Antonio Pigafetta “First Voyage Around the world”

Antonio Pigafetta was a key player of one of the most amazing world exploration trips.He
was born in Vicenza in 1492, and he was an Italian seafarer and geographer.
The relevance of his own venture, fundamentally lies in the fact that he took part to the
first globe circumnavigation, between 1519 and 1522, and he was able to accomplish it after the
murder of Ferdinand Magellan, leaving a detailed
description of the journey in the Report of the first trip around the world, a lost manuscript that
was rescued later, in 1797, and today is considered one of the most important documentary
evidence relating the geographical discoveries of the Sixteenth Century.
Antonio Pigafetta, fascinating and fleeing personality, for scholars he still represents a
partial mystery. About him too little is known to define a satisfactory profile on the biographical
side.Documents and the testimony of contemporaneous are scarces, and his own character
primarily appears from what he wrote in his own report. His own narration about the first world
circumnavigation was one of the greatest achievements in the history of navy exploration and
discovery.
In this narration can be found descriptions of peoples, countries, goods and even the
languages that were spoken, of which the seafarer was trying to assemble some brief glossaries.
Pigafetta tells how, being in Barcelona in 1519, he heard about Magellan’s expedition, and being
wishful to learn about the world, he asked for and obtained the permission to join in the voyage.
Magellan’s fleet weighed anchor from Seville on August 10th of the same year with five
smaller vessels, heading towards Canary Islands and down along the African coast, and across the
Equator. From there they sailed towards Brazil coast , where they stayed for some time, making
supplies and weaving friendly contacts with the cannibalistic natives who dwelled there.

Juan De Plasencia “Customs of the Tagalog”

There are at least three major discursive issues that can be extracted from the document,
Customs of the Tagalogs written by Juan de Plasencia in 1589, if we are to put socio-political
context into the text – first, the issue of authorship; second, the discourse of power in colonial
writing; and third, the logic of binarism or the Occident-Other dichotomy. These are interrelated
threads that probably constitute major segments of colonial historical writing in the Philippines.

The authorial voice or authorship plays a pivotal role in putting meaning(s) to this colonial text.
The author, Juan de Plasencia was, in the first place, not a native Tagalog but a Franciscan
missionary who first arrived in the Philippines in 1577. He was tasked by the King of Spain to
document the customs and traditions of the colonized (“natives”) based on, arguably, his own
observations and judgments. Notably, de Plasencia wrote the Doctrina Cristiana, an early book on
catechism and is believed to be the first book ever printed in the Philippines. Such initiatives were
an accustomed practice of the colonizer during the Age of Discovery to enhance their superiority
over the colonized and validity of their so-called duties and legacies to the World. It is a common
fact that during this era, the Spanish colonizers, spearheaded by missionaries, drew a wide variety
of texts ranging from travel narratives and accounts of the colony to even sermons.
In this particular text, de Plasencia tried to avoid discussing the “conflicting reports of the Indians”
through an “informed observation” to obtain the “simple truth.” This “truth,” however, is
debatable, and the manner of how he actually arrived to his reports is even more problematic. The
text foregrounds two important figures: the observer (de Plasencia) himself, with his own
background, subjectivites and biases; and the observer’s subject (Tagalogs), seen as the “Other,”
a metonymic amalgam of communal characteristics, local customs and traditions, etc. In colonial
situations, the relationship of these figures – the colonizer and the colonized – flows in both but
unequal directions; the former being the dominant, while the latter is the inferior one, or as Edward
Said put it, “a relationship of power, of domination, of varying degrees of a complex hegemony…
a sign of European-Atlantic power over the Orient than it is a veridic discourse about the Orient”
(72). Seen from the center looking toward the culturally and politically inferior periphery, the
colonizers find identity in its compelling position as the sophisticated dominating “self” versus the
inferior dominated “Other.” The use of politically incorrect terms such as “Indians,” “tribal” and
“natives,” and adjectives such as “amusing,” “foolish” and “absurd” in the text is just a
manifestation of the conflicting Occident-Other paradigm.

Clearly serving immediate colonial interests, many portions of the narrative are problematic
insofar as they posit the Tagalogs in such a way as to enhance the validity of the colonizer’s
allegiances. Skewed preconception and descriptive biases thrive throughout the entire document.

