MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In celebration of the 500th anniversary of Philippine-Spanish interactions and the first successful circumnavigation of the world, the Vibal Group and its non-profit arm Vibal Foundation unveiled free, easily accessible online Quincentenario resources for the benefit of students, academics, and history buffs in the Philippines and around the globe.
The Vibal Group portal features webinars, articles, lesson plans, and links to books related to the quincentennial, while Vibal Foundation launched Quincentenario microsites on two of its online projects: Filipiniana.net and WikiPilipinas.org.
Filipiniana.net is a digital library and research portal aimed at gathering the most important and significant documents and artifacts on Philippine studies, while WikiPilipinas is an online encyclopedia on history, culture, entertainment, sports, economy, and other fields of knowledge about the Philippines.
Filipiniana.net helps students and researchers in the Philippines and around the world to gain access to hard-to-find primary documents in digital format, while providing context and further information that might otherwise be buried or inaccessible in library archives and offline storage.
WikiPilipinas, which is available in English (WikiPilipinas) and Filipino (WikiFilipino), allows researchers the freedom to gain Philippine-centric knowledge using the language they are most comfortable with. It also aims to present general knowledge through a Filipino lens, which is not usually provided by other encyclopedias which use a globalized point of view.
Both sites provide online readers easy access to original texts, transcriptions, translations of documents, and other related links that are of cultural and historical importance, free of charge. Vibal aims to establish these sites as one-stop resource portals for research about Philippine studies for both scholarly and enthusiastic work.
In line with the global commemoration of the Quincentenario, Filipiniana.net and WikiPilipinas will feature special portals focused on historical documents related to the momentous event.
FILIPINIANA.NET
The Filipiniana.net landing page. This free research portal on Philippine history and culture features citations and annotations, master bibliographies, cataloging services, and researchers’ notebooks.
For Filipiniana.net, the series of features under the Documentos del Quincentenario include:
- The annotated original documentation of chronicler Antonio Pigafetta of an unprecedented feat of the time, the first circumnavigation of the world
- A total of 18 documents by Spanish historian Martín Fernández de Navarrete written in Old Spanish
- Other literature on Spanish-Philippine relations and history
The annotated original documentation of chronicler Antonio Pigafetta of the first circumnavigation of the world mentions the discovery of the Philippines between 16 March and
28 October 1521 by European explorers, on their way through a westward route to the Spice Islands.
Leading the expedition was Spanish fleet commander and Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who was ultimately recognized for the discovery of the Philippines. He introduced Christian faith to the natives of the archipelago which will eventually be named after King Felipe II of Spain.
The 18 documents by Spanish historian Martín Fernández de Navarrete were transcribed by a team led by Prof. Jorge Mojarro, who is the editor in chief of Filipiniana.net. These documents highlight details of the Magellan-Elcano expedition, the Loaysa expedition, and the Villalobos and Legazpi expeditions.
WIKIPILIPINAS
The Quincentenario Portal of WikiPilipinas serves as a catalog of all information related to the Quincentennial Commemorations and other topics about Spanish-Filipino interactions.
The Quincentenario Portal of WikiPilipinas will meanwhile serve as the gateway to knowledge related to all aspects of the events of 1521 and the Quincentennial Commemorations, as well as
a wealth of other topics related to the long and multifaceted relationship between the Philippines and Spain.
WikiPilipinas’ Quincentenario Portal is an online initiative of Vibal Foundation in support of the quincentennial commemorations project of the National Quincentennial Committee.
Quincentennial-related information available on the site include:
- Relevant articles about historical events (Battle of Mactan, First Baptism in Cebu, First Mass in the Philippines, Manila Galleon Trade, Magellan’s Circumnavigation, Sandugo, and the Spanish Colonial Period)
- People (Antonio Pigafetta, Ferdinand Magellan, Juan de Cartagena, Lapulapu, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, Rajah Humabon, and Andres de Urdaneta)
- Related references (Babaylan, Cape of Good Hope, Christianity in the Philippines, Homonhon, Limasawa, Malacca Strait, Cape Verde, and Spice Trade)
To access the sites, visit Filipiniana.net and WikiPilipinas.org.
VIBAL GROUP QUINCENTENARIO PORTAL
Through the Quincentennial portal, academics, researchers and casual students of history can leverage the Vibal Group’s extensive archive to delve into the events surrounding the circumnavigation of the globe.
Webinars and videos, as well as articles on the site feature insights from historians and experts not only on the quincentennial celebration and related events, but even mini-documentaries on the long term impact they had on Filipinos, and more.
Lessons meanwhile aim to help educators and learners better study the events surrounding the Magellan-Elcano expedition.
Those interested in further information can also check recommended readings on the site, which list books fit for anyone from young learners to older enthusiasts.
To access the site, visit vibalgroup.com/quincentenario.
