Maria Teresa Catcha SocSci031 Dr. Manolito E.

Gemota
BSA-1

Contextual Analysis on Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas

Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, a book published by Dr. Antonio de Morga Sanchez,a Spanish
lawyer and historian. Dr. Sanchez, a graduate of University of Salamanca in 1574 and a doctorate
in Canon Law. He taught briefly in Osuna, later returning to Salamanca to study Civil Law. In 1580
he joined the government service, and was appointed in 1593 to Manila as Lieutenant Governor,
the second most powerful position in the colony, next only to the Governor General of the
Philippines and published the book, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Events in the Philippine Isles),
in 1609. The publication was about the history of the Philippine Islands and is renowned to be
one of the important works in the Philippines in the early history of the Spanish period.

Found in the book were the knowledge, documentations, keen observations and his direct
involvement of the events during the Spanish colonization in the Philippines. The information
inside the book, which talked about the history of the Philippine Islands, was dated from 1493 to
1603 and contained information about the political, social and economic aspect of the Philippines
and Spain. Furthermore, Dr. Jose Rizal, who was also a great writer, decided to annotate the
book and made his own version of it. Rizal wanted the Filipinos to be able to know their history
and make a version from an oppressed point of view.

The work consists of eight chapters: (1.) Of the first discoveries of the Eastern islands. (2.) Of the
government of Dr. Francisco de Sande (3.) Of the government of don Gonzalo Ronquillo de
Peiialosa (4.) Of the government of Dr. Santiago de Vera. (5.) Of the government of Gomes Perez
Dasrnariiias. (6.) Of the government of don Francisco Tello (7.) Of the government of don Pedro
de Acuiia (8.) An account of the Philippine Islands. The first seven chapters mainly concern the
political events which occurred in the colony during the terms of the first eleven governor-generals
in the Philippines, beginning with Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1565 to Pedro de Acuiia who died
in June 1606.

In the year 1890, Jose Rizal published his annotation on the book “Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas”
by Antonio de Morga. During that time Jose Rizal is already been travelling in some parts of the
world like Spain, France, Germany, Csechoslovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, China, Hong
Kong, Japan, United States, and England. During his travel he make sure to study the history and
culture of Philippines and our language, Filipino. He gave importance in our language because
he knew that in this way we can easily communicate and know our origin.

As to why he chooses Morga instead of Antonio Pigafetta’s account of the Magellan expedition,
which was more detailed and closer to the point of first contact between the Philippines and
Spain, Morga was a layman not a religious chronicler and he felt that Morga to be more “objective”
than the religious writers whose accounts included many miracle stories.
Maria Teresa Catcha SocSci031 Dr. Manolito E. Gemota
BSA-1

Rizal pointed out that even before the Spanish colonization, Filipinos had an independent culture
and were demoralized and exploited by the Spaniards. The colonization surely did not improve
the state of the Philippines and the people, the Filipinos, were surely to suffer due to the events
of the colonization. The country was far behind from any other countries and the Filipinos idolize
the lifestyle of other races. The trait of the Spaniards also remained with the Filipinos such as
being lazy and being selfish that brought corruption to the country.

However, people criticized Rizal’s annotations because he committed mistakes such as criticizing
the past events with concepts of present standards and they said some of his annotations were
exaggerated. Rizal pointed out that even before the Spanish colonization, Filipinos had an
independent culture and were demoralized and exploited by the Spaniards. Rizal's attacks on the
church were unfair and unjustified because the abuses of the friars should not be construed to
mean the Catholicism is bad.

Without the people of our country’s past, we would not be the people and country of today. It is
important to know and learn about your country’s history because it is also a part of you as a
person and as a citizen of your country. For a country’s past to be unacknowledged by its own
citizens, it is considered as immoral by those older generations because what happened in the
past is what made us, or rather the Philippines, on how it is now. With how our country’s
foundation right now, we wouldn’t know a thing upon how it stands if you don’t know the past.