Bibliography and Visual References
When I began creating San Simeon, I wanted a setting where I could play out a legacy challenge themed to Filipino history. I've always wanted to try a historical legacy challenge and this was the story I was most confident in telling. And while it would be a lot of work, at least I was working from a place of familiarity. Or so I thought. Turns out I had a lot to learn.
I did a lot of research on colonial (and later, precolonial) history to get the aesthetic right. Illustrated works were crucial since the Sims 3 is a visual medium that favored a lot of detail. I also needed to know how societies of the time worked so I could adapt them into game play. I can’t put in everything, of course, but I try to adapt as best I can.
Here’s a general list of the sources I used to recreate my historical builds and settings, plus a few works that I’d recommend for those interested in Philippine history in general. Note that I have a strong preference for visual works for very obvious reasons.
Period Documents
Laguna Copperplate Inscription (900): The earliest surviving written document found in the Philippines whose incidental details provide a look into the lives of the aristocracy of the period. The English translation can be found here.
Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo (c. 1524 - 1525) by Antonio Pigafetta. Known in English as The First Voyage Round the World, this was the first published account of European contact between Europeans and the people of what would become the Philippines. Prior to the Copperplate Inscription’s discover this and similar accounts from later Spanish chroniclers were the primary sources of what Filipino people were like before the conquest. You can read Lord Stanley’s translation on Wikisource or Robertson’s translation on Project Gutenberg.
Boxer Codex (c. 1590): A Spanish illustrated book showing the appearance and clothing worn by the inhabitants of East and Southeast Asia during the late 16th Century, with a focus on the indigenous inhabitants of the Philippines. Images can be viewed from the Indiana University Digital Library or Wikipedia.
Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (1603) by Antonio de Morga. This was an official chronicle of the country from the early 17th Century, providing official accounts of both prominent conquerors and indigenous leaders and provides a glimpse of life during the early days of the conquest. This book was important in Dr. Jose Rizal’s own analysis of Philippine history and he annotated his own copy extensively. The English edition is available from Archive.org.
Bankoku Sozu (c. 1671): This name refers to a type of world map first published in Japan during the Tokugawa shoguns came to power. These maps, while stylistically Japanese, used techniques learned from European scholars. The maps also included a collection of images representing the national costumes of people from the countries of the world. A few of these maps depict colonial-era indigenous Filipinos. Notably, the man is wearing stockings, indicating the couple depicted came from the native nobility (principalia), who were likely to imitate the fashions of the colonizers. See two examples from the University of British Columbia and Wikipedia.
Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de la Yslas Filipinas Manila (1734): The period map contains illustrations of daily life in the Philippines during the 18th century, including depictions of what the people of the time, from the natives and foreign traders to the Spanish and Mestizo elite, had been wearing.
Catalogo alfabetico de apellidos (1849), by the administration of Governor General Narciso Claveria y Zaldua: This is a compilation of period surnames from 1849, assigned to various indigenous Filipino families who lived in the Spanish-controlled areas of the country.
Period and Period-Inspired Art
Huang Qing Zhigong Tu (c. 1761), by Xie Sui: Also known as Paintings of Tributary People of the Great Qing, this is an ethnographic compendium of tributary peoples of Qing Dynasty China, which includes depictions of people within the Chinese Empire, its neighbors that pay it tribute (hence, “tributary”), and foreign nations in Europe. The book depicts two regions now found in the Modern Philippines. The first are a man and woman from the Sulu Archipelago, which had at the time been a separate nation in constant conflict with the Spanish. The second a depiction of a man and a woman from what is identified as Luzon. While the woman wears clothing that can be clearly identified with the native aristocracy, the man wore European clothes, indicating that he is a European colonizer (and confirmed within the text).
The full illustration is shown on this link from the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. This article, meanwhile, shows important highlights of the document and provides commentary on it in English (and singles out the pair of Filipinos). You can also download the full text and images as a .pdf for free here (the link to buy is for a hardbound copy).
