UNDERSTANDING HISTORY

Mindanao State University – General Santos City

History 1 – History of the PhilippinesJune 9, 2014

A sense of past is a light that illuminates the present and directs attention toward the possibilities of the future. Without an adequate knowledge of history, today’s events are disconnected occurrences.

HISTORY

historia

Greek

“inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation”

The discipline that studies the chronological record of events (as affecting a nation or

people), based on a critical examination of source materials and usually presenting an

explanation of their causes.

An interpretation of the past based on the weight of the available evidence.

PRE-HISTORY

Events occurred in the past prior to the invention of system of writing

Archaeology

A discipline that is especially helpful in dealing with buried sites and objects, which once unearthed, contribute to the study of

the history.

HISTORIAN

A person who studies and writes about the past. They are concerned with the

continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the

human race.

Traditionally, historians have recorded events of the past, either in writing or by

passing on oral tradition

How can we know of the past?

In the centuries before the Enlightenment, Western intellectuals conceived of the past

as being shaped primarily by God’s intervention.

The late seventeenth and eighteenth

centuries witnessed a growing awareness of the distinctiveness of the historical past.

Ancient Civilization

Ancient Greek Historians

The Histories is considered as the founding work of history in Western literature. It serves as a record of the ancient traditions,

politics, geography and clashes of various cultures that were known in Western Asia, Northern Africa and Greece at that time.

It stands as one of the first accounts of the rise of the Persian Empire, the events of, and causes for, the Greco-Persian Wars

between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states in 5th BC.

The Histories was at some point divided into 9 books of modern editions, conventionally named after the Muses.

I – ClioII – EuterpeIII – ThaliaIV – MelpomeneV – TerpsichoreVI – EratoVII – PolymniaVIII – UraniaIX - Calliope

The History of the Peloponnesian War is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War, which was fought

between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens).

Thucydides employed a strict standard of chronology, recording events by year, with each year contrast with

Herodotus “Histories” which jump around chronologically.

Anabasis is the famous work, in 7 books of the Greek professional soldier and writer

Xenophon.

It was about his narration of journey and accomplishments. Xenophon accompanied the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger who had the intention

to overthrow in power his brother Artaxerxes II. They had their return march

from the interior of Babylon to the coast of Black Sea.

Anabasis means expedition from a coastline into the interior of the country.

Xenophon’s account inspired Philip II of Macedon to defeat a Persian army by

training lean and disciplined Hellene army.

HISTORICAL SOURCES

Are definite record, account or source of information used to reconstruct the past.

2 Types: PRIMARY SECONDARY

Primary Sources

Forms of evidence contemporary to the event

Eg. Published written sources, manuscripts, diaries, official records, private

correspondence, newspapers, memoirs, autobiographies, tax records, census materials and wills, cultural artifacts

(cartoons, movies, fiction, Architecture, art)

SECONDARY SOURCES

Chronicles or interpretation of events written after the fact

Eg. Monographs, biographies, scholarly journal articles, historical dictionaries, encyclopedias, websites, lectures and

reviews

HISTORIOGRAPHY

Refers to the systematic writing of history, especially based on the critical examination of sources, the selection of particular details

from the authentic materials in those sources, and the synthesis of those details

into narrative form.

HISTORICAL METHOD

the analysis of the sources and the synthesis of the material. (Shafer, 1974)

Historical Criticism

A kind of diagnostic device or cross-examination to test the reliability and

credibility of a piece of evidence

External Criticism(Lower) - Establishes the reliability or veracity (correctness) of the source or evidence by evaluating its author, title, date and place of publication and so on

Internal Criticism (Higher) - Judges the credibility or validity (trustworthiness) by attributing a moral value to the piece of evidence or source

1. When was the source written or unwritten produced (DATE)?

2. Where was it produced (LOCALIZATION)?3. By whom was it produced

(AUTHORSHIP)?4. From what existing material was it

produced (ANALYSIS)?5. In what original form was it produced

(INTEGRITY)?6. What is the evidential value of its content

(CREDIBILITY)?

Synthesis (Reporting)

The shifting grouping, arrangement, generalization and organization of the facts

gathered in order to form a body of connected and related knowledge which

must be presented in a logical form.

Varieties of History1. Ancient history – the study from the beginning of human history until the Early Middle Ages2. Art history – the study of changes in and social context of the art3. Big history – study of history on a large scale across long time frames and epochs through multi-disciplinary approach4. Chronology – science of localizing historical events in time5. Comparative history – historical analysis of social and cultural entities not confined to national boundaries

6. Contemporary history – study of historical events that are immediately relevant to the present time7. Cultural history - the study of culture in the past8. Digital history – the use of computing technologies to produce digital scholarship9. Economic history – study of economic trends and conditions in the past10. Environmental history – a new field that emerged in the 1980s to look at the history of the environment, especially in the long run, and the impact of human activities upon it.

