UNIT 1: UNDERSTANDING HISTORY USING ● History provides Identity

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES ● History is essential for Good Citizenship.

Lesson 1: MEANING AND RELEVANCE OF The Repositories of Historical Sources

HISTORY
Philippine Depositories
What is History?
The foremost depository where students of history
● History originated as a derivation of historia, can go to is the National Library of the Philippines
an ancient Greek term for learning through (NLP).
inquiry (Hoefferle, 2013).
● study of past events. ● Holding a wide array of general and rare
● chronological record of significant events collections on Philippine history, it includes
such as those affecting a nation or institution, the following units: (1) Filipiniana Division
often including an explanation of their and (2) Microfilm Section. These units,
causes (Merriam Webster Dictionary). indeed, are very helpful to students in their
● never-ending process whereby people seek academic pursuits and research endeavors.
to understand the past and its many Important documents such as the Historical
meanings (American Historical Association). Data Papersand the Philippine Revolutionary
● systematic account of a set of natural Records are housed in this library.
phenomena. It is also an investigative work
because people aim to satisfy their thirst for The Archives of the University of Santo Tomas
truth (Aristotle). contains rich Spanish-era collection, especially with
● History attempts to know the actions of regards to education-related records during the
human beings that were accomplished in the Spanish Period. The National Archives of the
past (Collingwood, 1976). Philippines (NAP) also contains rich Spanish-era
● Kasaysayan, the counterpart of history in collection, more particularly when it comes to
the mother tongue, is an essential narrative government-related records of the Spanish regime. If
with to a group of people that is the students wish to conduct researches on
characterized by uniqueness and identity. ecclesiastical-related topics, they can go and visit the
This uniqueness, as opined by Salazar, is Archdiocesan Archives of Manila which is located in
largely based on their own language and Arzobispado, Intramuros. This depository contains
heritage, hence ―Ang Kasaysayan ay vast information on Church affairs. It is also here
salaysay na may saysay para sa isang where the infamous
grupo ng tao na may kakanyahan,
identidad na nakasandig sa sariling wika Retraction Letter of Rizal was found. Moreover, the
at kalinangan (Sebastian and Rosales, Manila Observatory Archives contains pertinent data
2008). regarding the various weather disturbances and
● Salazar reiterates that the essence of history conditions. This is due to the fact that the
depends on whose history is being narrated Observatorio served as the weather forecasting
and who the intended audiences are. bureau of the Spanish colonial government.
● It is important to note that history is not
the past, but rather a glimpse of the past. Other institutions of higher learning boast their rich
History does not create narration of past collections of both primary and secondary sources.
events; rather a recreation of past events Among them are the University of the Philippines
based on available materials. Main Library in Diliman Quezon City; the Ateneo de
Manila University‘s Rizal Library and Historical
The Relevance of History Collection of the United States Embassy in Loyola
Collingwood (1976) tells that history is valuable Heights, Quezon City; and, the De La Salle University
because it teaches people what they have done and Libraries in Ermita, Manila. Students who wish to
thus what man is. Through history, the present conduct researches on ethnic groups can visit the SIL
generation could assess the feats and defeats of the
previous generations and can learn not only from their Philippines in Horseshoe Drive, Quezon City. The said
errors but also from their victories. archives offer almost 2,000 titles relating to the
languages of the Philippines. The archives of the
The following relevance of history were enumerated Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
by Peter Stearns (1998). (CICM), also in Quezon City, offers collections on
documents written by CICM missionaries who were
● History contributes to Moral Understanding posted in the northern parts of Luzon. Other
● History helps us understand people and depositories are the centers established by local
societies historical networks. These centers provide helpful

1
sources about the history of their towns or provinces, 2. Library of Congress (Washington D.C.)
thus the study of local history becomes easier.
3. Ayer Collection of the Newberry Library (Chicago,
Illinois)

Spanish Depositories 4. Lily Library (Bloomington, Indiana)

The following are the principal Spanish depositories 5. Harvard University

which contain tons of collections pertaining to the
Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines: 6. Stanford University

1. Archivo General de Indias (Seville) 7. University of Michigan

2. ArchivoHistorico Nacional (Madrid) The proliferation of online archives is also beneficial

to researchers who do not have the capacity to
3. Museo Naval de la Ministerio de Marina (Madrid) conduct research in any of the above-mentioned
depositories. Although many of their collections are
4. Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid) yet to be digitized, archive.org and Project Gutenberg
offer a wide array of scanned sources which are
5. Biblioteca Nacional de Espana (Madrid) available for download.

