MODULE 2:

HISTORICAL SOURCES, REPOSITORIES,

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CRITICISM
•The study will introduce you to this new discipline that
will make you analyze, give insights and share your point
of views of the past by the means of using primary sources.

• In this lesson we are to see the progress on how this

academic discipline explored possible historical sources
which were not simply limited to written documents like
records in the government, personal letters and many more.
• Focusing on written documents make us think of other
cultures that may not have the capacity of writing textual
materials, it could have been due to historic wars and
destructions that have happened upon their colonization
which burned memories of their past. So many things
could have been the reason for eradicating their written
documents.
 •These inadequacies of written documents like birth,
death, education marriage, population are records within
their government. People who may belong to the higher or
lower class or indigenous communities that were
unrecorded doesn’t mean that they are people with no
history nor would it mean they didn’t even existed. These
situations restrains historians to have the evidences.
• The flaws on written documents as evidences changed as historians
explored other sources. Which does not reflect written forms but
are just as invalid. An example would be the arts and humanities,
artifacts, memory and languages were an example of these sources.
By collaborating with other disciplines, the scarcity of documents
or absence of the facts becomes lighter as these disciplines becomes
helpful in aiding evidences that historians may have inadequacy.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, you will :

1. Cite and express appreciation of various repositories of

primary sources of Philippine History.

2. Differentiate internal from external criticism.

• Historical sources are important research tools of historians classified depending on the
historical subjects studied.
• The classification are categorized as:
 Primary Source,
 Secondary Source
 Tertiary Source
dependent on the date it was created or produced, the purpose and the scope of the material
and sometimes the discipline that uses it.
A way to organize information is by categorizing the type of material to use. It is therefore
necessary to try to understand what it means and to figure out what the source can tell us
about the past.
History Basics assignments. (2020)
• These are characterized by their content, regardless of whether
they are available in original format, in microfilm, in digital
format, or in published format.
Primary Sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people
who had a direct connection with it. Primary sources can include: Texts of laws
and other original documents. Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed
an event or who quote people who did.

• In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source is an

artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other
source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an
original source of information about the topic.
There are different kinds of Primary Sources,
Royal Decrees, Official Reports, Chronicles, Friar Accounts, and
Maps.
Memoirs, Personal Account, Newspaper, Magazines, Speeches.
Personal letters, online databases, Blogs, Documentary film,
Recorded interviews
 PRIMARY
RESOURCE

WRITTEN NON-
WRITTEN
Oral
Publishe Artifacts Fossil Ruins
Manuscrip History
d s
t
Materials

Video
Art Audio
Recordin
Works
g
Some Examples of Primary Source Formats Include:

1. Archives And Manuscript Material

2. Photographs, Audio Recordings, Video Recordings, Films

3. Speeches
4. Scrapbooks
5. Published Books, Newspapers And Magazine Clippings Published
At The Time
6. Government Publications
7. Oral Histories
8. Records Of Organizations
9. Autobiographies And Memoirs
10.Royal Decrees
11.Official Reports
12.Chronicles
13.Friar accounts
14.Maps
15.Printed Ephemera
16.Artifacts, E.G. Clothing, Costumes, Furniture
17.Research Data, E.G. Public Opinion Polls
To help you interpret primary sources, you should think about these questions as you
examine the source:

Place the source in its historical context.

• Who wrote it? What do you know about the author?
• Where and when was it written?
• Why was it written?
• To what audience is it addressed? What do you know about this audience?

Ref. History Basics assignments. (2020)

Secondary Sources are interpretations and analysis of primary sources may
have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. Secondary
sources provide information about a primary source or a set of primary
sources.

• These sources restate, rearrange, or interpret the original information

provided in a primary source.

• Secondary sources are often created by experts in the field and address the
given subject from a historical or critical perspective providing discussion or
analysis of specific aspects.
• It includes biographies, research articles (for physical and social sciences, this
refers to articles that don't include the authors' original research), monographs
(other than autobiographies and memoirs), commentaries, and criticisms

What are some secondary sources?

