OVERVIEW

Lesson 1 Introduces history as a

discipline and as a narrative. It
discusses the limitation of historical
knowledge, history as the subjective
process of re-creation and historical
method and historiography.
OVERVIEW

Lesson 2 Presents the sources of

historical data, the written and non-
written sources of history as well as
the differentiation of primary and
secondary sources of information or
data.
OVERVIEW
Lesson 3 Discusses historical
criticisms, namely, external and
internal criticisms. These are
important aspects in ascertaining the
authenticity and reliability of primary
sources upon which narratives are
crafted.
History is derived from the
Greek word “historia” which
means learning by inquiry. This
explained that knowledge is
derived through conducting a
process of scientific
investigation of past events.
The Greek philosopher,
Aristotle, looked upon history as
the systematic accounting of a
set of natural phenomena, that
is, taking into consideration the
chronological arrangement of
the account.
This explained that
knowledge is derived
through conducting a
process of scientific
investigation of past
events.
The word History is
referred usually for
accounts of phenomena,
especially human affairs in
chronological order.
These are theories
constructed by historians
in investigating history:
the factual history and
the speculative history.
Factual history presents readers the
plain and basic information vis-à-vis
the events that took place (what),
the time and date with which the
events happened (when), the place
with which the events took place
and the people that were involved
Speculative history on the other
hand, goes beyond facts because it is
concerned about the reasons for
which events happened (why), and
the way they happened (how). "It
tries to speculate on the cause and
effect of an event." (Cantal, Cardinal,
Espino & Galindo, 2014)
A salient feature of
historical writing is the
facility to give meaning
and impact value to the
group of people about
their past.
The practice of historical writing is
called historiography, the traditional
method in doing historical research
that focus on gathering of documents
from different libraries and archives
to form a pool of evidence needed in
making a descriptive or analytical
narrative.
The modern historical writing
does not only include
examination of documents but
also the use of research
methods from related areas of
study such as archeology and
THE LIMITATION OF
HISTORICAL
KNOWLEDGE
The whole history of the past
(called history-as-actuality) can
be known to a historian only
through the surviving records
(history-as-record), and most of
history-as-record is only a tiny
part the whole phenomenon.
Historians study the records
or evidences that survived
the time. They tell history
from what they understood
a credible part of the
record.
However, their claims many
remains variable as there can
be historical records that could
be discovered, which may
affirm or refute those that they
have already presented.
HISTORICAL AS THE
SUBJECTIVE
PROCESS OF RE-
CREATION
From the incomplete
evidence, historians
strive to restore the
total part of mankind.
For the historians, history
becomes only that part of the
human past which can be
meaningfully reconstructed from
the available records and from
inference regarding their setting.
Historian’s aim is
verisimilitude (the
truth, authenticity,
plausibility) about a
past.
The study of history is
subjective process as
documents and relics are
scattered and do not together
comprise the total object that
the historian is studying.
geologists and paleo-
zoologists who study fossils
from the traces of a
perished past, greatly
resemble historians in this
regard,
but they differ at certain
points since historians
deal with human
testimonies as well as
physical traces.
HISTORICAL
METHOD AND
HISTORIOGRAPHY
The process of critically
examining and analyzing
the records and survivals
of the past is called
historical method.
The imaginative
reconstruction of the
past form the data
derived
historiography.
By means of historical and
historiography (both of
which are frequently
grouped together simply
as historical method),
Historian endeavors to
reconstruct as much
of the past of mankind
as he/she can.
The past conceived of as
something “actually
occurred” places obvious
limits upon the kinds of
record and of imagination
that the historians may use.
Historical analysis
is also an important
element of
historical method.
(1) select the subject to
investigate;
(2) collect the probable
sources of information
on the subject;
(3) examine the sources of
genuineness, in part of in
whole; and
(4) extract credible
“particulars” from the
sources (or parts of sources).
(3) examine the sources of
genuineness, in part of in
whole; and
(4) extract credible
“particulars” from the
sources (or parts of sources).
HISTORICAL DATA are sourced
from artifacts have been left by
the past. These artifacts can
either be relics or remains, or
the testimonies of witnesses to
the past.
Thus, historical sources are those
materials from which the historians
construct meaning. To rearticulate, a
source is an object from the past or
testimony concerning the past on
which historians depends to create
their own depiction of the past.
A historical work or
interpretation is thus the result
of such depiction. The source
provides evidence about the
existence of the event; and a
historical interpretation in an
argument of the event.
Relics or “remains”, whose
existence offers researchers
a clue about the past, for
example, the relics or
remains of a prehistoric
settlement.
Artifacts can be found
where relics of human
happenings can be
found.
These object, however never
happening or the events; if writing
documents, they may be the results
or the records of events. Whether
artifacts or documents, they are
materials out of which history may be
written. (Howell & Preveneir, 2001.)
Testimonies or witnesses, whether
oral or written, may have been
created to serve a record or they
might have been created for some
purposes. All these describe an event,
such as the records of a property
exchange, speeches and
The lives of human being can be
assumed from the retrieved
artifacts, but without further
evidence the human contexts of
these artifacts can be never
recaptured of any degree of
certainty.
WRITTEN
SOURCES OF
HISTORY
Written sources are usually
categorized in three ways:
(1) narrative or literary (2)
diplomatic or juridical and
(3) social documents.
1. Narrative or literatures are
chronicles or tracts presented in
narrative form, written to
impart a message whose
motives for their composition
vary widely.
A narrative source is
therefore broader than
what is usually considered
fiction. (Howell &
Prevenier, 2001).
2. Diplomatic sources are understood
to be those which document/record
an existing legal situation or create a
new one, and it is these kinds of
sources that professional historians
once treated as the purest, the “best”
source.
A legal document is usually
sealed or authenticated to
provide evidence that a legal
transaction has been completed
and can be used as evidence in a
judicial proceeding in case of
dispute.
Diplomatic sources possess specific
formal properties, such as hand and
print style, the ink, the seal, for
external properties and rhetorical
devices and images for internal
properties, which are determined by
the norms of laws and by tradition.
3. Social documents are
information pertaining to
economic, social, political, or
judicial significance. They are
records kept by
bureaucracies.
A few examples are government
reports, such as municipal
accounts, research findings, and
documents like these,
parliamentary procedures, civil
registry records, property registers,
and records of census.
NON-WRITTEN
SOURCES OF
HISTORY
Unwritten sources are as
essential as written sources.
They are two types: the
material evidence and oral
evidence.
Material evidence, also
known as archaeological
evidence is one of the
most important
unwritten evidences.
These artifacts can tell a
great deal about the
ways of life of people in
the past, and their
culture.
These artifacts can also reveal a
great deal about the socio-
cultural interconnections of the
different groups of people
especially when an object is
unearthed in more than one
Commercial exchange
may also be revealed by
the presence of
artifacts in different
places.
Even places that are thought
to be significant, such as
garbage pits, can provide
valuable information to
historians as these can be
traces of a former settlement.
Sometimes, archeological
sites that are of interest to
historians are unearthed
during excavations for road,
sewer line, and big building
structures.
Known historical sites are
purposely excavated with
the hope of reconstructing
and understanding their
meaningful past.
Moreover, archeological finds
such as coins or monies can
provide historians with significant
information relating to
government transactions during
which the currencies were in
circulation.
Similarly, historians can get
substantial information from
drawings, etching, paintings,
films, and photographs.
These are the visual
representations of the past.
Oral evidence is also
an important source
of information for
historians.
Much are told by the tales or
sagas of ancient peoples and
the folk songs or popular
rituals from the premodern
period of Philippine history.
During the present
age, interviews are
another major form
of oral evidence.
PRIMARY VERSUS
SECONDARY
SOURCES
There are two general
kinds of historical
sources: direct or
primary and indirect or
secondary.
Primary sources are original,
first-hand account of an event or
period that are usually written or
made during or close to the
event or period. These sources
are original and factual, not
interpretive.
Their key
function is to
provide facts.
Examples of primary sources
are diaries, journal, letters,
newspaper and magazine
articles (factual accounts),
government records (census,
marriage, military),
photographs, maps, postcard,
posters, recorded or transcribed
speeches, interviews with
participants or witnesses, interviews
with people who lived during a
certain time, songs, play, novels,
stories, paintings, drawings, and
Secondary sources, on the other
hand, are materials made by
people long after the events
being described had taken place
to provide valuable
interpretations of historical
events.
A secondary source analyzes
and interprets primary
sources. It is an
interpretation of second-
hand account of a historical
event.
Examples of secondary sources
are biographies, histories,
literary criticism, books written
by a third party about a
historical event, art and theater
reviews, newspaper or journal
articles that interpret.
Questions and
Issues in History
History has played various roles in
the past. State use history to
unite a nation. It can be used as a
tool to legitimize regimes and
forge a sense of collective identity
through collective memory.
Lessons from the past can
be used to make sense of
the present. Learning of
past mistakes can help
people to not repeat them.
Being reminded of a great
past can inspire people to
keep their good practices
to move forward.
Positivism is the school
of thought that
emerged between the
18 and 19 century.
th th
Positivism is a thought that
requires empirical and
observable evidence before
one can claim that a
particular knowledge is true.
