MARIANNA ESTHER G.
GAYATIN
BSHM MH 2-3
MODULE 8
THOUGHT PAPER
RIZAL’S ANNOTATION TO MORGA
The chapter 8 of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (1609), tells
about the Philippine islands, its Natives, and their Custom, Antiquity, and
Government. Rizal’s annotation of the chapter was to convey that Filipino people
already existed even before the Spaniards took over the land. Our ancestors already
had their antiquity, customs and governance.
CLASSIFICATION SCHEME RATIONALE:
The classification scheme of Rizal’s Annotation to Morga’s Chapter 8 in
Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas were separated into geographical profile, religious
beliefs, customs, culture and social, economics and livelihood, lifestyle, and
architecture and technology. Generally, these qualities can best describe the
historical profile of a country.
● Geographical Profile - pertains to the physical environment of the island
● Religious Beliefs - their cultural beliefs in terms of worship and faith
● Customs - current state of the community and their traditional practice or ways of
doing things
● Culture and Social- pertains to the very encompassment of their behaviour, norms
in society, and customary beliefs and characteristic features of daily existence.
Cultural qualities shape the community wholly.
● Economics - this classification pertains to the business and commerce done during
the pre-conquest
● Livelihood and Lifestyle - the livelihood is how the people lived back then that
supports their needs and lifestyle on the other hand is how people used to live back
then.
These selection of classification is made to identify predominant qualities that
has been already in the community even before the coming of the Spaniards. The
development of these selection is based on the existing conditions of the country;
and these selection is of basis for a more concrete conclusion to fully support Rizal’s
annotations against the book of Antonio Morga.
ANNOTATIONS:
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS:
● Annotation 4 (p. 264) ● Annotation 4 (p. 288)
● Annotation 2 (p. 281) ● Annotation 2-3 (p. 291)
● Annotation 2 (p. 285) ● Annotation 2-3 (p. 293)
SOCIAL:
● Annotation 7 (p. 282)
● Annotation 2 (p. 265)
ECONOMY AND LIVELIHOOD:
● Annotation 1 (p. 260) ● Annotation 3 (p. 266)
● Annotation 1- 3 (p. 264) ● Annotation 3 (p. 270)
CULTURAL:
● Annotation 3 (p. 241) ● Annotation 6 (p. 291)
● Annotation 7 (p. 292)
● GEOGRAPHY:
● Annotations 1 - 2 (p. 240) ● Annotation 3 (p. 267)
● Annotation 3 (p. 241) ● Annotation 1-3 (p. 268)
● Annotation 1 (p. 266)
CUSTOMS:
● Annotation 1 (p. 246) ● Annotation 3 (p. 283)
● Annotation 3 (p. 283)
RIZAL’S VIEW OF THE PRE-CONQUEST PAST
The statement of Morga on page 282 of the idea that the bride doesn't bring
anything during marriage is the main focus of Rizal in social organization of the
natives and elaborated that Filipinos families are not in a hurry to marry their
daughters off as women are not considered a burden in the family. Furthermore,
daughters are considered a precious treasure and that is why the groom who
provides the dowry. In the Philippine culture, the woman does not look for a
husband, instead; she chooses one. The husband, in exchange, would gain a
companion that would aid him in his future endeavors. In the pre-colonial Philippines,
once a woman gets married, she is respected among her community and would
retain their nobility.
“The character of the Filipino woman, to be a help rather than a burden to the
husband, reject this custom, necessary to the European woman..” —Rizal
(Annotation 7, p 282)
In terms of the economy and livelihood aspect, Rizal expressed his
disagreement towards Morgan’s statement about the natives of the Catanduanes
Islands who are good and subject to Spanish encomenderos. He explained how
these encomenderos exploited the indios where they would demand them blankets
at the lowest prices that did not reach the real value of these products according to
his annotation 2 on page 264.
ASSESSMENT OF RIZAL’S VIEWS OF THE PRE-CONQUEST PAST
Rizal during his time experienced the scarcity of history books about the
Philippine history until Morga’s book came into light. As Rizal annotated the author’s
book, it made the novelist as the first Filipino history writer.