The illustrations of the artists of the Malaspina Expedition (c.1792): These images depict Manila and various parts of the Philippines from before the 19th century. As most images of the Philippines in the popular consciousness are based on mid- to late 19th Century images, these prints are a valuable source of information on 18th and Early 19th Century Philippine architecture from the British occupation to the time of Napoleon’s conquest of Europe.
Tipos de País (folk costume) paintings by Damian Domingo and others (1820s onward): There are many of them. I frequently find them in many of my sources. They’re a useful reference in creating depictions of 18th through 19th Century clothing in the Sims. You can see a sizable collection of them on Wikipedia.
The works of Fernando Amorsolo (1914 - 1972): Amorsolo is among the most beloved artisans in living memory and his oil paintings provided a glimpse of what turn of the 20th Century Filipino life was like. His portrayals are quite idealized and romanticized, however, which means you have to take their depictions of happy peasants in bucolic environments with a grain of salt.
The Visual Noli me Tangere by Leonardo Tayao Cruz (2002 - 2006): These are a series of paintings patterned after the chapters of Rizal’s seminal novel. Each painting is a depiction of the Philippines in the mid-1800s. You can view the paintings here.
Photographs and Image Compilations
The Manila Daguerreotypes (c. 1840s): These are the oldest photographs taken of what would become the modern Philippines and show Manila as it was in the 1840s. These were taken by an anonymous photographer who was a guest at an American trading house somewhere in Manila. View these photos at Filipiknow.net.
Various photographs and prints from the collections of John Tewell: If you want a one-stop shop for various period images, look no further. Included are various images of Manila during the turn of the century and copies of the urban cityscapes of the Malaspina Expedition.
Reputable Web and Social Media Sources
The Time Trekker: The Time Trekker is a Facebook page run by one of my old professors in college, Mr. J.P Abellera (notably, he was also involved in the production of Quezon's Game). Included are photographs he and other like-minded history lovers took of heritage structures across the country.
Project Vinta: An official page of the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation, the page shares various events and facts on the history of the Philippines. It has a series called "On This Day" where it shares the stories behind major events that took place on a specific date in Philippine history.
The National Quincentennial Committee: This government-sponsored organization is responsible for the 500th anniversary of Spanish contact and the events surrounding it, including the Battle of Mactan. The committee also provides plenty of resources on precolonial Filipino societies on the eve of contact.
Renacimiento Manila: Renacimiento Manila focuses on heritage preservation within Manila itself and is involved in a digitized scale reconstruction of the heritage structures both extant, reconstructed, and lost to recreate Manila as it may have appeared on the eve of the Second World War. The page and the organization behind it also advocate for the in situ preservation of heritage structures. They also provide easy to understand resources on architectural styles and historical fashion, albeit restricted to Manila.
The National Museum of the Philippines: Physically, the National Museum is free to enter. The institution provides several exhibits on various aspects of Philippine history and culture from the earliest part of human prehistory to the colonial era. Its exhibits also encompass natural history and ecology, so you can get to know what life was like before the first modern humans arrived in the Philippines. Their Facebook page is a good place to learn about various items (from fossils to historical artifacts) in their collection from home.
The Aswang Project: This website and its associated YouTube channel is an excellent beginner’s resource on the mythologies (note the plural) of the Philippines, which includes not only the stories associated with indigenous religions but also mythical creatures in pre- and post-colonial Philippine lore.
Karakoa Productions: This is a historical re-enactment group that focuseshistoric Visayan fashion, with a focus on the period just before and during the early years of Spanish conquest. Their conferences (which come with a modest fee, well worth the cost) also included a style guide for historically accurate period fashion for aspiring historical re-enactors. Their videos provide a quick guide on achieving the look of precolonial Visayan fashion.
John Tewell’s Flickr: Over the years, Mr. Tewell has amassed a collection of vintage photographs and prints of the old Philippines that he has compiled in his Flickr account. The images in this account provide an invaluable visual reference that’s readily available for free. Mr. Tewell is, 81 at the time of writing, is currently in a tight spot. Consider lending him a hand if you have the means to do so.
Period Literary Fiction
Noli me Tangere (1887) and El Filibusterismo (1891) by Dr. Jose P. Rizal: It just wouldn't be right not to include these two novels. Many Filipino literature nerds fell in love with the novel in high school. It was required reading for a good reason, too, as it illustrated the contemporaneous challenges faced by the native and mixed-race Filipinos during the terminal end of Spanish rule. I’ve linked to digital copies of the English translations, which are available for free on Project Gutenberg. I have the comic.
Reference Works
The Philippine Islands: 1493 - 1898 (1906), by various authors, edited by Emma Helen Blair and translated by James Alexander Robertson: This is a compendium of various documents related to the history of the Philippines translated into English. The books as compiled come in various volumes, some of which can be read from Project Gutenberg.
Filipinos in China Before 1500 (1989) by William Henry Scott. This annotated document provides a glimpse into the complex history of imperial China’s relations with the various states in the Philippines before Spanish contact. This provides a good historical snapshot of the Philippines at the time as it provides attestation for various states in the Pasig River Delta, Butuan, Pangasinan, and the Visayas. It can be read from the University of the Philippines - Dilliman website.
Looking for the Prehispanic Filipino (1992) by William Henry Scott. This is a collection of essays by Scott, which touches on the details of precolonial life and the ways that the historical records during the early contact period can be re-examined to paint a more accurate picture of life before and during the advent of the Spanish conquest. A copy can be found on Archive.org.
Kasaysayan: The Story of the Filipino People (1998), edited by Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr.: This is an encyclopedic compendium consisting of works written by various authors on different sociopolitical events in the Philippines from ancient prehistory to the 1986 People Power Revolution that ended the Marcos regime. The articles were written in-depth and provide insight and opinion into how precolonial, colonial, and post-colonial society worked at the time.
Fun fact: Many of the aforementioned illustrations can be found in these books’ pages.
Museum Exhibits
Various exhibits at Bahay Tsinoy: The heritage center’s many exhibits showcase the history of the Chinese settlers in the Philippines and the impact that Chinese Filipinos had in shaping the country’s culture, language, and political history.
Villavincenco-Marella House: An in situ preserved ancestral home in Taal, Batangas, the so-called Wedding Gift House provides visitors with a glimpse of life in a well-appointed 19th Century House. The home is so authentic that it has regularly appeared in movies and TV as the archetypal Bahay na Bato interior.
Casa Manila: First built in 1850 and rebuilt in 1983, the reconstructed Mendoza House, which once stood in Calle Jaboneros in San Nicolas, serves as a snapshot of life in late 19th Century Manila. The interiors of the museum give its visitors a general idea life in a typical prosperous Manileño home.
Various exhibits at the Ayala Museum:
Gold of the Ancestors: This is an interactive exhibit showcasing the many gold grave artifacts (most of them grave goods) of the pre-Hispanic native aristocracy. The gold displayed the artisanship of the precolonial goldsmiths and the wealth of the lowland city-states of the period.
A Millennium of Contact: This exhibit provides excellent historical background for the contact that Ancient Filipinos had with the Chinese, as told through the ancient Filipino aristocracy’s favorite luxury import: fine porcelain.
Art and the Order of Nature in Indigenous Filipino Textiles: This exhibit provided a basic idea of how indigenous textiles worked. This is vital to creating and improvising the art and textiles of the pre-colonial inhabitants.
The Diorama Experience: Perhaps one of my biggest sources, rivaling Kasaysayan. These images provide a realistic depiction of many of the major milestones of Philippine history.
Remember: It's important to rely on multiple sources of good repute, so that you can compare details, spot possible errors, and make a fair assessment. As my research continues, expect the bibliography to expand.