Positivism entails
on objective means
of arriving at a
conclusion.
Positivism means
“no document, no
history.” in the
discipline of history.
Any history that has
been taught and written
is always intended for a
certain group of
audience.
Any history that has
been taught and written
is always intended for a
certain group of
audience.
The Illustrados to the
Spaniards on the
narrative that Filipinos
are people of their own
intellect and culture.
 The American History
depicting the Filipino
people as uncivilized
community to justify their
colonization of the islands.
Postcolonialism is a
school thought that
emerged in the early
20 century.
th
Postcolonialism is period
where colonized nation
grappled with the idea of
creating their own identities
and understanding against the
shadows of their colonial past.
Postcolonialism is looking at
telling the history of a nation
that will highlight its identity
free from that of colonial
discourse and knowledge.
Postcolonialism is
looking at criticizing the
methods, effects, and
idea of colonialism.
Postcolonialism therefore is
a reaction and alternative to
the colonial history that
colonial power created and
taught to their subject.
History and
Historians
“Facts cannot
speak for
themselves”
It is the job of the historian
to give meaning to these
facts and organize them
into timeline, establish
causes, and write history.
Historian is a person of his
own who is influenced by his
own context, environment,
ideology, education, and
influences, among others.
Thus, in one way or
another, history is
always subjective.
Historical research requires
rigor. The study of history
remains scientific because of
the rigor of research and
methodology that historian
employ.
Historical
sources
With the past as history’s
subject matter, the
historian’s most important
research tools are
historical sources.
The classification of
sources between primary
and secondary sources
depends on the historical
subject being studied.
Primary sources are those
sources produced at the
same time as the event,
period, or subject being
studied.
Primary sources includes but
is not limited to official
government reports, archives
and records created while
the event is happening.
Secondary sources are
those sources produced
by an author who used
primary sources to
produce the material.
Secondary sources includes
but is not limited to narrative
of events that has happened
in the past and are being
published on the current
ages.
Tertiary sources are those
sources produced by an
author who used primary
and secondary sources to
produce the present
material.
Criticism
Historians and students of
history need to thoroughly
scrutinize these historical
sources to avoid deception
and come up with the
historical truth.
External Criticism – the
practice of verifying the
authenticity of evidence
by examining its physical
characteristics,
Consistency with the
historical characteristics of
the time when it was
produced; and the materials
used for the evidence.
In External Criticism it will
examine the materials’
quality of the paper, type of
ink, and the language and
words used in the material.
Internal Criticism – the practice
of examining the truthfulness
of the evidence. It looks at the
content of the source and
examines the circumstances of
its production.
In External Criticism it will
examine the materials’
quality of the paper, type of
ink, and the language and
words used in the material.
The task of the historian is
to organize the past that is
being created so that it can
offer lessons for nations,
societies, and civilization.
The Philippine
Historiography
The Philippines’ history of
history underwent several
changes, depending on
who holds the power to
chronicle the events.
 Ancient Filipino, (pre-
colonial) narrated their
history through communal
songs and epics that they
passed orally from a
generation to another.
Colonialism era – when
the Spaniard came, they
started recording their
observation through
written accounts.
The promoted the bipartite view of
historiography, wherein they
depicted the dark era of the land
before they come and claimed that
they brought about salvation to our
land through their colonization.
Early Nationalist Era –
refuted the colonial
perspective and argued
the tripartite view.
 They imbedded the narrative
that the Philippines, before
colonialism, is of its glorious
form, that the colonizer brought
darkness to the country, and only
its ouster will bring victory to the
country again.
 Filipino Historian Zeus Salazar
introduced Pantayong pananaw (for
us-from us perspective) where it
highlights the importance of facilitating
an internal conversation and discourse
among Filipino about our own history,
using our language that is understood
by everyone.
Content and Contextual
Analysis of Selected
Primary Sources in
Philippine History
A brief summary of the
first Voyage Around the
World by Magellan by
Antonio Pigafita
 Antonio Pigafetta is an
Italian nobleman who
accompanied Ferdinand
Magellan in his fateful
circumnavigation of the
world.
His travelogue is one of
the most important
primary sources in the
study of the precolonial
Philippines.
Here are some of his
accounts;
 Magellan’s arrival in the Philippines.
 His (Magellan) encounter with local leaders
His (Magellan) death in the hands of Lapulapu’s
forces in the battle of Mactan
The departure of what was left of Magellan’s fleet
from the Islands.
March 1521
• Landing at Zamal Islands (now Samar) but Magellan decided to to
land in another uninhabited Island.
• March 18, 1521 visited Humunu Island (now Homonhon) “watering
Place of good signs”
• First sign of golds were seen in the place.
• Archipelago of St. Lazarus