Unraveling the Past: Readings in Philippine History provides a glimpse of Philippine history through a selection of primary sources produced by the individuals and institutions that witnessed or took part in shaping the past. This volume includes documents and materials relating to different events from vital historical periods beginning with the early Philippine society of the precolonial times, the occurrence and termination of Spanish colonization, the struggle for sovereignty under the American and Japanese occupations, the multifaceted challenges faced by postwar administrations, up to the contemporary times which cover the Martial Law years. The book also incorporates sources that tackle important issues concerning agrarian reform, economic nationalism, independent foreign policy, national minorities, and the Philippine constitutions. This creates an opportunity for a deeper understanding of the complex past by reading materials which tackle the different aspects of history related to Philippine politics, economics, culture, society, and religion.
The authors of the book intend to give emphasis on the importance of historical scholarship by allowing its readers to conduct an analysis and evaluation of documents and materials in terms of identifying the historical context, viewpoint, and possible bias of a primary source. Thus, Unraveling the Past aims to produce essential historical knowledge and consciousness, at the same time, cultivate critical and analytic skills amongst its readers.
The purpose of the book is to read the primary sources pertinent to the history of the Philippines. Primary sources are defined as “a piece of evidence written or created during the period under investigation.” The book is composed of 18 chapters starting with the topic on the importance of primary sources in history and ending with the 1986 People Power Revolution. By reading the primary sources covering a particular period in Philippine history, it is hoped that one would be able to make his or her own inferences about the past independent from those provided by a history text.