them to bring sisiw
(chick) as payment.
76.
Pedro Bukaneg, the blind poet who wrote the
popular Ilocano epic, Lam-Ang,
was hailed as the "Father of llocos Literature." Among the Tagalogs,
Francisco Balagtas (later dubbed as the Prince of Tagalog Poets) became popular
with his poetical pieces particularly,
Florante at Laura.
77.
At the end of the 17th century,
the first theater was established in Intramuros, Manila, known as Teatro
Comico. At the turn of the 19th century, the zarzuela, a Spanish
one-act opera with satirical theme became popular in the country. These stage
plays were performed at fiestas where townfolks eagerly watch so as not to miss
the gala presentation.
78.
In 1811, the first newspaper in the country
appeared in Manila, which was the
Del Superior Govierno (Of the Supreme Government) with Governor
General Manuel Gonzalez de Aguilar as editor.
79.
The financing of the galleon trade was made
possible primarily through the Obras Pias, the earliest banking institution in
the country. The funds were donated by rich people for charitable purposes.
80.
During the Spanish times, the Chinese were
called Sangleys,
derived from the terms xiang
and ley meaning
"traveling merchant." Since Legazpi and those who succeeded him
favored Sino-Philippine trade, more trading junks from China came to the
Philippines annually, bringing their merchandise like silk, textiles, and
porcelain wares.
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