Bohol Internet Library

Welcome to the Bohol Internet Library. This library not only relates to Bohol, but contains books related to the Philippines that are nowadays very hard to obtain otherwise. Many of the books listed here have been prepared by your webmaster, and have been donated to Project Gutenberg. To further promote the distribution of free e-books in the Philippines, we have now also set up Project Gutenberg of the Philippines.

Please help expand and improve this library. You can do so in several ways. First, by carefully reading these books, and reporting any error you encounter, and secondly, by helping me to obtain more old books about the Philippines. You can also check out Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders, and help correcting books for addition on this site. There will always be a few books on the Philippines available to work on.

Warning: some of the books in this section are very large, and may take a long time to download, especially over a slow connection.

Rizaliana

José Rizal did a lot to educate the Filipino. To honour this effort, we place the books he wrote, and those he re-published first. Also included here is a comprehensive illustrated biography.

The Social Cancer (Noli me Tangere), José Rizal, 1912.
If you would like to read just one book on the Philippines, read this one. Although written over a century ago, and many things have changed in those years, it is still a compelling read, and, unfortunately, surprisingly much of it can be recognized even today. Here presented in its first complete English translation by Charles E. Derbyshire. (lvii + 502 pages, 1,204 kB)
The Reign of Greed (El Filibusterismo), José Rizal, 1912.
The more difficult to read and harsher sequel to Noli me Tangere. Here presented is the first English translation by Charles E. Derbyshire. (796 kB)
The Indolence of the Filipino, José Rizal, 1913.
A small book, published first in five installments in La Solidaridad in Madrid in 1890, under the title La Indolencia de los Filipinos, with some sharp observations on the impact colonial rule has on the attitude of the Filipino people. English translation by Charles E. Derbyshire. (127 kB; Digital Facsimile Edition)
Lineage, Life, and Labours of José Rizal, Austin Craig, 1912.
An excellent and well-illustrated biography of the Philippine National Hero, José Rizal, written by an American educator who had first-hand access to a lot of sources and eye-witnesses. (478 kB + 3.18 MB illustrations)
The Philippine Islands, Antonio de Morga, 1905.
The famous book of de Morga about the Philippines in the sixteenth century, originally published in 1609 in Mexico. This work was republished (of course in Spanish) by José Rizal to educate the Filipinos about their own, pre-hispanic civilization, and, as it was written by a Spaniard, supposedly a very unsuspect source in Rizal's days. Here are presented both volumes (Vol XV and XVI) of the translation in "The Philippine Islands 1493-1898" by Blair and Robertson. (1,038 kB)

Travellogues

The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes, Austin Craig [Editor], 1912.
A number of foreign reports on the Philippines of the 19th century, including the well-known Travels in the Philippines by Fedor Jagor. An excellent read. (1,513 kB)
The Head Hunters of Northern Luzon: From Ifugao to Kalinga: A Ride Through the Mountains of Northern Luzon, Cornélis de Witt Willcox, Kansas City, 1912.
Ever wished to cross the highlands of Luzon on horseback? Here is the discription of somebody who did just that during the early years of the American era.
Wanderings among South Sea Savages and in Borneo and the Philippines, H. Wilfrid Walker, London, 1909.
A bird collectors travels in S.E. Asia....
Viajes por Filipinas: De Manila á Marianas, Juan Álvarez Guerra, Madrid, 1887.
Viajes por Filipinas: De Manila á Albay, Juan Álvarez Guerra, Madrid, 1887.
Viajes por Filipinas: De Manila á Tayabas, Juan Álvarez Guerra, Madrid, 1887.
A Spanish traveller describing his trips (three nice volumes, but in Spanish)
Een reis naar de Philippijnen, Joseph Montano (1844-)
A French researcher travelling through the Philippines and Malaysia in 1879. In Dutch, but even if you can't understand that, this text is still enjoyable for the very nice woodcarvings. Taken from the 1886 volume of a Dutch travel magazine called "De Aarde en haar volken." (The Earth and her Peoples)