Emilio Jacinto “Kartilya ng Katipunan”

Si Emilio Jacinto y Dizon (15 Disyembre 1875 — 16 Abril 1899), ay
isang Pilipinong rebolusyonaryo at kilala bilang Utak ng Katipunan. Ipinanganak si Emilio
Jacinto sa Tondo, Maynila at ang mga magulang niya ay sina Mariano Jacinto at Josefa Dizon.
Nag-aral siya sa Colegio de San Juan de Letran, at lumaon at lumipat sa Unibersidad ng Santo
Tomas upang mag-aral ng abogasiya. Naging kamag-aral niya rito sina Manuel Quezon at Sergio
Osmeña. Hindi siya nakapagtapos sa kolehiyo, at sa gulang na 17, si Emilio Jacinto ang pinakabata
sa lihim na samahan na tinawag na Katipunan. Naging tagapayo siya sa mga usaping pampiskalya
at kalihim ni Andrés Bonifacio. Lumaon ay nakilala siya bilang Utak ng Katipunan. Inatasan siya
ni Bonifacio na mamuno sa Laguna. Siya ay nakasulat ng mga akda tulad ng A Mi Patria at
ang Kartilya ng Katipunan. Siya rin ay isa sa mga sumulat ng pahayagan ng Katipunan na
tinatawag na Kalayaan. Sumulat siya sa pangalang "Dimasilaw" at ginamit ang alyas na
"Pingkian" sa Katipunan.
the “Kartilya” is the best known of all Katipunan texts. Making manifest the KKK’s
principles and teachings, it was printed as a small pamphlet for new members. It is the only
document of any length set in print by the Katipunan prior to August 1896 that is known to be still
extant. The earliest reference to the Kartilya yet found is in the minutes of a Supreme Assembly
meeting held in December 1895, which say the manifesto (“pahayag”) will be priced at 4 kualta
per copy. Whether it is the KKK branches or the individual recruits who are to be charged this
amount is not clear, and nor is it known whether the title phrase -
Authorship of the Kartilya has always been credited to Emilio Jacinto, and there is little
doubt this attribution is sound: it dates back to the Sensacional memoria of Isabelo de los Reyes,
whose sources included several senior KKK veterans, and it has never been challenged. Bonifacio,
the story goes, had originally intended that his “Decalogue” should be printed and handed to new
recruits, but he then read Jacinto’s Kartilya and decided it was superior. The two texts, though,
are not really comparable. Bonifacio seeks only to enumerate the duties of Katipunan members,
Jacinto couches his primer, four times as long, rather as a statement of aspirations and ethical
values. Bonifacio lists ten obligations; Jacinto presents twelve “guiding principles” and fourteen
“teachings”.
The Kartilya is addressed “To those who want to join the Katipunan”; the Masonic
document to “los profanos que deben inscribirse en la Sociedad.” The preamble to the Kartilya
echoes the Masonic document’s stated purpose, which is to ensure that candidates fully understand
the association’s objectives before making a commitment they might later repent. The division in
the Kartilya between principles (“layon”) and teachings (“aral”) broadly parallels the division in
the Gran Oriente’s manifesto between the “Programa Masonica” and the “Codigo
Masonico.” And the Kartilya, finally, like the document used in the lodges, asks neophytes to
pledge their allegiance to the association’s objectives and to affirm with their signature that they
are becoming members of their own free will (“ninais ng loob ko”).

Emilio Aguinaldo “Mga gunita ng himagsikan”

Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (Spanish pronunciation: [eˈmi.ljo a.ɣiˈnal.do]: March 22,
1869 – February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, politician and military leader who is
officially recognized as the first and the youngest President of the Philippines (1899–1901) and
first president of a constitutional republic in Asia. He led Philippine forces first against Spain in
the latter part of the Philippine Revolution (1896–1898), and then in the Spanish–American
War(1898), and finally against the United States during the Philippine–American War (1899–
1901).In 1935, Aguinaldo ran unsuccessfully for president of the Philippine
Commonwealth against Manuel Quezon. He was also one of the Filipino historical figures to be
recommended as a national hero of the Philippines.

National Historical Institute(1997)

RATIFICATION OF PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE BY THE MUNICIPAL PRESIDENTS,
AUGUST 1, 1898 On August 1, 1898, 190 municipal presidents of different towns from 16
provinces—Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Bataan, Infanta, Morong, Tayabas,
Pampanga, Pangasinan, Mindoro, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, La Union and Zambales—ratified the
Proclamation of Independence in Bacoor, Cavite. (PDF)

Decrees by Aguinaldo

On June 18, 1898, General Aguinaldo issued a decree creating a dictatorial government in order
to access the situation in the Philippines and institute peace and order. Five days later, Aguinaldo
then issued another decree instituting a revolutionary government to fight for the independence of
the Philippines.

