LESSON 10: HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION
Oversimplification – happens often in education or propaganda settings, when a
historical event is reduced to its basics to relay what happened in the past quickly.
- Occurs when an interpretation does not offer enough detail to provide a fuller
picture of what happened in the past, which could lead to an incomplete and
inaccurate version of the historical account.
Inadequacy – when there is inadequate evidence to make definitive assumptions about
the past, yet many still proceed with historical interpretation.
- When the historical interpretation is based on inadequate evidence, we
perpetuate a reading of the past that may have been wrong in the first place.
Tentativeness – the appreciation that historical interpretation should not be treated as if
written in stone, that interpretations are subject to changes as new information is
uncovered, new voices heard, and new interpretations broached.
- Historical interpretations are affected by the tentativeness of history.
A. The Battle of Mactan
Ferdinand Magellan
- reached a part of the Philippine Island, which he named Islas de San Lazaro
and claimed it in the name of Spain.
- in the process, he got involved in the conflicts of competing chieftains in the
area.
Gaspar Correia
- a sixteenth century Portuguese historian who obtained information from
survivors of the Magellan expedition, described Lapulapu.
- according to his sources, the hero of Mactan is very old-he may even be 70
years or older as the term used was “veljo/Viejo.
- It is certain then that Lapulapu could not have killed Magellan himself, and it
would be more apt to say that it was the forces under his command that killed the
European navigator.
Datu Zula
- another chief from Mactan, who claimed that he was unable to send the bulk of
his tribute to Magellan because of Lapulapu.
- he asked the Europeans to help fight Lapulapu, and Magellan immediately
decided to personally lead this small force, despite the protest of his men.
- One thing is for sure: Lapulapu did not personally kill Magellan.
B. The First Catholic Mass in the Philippines
Butuan – was believed to be the site of the first Mass for three centuries, culminating in
the erection of the monuments in 1872 near Agusan River, which commemorates the
expedition’s arrival and celebration of Mass on April 8, 1521.
Historians generally refer to 2 primary sources in identifying the site of the first Mass:
1. Francisco Albo
– his kept log and he is a pilot of one of Magellan’s ships, Trinidad.
- he was one of the 18 survivors who turned with Sebastian Elcano on the
board the vessel Victoria after they circumnavigated the world.
2. Antonio Pigafetta
- the more complete was the account of him, Primo viaggio intorno al mondo
(First Voyage Around the World).
- likeAlbo, he was a member of the Magellan expedition and an eyewitness of the
events, particularly, of the first Mass.
In Albo’s account, the location of Mazava fits that off the island of Limasawa, at the
southern tip of Leyte, 9 degrees 54 minutes north.
Also, Albo does not mention the first Mass but only planting of the cross upon a
mountaintop from which could be seen three islands to the west and southwest, which
also fits the southern end of the Limasawa. Albo and Pigafetta’s testimonies coincide
and corroborate each other.
C. Rizal’s Retraction
Jose Rizal
– is identified as a hero of the revolution for his writings that center on ending
colonialism and liberating Filipino minds to contribute to creating the Filipino nation.
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
- his essay vilified (speak or write about an abusively disparaging manner) not the
Catholic religion, but the friars, the primary agents of injustice in the Philippine society.
The Retraction
- declares Rizal’s belief in the Catholic faith and retracts everything he was written
against the Church.
There are several iterations (repeating a process or action, especially to improve a
result) of the texts of this retraction:
1. The first was published in La Voz Española and Diaro de Manila on the day of
the execution, December 30, 1896.
2. The second text appeared in Barcelona, Spain, in the magazine La Juventud(is
a Spanish term meaning “youth” or “young people”) a fewmonths after the
execution, February 14, 1897, from an anonymous writer who was later on
revealed to be Fr. Vicente Balguer. However, the “original” text was only found
in the archdiocesan achieves on May 18, 1935, after almost four decades of
disappearance.
Fr. Vicente Balaguer
- is a Jesuit friar and he claimed that he “was the one who assisted Rizal most of that
sad day’s hours” and even “argued with him and demolished his arguments.
- according to his testimony, Rizal woke up several times, confessed four times,
attended a Mass, received communion, and prayed the rosary, all of which seem out of
character.
- but since it is the only testimony of allegedly a “primary” account that Rizal ever wrote
a retraction documents, it has been used to argue the authenticity of the documents.
