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Twenty Years in the Philippines
Excerpt from Twenty Years in the Philippines
I hesitated, however, to follow their advice, or to yield to their wishes, when I was one day surprised to see my name in one of the fem'lletons of the Constitutionnel.
I hesitated, however, to follow their advice, or to yield to their wishes, when I was one day surprised to see my name in one of the fem'lletons of the Constitutionnel.
382 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1854
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
July 27, 2016
I read this on my Kindle (thanks, Archive.org!) over the course of three lunch breaks at work. It's an autobiographical account (probably mostly false or exaggerated) of a French surgeon's stay in the Spanish East Indies for nearly 20 years, beginning in 1820. It's a quirky read, recommended in particular for Filipiniana/Philippine history buffs.
A few thoughts:
-This was published in the mid 1850's, after the author had returned home to France. It would still be a few decades before early Philippine nationalist thought really started to gain credible traction. So although there is a little bit of hindsight here, he doesn't spend a lot of time moralizing or critiquing the Philippines as a unique Spanish colony.
-This is the only English translation available, and it isn't very good, either. Sentences drag on, the orthographic stylizations are inconsistent, and you honestly do get some sense that there may have been some Victorian censorship (or at least masking) going on. And yet, there's a quirkiness and pacing that make this a page-turner. I think a modern translation, with accompanying footnotes, and a retitling might give this book a second chance for the reading public.
- Quite a few anecdotes are factually verifiable, so it's interesting to get his take on strange, peripheral incidents that would end up gaining a lot more importance decades down the road. (e.g. the Novales mutiny)
A few thoughts:
-This was published in the mid 1850's, after the author had returned home to France. It would still be a few decades before early Philippine nationalist thought really started to gain credible traction. So although there is a little bit of hindsight here, he doesn't spend a lot of time moralizing or critiquing the Philippines as a unique Spanish colony.
-This is the only English translation available, and it isn't very good, either. Sentences drag on, the orthographic stylizations are inconsistent, and you honestly do get some sense that there may have been some Victorian censorship (or at least masking) going on. And yet, there's a quirkiness and pacing that make this a page-turner. I think a modern translation, with accompanying footnotes, and a retitling might give this book a second chance for the reading public.
- Quite a few anecdotes are factually verifiable, so it's interesting to get his take on strange, peripheral incidents that would end up gaining a lot more importance decades down the road. (e.g. the Novales mutiny)
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review