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Knowledge and Pacification: On the U.S. Conquest and the Writing of Philippine History
This book shows us how to think about the American century in the Philippines in another way. Colonial representations of the revolution and resistance to U.S. occupation have been contested quite effectively. But the bigger challenge, or rather pressing task, is to interrogate some basic notions that undergird our understanding of Philippine politics—notions that owe their provenance to early attempts by U.S. officials and scholars to pacify the enemy.
362 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 5, 2022
As a Filipino, I admit that I don’t know much about the Philippine-American War (or the period after the 1896 Revolution leading up to Martial Law). I feel that that part of my country’s history is largely forgotten. So, it was interesting to read up on the Philippine-American war in central and south Luzon, strategies that key players employed to survive the new imperial power, and the Americans’ (bigoted) perspective on Filipino leaders as a whole.
As expected from Ileto, this book was enlightening and well-researched. Plus, it had a compelling voice; it doesn’t read like the typical bland history book but a memoir of sorts, which I appreciated. I especially liked the chapter on his relationship with his pro-US father, as well as the one about the hearings to require Rizal’s novels in Philippine schools.
I wish there had been more focus on Philippine relations with the US during Martial Law. I would also like to read more about the implications of Duterte’s regime to the country’s current perspective of the US. I know that this manuscript was submitted when Duterte was very new in power, but I would really like to see that last chapter expanded.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, my first Ileto and the first research book of this depth that I read cover to cover.
As expected from Ileto, this book was enlightening and well-researched. Plus, it had a compelling voice; it doesn’t read like the typical bland history book but a memoir of sorts, which I appreciated. I especially liked the chapter on his relationship with his pro-US father, as well as the one about the hearings to require Rizal’s novels in Philippine schools.
I wish there had been more focus on Philippine relations with the US during Martial Law. I would also like to read more about the implications of Duterte’s regime to the country’s current perspective of the US. I know that this manuscript was submitted when Duterte was very new in power, but I would really like to see that last chapter expanded.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, my first Ileto and the first research book of this depth that I read cover to cover.
April 26, 2019
When I go to the Bay Area, I like to go to Arkipelago Books in the Mission. It's a great little shop of Filipino-interest books, and stocks a lot of things that are difficult or impossible to find elsewhere in the U.S. (yes, even on Amazon!). This was the book I got on my last trip.
Ileto was part of a group of Filipino nationalist historians who tried to combat official pro-American and elitist versions of modern Filipino history, probably starting with Teodoro Agoncillo and Renato Constantino in the 1950s. Ileto's most famous book, "Pasyon and Revolution: Popular Movements in the Philippines, 1840-1910" was published in 1979, so I was intrigued when I learned he had just published this book in 2017.
The book is more of a compilation of loosely connected essays than a single coherent narrative, and it took me a little while to get my bearings as a reader. I actually thought the early chapters, which focus on details of the Philippine-American war, were the least compelling part--but I'm glad I stuck with the book. The middle and later chapters, which focus more on personal history and on how the story of the war and subsequent events have been told, are very good. "Father and Son in the Embrace of Uncle Sam" was my favorite chapter, detailing the different relationships with America developed by Rey Ileto and his father, Rafael "Rocky" Ileto, who was a strongly pro-American high-ranking officer in the Filipino military, who served through the Marcos dictatorship and was defense secretary under Cory Aquino.
Some of the later essays in the book address the Second Philippine Republic under Jose Laurel, which is widely characterized as a puppet state of World War II-era Japan. Ileto's writing goes some way to redeem Laurel and this government, showing how it promoted acknowledgment and recognition of Filipino revolutionary heroes that had largely been suppressed during the American occupation. He has some interesting things to say on how subsequent events colored Filipino national memory of the American occupation versus the Japanese occupation--while both were brutal, only the Japanese occupation is really remembered as such, and the American occupation has been largely rehabilitated. I see this when talking with family members, as well as in reading some oral histories from my father-in-law's home town produced in the 1950s.
Finally, I also appreciated and found intriguing Ileto's analysis of Filipino "awit," a form of narrative poetry, as historical documents. By their nature, written historical documents (that still exist!) tend to be from the perspective of the winners, and from an official and elite perspective. While writing poetry is admittedly still a fairly elite activity, I thought this was a thoughtful and creative method for a historian to get some distance from that default story.
Ileto was part of a group of Filipino nationalist historians who tried to combat official pro-American and elitist versions of modern Filipino history, probably starting with Teodoro Agoncillo and Renato Constantino in the 1950s. Ileto's most famous book, "Pasyon and Revolution: Popular Movements in the Philippines, 1840-1910" was published in 1979, so I was intrigued when I learned he had just published this book in 2017.
The book is more of a compilation of loosely connected essays than a single coherent narrative, and it took me a little while to get my bearings as a reader. I actually thought the early chapters, which focus on details of the Philippine-American war, were the least compelling part--but I'm glad I stuck with the book. The middle and later chapters, which focus more on personal history and on how the story of the war and subsequent events have been told, are very good. "Father and Son in the Embrace of Uncle Sam" was my favorite chapter, detailing the different relationships with America developed by Rey Ileto and his father, Rafael "Rocky" Ileto, who was a strongly pro-American high-ranking officer in the Filipino military, who served through the Marcos dictatorship and was defense secretary under Cory Aquino.
Some of the later essays in the book address the Second Philippine Republic under Jose Laurel, which is widely characterized as a puppet state of World War II-era Japan. Ileto's writing goes some way to redeem Laurel and this government, showing how it promoted acknowledgment and recognition of Filipino revolutionary heroes that had largely been suppressed during the American occupation. He has some interesting things to say on how subsequent events colored Filipino national memory of the American occupation versus the Japanese occupation--while both were brutal, only the Japanese occupation is really remembered as such, and the American occupation has been largely rehabilitated. I see this when talking with family members, as well as in reading some oral histories from my father-in-law's home town produced in the 1950s.
Finally, I also appreciated and found intriguing Ileto's analysis of Filipino "awit," a form of narrative poetry, as historical documents. By their nature, written historical documents (that still exist!) tend to be from the perspective of the winners, and from an official and elite perspective. While writing poetry is admittedly still a fairly elite activity, I thought this was a thoughtful and creative method for a historian to get some distance from that default story.
January 23, 2023
The book can be divided on to three parts, the first part which focuses on the "Pacification" part of the American-Filipino war. It's a very bloody story, which is sometimes a wonder on how it is relatively forgotten, and that phenomenon of amnesia will be explained later on.
The 2nd part is looking at the US-PH relations through the lens of his family, which was unexpectedly intriguing as it does show the generational gap between the people born in the American educational system, and those born in the era of a new awakening in Filipino nationalism.
The 3rd part focuses on the historiography and how Americanized our education system really is. It is a compelling narrative focusing on how the Japanese invasion of the Philippines was just a repeat of the tragedies of the American invasion, but it provided a space for new Filipino nationalists as egged on by Japan, such as the likes of Laurel and Recto.
It is a very persuasive text, but it should be remembered that the 3rd part is more of a loosely connected essays united by the theme of the rise of Filipino nationalism, and the "Unfinished Revolution"
All in all, this is a book that is easy to recommend for people to want to know more about the US-PH relationship in history, although I would appreciate it if there was more details on the US-PH relationship but maybe it was outside of the scope on the book. Although, if you are looking for a military history of the US-PH war, this is not it.
The 2nd part is looking at the US-PH relations through the lens of his family, which was unexpectedly intriguing as it does show the generational gap between the people born in the American educational system, and those born in the era of a new awakening in Filipino nationalism.
The 3rd part focuses on the historiography and how Americanized our education system really is. It is a compelling narrative focusing on how the Japanese invasion of the Philippines was just a repeat of the tragedies of the American invasion, but it provided a space for new Filipino nationalists as egged on by Japan, such as the likes of Laurel and Recto.
It is a very persuasive text, but it should be remembered that the 3rd part is more of a loosely connected essays united by the theme of the rise of Filipino nationalism, and the "Unfinished Revolution"
All in all, this is a book that is easy to recommend for people to want to know more about the US-PH relationship in history, although I would appreciate it if there was more details on the US-PH relationship but maybe it was outside of the scope on the book. Although, if you are looking for a military history of the US-PH war, this is not it.
August 21, 2024
Another highly-recommended book about American neocolonialism. This one is deeply psychological, philosophical, and informative discussion of how writing the Philippine history in different perspectives has created Filipino consciousness of the US conquest of the Philippines.
I take my hat off to Sir Reynaldo Ileto! Thanks for teaching us how to read history in context! 🙂
I take my hat off to Sir Reynaldo Ileto! Thanks for teaching us how to read history in context! 🙂
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews