Filipino history spans precolonial societies, three and a half centuries of Spanish rule, a brief American colonial period, Japanese occupation, and the modern republic. Central themes include indigenous sociopolitical organization, resistance to colonial rule, the rise of nationalist consciousness, and struggles for social justice and democratic governance.
Agoncillo died in 1985, a year before the People Power Revolution that would have validated his belief in the power of the masses. His book is not the final word on Philippine history—no single book ever is. But it is the most passionate, the most Filipino, and arguably the most important word spoken in the 20th century regarding this archipelago. history of the filipino people. teodoro a. agoncillo pdf
Agoncillo also discusses the evolution of the concept of "Filipino" and how it has been shaped by the country's complex history: Filipino history spans precolonial societies, three and a
"...the Christianization of the Filipinos was a slow process, which was achieved not through wholesale conversions but through the gradual indigenization of Christianity. The Spanish missionaries, who were mostly friars, learned the local languages and customs, and used them to propagate the Christian faith. They also incorporated elements of Filipino culture into the rituals and practices of the Church, thereby creating a syncretic form of Christianity that was Filipino in character." (Agoncillo, 1990, p. 235) His book is not the final word on