Juan de la Concepcion. Historia general de Philipinas. Manila: La Imprenta del Seminario Conciliar,
y Real de San Carlos, 1788-1792.
Fourteen volumes were produced between 1788 and 1792. It is considered to be one of the most comprehensive works on
Filipino history, geography, and culture.
The book features a reproduction of a Philippine map by Father Pedro Murillo Velarde called “Carta Hydrographia y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas” in 1734. It is one of four subsequent editions of the original map produced, which served as the basis of Philippine maps for decades to come, as its skeleton outline can be recognized on most maps thereafter. The king of Spain instructed Governor-General of the Philippines Don Fernando Valdes y Tamon to prepare a map of the colony, who assigned the job to Velarde. It took Velarde only one year to create the map, which is complete with the names of towns, the interior topography, a plot of the sailing course taken by Magellan in 1521, the Spanish coat of arms, and a drawing of the ship “Victoria,” the first to circumnavigate the world. (BG)
