A ‘Treasonous’ History of Filipino Historiography: The Life and Times of Pedro Paterno,1858–1911

Abstract

Pedro Paterno (1858–1911) is widely regarded as a ‘traitor’ to the Philippine nation. That reputation has its origins in his role in the negotiation of the 1897 Pact of Biac-na-Bato between the Philippine revolutionaries and the Spanish, under which the former agreed to abandon their struggle and collaborate with the colonial administration. Then when the USA in 1898 declared war on Spain, Paterno urged the revolutionaries to defend Spanish rule against the Americans, and he continued to urge resistance to the USA during the Philippine-American war. When captured, he swore allegiance to the USA, and was subsequently appointed President of the Consultative Assembly. He has long been an easy target for nationalist historians. This paper is not intended to re-examine his political trajectory. Rather, it focuses on Pedro Paterno as a scholar, as the author of a considerable number of works of history, and it seeks to place him in his intellectual context, an ilustrado who compromised with both colonialism and nationalism, with loyalties split between Spain and the Philippines.