In the 1600s, a friar chronicled wild stories of titans who carried spears the size of tree trunks, waded all the way to Surigao, got slain by small warriors, or even traveled to Manila. Where did this titanic fascination come from—and what do stories of giants tell us about the world of our colonizers and our ancestors?

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Thumbnail art adapted from a map depicting the giant Patagonians of South America, from Gutierrez, Diego (1554-1569). “Americae sive quartae orbis partis nova et exactissima descriptio.” Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection (Library of Congress)

References:

Madarang, Catalina Ricci S. (5 May 2021). “Inches for height, hours for distance: Filipinos use our own set of measurement systems.” Interaksyon. https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2021/05/25/192465/inches-for-height-hours-for-distance-filipinos-use-our-own-set-of-measurement-systems/

Tim Reynolds (2023). “Victor Wembanyama officially listed at 7-foot, 3.5-inches tall.” Associated Press.

St. Augustine, City of God 16.8, “Whether Certain Monstrous Races of Men Are Derived from the Stock of Adam or Noah’s Sons.”

Fernández-Armesto, Felipe (2022). Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Reilly, Brandon Joseph (2013). “Collecting the People: Textualizing Epics in Philippine History from the Sixteenth Century to the Twenty-First.” [Doctoral dissertation] University of California, Los Angeles.

Morales, Resil (1997). “Imagining Giants.” In House of Memory. Anvil Publishing.

Mojares, Resil (2013). “Men With Tails.” In Isabelo’s Archive. Anvil Publishing.

Turban, Manon (31 December 2021). “Cartographic Monsters and the Rise of Empiricism.” XVII-XVIII [En ligne], 78.

Clark, Jordan (13 November 2017). “The Legend of the Agta, the Eastern Visayan Tree-Dweller.” The Aswang Project. https://www.aswangproject.com/agta/

Scalice, Joseph (2018). “Pamitinan and Tapusi: Using the Carpio legend to reconstruct lower-class consciousness in the late Spanish Philippines.” Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 49(2), p. 250-276.

One of the most fascinating dishes in the Philippines is kare-kare, which has a history as rich as its stew. (You don’t need to listen to S6E3 before listening to this one, but I’d appreciate it if you do!)

One of the most low-key and long-lived eateries in Makati’s central business district is the humble ‘jolly jeep’ known as SisigSaRada, which, as you can tell from the name, is located inside Rada Street. But who is this “Rada” the road is named after? To answer that, we travel four and a half centuries back in time. What can the story of Fray Martin de Rada tell us about the early history of Christianity in the Philippines?

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References:

Sitoy, T. Valentino Jr. (1985). A History of Christianity in the Philippines: The Initial Encounter, Volume 1. New Day Publishers.

“An ordinance prescribing rules and regulations for the operations of mobile-canteens in Makati City…”, City Ordinance No. 2002-07 (2002).

Tikim TV (2023). Sisig Sa Rada Story | Legendary Jolly Jeep in Makati | Filipino Street Food Icon | Tikim TV. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DAU-Qig-SI

Macdonald, Charles J-H (2004). “Folk Catholicism and Pre-Spanish Religions in the Philippines.” Philippine Studies, 52(1), pp. 78-93.

Macdonald, Charles J-H (2012). "Cleansing the Earth: The Pänggaris Ceremony in Palawan," Philippine Studies, 45(3).

Jocano, F. Lando (1968). “Notes on Philippine Divinities.” Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, 6(2).

Bulatao, Jaime (1965). “Split-level Christianity.” Philippine Sociological Review, 13(2), pp. 119-121.

“4364 Martin de Rada.” AugNet.net. http://www.augnet.org/en/history/people/4364-martin-de-rada/

Ocampo, Ambeth (6 December 2023). “To See and Notice.” Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://opinion.inquirer.net/168776/to-see-and-notice

Yay or neigh? In this week’s episode of Extra Credit, join us for a short and sweet exploration of equine history in our corner of the world. (Listen to S6E2 before listening to this one.)

