-
900
Beginnings of Printing in the Philippines
In Relación de las Islas Filipinas (1604), one of the earliest works about the Philippines and its people, Spanish Jesuit priest and historian Pedro Chirino wrote: “All these islanders are much given to reading and writing and there is hardly a man, and much less a woman, who does not read and write in the letters used in the island of Manila.”3 These writings were inscribed on perishable materials such as tree bark, leaves and bamboo tubes. -
1500
Roman Catholic Influence
Although the beginnings of the first printing press in Philippines are obscure, most scholars agree that the Dominicans, a Roman Catholic order, were the first to start printing in the Philippines. Much of the early printed literature in the Philippines consisted of catechism and language instructional texts published by various Catholic religious orders operating in the Philippines. -
Period: 1563 to
Printed books in the Philippines
It has been estimated that between 1563 and 1640, some 100 books were published in the Philippines. -
Period: 1565 to
Printing permits
Printing permits were required as books were a tightly controlled commodity during Spanish rule (1565–1898) in the Philippines. In 1556, a royal cedula (decree) was issued prohibiting the sale of books about the East Indies without a special licence. -
Printing restrictions during Spanish colonization
The Commissary of the Holy Office in Manila was instructed to inspect and seize imported books of prohibited titles. Restrictions were extended the following year such that “when any grammar or dictionary of the language of the Indies be made, it shall not be published or printed or used unless it has first been examined by the Bishop and seen by the Royal Audiencia (the colonial court). -
Doctrina Christiana
The Doctrina Christiana (Christian Doctrine) is widely accepted as the oldest surviving book printed in the Philippines. This publication of Catholic teachings was printed in 1593 using the xylographic method in two editions. -
Tomas Pinpin
Francisco Blancas de San José was posted to Abucay where he collaborated with Pinpin in the production of Arte y Reglas de la Lengua Tagala (Art and Rules of the Tagalog Language; 1610), the first published grammar of the Tagalog language. As the first published text of its kind, the work became a blueprint for the writing of subsequent grammar books on the native languages of the Philippines. -
Tomas Pinpin
Pinpin’s trailblazing achievements extended beyond the realm of printing. He also authored Librong Pagaaralan nang manga Tagalog nang Uicang Castilla (Reference Book for Learning Castellano in Tagalog), celebrated as the first published work by an indigenous Filipino. Written to help fellow Filipinos learn Spanish, the guide was printed in Bataan in 1610 by Diego Talaghay, thought by some to be Pinpin’s assistant. -
Tomas Pinpin
Pinpin and fellow Filipino printer Domingo Loag also operated the typographical printing press that the Franciscans had established in Pila, Laguna. In 1613, they printed Franciscan friar Pedro de San Buenaventura’s Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala (Vocabulary of the Tagalog Language), the oldest surviving Tagalog dictionary. -
Sucessos Felices
Pinpin also published the booklet Sucessos Felices (Fortunate Events). The 14-page publication describes the Spanish battle with pirates in Mindanao. -
The First Newspaper
The first newspaper published in the Philippines, Gaceta del Superior Gobierno (Gazette of the High Government), made its debut on 8 August 1811. Edited by the governor-general of the Philippines, Mariano Fernández de Folgueras, the Spanish-language newspaper focused on political news in Europe that affected Spain, principally the Napoleonic Wars. -
Period: to
La Esperanza
The first daily newspaper -
Period: to
Diario de Manila
Diario de Manila (1848–1898), one of the longest-running newspapers published during the Spanish colonial era. -
Chofre
Another firm, Cacho Hermanos, which started as a printing shop set up in 1880 by the first lithographic printer in the Philippines, Salvador Chofre, is one of the longest surviving printers still in business today. -
Period: to
19th Century Printing
Some leading printing firms and publishing houses in the 19th century include the Imprenta y Litografía de Ramírez y Giraudier, which was established in 1858 as a lithographic printing firm, and Carmelo and Bauermann (1887–1938), a major publishing house co-founded by artist-engraver Don Eulalio Carmelo de Lakandula, and William Bauermann, a German lithographer and cartographer. Collectively, both firms produced some of the most beautiful prints on the Philippines. -
Bureau of Printing
In 1901, the Bureau of Printing (today’s National Printing Office) was created to take charge of all routine government printing jobs such as government gazettes, official reports and communication materials. The emergence of commercial and government printing sets the stage for the next phase of the history of printing and publishing in the Philippines as Spanish colonial rule drew to a close, to be replaced by another colonial master, the United States.