On the Ground. Snapshots and Snippets

Reports from Philippine Provinces, 1565-1898©

Bruce Cruikshank, May 2015

         It is not uncommon for a manuscript to have very little information in it about life experienced by the colonial majority in the Philippine provinces during the third of a millennium that Spain ruled the islands.  Occasionally there are a few comments, a paragraph, or a section that qualifies in its ability to show us Filipinos going about their daily lives.  These snapshots or snippets of information are often rather revealing. 

It is true, though, that while snapshots can be evocative they lack views of life before and after the moment; nor do they present much of the context of that instant.  Sections from manuscripts have the same limitations but also present moments and information that otherwise would never be revealed. 

I present such instances in the hope they may be of utility to others; and that others will contribute snapshots and snippets for posting and sharing.  Perhaps, too, by serendipity we will accumulate enough bits and pieces for a certain place and time that scholars will be enabled to construct a plausible mosaic. 

Please contact me at dbc_research_institute@yahoo.com with any information you would like to share; or with comments and criticisms on the material. 

Please access these on my page at academia.edu .

Bruce Cruikshank

Independent Scholar

Nebraska, U.S.A.