Lesson 10: Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de Las Some Important Annotations

Islas Filipinas
• By the Christian religion, Doctor Morga appears to mean the Roman
Rizal learned about Sucesos either from his uncle, Jose Alberto or his Catholic which by fire and sword he would preserve in its purity in the
best friend, Ferdinand Bluementritt. Philippines. Nevertheless, in other lands, notably in Flanders, these
means were ineffective to keep the church unchanged, maintain its
supremacy, or even to hold its subjects.
Antonio de Morga A Spanish historian, a lawyer, & a notable official • The conversions by the Spaniards were not as general as their
for 43 years in the Philippines, New Spain, and historians claim. The missionaries only succeeded in converting a part
Peru. of the people of the Philippines. Still, there are Mahometans, the Moros,
Deputy Governor in the Philippines in the southern islands, and negritos, Igorots and other heathens yet
He re-established the audencia and took over occupy the greater part territorially of the archipelago. Then the islands
the function of the judge. that the Spaniards early held but soon lost are non-Christian-Formosa,
Sucesos de las Islas Published in 1609 Borneo, and the Moluccas. And if there are Christians in the Carolines,
Filipinas History coverage—1493 to 1603 that is due to Protestants, whom neither the Roman Catholics of
Morga's day nor many Catholics in our day consider Christians.
Deals with the political, social, and economic
• The civilization of the Pre-Spanish Filipinos regarding the duties of life
phases of life of both the natives and their
for that age was well advanced, as the Morga history shows in its eighth
colonizers. chapter.
Based on documentary research, author’s • The islands came under Spanish sovereignty and control through
keen observation, and his involvement and compacts, treaties of friendship, and alliances for reciprocity. By the last
knowledge. arrangement, according to some historians, Magellan lost his life on
Published in two volumes (1609), by Casa de Mactan and the soldiers of Legaspi fought under the banner of King
Geronymo Balli, in Mexico City. (351 pages) Tupas of Cebu.
First English translation was published in • Morga shows that the ancient Filipinos had an army and navy with
1868 in London. artillery and other implements of warfare. Their prized krises and
kampilans for their magnificent temper are worthy of admiration and
Rizal’s Annotation of the Book some of them are richly damascened. Their coats of mail and helmets,
of which there are specimens in various European museums, attest
their great advancement in this industry.
Chapter 1 Magellan and Legazpi’s seminal expeditions
• Cebu, which Morga calls "The City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus,"
was at first called "The village of San Miguel."
Chapters 2-7 Chronological report on government administration • The southern islands, the Bisayas, were also called "The land of the
under Governor-General. Painted People (or Pintados, in Spanish)" because the natives had their
Chapter 8 Philippine Islands, the natives there, their antiquity, bodies decorated with tracings made with fire, somewhat like tattooing.
custom and government. • From the earliest Spanish days, ships were built on the islands, which
might be considered evidence of native culture. Nowadays this industry
is reduced to small crafts, scows, and coasters.
What leads Rizal to Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas? • Morga's remark that the Filipinos like fish better when it is commencing
✓ Rizal was an earnest seeker of truth, and this marked him as to turn bad is another of those prejudices which Spaniards like all other
a historian. nations, have. In matters of food, each is nauseated with what he is
✓ He had a burning desire to know exactly the conditions of the unaccustomed to or doesn't know is eatable.
Philippines when the Spaniards came ashore to the islands.
✓ His theory was that the country was economically self-
sufficient and prosperous. The Value of Rizal’s Annotation
✓ He believed that the conquest of the Spaniards contributed in
part to decline of the Philippines’ rich tradition and culture. ➢ Provided Filipino readers with rich annotative footnotes concerning
Philippine culture and society, coupled with complete scholarly
Three main propositions of Rizal’s annotation of Morga’s Sucesos: referenced resources and full citations.
1. Awaken the consciousness of the Filipinos of their glorious ➢ Rizal proved that the Philippines was an advanced civilization
ways of the past. before the Spanish conquest.
2. Correct what has been distorted about the Philippines due to
Spanish conquest.
3. Proved that Filipinos are civilized even before the coming of “If the book (Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas) succeeds to awaken
the Spaniards. your consciousness of our past, already effaced from your
memory, and to rectify what has been falsified and slandered,
1888-1889 Rizal spent many months of stay in London at then I have not worked in vain, and with this a basis, however
the British Museum researching from its small it may be, we shall be able to study the future.”
Filipiniana Collection.
Rizal laboriously hand-copied the entire 351
pages of the Sucesos.
March 1889 in Paris Rizal frequented the Bibliotheque Nationale to
continue working on his annotation of the
Sucesos.
1890 Rizal finished 639 annotations on every
nuanced Filipino cultural practice that Morga
wrote about, and even on Morga’s typographical
errors.

Austin Craig – An early biographer of Rizal, translated into English

Rizal’s First consideration for the choice of Morga: