CHAPTER IV

Annotations of Antonio
Morga’s Sucesos De
Las Islas Filipina
Dr. Morga and his ‘Sucesos’
Antonio de Morga
-was a historian and lawyer and
a notable colonial official for 43
years in the Philippines, New
Spain, and Peru.
-When reassigned to Mexico, he
published the book Sucesos de
las Islas Filipinas in 1609.
-his Sucesos is considered the (1559-1636)
best account of Spanish
colonialism in the Philippines.
Sucesos De Las Islas
Filipinas
The Purpose of Sucesos
• Morga wrote that the purpose for writing Sucesos
was, so he could chronicle "the deeds achieved
by our Spaniards in the discovery, conquest, and
conversion of the Filipinas Islands - as well as
various fortunes that they have from time to time
in the great kingdoms and among the pagan
peoples surrounding the islands.”
Chapters of Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas

Chapter 1 : Magellan and Legazpi’s seminal

expeditions.

Chapter 2 – 7 : Chronological report on government

administrations under Governor-General.

Chapter 8 : Philippine Islands, the natives there, their

antiquity, custom and government.
What leads Jose Rizal to Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas?
• Rizal was an earnest seeker of truth and this marked him as a
historian.
• He had a burning desire to know exactly the conditions of the
Philippines when the Spaniards came ashore to the islands.
• His theory was that the country was economically self –sufficient and
prosperous.
• Entertained the idea that it had a lively and vigorous community.
• He believed the conquest of the Spaniards contributed in part to the
decline of the Philippine’s rich tradition culture.
• He then decided to undertake the annotation of Dr. Antonio de
Morga’s Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas.
• His personal friendship with Ferdinand Blumentritt provided the
inspiration for doing a new edition of Morga’s Sucesos.
• Devoting four months research
and writing and almost a year to
get his manuscript published in
Paris in January 1980.
• Rizal spent his entire stay in the
city of London at the British
Museum’s reading room.
• Having found Morga’s book, he
laboriously hand-copied the whole
351 pages of the Sucesos.
• Rizal then proceeded to annote
every chapter of the Sucesos.
 Rizal’s Annotation on Morga’s Sucesos
• He then decided to undertake the annotation of Antonio de
Morga's Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas.
• His personal friendship with Ferdinand Blumentritt provided
the inspiration for doing a new edition of Morga's Sucesos.
• Devoting four months research and writing and almost a year
to get his manuscript published in Paris in January 1890.
• His extensive annotations of Morga's work number "no less
than 639 items or almost two annotations for every page."
• Rizal also annotated Morga's typographical errors.
• He commented on every statement that could be nuanced in
Filipino cultural practices.
Rizal’s Purpose of the Morga’s Sucesos
• In Jose Rizal's dedication, he explained among
other things, the purpose of the new edition of
Morga's Sucesos:
“If the book succeeds in awakening in you the
consciousness of our past which has been obliterated from
memory and in rectifying what has been falsified and
calumniated, I shall not have labored in vain, and on such
basis, little though it may be, we can all devote ourselves
to studying the future."
 Some Important Annotations
• The conversion of religion to Roman Catholic by the Filipinos
by the influence of Magellan.
• Dr. Morga says that Filipinos were unprotected before from
the coming of the Spaniards. But then Rizal argued that its not
since in pirate raids from the islands, they armed and
defended themselves. But after the natives were disarmed
the pirates pillaged them with impunity, coming at times
when they were unprotected by the government which was
the reason for many of the insurrections.
• Morga shows that the ancient Filipino had army
and navy with artillery and implement of welfare.
Their prized krises and kampilans for their
magnificent temper worthy of admiration and
some of them ae richly damascened. Their coats of
mail and helmets of which there are specimens in
various European museums, attest their great
advancement in the industry.
• Cebu, which Morga calls “The City of the Most Holy
Name of Jesus” was at first called “The village of
San Miguel.”
• The southern islands, the Bisayas, were also called “The
land of the Painted People (or Pintados ,in Spanish)”
because the native had their bodies decorated with
tracings made with fire, somewhat called tattooing.
• The Spaniards retained the native name for the new
capital of the archipelago, a little changed, however, for
the Tagalogs had called their city “Maynila”
• Legaspi’s grandson, Salcedo, called the Hernando Cortez
of the Philippines, was the “conqueror’s” intelligent arm
and the hero of the “conquest.”
• In the fruitless expedition against the Portuguese in the
island of Ternate, in the Molucca group, which was
abandoned because of the prevalence of beriberi among
the troops, there went 1, 500 Filipino soldiers from the
more warlike provinces, principally Kagayans and
Pampangans.
• Captain Gabriel de Rivera, a Spanish commander who had
gained fame in a raid on Borneo and the Malacca coast,
was the first envoy from the Philippines to take up with
the King of Spain the needs of the archipelago.
• From the earliest Spanish days ships were built in the
islands, which might be considered evidence of native
culture. Nowadays this industry is reduced to small craft,
scows and coasters.
• In the tome of Governor Gomez Perez Dasmarinas,
Manila as guarded against further damage such as what
was suffered from Li Ma-hong by the construction of
massive stone wall around it.
• Morga says that the 250 Chinese oarsmen who manned
Governor Dasmarinas swift galley were under pay and
had special favor of not being chained to their benches.
According to him, it was covetousness of the wealth
aboard that led them to revolt and kill the governor. But
historian Gaspar de San Agustin states that the reason for
the revolt was the governors’ abusive language and his
threatening the rowers.
• In the attempt made by Rodriguez de Figueroa to conquer
Mindanao according to his contract with the King of
Spain, there was fighting along the Rio Grande with the
people called Buhahayenes.
• The Japanese were not in error when they suspected
the Spanish and Portuguese religious propaganda t
have political motives back from the missionary
activities.
• The raid by Datus Sali and Silonga of Mindanao, in
1599 with 50 sailing vessels and 3,000 warriors,
against the capital of Panay, is the first act of piracy by
the inhabitants of the South which is recorded in
Philippine history.
• Still the Spaniards say that the Filipinos have
contributed nothing to Mother Spain, and that it is the
island which owe everything.
• In the alleged victory of Morga over Dutch ships, the latter
found upon the bodies of five Spaniards who lost their lives in
that combat, little silver boxes filed with prayers and
invocation to the saints. It is seemed to be the origin of the
anting-anting of the modern tulisanes, which are also religious
character.
• The Cebuanos drew pattern on the skin before starting in to
tattoo. The Bisayan sage then was the same procedure that the
Japanese today follow.
• Morga’s remark that the Filipinos like fish when it is
commencing to turn bad is another of those prejudices which
Spaniards like all other nations.
• The "SUCESOS" as annotated by Rizal, appeared for the
first time in the Philippines sixty eight years later when a
publisher in Manila, published the new work in 1958, to
contribute his bit to the national effort to honor Rizal.
The present work is the sixth volume of the Series of
Writings of Jose Rizal which the Jose Rizal National
Centennial Commission has no published in
commemoration of his birth.
Different Perspectives of Rizal and
Morga regarding the following:

