History of the Filipino History Book

by

Vernon del Rosario Totanes

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Faculty of Information University of Toronto

© Copyright by Vernon del Rosario Totanes 2012

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History of the Filipino History Book

Vernon del Rosario Totanes

Doctor of Philosophy

Faculty of Information University of Toronto

2012

Abstract

Studies of Philippine historiography often trace the emergence of history books written by

Filipinos—or, more simply, Filipino history books—to the influence of Spanish and American

colonialism, and the rise of Filipino nationalism. In most cases, the names of historians and the

titles of their works figure prominently in discussions devoted primarily to texts and/or their

authors’ backgrounds, while the names of their publishers and other bibliographical details are

either relegated to the footnotes or dispensed with altogether. This study proposes an alternative,

complementary approach that seeks to enrich the study of Philippine historiography by

reconstructing the history of the Filipino history book using the framework of the discipline

known as “book history,” and Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of the field of cultural production.

The histories of three books, namely, Jose Rizal’s annotated edition of Sucesos de las

Islas Filipinas (1890), Leandro Fernandez’s A Brief History of the Philippines (1919), and what

is now commonly known as Teodoro Agoncillo’s History of the Filipino People (1960), are

presented as case studies through which the evolution of the Filipino history book as a material

object and commodity, and not merely as a text to be read or interpreted, may be better

understood. Each book represents a different period in the evolution of the study of Philippine

history by Filipinos, and was published in multiple editions over several decades.

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By examining the prevailing conditions throughout each book’s life cycle, the

contributions of agents other than their authors, the struggles that accompanied their publication

and distribution, and the evidence that may be gleaned from the books themselves, this

dissertation shows that Spanish and American colonialism, and Filipino nationalism, did shape

the development of Philippine historiography from the late nineteenth century to the twentieth

century, but it also reveals that the Catholic Church played an important role in the production

and circulation of books regardless of who was in power, and that struggles between agents

involved in the historical field have affected the history of the discipline in ways that have yet to

be fully acknowledged.

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Acknowledgments

Dissertations, like books, are usually credited to their authors alone, but such works often also

benefit directly and indirectly from the efforts of family and friends, librarians and archivists,

publishers and professors, and many others. This dissertation is no exception. Hence, I would

like to express my gratitude and appreciation to those who have contributed in various ways to

the writing of this work:

• Patricia Fleming, for agreeing to be my adviser even though she had just retired, and for her

kindness, patience, and support as I wrote and rewrote numerous drafts over the years; Alan

Galey and Malavika Kasturi, the members of my committee, for challenging me to

complicate my analysis using methods and approaches I had not previously considered; and

Vyva Victoria Aguirre, Roland Sintos Coloma, Gordon Davies, Leland de la Cruz, Tarleton

Gillespie, Greta Golick, Christine Lao, Thomas Kessler, Susan MacDonald, Scott McLaren,

Ari Ngaseo, Fr. John Schumacher, Brian Cantwell Smith, Karen Smith, and Ethel Tungohan,

for asking questions, answering queries, giving feedback, and suggesting improvements.

• Sharon Henry, for encouraging me to apply for the travel grant that brought me to Toronto;

Lourdes David, for planting the seed that led me to contemplate the pursuit of a doctorate;

Patricia May Jurilla, for introducing the study of book history as an academic discipline to

Philippine studies; Leslie Howsam, for showing that history books are material objects and

commodities with their own histories; Ambeth Ocampo, for suggesting that I look into the

history of what is now commonly known as Teodoro Agoncillo’s History of the Filipino

People; and Filomeno Aguilar Jr., Bernardita Churchill, Natalie Zemon Davis, Milagros

Guerrero, Reynaldo Ileto, Gregory Pfitzer, Vicente Rafael, and Edgar Wickberg (!), for

showing interest in my research and encouraging me to continue.

