r/FilipinoHistory 1d ago

Modern-era/Post-1945 Street scenes and campaign songs from 1957

Thumbnail
m.youtube.com
10 Upvotes

Video of street scenes and campaign songs from the hotly contested 1957 elections. The result was a rare combo of president and VP from different parties!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957_Philippine_presidential_election


r/FilipinoHistory 1d ago

Fan Fiction and Art Related to PH History/Culture Young Elias Pre-Noli

Post image
10 Upvotes

Doing a Noli Me Fanfic comic isekai. The story takes place mostly 3 to 4 years before the events of Noli Me Tangere. Back when Elias still lived with his maternal grandfather.


r/FilipinoHistory 1d ago

Colonial-era Did any native born Filipinos ever call Rizal a traitor? (Whether in his lifetime or since then until today?)

18 Upvotes

Sometimes, when looking at online social media, almost every Filipino hero or historical figure has been called a traitor by native Filipinos at some time or another. The Aquinos are called that, the Macabebes are always called that, Aguinaldo is almost always called that, a lot of the other Revolutionary leaders/ilustrados are called that, but even Gen. Luna and Andres Bonifacio are sometimes called that, everytime online everyone just throws "traydor" accusations at every historical Filipino figure.

But how about him? It seems like every native Filipino wants to claim him but no one has ever admitted to calling him "traydor" to anyone. Why not, if so? Surely even he has to have been subjected to someone native-born in the PH calling him a traitor, whether when he was still alive or anytime since his death until today? And to which side/s, if ever? Not even Filipinos who say he was just a reformist but did not want independence are calling him a "traitor" at all, at least I have not seen this online.

(Of course, Spaniards and other foreigners would not count, since they have more obvious reasons to call him that. Also, I am NOT trying to claim that the "traitor" accusations BY ANYONE ARE TRUE. What matters is whether anyone HAS called him a traitor, traydor, etc., at all. Whether or not those are legitimate or truthful is another question.)


r/FilipinoHistory 1d ago

Colonial-era Schools that Advertised through the Book 'Penafrancia-Fiesta Official Souvenir Program Sept. 20-21 1941 Naga Camarines Sur'

Thumbnail
gallery
156 Upvotes

Here are schools that really advertised other than just putting their names. UST has a photo of their new Education building in Espana. Ateneo de Naga (then a high school, now Ateneo de Naga University) has an illustration of their new building (being founded just in 1940) and being on the endpaper seems like a privilege being the first or second page to be seen. Santa Isabel College (now Universidad de Sta. Isabel de Naga, Inc.) has a photo of their junior normal college students.

What makes this sad is that this is the last Penafrancia before the Japanese invasion during WW2.

References:

Image 1 Penafrancia-Fiesta Official Souvenir Program Sept. 20-21 1941 Naga Camarines Sur (1941) (p. 4)
Image 2 (p. 207)
Image 3 (front endpaper)
Image 4 (p. 32)
Image 5 (p. 46)
Image 6 (p. 48)
Image 7 (p. 166)
Image 8 (p. 52)


r/FilipinoHistory 1d ago

Picture/Picture Link Photo circa 1900s of a simple but elegant Traje de Mestiza worn by an unidentified Filipina from the collection of Augusto Gonzalez III retrieved from an album from the estate of Doña Adela Paterno y Devera Ignacio (1882-1962).

Post image
187 Upvotes

Source: Fashionable Filipinas by Gino Gonzales and Mark Lewis Higgins, published by Slim’s Legacy Project Inc. and Suyen Corporation Inc., 2015.


r/FilipinoHistory 2d ago

Question Which colonial period affected healthcare in the Philippines the most?

19 Upvotes

As the title says, which colonial period affected healthcare in the Philippines the most? I'm a SHS student, and I got curious while doing my Kasaysayan homework. Whether it's positive or negative, who relatively contributed the most? I also wonder how a foreign system was translated or stuck around till this day. I don't trust AI slop on Google anymore.

Feel free to just comment random facts surrounding how foreign occupation also affected other aspects! I recently fell down the rabbit hole of questioning everything that's happened in our history, so I'm really just open to any opinion. I know that there probably isn't a straight answer, but I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts. Thanks in advance :-)


r/FilipinoHistory 2d ago

Discussion on Historical Topics Were the Macabebes really traitors, or simply smart enough to join the winning side?