11. Futurology – the study of the future: researches the medium to long term future of societies and of the physical world12. Intellectual history – the study of ideas in the context of the cultures that produced them and their development overtime.13. Maritime history – study of maritime transport and all the connected subjects14. Modern history – study of the Modern Times, the era after the Early Middle Ages15. Military history – the study of warfare and wars in history (Naval history)

16. Natural history – the study of the development of the cosmos, the Earth biology and interactions thereof.17. Paleography – study of ancient texts18. People’s history – historical work from the perspective of common people19. Political history – the study of politics in the past20. Psychohistory – study of the psychological motivations of historical events

21. Social history – the study of the process of social change throughout history(Black, Demographic, History of education, Ethnic, Family, Labor, Rural, Urban)22. Women history – the history of female human beings. Gender history is related and covers the perspective of gender.23. World history – study of history from global perspective 24. Public history – historic preservation, archival science, oral history, museum curatorship and other relatable fields. Some of the common settings for public history are museums, historic homes and historic sites, parks, battlefield, archives, film and television companies and all levels of the government.  

HISTORY FROM FILIPINO POINT OF VIEW

The history of a nation is the story of its rise, development, and outcome. It explains

the present and guides the way to the future. As a subject, history is not meant to be mechanically memorized and later be forgotten, but should be used to derive

valuable insights and perspectives on what we are and what we want to be.

 

Kasaysayan has a deeper meaning, its root word saysay means “sense” or “meaning”. It also means importance or purpose. The things that have no importance or meaning are valueless or walang saysay. With the addition of the suffix “yan”, “saysayan” now means the act of conveying words of importance or sense. This is actually told through a narrative or story (kasaysayan). With the addition of the prefix “ka” , “saysayan” now has a new meaning. “Ka” has a very important connotation. It implies connection of interaction or relationship, of being a part of something, of being together, or doing something together. Hence, in kasaysayan, people share important narratives with one another, sharing similar or opposite point of views. (De Viana, 2011)

“History offers the key to national identity and the basis for future development. “

– Dr. Jose P. Rizal

Teodoro Agoncillo (Father of Filipino Nationalist Historiography) wrote the conditions of the Philippine past by analyzing the conditions of the masses.

“Philippine History is a people’s history. It is a recorded struggle of people for ever increasing freedom and for newer and

realization of the human person.”

– Renato Constantino

UNHISTORICAL SOURCES

Established Episcopal Church in the Cordillera region during the US Colonial Period

Settled in the Kanakana-ey, town of Sagada

Known as “Scotty”

1965, Dissertation in UST“Prehispanic Source Materials of Studying Philippine History”

1907, History of Panay by Pedro Monteclaro from Miag-ao, Iloilo

5 chapters Confederation of Madia-as

Kalantiaw: The Code That Never Was

1433 by Datu Kalantiaw

Source: Fr. Jose Ma. Pavon’s 1838-1839 Las Antiguas Leyendas de la Isla de Negros (16x11 cm, 2 Vol. of 267 and 394 pp)

1914, Nat’l Lib. By Jose E. Marco of Negros Occ.

The discovery of the plate is cited as evidence of cultural links between the Pre-colonial Tagalog people

 and the various contemporary Asian civilizations, most notably the Javanese Medang Kingdom, the sri-vijaya

Empire and the Middle Kingdoms of India.

LAGUNA COPPERPLATE INSCRIPTION

Measurement: 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inches)

Words are directly embossed onto the plate, inscribed onto a heated, softened scroll of metal

Kawi script (Variety language of Old Malay and loanwaords from Sanskrit, Old Tagalog and Old Javanese

Transliteration: Saka Era date of the year Siyaka 822, month of Waisaka, the fourth day of the waning moon (Monday, 21 April 900 CE), absolving its bearers, the children of Namwaran from a debt amounting to 1 kati and 8 suwarnas (865 grams of gold)

Dutch anthropologist and Hanunuos script expert Antoon Postma concluded that the LCI mentioned the palces of Tondo (Tundun), Paila (Pailah), Binwangan and Pulilan (Puliran)

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

– George Santayana

CONCLUSION

History serve can serve as a guide to present and succeeding generations in facing the challenges of the times. By projecting the people’s aspirations, a

people’s history will enable us to grasp the direction of the country’s development and

identify the factors that impede real progress. Truly, the need for a real people’s

history becomes more urgent as we Filipinos search for truly Filipino solutions to

the problems besetting our country.