6. Archivo de Ministerio de AsuntosExteriores Classification and Types of Historical Sources

(Madrid)
Sources are defined as artifacts that have been left by
The Spanish government through the Ministerio de the past. They exist either as (1) relics, (2) what we
Cultura y Deporte launched the Portal de Archivos can call as remains, or (3) as the testimonies of
Españoles (PARES) which offers free access to witnesses of the past (Howell and Prevenier, 2001).
digitized copies of documents and other sources that Based on this definition, the students can infer that
can be found in Spanish Archives. Through this historical sources are not only confined to written
initiative, students of history in the Philippines can documents but also to artifacts and ecofacts. A basic
freely access digitized documents and other sources definition from Collins English Dictionary relates
online. artifact as something made or given shape by
humans such as a tool or a work of art. On the other
Mexican Depository hand, Merriam Webster Dictionary denotes artifact as
a simple object showing workmanship or modification
The Philippines was a part of the Viceroyalty of New as distinguished from a natural object. Basically, it is
Spain, the capital of which was situated in Mexico. an object remaining from a particular period.
The ties between the two Spanish territories ended Examples are tools and ornaments.
when Mexico gained its independence in 1821.
Because of this, a multitude number of sources could It is easy to say that an artifact does not only refer to
possibly be sitting in the Archivo General de la Nacion antiquated objects which are usually associated with
de Mexico which can be very useful to students. archaeological finds but to any object which were
modified by humans for their own purpose or
British Depository consumption. Also, an artifact is a mute witness of the
period of its existence. On the other hand, ecofact,
For a brief period of time, that is from 1762–1764, the according to the Oxford Dictionary pertains to an
British occupied Manila. It was through this invasion excavated piece of evidence consisting natural
that some historical sources written during the remains, as opposed to an objects of human
Spanish period made its way to the British Museum. workmanship. To make it simple then, an ecofact is
As a matter of fact, Jose Rizal took some time to the direct opposite of an artifact.
research inside this facility in an attempt to annotate
the Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas of Antonio de Main Types of Written Sources
Morga.
Primary Source
American Depositories
A good definition of primary source is provided by
Among the main depositories in the United States of Louis Gottschalk (1950) in his book Understanding
America include the following: History. According to him, a primary source is ―the
testimony of an eyewitness, or of a witness by any
1. National Archives and Records Service (NARS) other of the senses, or of a mechanical device like the
Dictaphone–that is, of one who or that which was

2
present at the events of which he or it tells.‖ Based on apparent authentic record as credible source of
this definition, a myriad of examples include the information. When there is no regard for examining
following: diaries, audio recordings, artifacts, letters, and establishing the originality and the competence of
newspaper articles and documents such as birth the source, make no mistake that the readers of the
certificates, marriage contracts, and death certificates. account shall be misled or worse misinformed and live
Visual sources like works of arts, photographs and through with it for the rest of their lives. As such,
videos are also included in this category. sources must be examined and should be dealt with
high regard in order to ascertain the accuracy of
information for the greater benefit of the readers.

Secondary Source Sources are said to be worthless if they are not used
by historians. The accounts of historians are
Gottschalk (1950) defines a secondary source as insignificant likewise if they are not read by readers,
―the testimony of anyone who is not an especially the students of history. This is the reason
eyewitness–that is, one who was not present at the why every information to be used must be accurate,
events of which he tells.‖ Thus, the main difference hence the importance of internal and external
between it and a primary source is the presence of criticisms. These criticisms are parts and parcels of
the writer or author or observer to the event being the so-called methods of history.
described. Secondary sources may include sources
as bibliographies, commentaries, annotations, What is the Difference between Method [of
dictionaries, encyclopedias, journal articles, History] and Historiography?
magazines, monographs, and textbooks.
● Method pertains to the process of
Unwritten Sources thoroughly examining and critically analyzing
the records and survivals of the past.
Unwritten sources include the following: (1) Likewise, it means the accumulation of data
archaeological evidence; (2) oral evidence; and (3) about the past to be thoroughly examined
material evidence. and critically analyzed by a set of scientific
rules so that a certain past that is attempted
Types of Unwritten Sources to reconstruct can be determined whether it
actually happened or not.
Archaeological Evidence
● On the other hand, Historiography refers the
Archaeological evidence refers to remains such as process of reconstructing historical data that
artifacts and ecofacts which help a historian in have already been tested by the method.
determining the culture of the area where the Also, it means the synthesizing of historical
evidence was found. Similarly, the ways of life of the data into a narrative or discourse. The
people, including their artistic expressions, have been writing of history books, researches such as
etched in these materials. Archaeological pieces of theses and dissertations or articles for
evidence include tools,ornaments, fixtures, etc. publications or for lectures in conferences
and seminars undergo historiography.
Oral Evidence
External Criticism: The Test of Authenticity
Oral evidence pertains to folk tales, myths, legends,
folk songs and popular rituals. These sources might Authenticity means originality. In history, it is more
contain information pertaining to the culture of the important to use original sources than secondary
people who created them. These pieces of evidence sources because they provide raw data that have not
can also give a glimpse of the people economic been subjected to the interpretation of historians.
activities at a given time, especially their They also lead directly the researcher or historian to
socio-political organization and social condition. the perception and milieu of the eyewitness in relation
to the event being studied. Genuine sources are
Material Evidence usually the sources from which secondary materials
derived their data.
Material evidence includes photographs, art works,
videos, and sound recordings. Why the Test of Authenticity is done? It is done in
order to determine the genuineness of sources. It is
Lesson 2: TESTS OF AUTHENTICITY AND necessary to determine real accounts from hoax
CREDIBILITY stories or those that were fabricated covertly by
persons who wanted to have false claims on
The usual mistake committed by a researcher, documents that allegedly prove certain phenomena in
especially a budding one, is when he considers any the very remote past. An example to this is the

3
alleged Maragtas which was purported by Pedro is from an interested witness—provided it can pass
Monteclaro. William Henry Scott (1984) argued in his the four tests‖ enumerated above.
book Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of
Philippine An independent source, even when it states certain
pieces of information claimed by another source, is a
History that Maragtas was made by Monteclaro based kind of source that derived its information from the
on suspicious oral and fabricated written sources. occurrence of the event itself. In other words, its
Sources are likewise fabricated in order to justify the author was there both in time and space and that he
supposed occurrence of events. A classic case on was mentally mature and conscious to absorb the
this matter is Negative Revisionism which, in anyway, building blocks of an event as they happened before
attempts to alter history or its course by means of his eyes. This means that an independent source is
trying to moderate or restrain the impact of history to an account that did not rely on some extrinsic
a person, institution or groups. informants. Certainly, secondary sources cannot be
considered independent sources because of their
Another reason in performing the Test of Authenticity reliance to primary sources. In order to adequately
is for the historian to detect misleading sources. establish the credibility of a source, two other
Sources that mislead purposively can misinform and, independent sources—written or unwritten—must
therefore, miseducate people because they divert the corroborate its claims.
value or real meaning of events. Moreover, identifying
the authorship of a source, the time of an event, In History, there is no such thing as objectivity or
including the time when the source was written, and judgment-free account. Even primary sources contain
the space of an event are equally important. The biases. Biases can be seen in the author‘s [or
authorship of the source provides strong authenticity eyewitness‘] perspective, affiliation, acclamation or
and credibility to it while time and space, together with appreciation of certain individuals and institutions,
the prevailing practices of that period, become the preferences, manner of description and worse,
bases of the context of an event, thebuilding blocks of one-sided view, etc. But biases must be minimized in
a historical process. It must be noted that an event order that the account would not be considered a
being studied must be situated in its proper context in product of what is known as yellow journalism.
order to adequately comprehend, analyze and
interpret its historical value. Basic Assumptions with Sources

Internal Criticism: The Test of Credibility Here are some assumptions which can guide
historians or researchers in examining primary
After ascertaining the genuineness or originality of sources:
sources, the historian has to perform internal criticism
in order to determine their credibility. What then 1. Sources like relics, artifacts, remains, documents,
makes the credibility of a source important? It is and witnesses are accurate when proven to be
important because it tells whether the source is authentic and credible. Relics, artifacts, and remains,
worthy to use by the historian in his study. For a though, are more reliable while documents (or
source to be regarded credible, the historian must be narratives) and witnesses are more detailed and
able to discern the following: specific.

