Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946

by Lio Mangubat

A country’s history is like a jigsaw puzzle. The bigger picture of how a country and its people came to be can be pieced together through multiple narratives, perspectives, and stories. In Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves, Lio Mangubat reaches back into the depths of colonial archives and brings to life long-lost stories that would otherwise have been footnotes in Philippine history.

Featuring 13 essays inspired by his podcast series The Colonial Dept., Mangubat spins tales of galleons, triads, fickle spirits, long-lost maps, and the secret history of otters. In these pages, learn about how the entire country became mad for baseball; how Mexican fighter pilots flew dangerous missions over the Philippines during World War II; or how American occupiers fell victim to a mysterious illness called “Philippinitis".

Beyond revisiting days gone by, Mangubat also connects the threads of each story to the wider tapestry of world history — and how these can unspool even up to our current time. A masterful storyteller and podcaster, he proves that the past can loom larger than the present.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Asian Literature

193 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 31, 2024

Reviews

[marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a brilliant little book! enjoyed each essay thoroughly and learned so much ❤️ lio mangubat has such a good way of finding stories from different points of philippine (as well as global) history and weaving them together in unique ways! loved the afterword as well :’) highlyyy recommend this to both filipinos and foreigners alike!

p.s. this book smells heavenly

[Karolina Góras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo przyjemnie się czytało, fajne smaczki historyczne

[gianina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vividly and thoughtfully narrated pieces of cool and cruel history.

Having grown up learning about Philippine history from a sweeping, hyperopic point of view, I tend to flatten much of it in my mind into eras and historical tentpoles. But in getting to take a much closer look at it, at least in bits and pieces, I'm reminded that history happens by the day, by the hour, by the moment. And within those measures of time, no matter how small, are stories all worth telling and remembering.

[Led · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mouthful of a title that immediately piques interest, SSSS time travels to centuries back to allow the reader an amusing peer into thirteen little-known tales and events that took place during the Philippine colonial era.

Appreciating microhistory through Mangubat’s richly worded essays, the education it permits is personally redolent of that could be had from watching a local television game show (thinking of Game KNB?); gives delight.

This is a savory treat to ears that prick up at ‘Alam mo ba?' gushing history rather than gossip.

~~~Spoilers ahead~~~
The stories I particularly liked because I either barely knew them or were completely unknown to me until this,

➤ Chapter 2. Before basketball courts became ubiquitous, from early 1900’s to until the 1970’s the Philippines was a baseball country.

➤ Chapter 6: Swastika Manila. During Nazi Germany, the Philippines became an unlikely place of refuge, offering shelter to more than a thousand European Jews.
*I first became aware of this through the documentary series, The Last Manilaners .

➤ Chapter 7: Seven Months of Darkness. Taal Volcano’s seven-month eruption of 1754 enormously altered the geography that Lake Taal sealed itself up into a landlocked body of water from previously being directly accessed from the sea via the now narrow Pansipit River.

➤ Chapter 8. The accounts of a gigantic saltwater crocodile in part of Laguna de Bay in the 1830’s in the now town of Jalajala, Rizal Province; measuring twenty-seven feet from nostril to tail. The succeeding text reads (underlines mine):

'(In contrast, the world-famous Lolong, captured in Palawan in 2011, measured only twenty feet long.)'

Mentioned a second time,

'In Palawan, where Lolong lived, the mangrove forests that have already vanished in other parts of the country are still abundant…'

Here I’d like to point out an inaccuracy. Lolong had, in fact, lived in Mindanao, a different island, specifically in the town of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, and was captured there in 2011. Not in Palawan.

➤ Chapter 9. The disease called ‘philippinitis’ that seemed to only affect the white race.

➤ Chapter 10. A map called the Selden Map originally by an unknown mapmaker. With details remarkably accurate in many respects, for what purpose it was actually drawn?

➤ Chapter 13: Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves. The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade loaded slaves, and slave auctions were part of Manila’s colonial reality. And prior to the coming of the Spaniards—I'm intrigued by this—Philippine society was a slave-owning society.

Other recommended read on Philippine microhistory,
Interrogations in Philippine Cultural History by Resil B. Mojares

[Deil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly Superb Scholarly Stories

[Diane RB (booksandthensome) · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is absolutely nothing I would change about this book. The content, the writing, the structure… every single element left a lasting impression on me. We need more of this kind of historical nonfiction (lost tales or otherwise) that is grounding, eye-opening and engaging. If you come across anything like this, let me know! More thoughts to follow ❤️

[Dave Cortel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author threads together markets, empires, and everyday lives in a way that’s easy to follow, almost like being guided through ports and bazaars yourself. I also appreciated how it doesn’t shy away from the darker parts of this history. The discussion on slavery and exploitation is handled clearly, without turning the book into a heavy academic text. It strikes a balance between being informative and readable. If I have any complaints, it’s that some chapters feel like they end too soon—I found myself wanting a little more depth in certain parts of the world. But overall, I ended up enjoying it. It’s the kind of book that opens your eyes to how long global connections—and inequalities—have been shaping our lives.

A worthwhile read if you’re into history that feels alive rather than textbook-dry.

[Edrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

#bookreview

Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves by Lio Mangubat

5/5

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a radio show before it was translated onto the printed page. This partly explains the déjà vu I felt reading this book which is the written adaptation of multiple episodes from seasons 1 to 4 of The Colonial Department podcast. I glided through the text because of my familiarity with the topics, having listened to them for the past three years. The book ends somewhere on Page 152, according to my Kindle (I bought the print copy a month ago but that's for my personal library.), which is three-quarters of the way through. The rest are notes and sources. Which explains another reason for the déjà vu: the painstaking work of research and citing every single source is reminiscent of another recent, local, outstanding piece of journalism: Some People Need Killing. Both works highlight how the Filipino is often at the mercy of the whims of someone so alien to their phenomenology. Highly recommended for those who wish to understand the daily lives of ordinary Filipinos and the foot soldiers during colonial period.

Which raises the question: Collab with The Eurospeak Podcast/BJ Enverga

Note: Any text that mentions Apocalypse Now automatically is excellent in my eyes.

[Trisha Vivien Estiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOW IS THIS BOOK STILL SO UNDERRATED??

It's easily a masterpiece from start to finish. This is not your typical PH history book, it's an experience. The contents are too brutal and heavy for textbooks. A nonfic book has never made me this emotional :< The deeper you dive, the more it hits you.

But it was such a breath of fresh air that it’s written in third-person POV (even had to double check if the author is really Filipino XD) You get insights not only from the local side, but from all these different contexts and global factors. It’s so well‑written... it tells the story in a way that makes you go Ahh, makes sense!

Here are some of the personal hot takes:

How pre-colonial Filipinos are not that stupid to let people colonize them
How extreme the Japanese wars were
Connections with Germans, Mexicans, and Chinese
How Taal Volcano literally reshaped geography
Slaves (the worst human activity... but somehow the best chapter)

THIS BOOK IS TOO EPIC TO SIT IN SILENCE!!

[Gabriela Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summit Books Editor and The Colonial Dept. podcaster Lio Mangubat has written a collection of thirteen essays which were originally broadcast in podcast form during the pandemic. Dalgona coffees and avocado toast lockdown projects are great, but perhaps don’t come close to what Mangubat has done: leave behind a tangible record of esoteric learning that will entice the layman to seek out other stories beneath dust-covered history textbooks...

Read the rest here! (https://exlibrisphilippines.com/2024/...)

[Luigi Alcaneses · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a refreshing read on colonial history: at times light-hearted, at times deeply somber, and always full of rich personalities and underrated tales. It's compiled as different essays on very niche aspects of Philippine colonialism, such as how Filipinos contributed to the Shanghai boxing and music community, how the Selden map came to be created by a Chinese Muslim in Europe, and how the galleon trade was inextricably tied to the slave trade. I loved the chapters "Swastika Manila" and "That Strange Disease Called Philippinitis" the most.

[shyrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

as if i'm picking up a book in our university's library, taking it to the librarian, having the book card signed, and looking forward to reading it when i get home.

i'm constantly enthralled with these kinds of books—essays mingled with history, photographs of the past, old places & settings which no longer stand on maps.

i liked how the author weaved the past in seemingly small marks to form a bigger whole. how it itches my mind to think and think.

everything about the past is something i will perpetually look forward to learning & this book is one i'd recommend & remember :)

[Bomalabs · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy read and the prose just flows, but more than the writing I like to highlight the curiosity and the research that it took to even make this book possible. Like who in their right mind would come across these figures in Philippine History? Its like Outsider History - or the Philippines on a Totally Different Lens, an Outsider Lens. And no we're not even talking about those written by Ambeth Ocampo. Ang saya basahin!

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written essays that each give a peek into a specific time and place in Philippine history. Mangubat weaves the personal event with the societal wave, and comes up with something both interestingly informative (I didn't know there were Filipino businessmen in Shanghai in the early 1900s) and also emotionally poignant (VST singer turned baggage handler).

Makes me want to read more about Philippine history, especially the Concepcion family book referenced in one of the chapters.

[JY · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Mexican Expeditionary Force was perhaps many things — a publicity coup, a public relations tour, a propaganda gesture, a chance at the Allied seat at the table — but for the three hundred men of the Aguilas Aztecas, it was also a harrowing, and dangerous, and very real war."

For all its intent of being an enjoyable dip into the obscured parts of history, I thought the book also succinctly established the point of history as a humbling, human enterprise.

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read! I liked the way sumpong was dived into and integrated with the happenings around Apocalypse Now / the baseball liga that happened back in the day / Mexican fighter pilots in Manila nearing the end of the war / the Germans who were in the Philippines when WWII just started / Philippinitis.

[ariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

so beautifully written

[typewriternoises · Rating 3 out of 5]

the concluding essay to tito ben really got me. maybe life is just the ways we keep our loved ones alive

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of essays about Filipino history that doesn't flinch from the darker parts. The bits about regular life are the most interesting.

[rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last half of the book was great. 4.5 stars

[Cece · Rating 4 out of 5]

favorite chapters: Auroran Gods, You Otter Get Rich in Manila, and Seven Months of Darkness

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging short stories about Philippine history that isn't usually taught in schools. I enjoyed reading and learning these new things.

[Rina B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book as a gift from a friend, who is also a history buff like me. I do enjoy trivia and anecdotes about history, and I liked how the author shared some little known but interesting stories about Filipino history. For those who enjoy reading Ambeth Ocampo’s books, or his history-related articles, this book hits the spot.