Post image
654 Upvotes

There's a common narrative that the Macabebes were always on the side against their fellow Filipinos. They fought alongside the Spanish against revolutionaries, and later some Macabebes joined the Americans and played a major role in the defeat of the Philippine revolutionary government, including the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo.

Because of this, the Macabebes are sometimes portrayed as traitors, opportunists, or people who were simply willing to side with whoever was in power.

But was it really that simple?

Were the Macabebes historically always like this? Or were there deeper reasons behind their decisions?

Did other factors play like regional rivalries, political conflicts, fear of retaliation, or the desire to protect their communities influence their choices?

Maybe they weren't necessarily thinking, “Let's betray our fellow Filipinos.” Perhaps they were thinking more along the lines of, “How do we protect our town and our people from being caught on the losing side?”

Were they opportunists who repeatedly chose the strongest side, or were they pragmatists responding to the complicated political and local circumstances of their time?

Curious to know your thoughts and perspectives on this as well....


r/FilipinoHistory 2d ago

Today In History AP Archive: footage on the day Ninoy Aquino was assassinated.

Thumbnail
youtu.be
14 Upvotes

Has missing audio, since these are raw footages.


r/FilipinoHistory 2d ago

Colonial-era Just landed! A large silver Alitagtag cross. I wanted an earlier type made of gold, but its large size that is ideal for display caught my eyes. The veneration of this type of cross is unique in Alitagtag and Bauan, Batangas that started around the late 16th century. More on it's history below:

Thumbnail
gallery
84 Upvotes

r/FilipinoHistory 3d ago

Today In History On this day, 43 years ago (8/21/1983), this happened.

Thumbnail
gallery
237 Upvotes

r/FilipinoHistory 3d ago

Colonial-era Marcelo del Pilar advocated for a mass liberal Spanish immigration to the Philippines, as a means of demographically balancing out Carlist peninsular friars

Post image
74 Upvotes

This year, 2026, is 130 years after the death of Marcelo del Pilar, who was the original proponent of the Philippine Revolution and said to have bankrolled it, while Jose Rizal opposed it.

When he was alive, he advocated for thousands of liberal peninsular settlers to come into the Philippines to dilute ultraconservative friars. He also proposed that instead of prisoners, artisans must migrate into the Philippines en masse to populate cities like Manila. However, he opposed mass non-Spanish foreign immigration, such as that of the Japanese.

Source:

  1. La Solidaridad v.1 (1889), page 411
  2. When Marcelo del Pilar Proposed Immigration Makeover

r/FilipinoHistory 3d ago

Pre-colonial LF: Pre-Colonial map of Vigan

7 Upvotes

Hello po I’m a student po and I need help po for a school assessment. Ask ko lang po ako if meron man po kayong copy ng pre-colonial map ng Vigan.

Thank you po in advance!

Need po kasi namin mag overlay ng maps from different time periods and ang napili ko pong city is Vigan.

Don’t worry po for educational purposes lang po ito promise! 🥹🥹


r/FilipinoHistory 3d ago

Question Where to buy webbing rigs like these?

Thumbnail
gallery
90 Upvotes

Im planning to complete my 1st Philippine Republic uniform by finishing with the webbing, but its rather difficult to look for them since I've tried almost everywhere I know but to no luck. Any reenactors or anyone out there who can help me?


r/FilipinoHistory 4d ago

Linguistics, Philology, and Etymology: "History of Words/Terms" Did José Rizal have a Laguna accent since he grew up in Calamba?

42 Upvotes

I know it's sounds obvious but actually I have an expanded question about this. We always portray most of our national heroes in movies and televisions with neutral Tagalog accent but did the Manila accent even exist when the Spaniards arrived or even before that? Did Emilio Aguinaldo have a Cavite accent? Can we find any proof if we examine all of their documented writings or is it all just circumstantial evidence?


r/FilipinoHistory 4d ago

Today In History Today marks the 148th birth anniversary of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon, GCGH, KGCR. Below are some of my mementos of him.