A journal article on Rizal’s diaries
A history book
A documentary
A biography

However secondary sources may have some overlap with other types of materials. For example,
newspaper articles are primary sources in the field of history but secondary in most other disciplines.
Encyclopedias and textbooks are sometimes considered secondary sources although they are usually
identified as tertiary.
Tertiary sources compile, index, or organize information from primary and
secondary sources. These sources rarely contain original material and instead
typically offer a broad perspective of a topic without any critique or analysis.
Tertiary sources sometimes include a bibliography, works cited, or reference
list that can act as a directory to important primary and secondary sources.
•Because tertiary sources often aim to provide a broad overview, they
generally rely on groups of authors for content. Editors then review and
organize the material prior to publication.
•Some common examples of tertiary sources are encyclopedias, dictionaries,
textbooks, bibliographies, and directories. Wikipedia is an example of an
online tertiary source.
•Tertiary sources compile, index, or organize information from primary and
secondary sources. These sources rarely contain original material and instead
typically offer a broad perspective of a topic without any critique or analysis.
Tertiary sources sometimes include a bibliography, works cited, or reference
list that can act as a directory to important primary and secondary sources.
•Because tertiary sources often aim to provide a broad overview, they
generally rely on groups of authors for content. Editors then review and
organize the material prior to publication.
•Some common examples of tertiary sources are encyclopedias, dictionaries,
textbooks, bibliographies, and directories. Wikipedia is an example of an
online tertiary source.
•It must be understood that historical resources has to be stored in a place
where it will be safe for use in verifying evidences or using them in studies
conducted of a particular historical occurrence.
•A repository is defined as a place, building, or receptacle where things are or
may be stored.
Some national repositories in the Philippines that keeps our primary sources.
National Archives of the Philippines,
National Museum of the Philippines,
 National Library of the Philippines,
 National Historical Commission of the Philippines
National Archives of the Philippines, Description

The National Archives of the Philippines is the home of about 60 million

documents from the centuries of Spanish rule in the Philippines, the
American and Japanese occupations, as well as the years of the Republic.
It is also the final repository for the voluminous notarized documents of the
country. The task of guaranteeing that documents and records are
preserved and accessible to the public lies with the National Archives of the
Philippines. Its main responsibility is to preserve the primary sources of
information on Philippine history, the basic components of cultural heritage
and collective memory. These documentary sources are the embodiment
of community identities as well as testaments to shared national
experiences.

National Museum of the Philippines

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), by virtue of

Republic Act 10086, is responsible for the conservation and preservation of
the country's historical legacies
National Archives of the Philippines, Description

The National Archives of the Philippines is

the home of about 60 million documents
from the centuries of Spanish rule in the
Philippines, the American and Japanese
occupations, as well as the years of the
Republic. It is also the final repository for
the voluminous notarized documents of
the country. The task of guaranteeing that
documents and records are preserved and
accessible to the public lies with the
National Archives of the Philippines. Its
main responsibility is to preserve the
primary sources of information on
Philippine history, the basic components of
cultural heritage and collective memory.
These documentary sources are the
embodiment of community identities as
well as testaments to shared national
experiences.
National Museum of the Philippines

The National Historical Commission of the

Philippines (NHCP), by virtue of Republic
Act 10086, is responsible for the
conservation and preservation of the
country's historical legacies
 
The National Archives of the Philippines is the home of
about 60 million documents from the centuries of
Spanish rule in the Philippines, the American and
Japanese occupations, as well as the years of the
Republic. It is also the final repository for the
voluminous notarized documents of the country. The
task of guaranteeing that documents and records are
preserved and accessible to the public lies with the
National Archives of the Philippines. Its main
responsibility is to preserve the primary sources of
information on Philippine history, the basic components
of cultural heritage and collective memory. These
documentary sources are the embodiment of community
identities as well as testaments to shared national
experiences.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), by virtue of Republic
Act 10086, is responsible for the conservation and preservation of the country's
historical legacies
The National Museum of the Philippines
(Filipino: Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas) is an
umbrella government organization that oversees a
number of national museums in the Philippines
including ethnographic, anthropological,
archaeological and visual arts collections. Since 1998,
the National Museum has been the regulatory and
enforcement agency of the Government of the
Philippines in the restoring and safeguarding of
important cultural properties, sites, and reservations
throughout the Philippines
  

