February 4 marks the 120th anniversary of the outbreak of the Filipino-American War. The Philippine Diary Project features several diaries not only covering the outbreak of the war, but which illustrate the atmosphere in American-occupied Manila and its environs from the American conquest of the city in August, 1898, to the immediate prelude to the…
Category: Updates
The cavalry and their last charge, December 1941-January 1942
One of the great romantic stories of World War II, is of Polish lancers bravely –and desperately– charging German tanks in the opening days of World War II. Shades of the famed charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava during the Crimean War, which led a French general, Pierre Bosquet, observing the brave but pointless…
Railways in Mindanao: Then and Now
News is that the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) has approved a Feasibility Study to proceed for the proposed Mindanao Railway Project. The map above gives an indication of the scope of the proposed railway system.It’s been a long time coming. An overview of railways in the past can be found in The Colonial Iron…
Philippine wartime views on the future of Indonesia, China and Japan
This 1942 New World Order map attributed to Maurice Gomberg is interesting in that it gives a snapshot of emerging thought about the United States and its sphere of influence after World War II. The map above also seems to include an expansion of the Philippines. See this detail: Which may have had…
The sinking of the S.S. Corregidor, December 16-17, 1941
On December 16-17, 1941 (around midnight, hence the event straddling two dates), the S.S. Corregidor, an inter-island steamship of the Compañia Maritima, hit a mine off Corregidor Island and sank, resulting in a tremendous loss of life. Here is a map of the area (click on this link for the original scan). There is a…
Hugh Gibson’s Food Mission Diary: Herbert Hoover in Manila, 1946
(above) British Pathé newsreel of a portion of former President Herbert Hoover’s mission to assess food requirements for devastated parts of the world, 1946. While this diary is part of the Herbert Hoover papers, the diary of Hugh Gibson gives a useful glimpse into an interesting mission –Hoover’s task to survey the globe to see…
Diary entries on the Leyte Landing: October, 1944
The Philippine Diary Project contains diary entries from a leading figure in the Leyte Landing: Major General Basilio J. Valdes. His diary, as encoded, edited, and provided to researchers by the Valdes family, provides an invaluable, first-person account of the entire Pacific War, from the outbreak of hostilities in 1941 to the restoration of the…
The Delegate and the President: Contrasting Diaries on Martial Law
September 23 marks the 41st anniversary of the proclamation of martial law by President Marcos, although Marcos himself insisted on September 21. The Philippine Diary Project has two diaries that give contrasting views on martial law. The first is the diary of Ferdinand E. Marcos, the second, the diary of Constitutional Convention delegate Augusto Caesar…
Life, death, decisions, during the Japanese Occupation
In October, 2013, the country will mark the 70th anniversary of the so-called Second Republic established under Japanese auspices. In anticipation of that event, the project aims to complete the publication of the Iwahig Prison Diary of Antonio de las Alas, a prominent prewar political and business figure, and member of the Laurel government. His…