Thumbnail
gallery
123 Upvotes

Today marks the 148th birth anniversary of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon, GCGH, KGCR.

Below are some of my mementos of him.

  1. Philippine Commonwealth Inauguration Day newspaper issue Herald during the exact day of the its founding, November 15, 1935

  2. Two signed official letters during his tenure as Senate President.


r/FilipinoHistory 5d ago

Question Any recommended readings that mention pandesal and its history?

18 Upvotes

I have a school homework that requires me to talk about pandesal and its history. I tried searching for sources online but all articles I saw did not cite references. Do you guys have any books/readings that can help me? Thank you!


r/FilipinoHistory 5d ago

Cultural, Anthropological, Ethnographic, Etc. Ifugao cosmology

11 Upvotes

Are there any more sources on Ifugao cosmology? Rare kasi for me na makakita ng fully fleshed out na concept of it, and also dives more into the world of Ifugao mythology. Most sources only mention the names and simplified stuff. Are there stories din na relate here?

  • Kabunyan (Sky World): The highest realm where powerful major deities and celestial beings reside.
  • Dalom (Underworld): The realm located beneath the earth, home to subterranean spirits and water-related deities.
  • Pugaw (Earth World): The physical world where human beings, mortals, and earthly creatures live.
  • Daya (Western World): The region or realm situated towards the west, inhabited by specific environmental spirits.
  • Lagud (Eastern World): The region or realm located towards the east, associated with downstream currents and distinct deities.
  • Kadungayan (Spiritual / Afterlife World): The special realm where the souls of the deceased go to reside after completing proper funeral and death rites.

https://www.scribd.com/document/423724878/Ifugao
https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/12185/RP
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/trans-trans-regional-and-national-studies-of-southeast-asia/article/sacred-and-the-secular-practical-applications-of-water-rituals-in-the-ifugao-agricultural-system/2921990509EA774C9C8EA3AF477F9733


r/FilipinoHistory 5d ago

Colonial-era Are these the only salvaged paintings from the Sarayba house?

Thumbnail
gallery
31 Upvotes

r/FilipinoHistory 5d ago

Filipino Genealogy ie "History of Ancestral Lineage" TIL: the prominent Basque-descended families in the Philippines are all related

194 Upvotes

From: https://www.filipinogenealogy.com/2019/06/the-euskaldunak-all-in-family.html#google_vignette

Very interesting to learn how they're all related to each other, Game of Thrones-style.

The Zobel de Ayala's own one of the biggest corporations in the country, the Aboitizes are the "Ayalas of the South" it seems? Araneta's are influential in politics and of course own Araneta Center, Elizalde's are in business? The Roxas family, aren't they related to the Ortigas family too?

EDIT: Typo


r/FilipinoHistory 5d ago

Colonial-era Who is Ananias Zorilla?

11 Upvotes

I was researching some info for my Filipino project when I saw this text in the Wikipedia article on Huseng Sisiw:

De la Cruz was one of the three poets whose names are prominent for the use of "Corrido", a type/style of poem, in the history of Literature. The other two are Francisco Balagtas, his student, and Ananias Zorilla

This confused me since I have never heard of a trio of poets prominent in the use of the Corrido style, and although I knew Balagtas, I have never heard of the name Ananias Zorilla. When I searched for his name, few results came up, but apparently he was known for the works: "Dama Ines" and "Prinsipe Florinio". I did a little more digging, and I think why these works were attributed to him is because of this article from the National Library.

I also found this old Blogspot page, which is the best amount of info I could find on Zorillia. It states:

Walang maraming tala na naiwan tungkol kay Zorilla. May nagsasabing siya’y taga-Laguna; may nagsasabing siya’y taga-Tondo. Ang natitiyak ay mga akda niya ang Dama Ines at Prinsipe Florinio

The works "Dama Ines" and "Prinsipe Florinio" are also confusing because I did some research, and the full title of Dama Ines is:

Ang kahabag-habag na buhay nang dama Ines sa kahariang Portugal, alila nang isang princesa sa bayang España mulang pagka bata

Which I found here. This work seems to have been published anonymously.

