Philippine Historiography: Issues and Trends

Abstract

The article provides a critical perspective through which the development of Philippine historiography can be viewed. The author starts with a discussion of Western/European conception of history and compares it with authentic Filipino conception of kasaysayan. The article argues that these developments are anchored to specific ideological changes through time. History serves as a legitimation of Spanish colonialism by means of the narratives by the early Spanish missionaries. History was also utilized as protest (e.g. the historical and ethnological researches by the Filipino propagandists). The article thus supports the idea that history, far from being objective, is political.