The first ever Philippine constitution, the Malolos Constitution, created a new government.
Along with the creation of the constitution, a congress was formed where President Aguinaldo
delivered an opening speech. National Assembly President Pedro Paterno opened session.
 On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence from the window of his
house in Kawit, Cavite, and waved the Philippine Flag officially for the first time to the martial
strains of the new national anthem.
On June 20, Aguinaldo issued a decree organizing the judiciary, and on June 23, again
upon Mabini’s advice, major changes were promulgated and implemented: change of government
from Dictatorial to Revolutionary; change of the Executive title from Dictator to President; the
establishment of four major departments including that of foreign affairs, navy and commerce; war
and public works, police and internal order; and finance, agriculture and manufacture industries
(this was later expanded to six departments with addition of welfare and treasury departments);
the appointment of delegates to the Revolutionary Congress from the non-liberated provinces, to
ensure wider representation, and the creation of the Executive Board of the Revolutionary
Committee at Hong Kong, which served as the diplomatic and international propaganda arm of
the Republic.

Alfred Mccoy “Political caricatures of the American Era”

Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of the American Era, 1900-41
by
Alfred W. McCoy,
Dr Alfred W. McCoy is professor of SE Asian History at the U. of Wisconsin at Madison
where he also serves as director of the Center for SE Asian Studies, a federally-funded National
Resource Center. He's spent the past quarter-century writing about the politics & history of the
opium trade. In addition to publications, he serves as a correspondent for the Observatoire
Geopolitique des Drogues in Paris & was plenary speaker at their '92 conference in Paris sponsored
by the European Community.
Philippine political cartoons gained full expression during the American era. Filipino artists
recorded national attitudes toward the coming of the Americans as well as the changing mores and
times. While the 377 cartoons compiled in this book speak for themselves, historian Alfred
McCoy’s extensive research in Philippine and American archives provides a comprehensive
background not only to the cartoons but to the turbulent period as well. Artist-writer Alfredo
Roces, who designed the book, contributes an essay on Philippine graphic satire of the period.

Commission on Independence” Filipino Grievances Against Governor wood”

Gregorio F. Zaide (May 25, 1907 – October 31, 1988) was a Filipino historian, author
and politician from the town of Pagsanjan, Laguna in the Philippines. A multi-awarded author,
Zaide wrote 67 books and more than 500 articles about history, he is known as the "Dean of
Filipino Historiographers."[1] He was one of the founders of the International Association of
Historians of Asia (IAHA), and president of the Philippine Historical Association for three terms.
As a politician, he served as the mayor of his hometown of Pagsanjan from 1971 to 1975.
He was elected as President of the Philippine Historical Association and served in this
capacity for three terms - between 1965-1966 and in 1971. He was also an active member of
the American Historical Associationbased in Washington, D.C.. He was a member of both the
National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and the National Research Council of the
Philippines (NRCP).
Arrival of the Americans in 1898F r o m t h e t i m e t h e A m e r i c a n s a r r i v e d
in t h e Philippines in 1898, Filipinos persistently demandedt o g i v e t h e m
i n d e p e n d e n c e . American colonialofficials did not say no to them because it
wouldsurely derail their effort to pacify them. Instead, theyappointed Filipino politicians
to key governmentpositions hoping that by doing so they will forgettheir desire for
independence.
*Filipinization- Is the transfer of authority to Filipinos in the UnitedStates territory's
Insular Government to better prepare forindependence.He was governor-general during the
passages of thePhilippine Autonomy Act, otherwise known as theJones Act.Despite the
length of his tenure as governor-generalhe vetoed only five bills, the least number by
anyAmerican governor-general in the Philippines.His pro-Filipino stance made him a popular
figure inthe Philippines but also the object of criticism ofconservat i ve Am e ri cans
who vi ewed hi s l i beral g o v e r n a n c e a s n o t s u p p o r t i v e e n o u g h o f
U . S . interests.*Vetoed = exercise a veto against(a decision or proposal made by a law-
making body)."The president vetoed the bill"Under his administration, the Governor-
General'sSpanish-era mansion called Malacañang Palace wasex panded wi t h t he
cons t ruct i on of an ex ecut i ve building.W h e n h e l e f t t h e P h i l i p p i n e s , H a r r i s o n
l i v e d i n Scotland until being recalled to the Philippines in1 9 3 4 d u r i n g a p e r i o d
o f t r a n s i t i o n f r o m a n unincorporated territory of the United States to
theCommonwealth of the Philippines.