History

The Philippines: Past and Present (Volume 1 of 2), Dean C. Worcester
A long work on the first years of the American occupation of the Philippines, by one of the key American officials of the time. Naturally with a very strong pro-American point of view. Many source documents are quoted here, so this is an excellent source of material for students of the period.
True Version of the Philippine Revolution, Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (1869-1964), Tarlak, 1899.
To compensate for the American bias in the previous work, we also present the Philippine side of the story...
The Story of the Philippines and Our New Possessions, Including the Ladrones, Hawaii, Cuba and Porto Rico: The Eldorado of the Orient, Murat Halstead, Chicago, 1898.
A journalist's collection of articles on the Philippines and other possessions of the US, written in a typical journalistic style.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Emma Helen Blair (-1911) and James Alexander Robertson (1873-1939)
A massive 55-volume work on Philippine history. Covers everything from the first contacts with Ferdinand Magellan until the end of the Spanish era, mostly concentrating on early primary sources. The volumes will be added to this website one by one.
- Volume I, 1493-1529 (Papal bulls dividing world between Spanish and Portuguese; Life of Magalhães; Chronological Tables)
- Volume II, 1521-1569 (Expeditions of García de Loaisa 1525–26, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos 1541–46, amd Miguel Lopez de Legazpi 1564–68)
- Volume III, 1569-1576 (Various letters between Legazpi and King Felipe II)
- Volume IV, 1576-1582 (Relation of the Filipinas Islands, Erection of the Cathedral of Manila, Foundation of Monasteries, Expeditions to Borneo, Jolo, and Mindanao)
- Volume V, 1582-1583
- Volume VI, 1583-1588 (Foundation of the Audiencia of Manila; History of the Great Kingdom of China; various letters)
- Volume VII, 1588-1591 (Numerous letters)
- Volume VIII, 1591-1593 (Various letters and accounts; Ordinance forbidding the Indians to wear Chinese stuffs.)
- Volume IX, 1593-1597 (The embassy to Japan; Letter to the king of Camboja; Pacification of Mindanao; various letters)
- Volume X, 1597-1599 (Numerous letters)
- Volume XI, 1599-1602 (Oliver van Noordt's attack on Luzón; Battles with the Dutch; Jesuit report on Christianization (including Bohol))
- Volume XII, 1601-1604 (Expedition reports; various letters; start of Chirino's very interesting Relacion de las Islas Filipinas; includes some sections on early Bohol history.)
- Volume XIII, 1604-1605 (Continuation of Chirino's Relacion de las Islas Filipinas, several letters.)
- Volume XIV, 1605-1609
- Volume XV, 1609 (Antonio de Morga's History of the Philippine Islands.)
- Volume XVI, 1609 (Second part of Antonio de Morga's History of the Philippine Islands, followed by excerpts from de Argensola's Conqvista de las Islas Malvcas.)
- Volume XVII, 1609-1616
- Volume XVIII, 1617-1620
- Volume XIX, 1620-1621
- Volume XX, 1621-1624
- Volume XXI, 1624
- Volume XXII, 1625-1629
- Volume XXIII, 1629-1630
- Volume XXIV, 1630-1634
- Volume XXV, 1635-1636
- Volume XXVI, 1636
- Volume XXVII, 1636-1637
- Volume XXVIII, 1637-1638
- Volume XXIX, 1638-1640
- Volume XXX, 1640
- Volume XXXI, 1640
- Volume XXXII, 1640
- Volume XXXIII, 1519-1522
- Volume XXXIV, 1519-1522; 1280-1605
- Volume XXXV, 1640-1649
- Volume XXXVI, 1649-1666
- Volume XXXVII, 1669-1676
- Volume XXXVIII, 1674-1683
- Volume XXXIX, 1683-1690
- Volume XL, 1690-1691
- Volume XLI, 1691-1700
- Volume XLII, 1670-1700
- Volume XLIII, 1670-1700
- Volume XLIV, 1700-1736
- Volume XLV, 1736
- Volume XLVI, 1721-1739
- Volume XLVII, 1728-1759
- Volume XLVIII, 1751-1765
- Volume XLIX, 1762-1765
- Volume L, 1764-1800
- Volume LI, 1801-1840
- Volume LII, 1841-1898
- Volume LIII, Bibliography
- Volume LIV, Index, A-I
- Volume LV, Index, J-Z