The National Library of the Philippines

(Filipino: Pambansang Aklatan ng Pilipinas or Aklatang Pambansa ng Pilipinas, abbreviated
NLP) is the official national library of the Philippines. The complex is located in Ermita on a
portion of Rizal Park facing T. M. Kalaw Avenue, neighboring culturally significant buildings
such as the Museum of Philippine Political History and the National Historical Commission.
Like its neighbors, it is under the jurisdiction of the National Commission for Culture and the
Arts (NCCA).
 
The library is notable for being the home of the original copies of the defining works of José
Rizal: Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and Mi ú ltimo adió s.
Is to exhaustively examine, dissect and analyze historical sources to uncover
historical truth to avoid fraud.

There is a need for historians to conduct a form of critical analysis, facts has to be
validated. A need for internal criticism has to be administered on primary sources,
especially those the age for centuries. It examines the truthfulness of the evidence:

a. Content of the source and the circumstance of its production

b. Truthfulness and factuality – the author’s source, its context,
• agenda behind its creation, the knowledge which informed it
• among others.
 
On the other hand external criticism is practiced to see or verify if the
authenticity or originality of the evidence by examining its :

a. physical characteristics
b. consistency with the historical characteristic of the time when it was
produced
c. materials used for evidence
•An example used when undergoing an external criticism of a document, will
include the quality of paper, the type of ink, and the language and words used
in the material, among others
 •  

1. Historical sources are important research tools of historians.

2. Historical sources is a way to organize information by categorizing the
type of material to use in verifying historical data.
3. The classification are categorized as the Primary source, Secondary Source
and Tertiary source.
4. Primary Sources are documents or physical objects which was written or
created during the time under study sources present during an experience or
time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.
5. Primary Sources has to be interpreted.
 
6. A Primary Source can be written and non-written
7. Published materials, Manuscript is an example of a written primary source
8. Oral history, artifacts, fossils, ruins, art works, audio and video recording are
examples of Non-Written Primary sources.
9. Royal Decrees, Official Reports, Chronicles, Friar Accounts, and Maps.
Memoirs, Personal Account, Newspaper, Magazines, Speeches. Personal
letters, online databases, Blogs, Documentary film, Recorded interviews are
examples of Primary Sources
10. Secondary Sources are interpretations and analysis of primary sources may
have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them.
 11. Secondary sources provide information about a primary source or a set of primary
sources.
12. Tertiary sources compile, index, or organize information from primary and secondary
sources.
13. The repositories of primary sources are the National Archives of the Philippines,
National Museum of the Philippines, National Library of the Philippines, and the National
Historical Commission of the Philippines
14. Historical Criticism is a process where historians conduct a form of critical analysis,
facts that has to be validated.
15. Historical Criticism thoroughly examine, dissect and analyze historical sources to
uncover historical truth in order to avoid fraud.
 
16. Internal criticism. It refers to the accuracy of the contents of a document factuality and
truthfulness of the evidence. It examines the truthfulness of the evidence as administered on
primary sources.
17. External Criticism examines the authenticity of the document or the evidence being used
to spot fabricated, forged, faked documents and to distinguish a hoax or misrepresentation
18. External criticism examines its physical characteristics, consistency with the historical,
characteristic of the time when it was produced materials used for evidence.
19. Internal criticism examines the content of the source and the circumstance of its
production.
20. Internal criticism truthfulness and factuality of the author’s source, its context, agenda
behind its creation, the knowledge which informed it among others.
 READINGS IN THE
PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Dr. Nathalie C. Ranin