1. Competence of the source in telling the truth 2. The authenticity of a source increases the
credibility of that source.
2. Willingness of the source in telling the truth
3. A primary source is more reliable than a secondary
3. Adequacy of data relayed by the source one.

4. Reliability of the source when corroborated by other 4. The credibility of a source is increased if it is
independent sources. corroborated by independent sources.

According to Gottschalk (1950), in examining the 5. Sources would tend to be bias, especially to its
credibility of a source, the historian or the skilled provenance or to the one who made it or held its
history researcher plays the role of a ―prosecutor, custody.
attorney for the defense, judge, and jury all in one.
But as a judge, he rules out no evidence whatever if it 6. If sources like witnesses or their testimonies do not
is relevant. To him, any single detail of testimony is have immediate interest or direct involvement to the
credible—even if it is contained in a document event, they become more credible than those who
obtained by force or fraud, or is otherwise have interest or direct involvement.
impeachable, or is based on necessary evidence, or

4
7. If all independent sources agree to a certain event, ❖ Free from the influence and subjection of
then the event becomes usually acceptable or factual. others; he must subject himself only to the
truth.
8. Testimonies of witnesses are credible if the
witnesses are mentally and emotionally fit at the time ❖ Conscientious in properly citing his sources.
of the interview or declaration.
❖ Thankful to those who helped him in
9. The source that does not conform to its milieu is pursuing his research in one way or another.
considered a fabricated source.
❖ Adhere himself to the highest integrity of
What to Consider with Disagreeing or Hostile scholarship by avoiding academic or
Sources? intellectual dishonesty such as plagiarism,
fabrication, deception, cheating or sabotage.
Disagreeing or hostile sources are difficult to deal
with, particularly when there is no enough evidence ❖ Engage himself in a scientific scholarship
that deal with the event being studied. Here are some through the proper application of the
tips that a historian needs to consider when dealing established methods of the discipline.
with them:
❖ Establish a serious and rational familiarity
1. If two sources disagree with each other and there is with sources and a critical dialogue with
no way wherein one could be examined over the other historians and the reading public.
other and vice-versa, the source with more logical
reasoning and which accords common sense would ❖ Secure all forms of sources and allow them
be considered. to be used by other historians.

2. If sources or witnesses do not agree on certain ❖ Offer authentic pieces of evidence to any
points, the source that gives more proofs to its serious claims or arguments.
authenticity and credibility becomes more reliable.
❖ Refrain from duplicating what has been done
3. If the source or witness is hostile, it becomes less before.
credible. Corroboration to other independent and
types of sources would be more necessary. ❖ Acknowledge indebtedness from other
historians or those who extended assistance.
4. A source or witness that holds orientation from one
school of thought or philosophy—e.g., Marxism—is ❖ Exude respect for criticisms from peers and
usually argumentative or hostile with other sources. other historians.
Thus, the milieu of the source or the events tackled
must be examined by looking at other sources that ❖ Abstain from unreasonable interpretation of
convey the same theme and that do not hold his data in order to achieve his intended
orientation from any school of thought. purpose.

Ethics in Historical Research ❖ Show respect to other viewpoints.

There are certain values that must be observed in ❖ Avoid irresponsible use of sources in order to
doing historical writing or research. It is expected that deliberately mislead readers, conceal
a historian should exude the following: incidents in the past or modify history for
one‘s benefit.
❖ Conscious as to where he is coming from
(biases, e.g., point of view, presuppositions, It must always be borne in mind that History is a
personal values, prior knowledge, etc.) relevant and moralizing discipline that is why it must
always be objective and accurate.
❖ Objective and accurate in examining and
analyzing his sources.

❖ Impartial and rational in interpreting his data

and in synthesizing his work.

❖ Open to the use of all available and relevant

sources, including those that contradict his
arguments.