•Geography
•Society
•Economy
a. Geography
•Location
•Climate
•Plant Species
Location
Morga Rizal
• Philippines was deserted • Philippine was not
and unhabitable. deserted and was actually
habitable. Which was
• Philippines extends up to supported Ptolemy in his
12 degrees, South geography indicated 3
Latitude islands which are Sinadae,
Geolo and Amboina and
their inhabitants.
• Philippines is actually in 25
degrees and 40 minutes
latitude North until 12
degrees Latitude South.
Climate
Morga Rizal
• Winter and Summer are • December to February,
opposite in Europe. the temperature goes
• Rain falls from the down more than it does
month of June to during August to
September. September.
• Summer are from • With regards to the
October to May season, it resembles
Spain as all the rest of
the north hemisphere
Plant Species
Morga Rizal
• Ginger, Vinegar/pickles • It is true that Ginger,
and betel are abundant Vinegar/pickles and
in Philippines. betel are abundant in
Philippines but betel are
kasubha in Tagalog,.
b. Society
•Body Tattoo
•Women
•Government
Body Tattoo
Morga Rizal
• Bisayas draws pattern • It is true that Bisayas
first before putting black draws pattern first
powder where blood before putting black
oozes out. powder where blood
oozes out. Which is the
same method as the
Japanese.
Women
Morga Rizal
• Women loves money so • This case happens
when their husband is in everywhere, even in
crisis they look for Spain, women tends to
another man. look for another man
when they are in crisis.
Government
Morga Rizal
• Philippines has no • It is true that
kings and queens to Philippines has no
rule different islands kings and queens to
but only principal rule different islands
among natives. but only principal
among natives.
c. Economy
•Cotton
•Gold
Cotton
Morga Rizal
• Cotton is raised • It is true that
in Philippines. Cotton is raised
They spin it to in Philippines.
thread and sell They spin it to
it. thread and sell
it.
Gold
Morga Rizal
• The natives lacks • Natives, specifically
mining of gold the Igorot's, believed
contenting that their gold was
themselves of what kept more securely in
they already have. the ground than in
their own homes or
settlements.