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)
Morga, Antonio de. Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. Mexico: En casa de Geronymo Balli, 1609.
Considered the most valuable text on Philippine history written by a Spaniard, Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (“Events of the Philippine Islands”) is lauded for its truthful, straightforward, and fair account of the early colonial period from the perspective of a Spanish colonist. A lawyer, lieutenant of the Governor-General of the Philippines (second only to the Governor-General), and judge of the Audiencia (highest tribunal justice) in Manila, Morga the historian achieved a comprehensive and balanced report and was even critical of his fellow colonists at times, the missionaries in particular. The present book is one of only 25 copies of the 1609 original printed in Mexico.
Juan Francisco de San Antonio. Chronicas de las apostolica Provincia de S. Gregorio de Regligiosos Descalzosde N.S.P.S. Sampoloc: Impressa en la imprenta, 1738-1744.
The first volume of three-volume series, these books provide a comprehensive history of the Franciscans in the Philippines since their arrival until the 1741. The third volume includes the history of the missions in Japan and biographies of the martyrs with an illustration of San Pedro Bautista’s crucifixion with his 22 companions. (BG)