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• Salvacion Arlante, for granting access to the Teodoro A. Agoncillo Papers and other

resources at the Main Library of the University of the Philippines; the librarians and

archivists at Ateneo de Manila’s Rizal Library, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Biblioteca del

Ateneo de Madrid, Bibliotecas AECID, Bibliothèque nationale de France, British Library,

Columbia University, Lopez Museum and Library, Newberry Library, New York Public

Library, Philippine National Library, US Library of Congress, US National Archives,

University of California Berkeley, and University of Michigan, for not only preserving the

primary sources I needed for my dissertation, but also for organizing them so that necessary

materials could be easily found; and the visionaries behind Google Books, Internet Archive,

and Hathitrust, for digitizing books and documents, and making them freely available online.

• Teodoro V. Agoncillo III, for answering my questions and generously sharing documents I

could not find elsewhere; Elvie Lapuz, Grace Tabiendo, and Ricky Punzalan, for their help in

obtaining copies of library and archival materials that I was unable to physically examine;

and Jonathan Balsamo, Maricor Baytion, Jonathan Best, Karina Bolasco, Mario Feir, Stephen

Feldman, Caroline Garcia, Susan Go, Caroline Hau, Chas Navarro, John Silva, and Gas

Vibal, for welcoming me into their offices and homes, translating documents, and/or

assisting with the collection of data.

• The University of Toronto, for providing the fellowship that made it financially possible for

me to study in Canada; the Doctoral Thesis Completion Grant, as well as the Ethel Auster

Bursary, for additional funding; Bonnie McElhinny, for the research assistantship that

allowed me to visit UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library and the US National Archives; and the

Faculty of Information, the School of Graduate Studies, the Asian Institute, and the Doctoral

Students’ Association, as well as the University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library, for

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grants and awards that facilitated research trips and conference-related travel outside

Toronto.

• Bro. James Dunne (!), Onofre Pagsanghan, and Fr. Victor Salanga, for being good teachers

and advisers inside and outside the classroom, and for being even better friends after I

finished high school and college; Dulce Abad and Donna Shotwell, for being my mentors in

and out of the corporate world even after we set off in different directions; Jim Arshem and

Raphael Gancayco, for befriending a stranger like me and letting me stay with them on

research trips to Washington, D.C., and New York, respectively; and Vanny Bicomong,

Bong Buenaventura, Rene Cruz, Tom Frias, Ed Gulane, Cheche Soberano-Kau, Tony Liam,

Malix Huidem, and Rancy Recato-Buenafe, for their friendship and support as I traveled

between Toronto and Manila over the past six years.

• My aunts and uncles in Canada and the United States—namely, Fe and Ben Dueñas, Tessie

and Rudy Escribano, Aida Geronimo, Cora and Dick Macalinao, Gee and Bill Orr, Ernie and

Mae Totanes, and especially Lory and Phil Mancini, and Stan and Rose Totanes—for

welcoming me into their homes, and essentially treating me as one of their children; my

cousins and their husbands or wives (if any)—Ben and Emily, Edgar and Teena, Erwin and

Lyn, Eugene, James, Joey and Weng, Maris, Mike and Priscilla, PJ, Rachel, Rhia and Mike,

Tony and Chiqui, and Vi and Ronnie—for going out of their way to spend time with me; and

my siblings, Veraflor and Verchie, for helping me in countless ways over the years.

• And finally, my parents, Ver and Flor, for teaching me to read and to write, to live and to

love. This dissertation is dedicated to them.

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Table of Contents

List of Tables viii List of Figures ix List of Abbreviations x Chapter One: Book History and the History Book 1

Book History 6 Bourdieu and the Field of Historical Production 11 Filipino History Books 19 Limitations 26 Significance 34

Chapter Two: The First Filipino History Book 37

Rizal’s Sucesos 40 Survival 58 Conclusion 73

Chapter Three: The Forgotten History Textbook 77

Textbook History 85 Fernandez’s Brief History 90 Conclusion 107

Chapter Four: History Book of the Filipino People 111

Agoncillo’s Revolt 113 Agoncillo’s History 122 Conclusion 146

Conclusion: The Filipino History Book 150 Bibliography 159