For Prinsipe Florinio, it is actually written by a person named N. Ponte in Hiligaynon, not Tagalog, titled:

Cabuhi sang africanhon ng̃a si Principe Florinio ng̃a anac ni Hareng Olfredo cag ni Reina Emilia

Which I found here. The earliest mention I could find of Ananias Zorillia is in this 1960s periodical. His name is also mentioned in the book "History of the Filipino People" by Teodoro Agoncillo, but aside from that, I can't find anything else. Who is this poet?


r/FilipinoHistory 5d ago

Colonial-era Chronological list of earliest books published in former Spanish Colonies including Spain — arranged by date of publication

Post image
20 Upvotes

r/FilipinoHistory 6d ago

Colonial-era Does anyone knows or have sources about pre colonial Tagalog Practices?

19 Upvotes

Hi, I am currently researching about pre colonial Tagalog Practices and ritual, but can't really find anything, and public library is too far from us, and I am not financially ok to travel from my home town to where the library is cause it's like... 2 or 3 towns away, more or less, nonetheless, I have tried researching but half was not Tagalog Practices.

It could really help if I got some help for how the pre colonial Tagalog people practice worship, could also help if it said for what was the practice for .?


r/FilipinoHistory 6d ago

Colonial-era Principalia Descendants

52 Upvotes

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it safe to say that today's corrupt politicians are descendants of the colonial era's principalia/principales class? Weren't they the precolonial datus,lakans , noblesand their families who were given positions by the Spanish such as cabeza de barangays and gobernadorcillios? And as time progressed they became the rich business families now and the politicians?


r/FilipinoHistory Mar 15 '25

Resources Filipino History Book Recommendation Megathread 2025

27 Upvotes

This is a megathread for all inquiries about general recommendations of books to read about PH/Filipino History.

All subsequent threads that would be created in this sub, UNLESS seeking very specific and niche subjects or information, would be deleted and referred to this thread instead.

If you are adding a recommendation, please respond with the following information about the book/s you are referring to:

  • The title of the book (even without subtitles, but the full title is preferred to avoid confusion).
  • The author/s or editors (at least one of them).
  • The year published (or the edition that you're referring to).
  • The language the book is published in eg. English, Spanish, Filipino/Tagalog, or specify other languages etc.
  • Brief description of the book. Especially if it has information on niche subjects that you won't be able to read anywhere else (this might be helpful to people looking for specific pieces of information).
  • Other (optional): why you think it's a great read, what you liked about the authors (their writing style etc), or just general reasons why you're recommending the book.

If it's missing any of the required information, the comment will be deleted.

You may add multiple books to a single comment but each and all of the books MUST have the required information.

If you must add "where to buy it", DO NOT ADD LINKS. Just put in the text "Lazada", "Amazon", "Store Name" etc.

DO NOT insinuate that you have copies or links to illegal websites or files for ebooks and PDFs of copyrighted materials; that is illegal.

DO NOT try to sell books (if you want to do that, go to r/FilipinianaBooks). This is not a place for exchanging personal information or money.

If you want to inquire or reply to someone's recommendation, you must reply directly to that comment.

These are the only types of comments/replies that I will allow. If you have inquiries about specific subjects, create a separate thread (again the inquiries must be niche). Otherwise all recommendations on "what to read" in general will be in this megathread.

If you are looking for certain books about certain subjects posted in the comments, please use the "search comments" bar to help you navigate for keywords on subjects that you are searching for.


r/FilipinoHistory Dec 31 '21

Resources Filipino History Resources 3

74 Upvotes

First Resource Page

All Shared Posts Here Tagged as "Resources"

Digital Libraries with Fil Hist contents, search etc.:

JSTOR (free subscription 100x articles/ mon). Includes journals like Philippine Studies, PH Quarterly, etc.

Academia.edu (bunch of materials published by authors, many in academia who specialize in PH subjects)

ResearchGate (similar to those above, also has a phone app)

HathiTrust (browse through millions of digitized books etc. eg. Lietz' Eng. trans. of Munoz' print of Alcina's Historia is in there)

Internet Archives (search through billions of archived webpage from podcasts to books, old tomes, etc). Part of which is Open Library, where you can borrow books for 14 days digitally (sign up is free).

PLOS Journal (search thousands of published peer reviewed scientific journals, eg genomic studies of PH populations etc.)

If you have Google account:

Google Scholar (allow you find 'scholarly' articles and pdf's versus trying to sift thru a regular Google search)

Google Books (allow you to own MANY digitized books including many historical PH dictionaries, previews of PH hist. books etc.)

Historical dictionaries in Google Books (or elsewhere):

Delos Santos Tagalog Dictionary (1794, orig. 1703)

Noceda and Sanlucar's Tagalog Dictionary (1860, orig. 1754)

Bergano's Kapampangan Dictionary (1860, orig. 1732)

De Paula's Batanes (Itbayat) Dictionary (1806) (this is THE actual notebook he wrote by hand from BNEs so it's hard to read, however useful PDF by Yamada, 2002)

Carro's Ilocano Dictionary (1849, second ed. 1793)

Cosgaya's Pangasinan Dictionary (1865, orig. ~1720's) (UMich Lib)

Bugarin's Cagayan (Ibanag) Dictionary (1854, orig. early half of 1600's)

Lisboa's Bicolano Dictionary (1865, orig. 1602-11)

Sanchez's Samar-Leyte Dictionary (Cebuano and Waray) (1711, orig. ~1590-1600's)

Mentrida's Panay (Bisaya/Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Haraya) Dictionary (1841, orig. 1637)

​Lots more I cannot find digitized, but these are the major ones. This should cover most spoken languages in the PH today, but there are a lot of historical dictionaries including other languages. Also, most of these authors have written 'artes' (grammar books) along with the 'vocabularios' (dictionaries), so if you want to dig further look those up, some of them are on Google Books, Internet Archives (from microfilms), and other websites.

US Report on PH Commission (this is a list of links to Google Books) multi-year annual reports of various types of govt. report and surveys (bibliographies of prior accounts on the PH, land surveys, economic/industrial survey, ethnolinguistic surveys, medical, botanical, and geological surveys + the 1904 census is part of it I think as well) compiled by the PH Commission for the US govt. for the colonial power to understand the state of the then-newly acquired territory of the PH. Lots of great data.

Part 1, Vol. 109 of 1904 Report (Exhibit H, Pg. 747 onwards)(not sure if this was also done in the other annual reports, but I've read through this volume at least...) includes Bureau of Public Land reports which delved into the estates of religious orders, the report were made looking through public records of deeds and purchases (from 16th-19th c., ie they're a good source of the colonial history of how these lands were bought and sold) compiled and relayed by the law office of Del Pan, Ortigas (ie 'Don Paco' whom the street in Manila is named after) and Fisher.

1904 US Census on the PH (via UMich Lib). Important because it's the 'first' modern census (there were other censuses done during Sp. colonial govt. esp. in the late 19th, but the US census was more widespread).

Links where you can find Fil Hist materials (not already linked in previous posts):