Rizal’s Morga was relegated in the canon, it was under his “minor readings”
that it did not shine much like his preeminent Noli and El Fili. It is lamentable that
even Rizal is a national historical writer, his annotations are seldom read today as it
is disregarded today because of advances in research. Moreover, his annotations
are secondary, and Morga’s was mostly used as a primary source. Another factor is
the obscurity of his annotations was censored during the Spanish colonial period;
therefore the Spanish customs confiscated the book and banned Rizal’s edition in
the country,
At present, no literature regarding pre-conquest was established. However, with
the annotation of Rizal, he gave light into the identity and consciousness of the
nation when he used history written by other authors. Rizal’s annotations is of his
views on the history of the country. Morga’s was his framework for his work, and
Rizal’s shows a larger extent of Philippine historiography. His annotations might
have not been read widely, but its significance lies as the writing of Philippine history
is from a view of a Filipino.
CONCLUSION
Rizal was credited for his love and service of his country to which it lead to the
end of his life. Aside from his notable novels such as Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo, his annotated rendition of Morga’s Sucesos de las islas Filipinas was
also acknowledged as it has been connoted as the first historical work of the
Philippines that was written by a Filipino and not of the country’s colonizers. Despite
knowing that releasing a new edition of Morga would neither reward him financially,
he still pursued in publishing it out of his love for the Filipino people and of his
country. He stated this when he wrote to Blumentritt,
“Present a new edition to the public, above all Filipino public….. I do this solely for
my country because this work will bring me neither honor nor money. (Epistolario,
1938)” - Rizal’s Morga and Views of Philippine History, Ambeth R. Ocampo
This shows the dedication of Rizal that he devoted to correct the original Morga
manuscript to express a more authentic reality of the pre-colonial scenery of the
Philippines which exposed the country’s flourishing and existing civilization, one that
possessed its own culture and identity before the Spanish regime took over.
ASSESSMENT
1. Why did Spain succeed in colonizing these islands? How did ilustrados explain the
fact of conquest?
To begin with, the Spaniards (with Magellan as a pioneer) set out on a voyage to
establish connections with Asian kingdoms and to incorporate them into the Spanish
Empire. On March 17, 1521, he landed on Homonhon, an island in the Philippines.
The Spaniards brought two items with them: a cross and a sword. To rule over their
land, they used Christianity and converted the pagans into Christians. As a result,
those who converted to Christianity became followers of the Spaniards, while those
who refused fought alongside them. They conquered the Philippines for more than
300 years, until Jose Rizal's (their national hero) death, which became the catalyst
that roused Filipino rage and instilled a sense of nationalism in them. To put it
another way, the Spanish were successful in promoting their culture to the Filipinos.
They were the ones who introduced Christianity to it.
For the vast majority of people, the simple answer was terrible. However, not
everyone was enslaved, and intermarriages between the Spanish, upper-class
Filipinos, and even Chinese were permitted because they had all converted to
Catholicism and adopted “Catholic/Christian Lifestyles.”
2. Past how did Rizal portray the precolonial past, and why did he represent it that
way?
The corrupt Spanish colonial bureaucracy, according to Rizal's logic, relentlessly
exploited the Filipinos while blaming their underdevelopment on their presumed
indolence. Rizal's goal was to demonstrate that this viewpoint was incorrect by using
logic and historical evidence. To address the colonialist view of Filipino indolence,
Rizal delved into pre-colonial history. The facts demonstrated that pre-colonial
Filipino society was relatively advanced, implying that the presumed backwardness
was the result of colonialism. And, of course, colonial policy was oppressive, despite
the claims of the heavy-handed colonial government and the hierarchy of the Roman
Catholic Church.
Rizal's goal in annotating and republishing this work was to correct what he
perceived to be inaccurate reports and slanderous statements in most Spanish
works on the Philippines. He also wished to resurrect the pre-colonial past that
colonization had erased from Filipinos' memories.
