Contextual Analysis on Rizal’s Annotation of

Dr. Antonio de Morga’s

“Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas”
Antonio de Morga was a Spanish conquistador that served as a government official and
a historical anthropologist in the Philippines. He wrote the book “Sucesos de las Islas Felipinas”
which contains the information and details about the condition of the country under the hands of
the Spaniards. Morga’s work was of importance since it was written by him and to consider his
profession, it would be an underestimation not to consider him as reliable. The book contains
eight chapters where the history proper of the country was written along with what happened
approximately 70 years before the conquering of the Spaniards until 1603.

It was at the era when the Spaniards pre-dominantly inhabited the Philippines when
Morga had originally published the book. The story was released by Casa de Geronymo Balli in
Mexico City in two Volumes, both release at exact date in 1609. New Spain’s Viceroy Luis de
Velasco authorized the release and on April 7, 1609, granted Morga the sole right to publish it
for ten years.

Antonio de Morga's famous book was a very crucial art piece of our history and to be
able to read and scan his work gave us not just a glimpse but an overview of the real situations
of our beloved fellowmen at the time of Spanish Colonization. Specifically, the dominant events
from the years 1493 until 1603. The book was systematically written with contents of various
threads about the country. His work was one of the first published books in the Philippines that
gave itself the special value that the officials considered be it political, social and economic
phases. Political, social and economic stages of life are being handled, both among the natives
and their conquerors. The legal position of Morga enabled him to access many records from the
government.

The significance of this book has been recognized long before our country had access to
our own independence. It caught the attention of the Hakluyt Society in 1851. The work of
Morga is based on personal experiences or records of the described occurrences from eye-
witnesses. Moreover, as he informs us himself, Legaspi’s expedition was still prevailing while he
was preparing his Manila book, and he was able to consult these too. It was evident as a law
practitioner that he would hardly fail to seek such proof and supporting artifacts for his
observation.

On the other hand, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas which was composed objectively by
Morga was annotated by Rizal. Morga needed to protect the historical backdrop of the
Philippines and Spain which was the explanation behind distributing the book. It was said that
this book was uncommon and just restricted duplicates were accessible in libraries. Later on,
Rizal knew about this book and made his very own form with comments.

Rizal called attention to that even before the Spanish colonization, Filipinos had an
autonomous culture and were dampened and misused by the Spaniards. The colonization
doubtlessly didn't improve the condition of the Philippines and the individuals, the Filipinos, were
without a doubt to endure because of the occasions of the colonization. The nation was a long
ways behind from some other nations and the Filipinos venerate the way of life of different
races. The quality of the Spaniards likewise stayed with the Filipinos, for example, being
lethargic and being narrow minded that carried defilement to the nation.

Without the individuals of our nation's past, we would not be the people and nation of
today. It is critical to know and find out about your nation's history since it is likewise a piece of
you as an individual and as a resident of your nation. For a nation's past to be unacknowledged
by its very own residents, it is considered as indecent by those more seasoned ages since what
occurred in the past is the thing that made us, or rather the Philippines, on how it is presently.
With how our nation's establishment at this moment, we wouldn't know a thing upon how it
stands in the event that you don't have the foggiest idea about the past.

The Sucesos de las Islas Felipinas is the work of an honest spectator, himself a major
persona in his time’s drama, a versatile bureaucrat who knew from within the functioning of the
administration. It is also the first history of the Philippines at the period of Spanish Colonization
to be written by a layman to opposed and reveal the immoral doings and inhumane acts the
Spaniards specially the Friars. Morga's book was commended by contemporaries or
successors, cited and plagiarize. On the arrival of the conquistadors, the Filipinos found it a
useful account of the state of their native culture; Spaniards saw it as a work to be admired or
condemned, according to their views and the context of their time but Rizal saw it as something
in opposition as to what others labelled the book to be.