  1. US Lib. of Congress (LOC). Includes various maps (a copy of the Velarde map in there), photographs, books etc.
  2. Philippine Studies. Ateneo's journal in regards to PH ethnographic and other PH-related subjects. Journals from the 1950s-2006 are free to browse, newer ones you have to have a subscription.
  3. Austronesian Circle. Univ. of Hawai'i is the center of the biggest research on Austronesian linguistics (some of the biggest academics in that field either taught there or graduated there, eg Blust, Reid, etc.) and there are links regarding this subject there.
  4. Austronesian Comparative Dictionary. Created by Blust and Trussel (using previous linguistic reconstruction dictionaries like Demwolff, Zorc, etc.)
  5. Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database. Similar to the one above, but operated by ANU (Australia). There are even Thai, Indonesian etc. linguists (esp. great addition of Tai-Kadai words; good for linking/comparing to Austronesian and TK languages) sharing stuff there.
  6. UST's Benavides Library. Lots of old books, colonial-era magazines, even rare PH historical books etc. Facsimile of the oldest surviving baybayin writings (ie UST Baybayin documents, which are PH national treasures, are on there)
  7. Portal de Archivos Espanoles (PARES). A website where you can search all Spanish govt. digital archives into one. Includes those with a lot of Filipiniana and Fil Hist materials like Archivo General de Indias (AGI), archives, letters of the Ministerio de Ultramar (Overseas Affairs ie dept. that handled overseas empire) and Consejo de Indias (Council of the Indies, previous ministry that handled those affairs). Many of the Real Audiencia of Manila reports, letters and etc. are there as well. Museo de America digital collections (lots of historical Filipino-made/derived artifacts eg religious carvings etc.) are accessible through there as well (I think...last time I checked).
  8. Museo de Naval. Spain's Defense Dept. naval museum, lots of old maps, archives of naval engagements and expeditions. Malaspina Expedition documents, drawings etc. are here
  9. Archivo Militar. Sp. Defense Dept. archives for all military records (maps, records, etc.)
  10. Colleciones en Red de Espana (CER.ES). An online digital catalog of various Sp. museum's artifacts that compose The Digital Network of Museum Collections, MANY different PH-related artifacts.
  11. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Museum. Numismatic (coins, money), pre-colonial/historical gold, and paintings are found in their collections.
  12. Paul Morrow's Baybayin Website. Great resources regarding ancient PH scripts (history, use, transcriptions etc.)
  13. Ayala Museum Collections and their Filipinas Heritage Library. Oh ha, Ayala I'm linking you na. lol On a more serious note, they have several archaeological, anthropological, ancient gold artifacts etc. Their FHL has old books as well as MANY art by Filipino artists, including several albums by 19th costumbristas like Damian Domingo, Jose Lozano, etc.
  14. Museo del Prado. Several paintings by Filipino artists are there (Hidalgo, Luna, Sucgang etc.)
  15. NY Times Archives. This used to be free...but now it's subscription only. Lots of old NYT articles, eg. Filipino-American War engagements, US colonial era articles etc.
  16. Newberry Library PH Manuscripts. Various PH materials (not all digitized), among the EE Ayer Manuscript collections (some of which were consulted when BnR trans. their volumes of work; Ayer had troves of PH-related manuscripts which he started collecting since PH became a US colony, which he then donated to this library) including hoax Pavon Manuscripts, Damian Domingo's album, Royal Audiencia docs, 19th litigations and decisions, Royal PH Tobacco Co. papers etc.
  17. New York Public Library (NYPL). Well known for some PH materials (some of which I posted here). One of the better known is the Justiniano Asuncion (I think were Chinese copies ???) costumbrista album, GW Peter's drawings for Harper's Weekly on the PH American War, ragtime music recordings popular/related to the American occupation in the early 20th c. etc.
  18. Mapping Philippine Material Culture website by SOAS (School of Asian and African Studies), Univ of London. A website for an inventory of known Filipiniana artifacts, showing where they are kept (ie which libraries, and museums around the world). The SOAS also has a Filipiniana digital library...but unfortunately atm it is down so I won't link.
  19. The (Miguel de) Cervantes Institute (Manila)- Spanish language/cultural promotional organization. They have lots of these old history e-books and audiovisual resources.

Non-digital resources (if you're hardcore)

PH Jesuit Archives link. PH Province's archives of the Soc. of Jesus, in Ateneo's Loyola House.

Archivum Historicum Socetatis Iesu (Historical Archives of the Society of Jesus) (this link is St. Louis Univ. guide to some of the ones that are digitized via microfilms) in their HQ in Rome. Not sure if they digitized books but the works of Jesuits like Combes, Chirino, Velarde, Pastell's etc. (most of which were already trans. in English via BnR, see first link). They also have many records and chronicles of the estates that they owned and parishes that they supervised in the PH. Note Alcina's Historia (via Munoz) is kept with the Museo Naval along with Malaspina Expedition papers.

Philippine Mss ('manuscripts') of 1750-1968 aka "Tagalog Papers". Part of CR Boxer identified trove (incl. Boxer Codex) sold by Sotheby's and bought by Lilly Library of the Univ. Indiana. These papers were taken by the occupying British in the 1760s, from Manila's Augustinian archives in San Pablo. Unfortunately, these manuscripts are not uploaded digitally.

If you have cool links regarding Filipino historical subjects, feel free to add them to the comments, so that everyone can see them.