He was also in command of the Spanish ships in a 1600 naval battle against Dutch corsairs, but suffered defeat and barely survived. implements of warfare. An early historian asserts that without this fortunate circumstance, for the A century later this remark was repeated: Spaniards come to the Islands as to an inn where they live and die as passengers; and a rich man is always within an ace of poverty (Velarde, P. Murillo, Historia de la Provincia de Philipinas, II Pte, (Manila, 1749), 272.Google Scholar, 34. had disarmed and left without protection. The image of the Holy Child of Cebu, which many religious writers believed was brought to Cebu by the angels, was in fact given by the worthy Italian chronicler of Magellan's expedition, the Chevalier Pigafetta, to the Cebuano queen. Islands. Feature Flags: { 27. This was accomplished "without expense to the royal treasury." The Bisayan usage then was the same procedure that the Japanese today follow. Translated and edited by James S. Cummins, Reader in Spanish, University College, London. The same governor, in like manner, also fortified the point at the entrance to the river where had been the ancient native fort of wood, and he gave it the name Fort Santiago. That the Spaniards used the word "discover" very carelessly may be seen from an admiral's turning in a report of his "discovery" of the Solomon islands though he noted that the islands had been discovered before. II (London, 1625), 75Google Scholar Morga's personal help for the Franciscans' Japan mission is revealed in the letter from the martyr fray Martin de la Ascension (Sucesos, chapter vi). This may very well have been so, considering the hatred and rancor then existing, but those in command set the example. The Filipinos were decimated, demoralized, exploited and ruined by the Spanish civilization 3. understand the relish of other Europeans for beefsteak a la Tartar which to them is He was also a historian. [7], Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century. The Japanese were not in error when they suspected the Spanish and Portuguese religious propaganda to have political motives back of the missionary activities. III, f.49-v, 30 August 1608, Archives of the Indies, Seville; Retana, , 4235Google Scholar. According to Gaspar San Agustin, the cannon which the pre-Spanish Filipinos cast were "as great as those of Malaga," Spain's foundry. In this lesson, you will learn the importance of analyzing other peoples works in the past in order to gain a deeper understanding of our nation, with anticipation that you, too, may write a reliable historical fact of the Philippines. The first English translation was published in London in 1868 and another English translation by Blair and Robertson was published in Cleveland in 1907. Of the government of Dr. Santiago de Vera 5. could not pass unless she had a husband or lover to extend a hand to assist her. One wonders why the Philippines could have a representative then but may not have one now. Later, there was talk of sabotage during these preparations two holes were bored in one of the ships one night, and it began to sink, and the sails were taken out and hidden in the woods. in other lands, notably in Flanders, these means were ineffective to keep the church It continued to work until 1805. Made it easier for him to get access to numerous accounts and document that further made his book more desirable to read and rich with facts. gathered, for the infidels wanted to kill the Friars who came to preach to them." personal knowledge of our ancient nationality in its last days. Hakluyt Society. Truth is that the ancient activity was scarcely for the Faith alone, because the missionaries had to go to islands rich in spices and gold though there were at hand Mohammedans and Jews in Spain and Africa, Indians by the million in the Americas, and more millions of protestants, schismatics and heretics peopled, and still people, over six-sevenths of Europe. Morga's views upon the failure of Governor Pedro de Acunia's ambitious expedition against the Moros unhappily still apply for the same conditions yet exist. are worthy of admiration and some of them are richly damascened. Former Raja Lakandola, of He it was who saved Manila from Li Ma-hong. From the earliest Spanish days ships were built in the islands, which might be Advantage of Morga's position in the state. Estimating that the cost to the islands was but 800 victims a year, still the total would be more than 200,000 persons sold into slavery or killed, all sacrificed together with so many other things to the prestige of that empty title, Spanish sovereignty. "Otherwise, says 26. The loss of two Mexican galleons in 1603 called forth no comment from the religious chroniclers who were accustomed to see the avenging hand of God in the misfortunes and accidents of their enemies. 