Afril Kaye D.

Arpia
History 1 - XC
Teodoro Agoncillo’s The Revolt of the Masses

All periods of history show a strain of madness and all are chaotic. - Jacques Barzun The
book was by Teodoro Agoncillo (1912 – 1985) who is known for his contribution to the
history of the Philippines. He was awarded as one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men
(TOYM)", of the Junior Chamber of the Philippines in 1963 and "Distinguished Scholar of the
University of the Philippines" in1968. He begins the book with his own foreword, giving the
readers a caveat in the first sentence: “It is with great difficulty and trepidation that I was
finally able to persuade myself to sit down to attempt a biography of Andres Bonifacio. From
reading this, I thought that the whole book was really going to be an attempt – a trial, more
likely a document of assumptions and theories on Bonifacio. But reading on, I was able to
understand that it was because of Bonifacio’s rather “obscure origin” that Agoncillo thought
of challenging himself by pouring out all effort on writing the biography – a record of factual
events, not theories or opinions. I agree with what he said further in the foreword that the
fame of an author is not sufficient guarantee of reliability and competence since all works still
have to be looked at with severe scrutiny, whoever their author may be.

As a summary for everything that I’ve read, the book can be use as a secondary
source in studying local history since it is a scholarly book, it interprets and analyzed primary
sources and contains pictures, quotes and graphics of primary sources. I found the book
appealing and interesting despite its length and some pages which appeared to be a bore to
me. Whenever I get bored in the middle of my reading, I try to defamiliarize myself of the
book and begin again. It helps especially when the book I am reading is a requirement.
Besides appealing and interesting, the book is also something from which we can learn even
the most specific details of the Revolution. Nevertheless, I believe that after reading the
book, only a small portion of it all would be retained in the mind. This is where the last
chapter comes in. I am thankful that Agoncillo was able to think of a chapter where he would
summarize everything. It was not only a summary, though. Chapter 16: The Summing Up,
contained new thoughts which were not in the main text. It explained the main idea of every
chapter plus the story behind it. If you’re a history buff, an avid reader, a student bored with
irrelevant readings or a plain Filipino, if you classify yourself to be one, this book is a
recommendation. There are not many books like this and while everyone else is relying on
the Internet for a good biography of Bonifacio, I suggest you run to the nearest library and
ask the librarian for a copy of Teodoro Agoncillo’s The Revolt of the Masses. Be in the know,
read this book.