Rizal: The Militant Historiographer national historical institute website Yes, Rizal started his mission of manumission by correcting

Philippine history. Considered one of the most scholarly works of Rizal was when he annotated Antonio de Morgas Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. If the Noli me tangere deals with the present and El Filibusterismo conveys the future, Rizals Morga unraveled the pre-Hispanic Philippines. Rizal picked Morgas work over other Spanish chronicles because of the following reasons: the original book was rare; according to Ferdinand Blumentritt there are very few libraries that have a copy of the book and guard it with the same care as they would an Inca treasure; Morga was a layman not a religious chronicler, perhaps Morga can be more objective than the religious writer that might include mysticism or miraculous stories; Morga was more sympathetic to the Indio, and lastly he was not only an eyewitness but a major actor in the events he narrates. Antonio de Morga Snchez Garay was born in 1559 in Seville, Spain. He graduated from the University of Salamanca in 1574 and received a doctorate in canon law in 1578. He joined the government service in 1580. In 1593 he was sent to Manila as lieutenant governor of the Philippines, the second most powerful position in the colony, after the governor-general. He arrived in Manila on June 11, 1595, from Acapulco, in New Spain. In 1598 he resigned as lieutenant governor to assume the office of oidor, or judge, in the newly re-established Audiencia of Manila. He also led the Spanish in one naval battle against the Dutch corsairs in the Philippines under Olivier van Noort in 1600. On the same year Morga started to write Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. His work, which narrated the Spanish colonialism in the Philippines, is based on his partly documentary research, keen observation and personal involvement and knowledge as a high ranking official in the country. Rizals intention of publishing the Morga anew and adding to lengthy annotations was clear. He wanted to prove, by means of a reputable work, that the people of the Philippines did possess a high level of culture and morality before the arrival of the Spaniards, did have a mastery of a distinct handicraft art, did develop a flourishing trade and did maintain a good contact with the outside world. Knowledge of their own past should strengthen the self-confidence of his countrymen and promote their political and scientific growth. Rizals annotation to Morga is considerably important. He uses historical revision and ideas from a Filipino point of view in order to create a sense of national consciousness. The revisions he had done established our own historiography. Rizal indeed corrected the errors in Morgas work, and so by doing pricked the bubble of historical misinformation about the Philippine. This re-writing of history became a precedent and encouraged other historiographers to scrutinize other historical works about the Philippines. Rizal knew that during his days, education did not provide the tool for critical and transformative thinking, so he endeavored to rewrite the facts which were the basis of colonial education for he knew that the transmission of knowledge is instrumental to the existing society, and that the colonial system of education, imposed a specific set of ruling class codes and experiences supportive of colonialism, he set out to challenge the facts of history by publishing Morgas Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas with his own annotations. By provoking the sensibilities of the reader, Rizal opened the floodgates of critical awakening so necessary in social transformation. With the people finally aware that they had been had for centuries, they demanded change by reforms or by revolution.

To be Rizal, is to be critical.