Historiography of the Philippines

The arrival of the Spanish colonizers, pre-colonial Filipino manuscripts and documents were gathered and burned to eliminate pagan beliefs.

[10] Scholarly organizations and societies have been formed which usually hold conferences, publish journals and promote historical knowledge and studies.

The Philippine Historical Association is the largest professional association of historians in the Philippines founded in 1955 by a group of prominent Filipino historians which includes Encarnacion Alzona, Gabriel Fabella, Gregorio Zaide, Nicolas Zafra, Celedonio Resurreccion, Teodoro Agoncillo and Esteban de Ocampo.

They disseminate information on scholarship and research opportunities and publication of journals, books, and newsletters in the national and international communities to increase awareness about Philippine culture, history, and religion.

[18] Until the year 1000 CE, maritime societies exists in the archipelago but there was no significant political state unifying the entire Philippines.

[19] The region included only numerous small administrative divisions (ranging in size from villages to city-states) under the sovereignty of competing thalassocracies ruled by datus, rajahs, sultans or lakans.