Historical Criticisms, Kinds, and Repositories

• Historical Criticism - Settles matters on the form and content of a source
• (1) External Criticism

  • Deals with the problem of authenticity
  • To spot hoaxes, fakes, forgeries and fabrications
• • Tests of Authenticity are:
  • Determine the date if it is Anachronistic: a material, skill or culture does not exist at that time
  • Determine the author in the uniqueness of his handwriting or signature
  • Determine the provenance or custody: genuineness
  • Determine the Semantics, meaning of a text or word 
  • Determine the Hermeneutics, the ambiguities
• Internal Criticism

  • deals with the problem of credibility.
• • Tests of credibility are:
  • Determine the Character of the Author, his reliability, and his ability and willingness to tell the truth
  • Determine the Corroboration, historical facts rest upon the testimony of two or more reliable witnesses
• Kinds of Primary Sources

  • Records of social and cultural observations
  • Chronicles
  • Human Fossils (remains of ancient man embedded in the earth such as bones, hair, skin etc.)
  • Artifacts (cultural evidences of man in the past such as tools and implements)
  • Records of Detective Investigations
  • Royal Decrees and Laws
  • Official Reports
  • Maps
  • Memoirs or Autobiographies
  • Personal accounts: record of interviews
  • Newspapers and Magazines: reports of correspondents
  • Legislative journals
  • Court Records
• Other Repositories of Primary Sources are the libraries of various universities in the Philippines such as the University of the Philippines, the Ateneo de Manila Rizal Library and Museum, the American Historical Collection in ADMU, and the University of Sto. Tomas Central Library and Museum.
• National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), formerly known as the National Historical Institute (RA 10086), forms part of the government’s culture and development agenda.
• NHCP is tasked to promote Philippine history and cultural heritage through research and dissemination, management and conservation of historical sites, and heraldry works.
• • The NHCP was established in 1972 as part of the reorganization of government after President Ferdinand Marcos' declaration of martial law, but the roots of the institute can be traced back to 1933, when the American colonial Insular Government first established the Philippine Historical Research and Markers Committee (PHRMC).
• • NHCP mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management and heraldry works." As such, it "aims to inculcate awareness and appreciation of the noble deeds and ideals of our heroes and other illustrious Filipinos, to instill pride in the Filipino people and to rekindle the Filipino spirit through the lessons of history." 
• National Archives of the Philippines

  • The task of guaranteeing that documents and records are preserved and accessible to the public.
• 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 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 Treaty of Paris (December 10, 1898) established the Office of Archives (formerly Spanish Division of Archives) under the Americans. 
• National Archives of the Philippines

  • The Treaty urged the turn-over of documents from Spain and the Philippines. Philippine Commission Act No. 273 (October 21, 1901) established the Bureau of Archives under the Department of Public Instructions (now Department of Education).
• • On May 21, 2007, by means of RA 9470 – the first archival legislation after more than a century – the National Archives of the Philippines came into existence. The new law strengthened the government’s recordkeeping systems and administration programs for archival materials.
• • Today, in implementing its mandate, the Archives utilizes a two pronged approach where effective records management goes hand-in-hand with the development of a sense of pride in one’s heritage. To achieve its goals, the Archives interacts with other government agencies and the private sector to set up projects which will illustrate how heritage resources can be used for enhancing community life. 
• • Archival materials can be utilized for tourism information, creative product design and heritage education modules that revitalize the youth’s sense of identity and membership in a dynamic, multifaceted nation. 
• University of the Philippines-Diliman Library 

  • was founded by the Board of Regents in 1922. 
  • The library collections of the University Library have been developed in aid of teaching, research and extension work in the disciplines designated to Diliman. 
  • Topping the list of choice collections in UP Diliman are the Filipiniana Collections, which come in print, non-print and digital forms.
• • Today, the UPD Library has its own digital version, also known as the Saliktroniko. Both are open to visitors under a few terms and conditions.  
• University of Santo Tomas Miguel Benavides Library 

  • can be known as the oldest University library in the country. Its first  first seeds were planted when in the early 17th century "the founder," Fr. Miguel de Benavides and other benefactors such as Fr. Diego Soria and Hernando de Los Rios Coronel, donated their private collections for a future college.
• University of Santo Tomas Miguel Benavides Library 

  • Through the history of the University other Dominicans contributed books indispensable in the education for the priesthood and other sciences.
• • In October 1989, the UST Central Library Building was inaugurated. The University Library has completed its transformation from a manually operated Library to a fully automated one, and is presently engaged in the development of a virtual Library.
• University of Santo Tomas Miguel Benavides Library 

  • Each section/branch of the library houses a rich collection of print and non-print materials which varies according to courses offered by the university. To facilitate better learning, it provides adequate and essential facilities such as conference hall, exhibit area, discussion rooms, individual study rooms, faculty area, gadget corner, internet stations, OPAC stations, as well as, a reader’s café where library users can grab a snack.
• Ateneo University Rizal Library

  • is also a famous destination for students and professionals alike when it comes to in depth research about various studies. 
• Ateneo University Rizal Library

  • This well-known institutional library houses a vast assortment of resources such as their American Historical Collection which consists of more than 13,000 books, 18,000 photographs and other materials related to the American existence in the country. 
• • Ateneo University Rizal Library also has its own section for Women’s Writings, even the Pardo de Tavera Library and Special Collections which  features the personal collections of historical materials donated by historians, writers, and other distinguished Filipino personalities over the years and lastly, the Filipiniana section which houses books written by Filipino authors or by foreign authors about the Philippines, local periodicals included in the CIPPA (link is external), religious files, annual reports, maps, and vertical files on Philippine issues.
• • Ateneo University Rizal Library - It also contains around 3,000 theses and dissertations of former Ateneo students. This section has more than 32,000 in the humanities, social sciences, and general sciences. Moreover, it has 1,200 local periodicals, including the rare, original copies of Aliwan, Liwayway, and Philippines Free Press magazines.
• Portal de Archivos Españoles

  • simply known by its acronym PARES is a documentary archive established and hosted by the Spanish Ministry of Education in 2007.
  • It offers free access to digitized images of the Spanish Archives and includes parts of Philippine history throughout the occupation of the Spaniards in the country.