3107; III, 83, Item No. The value of Antonio de Morga's Sucesos de las Islas has long been recognised. In addition it talked about communication with Japan, Chinese and missionary movements (and other neighboring countries of the philippines). The Filipinos' favorite fish animal of his own, and then made the promise which he kept, to do away with the The Jesuit, Father Alonso Sanchez, who visited the papal court at Rome and the Spanish King at Madrid, had a mission much like that of deputies now, but of even greater importance since he came to be a sort of counsellor or representative to the absolute monarch of that epoch. other artillery, muskets were unknown till the Spaniards came. noted that the islands had been discovered before. The Spaniards, says Morga, were accustomed to hold as slaves such natives as once paid his uncle a visit. Robertson, J. Young Spaniards out of bravado season. unsuccessful attack upon Manila, to Pangasinan province, with the Spaniards of whom The the archipelago were economically self-sufficient and thriving and culturally lively His book, published in 1609, ranges more widely than its title suggests since the Spanish were also active in China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, the Moluccas, Marianas and other Pacific islands. Rather than expose his two youngest children to the perils of the voyage Morga left them in Spain. Published online by Cambridge University Press: The case would be funny if the invented code had not passed into Philippine history books in full. Uno de sus grandes atractivos de la isla filipina de Palawa es el ro subterrneo navegable que es el ms largo del mundo: el de Puerto Princesa. All of these are touched on by Morga to a greater or lesser degree, and he also treats the appearance on the Asian scene of Dutch rivals to Spanish imperial ambitions. The expeditions captained by Columbus and Magellan, one a Genoese Italian and the other a Portuguese, as well as those that came after them, although Spanish fleets, still were manned by many nationalities and in them went negroes, Moluccans, and even men from the Philippines and the Marianes Islands. Historians have confused these personages. Three centuries ago it was the custom to write as intolerantly as Morga does, but DOI link for Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, 1609, by Antonio de Morga, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, 1609, by Antonio de Morga book. Antonio de Morga (1559-1636) was a Spanish conquistador, a lawyer and a Morgas work, Rizal anotated Morga's Sucesos and published it in 1890. Philippine islands, Rizals beliefs say otherwise. San Agustin, the cannon which the pre-Spanish Filipinos cast were "as great as those of From the first edition, Mexico, 1609. colonization that the Philippines rich culture and tradition faded to a certain extent. then been killed himself. For the rest, today the Philippines has no reason to blush in comparing its womankind with the women of the most chaste nation in the world. It might be advisable to lead up to the matter by informing the Japanese Emperor of the recent troubles, resulting in some deaths, caused by the Chinese in Manila: this would show that the Spanish were not being unjust. It continued to work until 1805. variously called, who had been driven out by his brother, more than fifteen hundred (Events in the Philippine Islands) in 1609 after being reassigned to Mexico. 3099067 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG 2023 Informa UK Limited, Cummins, J.S. The southern islands, the Bisayas, were also called "The Land of the Painted People (or Pintados, in Spanish)" because the natives had their bodies decorated with tracings made with fire, somewhat like tattooing. Three main propositions were emphasized in Rizals New Edition of Morgas Sucesos: 1) The people of the Philippines had a culture on their own, even before the coming of the Spaniards; 2) Filipinos were decimated, demoralized, exploited, and ruined by the Spanish colonization; and 3) The present state of the Philippines was not necessarily superior to its past. Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, 1609, by Antonio de Morga (1st ed.). the left. ; see Lorenzo Perez, OFM., in Archive Iberoamericano, XX. [1] It was published in 1609 after he was reassigned to Mexico in two volumes by Casa de Geronymo Balli, in Mexico City. It was Dr. Blumentritt, a knowledgeable Filipinologist, who recommended Dr. Antonio Morgas Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, which, according to many scholars, had an honest description of the Philippine situation during the Spanish period. See Cline, Howard F., The Relaciones geograficas of the Spanish Indies, 157786 in Hispanic American Historical Review, 44 (1964), 84174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 46. Colin says the ancient Filipinos had minstrels who had memorized songs telling their genealogies and of the deeds ascribed to their deities. An early historian asserts that without this fortunate circumstance, for the Spaniards, it would have been impossible to subjugate them. Sucesos was done by an early biographer of Rizal, Austin Craig (1872-1949). Though the Philippines had lantakas and other artillery, muskets were unknown till the Spaniards came. Among the Filipinos who aided the government when the Manila Chinese revolted, Argensola says there were 4,000 Pampangans "armed after the way of their land, with bows and arrows, short lances, shields, and broad and long daggers." Both these authors' allegations may have contributed, but more important was the fact that there was no law to compel these Chinamen to row in the galleys. Collection Campo, and Captains Francisco Palaot, Juan Lit, Luis Lont, and Agustin Lont. The book was an unbiased presentation of 16th century Filipino culture. Through the centuries, Jose Rizal has been known to be an earnest seeker of truth it is this characteristic that marked him as a great historian. fact admits that he abandoned writing a political history because Morga had already Torres-Navas, , II, 139Google Scholar, Item No. chiefs. Yet the government was unable to repel them or to defend the people whom it had disarmed and left without protection. (1926), 147Google Scholar. The Buhahayen people were in their own Explain the underlying purpose of Morgas Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. MS Filipinas 340, lib. Colin, 's Labor evangelicaGoogle Scholar claimed to supersede earlier writers because it is based on authorised and accredited reports. Spain, and that it is the islands which owe everything. By virtue of the last arrangement, according to some historians, Magellan lost his life on Mactan and the soldiers of Legaspi fought under the banner of King Tupas of Cebu. The book also includes Filipino customs, traditions, manners, and religion during the Spanish conquest. SJ., The Jesuits in the Philippines (Cambridge, Mass., 1961), 349.Google Scholar, 33. Colin, , III, 32 ffGoogle Scholar. It will be seen later on in Morga that with the Spaniards and on behalf of Spain political, social and economic phases of life from the year 1493 to 1603. cross that had no bridge other than a very narrow strip of wood over which a woman His book, published in 1609, ranges more widely than its title suggests since the Spanish were also active in China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, the Moluccas, Marianas and other Pacific islands. He may have Of the government of Dr. Francisco de Sande 3. But through this error and the inaccuracy of the nautical instruments of that time, the Philippines did not fall into the hands of the Portuguese. The expedition which followed the Chinese corsair Li Ma-hong, after his unsuccessful attack upon Manila, to Pangasinan province, with the Spaniards of whom Morga tells, had in it 1,500 friendly Indians from Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Panay, besides the many others serving as laborers and crews of the ships. 17 (1934), 76108.Google Scholar, 48. Religion had a broad field awaiting it then in the Philippines where more than nine-tenths of the natives were infidels. Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, 1609, by Antonio de Morga J.S. to Colin, of red color, a shade for which they had the same fondness that the Romans Lesson 1. The rest of their artillery equipment had been thrown by the 39. musk perfume, and stores of provisions, he took 150 prisoners. Protestants, whom neither the Roman Catholics of Morga's day nor many Catholics in By the Jesuit's line of reasoning, the heroic Spanish peasantry in their war for independence would have been a people even more treacherous. We have the testimony of several It is then the shade of our ancestors civilization which the author will call before you. These were chanted on voyages in cadence with the rowing, or at festivals, or funerals, or wherever there happened to be any considerable gatherings. It is not the fact that the Filipinos were unprotected before the coming of the Spaniards. Not the least of his accomplishments was his Sucesos de las islas filipinas, first published in Mexico in 1609. The annotations of Morga's book were finally finished, and they came out in 1890. In the attempt made by Rodriguez de Figueroa to conquer Mindanao according to his contract with the King of Spain, there was fighting along the Rio Grande with the people called the Buhahayenes. The Spaniards retained the native name for the new capital of the archipelago, a little changed, however, for the Tagalogs had called their city "Maynila.". Elsewhere Morga says he arrived on 10 June (Retaria, , 45*).Google Scholar, 6. being. He it was who saved Manila from Li Ma-hong. It neither is, nor ought to be, decayed. truth it is this characteristic that marked him as a great historian. Annotation of Antonio Morgas Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. title, Spanish sovereignty. means, cheating by the weights and measures. The app supplies readers with the freedom to access their materials anywhere at any time and the ability to customize preferences like text size, font type, page color, and more. bad is another of those prejudices which Spaniards like all other nations, have. those who had "pacified" them, he means "divided up among." By continuing to use the website, you consent to our use of cookies. (Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas) 1559 - July 21, 1636 Antonio de Morga His history is valuable in that Morgahad access to the survivors of the earliest days of the colony and he, himself, participated in many of the accounts that he rendered. had. resisted conversion or did not want it may have been true of the civilized natives. Former Raja Lakandola, of Tondo, with his sons and his kinsmen went, too, with 200 more Bisayans and they were joined by other Filipinos in Pangasinan.