History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos

This book review is one the most dififcult I've yet had to write. It ranked it two stars, for multiple reasons, but I also encourage giving it read regardless. There are certain things that the reader must be aware of before reading this book. This first is that this book is clearly biased. The author provides undertones for his preferred economic policies and political beliefs through much of his commentary of historical events. He writes about Marxism in a very positive and slanted light. I didn't like this. I wanted a factual account of the history of the Philippines, nothing more.

Further, his book paints an almost dark picture of the country, and a very negative view of Spain and the United States. That isn't to say it isn't fully warranted, but it was one sided. There were numerous times where unjust acts and crimes are mentioned against countries like the United States... but it odd, because based off other points of commentary he would make throughout his book, it became clear to me that he was selectively choosing what to discuss when providing facts on the time as an American Colony. Further, his negative portail of American presidencies was confusing because it wasn't really backed up with hard evidence. I remember, one point where he criticized Vice President George H.W. Bush for comments of praise made to Marcos, wherein he says something to the effect of, "This was proof that the Reagan Administration just outright supported a dicactor..." which was then essentially followed by, "those comments may have been made to due to the fact that Marcos lessened his grip in some political area... but we aren't going to focus on that... were just going to assume these comments were made because Reagan and Bush just supported everything a dictator did".

I too like others was a little upset at how overplayed the Spanish and American mistakes were discussed and how little was said of the Japanese crimes.

All I mean to say is that in many ways this text lacked context. You can't read this book and walk away with a full picture of the history of the Philippines or the powers that controlled the islands in the past. Further reading is absolutely required. I would not discourage a single soul from reading this textbook, just don't let it be your only resource.

The reality is that the history of the Philippines like all colonized countries that we are often given is totally whitewashed. In middle school aside from what little my mother told me about her home all I really knew was that the Japanese committed terrible atrocities during ww2 for which my grandmother would always hate them and that the USA "saved" us. It wasn't until I was an adult and looked into it more that the history of subjugation and exploitation of the Philippines became clear. However many authors will not lay out the case in such detail nor will they support it so well with footnotes. Things that made no sense through the idealist view of "great man" theory are made perfectly evident by applying material analysis.

How else do you explain the crimes committed against the moro people or the fact that the US has defacto control over trade in the Philippines? How else do you explain even more basic questions, like why say, does the hacienda system still persist? Why did the US install Japanese sympathizers instead of the Huks who were the most effective fighting force against the Japanese, in positions of leadership post ww2? Why did the US intervene on behalf of the corrupt Marcos regime? Certainly none of these actions were for the "general" good of Pinoys. This is why they said they did these things, but either you must accept that the US is unimaginably incompetent or that these acts were all done with one goal in mind: extracting and maintaining control of the economy and valuable assets of the islands.

This book eloquently and accurately dispels the myth at the heart of America's "benevolent colonization." My only hope is that an update might be done that adds a chapter discussing the shocking stat that more Pinoys have died in the US due to covid-19 than in the Philippines.

I love history, and was keen to devour whatever information I could find about the Philippines. This book certainly whet my appetite for further, more in-depth histories. Right from the outset, the author indicates that this was never intended to be an all-encompassing history. He also acknowledged that he wasn't an historian. What I found most valuable was the vital understanding of the Philippines' history in terms of its colonial past, and which remains the common thread throughout the majority of the book. There was also the recurring theme of corruption, which continues to this day. Those insights aside, my favorite part of the book was the chapter devoted to pre-colonial times. I wish there had been more on this topic, but there are probably other books which expound on the subject. In terms of scholarship, there was an extensive list of references which I will probably mine for future reading endeavors. There is also a glossary of Filipino and Spanish terms which are used throughout the book, and which proved highly enlightening and informative. While I wouldn't consider this the best history book out there, it is an engaging read that provides a quick (if biased) overview of Filipino history and some interesting cultural analysis.

Having read the awful history of the Philippines by Kathleen Nadeau, then the excellent one by Stanley Karnow, I decided to finish with this one. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to fall somewhere in the middle: more fleshed-out and better written than Nadeau, but not up to the caliber of Karnow.

It's a fairly standard history and there's not really that much to say. Francia structures his book in a way that suggests it's meant to be read through, but in general it's scholarly and dry. All in all the coverage is fairly balanced, although he seems to emphasize the late 1800s, recent history (Marcos onward) and the pre-colonial era (compared to other histories, anyway). The American period is comparatively slighted. One trend - which might explain this coverage - is a hint of nationalism and overt anti-American bias. It's most clear in the introduction, when Francia states that he wrote the book as a way of paying homage to the early Filipino nationalists, but he definitely seems to admire the nationalists of the late 1800s and begrudge the US. As another reviewer notes, American atrocities are recounted, while Japanese ones are minimized. The overbearing neo-imperialism America displayed towards the independent Philippines is worth laying bare, but it sort of bothered me that the achievements of America's regime were ignored; instead, Francia focuses on the struggle for independence and the economic dependence the Philippines was hooked into.

