() is a book written and published by

Antonio de Morga Antonio de Morga Sánchez Garay (29 November 1559 – 21 July 1636) was a Spanish soldier, lawyer and a high-ranking colonial official for 43 years, in the Philippines (1594 to 1604), New Spain and Peru, where he was president of the Real Audi ...

considered one of the most important works on the early history of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. It was published in 1609 after he was reassigned to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in two volumes by Casa de Geronymo Balli, in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. The first English translation was published in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1868 and another English translation by

Blair Blair is a Scots-English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin. The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or " field", frequently ...

and

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was published in Cleveland in 1907. The work greatly impressed but also garnered heavy criticism from Philippine national hero

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...

who found it rife with erroneous claims and a

eurocentric Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism) refers to viewing the West as the center of world events or superior to other cultures. The exact scope of Eurocentrism varies from the entire Western world to just the continent of Euro ...

bias. Rizal decided to annotate it and publish a new edition and began working on it in London and completing it in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1890.

History

's ''Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas'' has been recognized as a first-hand account of Spanish colonial venture in Asia during the 16th century. The book was first published in

in 1609 and has been re-edited number of times. The

Hakluyt Society The Hakluyt Society is a text publication society, founded in 1846 and based in London, England, which publishes scholarly editions of primary records of historic voyages, travels and other geographical material. In addition to its publishin ...

, a text publication society, in 1851 catches its attention, and an edition was prepared by H. E. J. Stanley but was only published in 1868. ''Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas'' is based on Antonio de Morga's personal experiences and other documentations from eye-witnesses of the events such as the survivors of

Miguel López de Legazpi Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as ''Adelantado, El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spanish conquistador who financed and led an expedition to conquer the Philippines, Philippine islan ...

's Philippine expedition.

The title literally means "Events of the Philippine Islands" and thus the book's primary goal is a documentation of events during the early years of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines as observed by the author himself. It also includes Filipino customs, traditions, manners and religion at the time.

References

{{reflist Philippine books Spanish-language non-fiction books History of the Philippines (1565–1898)

History

Contents

References