Folklore

Folk-tales give a great impression of a peoples ideas and beliefs. The Philippines are special, as they have mixed western and eastern influences in there own, unique, way. Sometimes very old stories, that date back to classical times, have reached the Philippines both going west via Spain and Mexico and going east via India.

Filipino Popular Tales, Dean S. Fansler, 1921.
A large collection of Filipino popular tales, complete with notes tracing the story's relationship with stories from other countries, and how the stories might have found their way to the Philippines. Still an important source for many folk-stories re-published today! (445 pages, 1,323 kB)
Philippine Folklore Stories, John Miller, 1904.
A small collection of Philippine folklore stories, retold for children. (104 kB)
Philippine Folk Tales, Mabel Cole (Cook), Chicago, 1916
A nice collection of Philippine Folk Tales; many of these collected by the author's husband, who wrote a large study on the Tinguian (see below).
Philippine Myths and Folk-Tales, Laura Watson Benedict, Fletcher Gardner, Berton L. Maxfield, W. H. Millington
These folk-lore stories from various parts of the Philippines have been collected from a number of issues of the Journal of American Folk-Lore.
A Little Book of Filipino Riddles, Frederick Starr (1858-1933)
A nice collection of riddles, which makes a good complement to our very own collection of riddles.

Anthropology

The study of Philippine Anthropology was only taken up seriously after the American conquest of the Islands. A number of important works appeared in the early years of the American era.

The Bontoc Igorot, Albert Ernest Jenks, Manila, 1905.
A description of the Igorot people from the Bontoc area in Luzon. Written almost a hundred years ago. Includes over 150 photographs of the time. (250 pages, 853 kB + 8.35 MB illustrations)
Negritos of Zambales, William Reed, Manila, 1905.
A description of the Negrito people from the province of Zambales, Luzon. Written almost a hundred years ago. Includes over 60 photographs of the time. (82 pages, 276 kB + 2.64 MB illustrations)
Traditions of the Tinguian: a Study in Philippine Folk-Lore, Fay-Cooper Cole (1881-1961), Chicago, 1915.
An large collection of Tinguian folklore.
The Tinguian: Social, Religious, and Economic Life of a Philippine Tribe, Fay-Cooper Cole (1881-1961), Chicago, 1922.
An extensive study of the Tinguian tribe at the beginning of the 20th century, with many wonderful photographs.

Linguistics

English-Bisaya Grammar in Twenty Eight Lessons, R. P. Fr. Pedro Jimenez
A small grammar and language teaching book for Cebuano, dating back to 1904. Not really suitable for learning the modern language, as it uses the old (Spanish based) spelling of Cebuano.

Tagalog

More books in Tagalog at Project Gutenberg.

Ang Tunay na Buhay ni P. Dr. Jose Burgos, Honorio Lopez
The True Story of Father Dr. Jose Burgos, one of the Filipino priests executed in Bagumbayan on February 28, 1872.
Alamat ng Ilang-Ilang, Jose N. Sevilla
The legend of the ilang-ilang flower and other stories and poems, first published in 1908.

All books listed above are in the public domain (at least in the US, where this website is hosted), and thus free from copyright restrictions. Feel free to use them or parts of them as you like: download them, share them, give them away to schools that are not connected to the internet, and so on.

A large number of books on the Philippines can be located on-line at The United States and its Territories . If you're looking for something special, look here first.

For more books, visit Project Gutenberg and Project Gutenberg of the Philippines.