In common with the other historians, Francia makes clear that the Philippines' long history of colonialism has created a very conservative socioeconomic system privileging a Westernized elite and screwing over the peasant, often landless majority. He even seems to have a fair degree of sympathy for the various insurgencies, including those in Mindanao, that have plagued the islands in the 1900s. Luckily his tone never gets very cranky and he makes a convincing argument, but I wasn't sure he was always being entirely objective, either.

In conclusion, this is a good, readable account of the Philippines' history, about the right length, and with some good stuff on the precolonial era, the Marcos era, recent times, and the various nationalists that launched the aborted revolution in 1896. Francia includes some funny little details, but for the most part the writing is dry and I think there are probably better books out there (or that could be written).

Having read the awful history of the Philippines by Kathleen Nadeau, then the excellent one by Stanley Karnow, I decided to finish with this one. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to fall somewhere in the middle: more fleshed-out and better written than Nadeau, but not up to the caliber of Karnow.

It's a fairly standard history and there's not really that much to say. Francia structures his book in a way that suggests it's meant to be read through, but in general it's scholarly and dry. All in all the coverage is fairly balanced, although he seems to emphasize the late 1800s, recent history (Marcos onward) and the pre-colonial era (compared to other histories, anyway). The American period is comparatively slighted. One trend - which might explain this coverage - is a hint of nationalism and overt anti-American bias. It's most clear in the introduction, when Francia states that he wrote the book as a way of paying homage to the early Filipino nationalists, but he definitely seems to admire the nationalists of the late 1800s and begrudge the US. As another reviewer notes, American atrocities are recounted, while Japanese ones are minimized. The overbearing neo-imperialism America displayed towards the independent Philippines is worth laying bare, but it sort of bothered me that the achievements of America's regime were ignored; instead, Francia focuses on the struggle for independence and the economic dependence the Philippines was hooked into.

In common with the other historians, Francia makes clear that the Philippines' long history of colonialism has created a very conservative socioeconomic system privileging a Westernized elite and screwing over the peasant, often landless majority. He even seems to have a fair degree of sympathy for the various insurgencies, including those in Mindanao, that have plagued the islands in the 1900s. Luckily his tone never gets very cranky and he makes a convincing argument, but I wasn't sure he was always being entirely objective, either.

In conclusion, this is a good, readable account of the Philippines' history, about the right length, and with some good stuff on the precolonial era, the Marcos era, recent times, and the various nationalists that launched the aborted revolution in 1896. Francia includes some funny little details, but for the most part the writing is dry and I think there are probably better books out there (or that could be written).

I did gain some new understanding of the history of the Philippines from reading this book. However, the anti-U.S. sentiment is evident throughout book. My mother's family had to hide in the mountains from the Japanese during WWII and has always told us how thankful she was to the Americans for rescuing her country. This book's opinion of the U.S. is totally opposite. I also just finished reading, "For Crew and Country" about the sailors who lost their lives fighting the Japanese during WWII. Francia's book was disturbing to me as the sacrifice of U.S. soldiers seemed to be downplayed.

Full of invective, the history leaves huge gaps in explanation and paints anyone with whom the author disagrees as a colonialist, capitalist, or worse.

I have read other historical items of the Philippines over the past 12 years but had not read a complete history and also written by a Filipino so I selected this one as a start up and preliminary reading to a next one I have selected which is limited to the American period by H.W. Brands. I will say this is a fair book and very much what the author intended but is not without flaws and is in need of a good editor for some of writing style and grammar errors. Otherwise it is what I expected as the history of the country in the eyes of a countryman. His occasional references to "Uncle Sam" might be an indication of some bias that in my opinion was not necessary to deliver on the short comings by America in the history of this much abused by others country. I am no stranger to the Philippines but seek much more of this wonderful country to discover. This book made a contribution to my interest that is worth the reading time but falls short of what I expected. Perhaps I will feel differently after reading other Filipino authors.

An example of an over-flowery author. There is no doubt this man is intelligent as you read this book. And it had so much potential to be THE book for many people to learn a good overall, thorough overview of Philippine History.
Frankly this book is a drag. Not a good informative book nor a story-telling book. Overly convoluted for no reason. He does not articulate well the history he’s trying to convey.

I used to work at MoMA where I serendipitously met the author’s wife through a coworker. I was looking for a gift for my mother who is from Bicol and impossible to shop for. His wife mentioned this book and I immediately purchased it. My mom loved it! Thank you to the author and especially his wife!