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to give you this audio recording, straight from the Philippine launch of Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, which is the book version of this podcast!

This event was a long time coming, and I'm happy we finally got to make it happen this August 31. Much love to everyone who took the time out of their Saturday to pick up the book or hear me speak. Special thanks to Everything's Fine, the amazing independent bookstore that hosted the event; my publisher Shu Wen Chye of Faction Press, who flew all the way from Singapore to be here; and fellow history podcaster Ceej Tantengco-Malolos (host of What's AP?: Araling Panlipunan Rebooted) for moderating the launch.

*Audio has been edited and condensed for clarity.

One month after Pearl Harbor, the Philippine army is in tatters after the relentless Japanese assault. The 26th Cavalry Regiment—one of the few cavalry units left in the US army that still hadn’t traded in their horses for tanks or halftracks—had the thankless task of guarding the defensive lines against Imperial flank attacks. In the town of Morong, Lt. Edwin Price Ramsey and the rest of E Troop face off against an invading force… and charge into history in the final mounted cavalry charge in the annals of the American armed forces.

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Cover Art: "The Last Charge" © John Solie

References:

Ramsey, Edwin Price & Rivele, Stephen J. (1990, 2016). Lieutenant Ramsey’s War: From Horse Soldier to Guerilla Commander. University of Santo Tomas Publishing House.

“Cavalry Drill Regulations, Horse.” (13 March 1944) War Department Field Manual (FM2-5), United States Printing Office.

Bankoff, Greg (2004). “Horsing around: The life and times of the horse in the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century.” In Boomgaard, P. & Henley, D. (eds.), Smallholders and Stockbreeders Histories of Foodcrop and Livestock Farming in Southeast Asia, KITLV Press, p. 233–255.

Quirino, Carlos (1988). “The Spanish Colonial Army: 1878-98.” Philippine Studies, 36(3), pp. 381-386.

“The 4th U.S. Cavalry at Manila, Philippines.” [Photo] Strohmeyer & Wyman, publishers. US Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/2023634531/

Plante, Trevor K. (2000). “Researching Service in the US Army During the Philippine Insurrection.” Prologue, 32(2), National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2000/summer/philippine-insurrection.html

Olson, Col. John E. (2020-2021). “A Brief History of the Philippine Scouts.” Philippine Scouts Heritage Society, https://www.philippinescouts.org/the-scouts/history/a-brief-history

Quezon, Manuel L. (1946). The Good Fight. D. Appleton-Century Company, Incorporated.

Before they became dandies, they were students who chafed under a dress code! In this week’s episode of Extra Credit, we take a look at the suits and swag of the scholarly set. (Listen to S6E1 before listening to this one.)

Cravats. Top hats. Barongs. Striped pants. Wide, wide waistbands. Well-dressed men are on the prowl in Luneta, turning heads and inciting whispers. Let’s meet these fashionable fops, shall we?

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Audio from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me from New Line Cinema.

References:

Coo, Stephanie (2019). Clothing the Colony. Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Silvestre, Ma. Patricia Brillantes (2018). “The Manila Tertulia in the Spanish and American Periods: From Private to Public Sphere.” In Saysay Himig: A Sourcebook on Philippine Music History, 1880-1941 (Arwin Q. Tan, ed.), University of the Philippines Press.

Arias, John Manuel (25 June 2020). “Like the Salons It’s Named For, ‘Tertulia’ Is a Political Meeting Disguised as a Party.” Electric Lit. https://electricliterature.com/like-the-salons-its-named-for-tertulia-is-a-political-meeting-disguised-as-a-party/

Ayala Museum [@ayalamuseum] (9 December 2020). “This painting is called Un Indio de Manila bestido de gala after Damian Domingo…” X.com. https://x.com/ayalamuseum/status/1336545689757646849/photo/1

Uler, Gulsun (1 July 2022). “Tertulia: The Spanish Word for Social Meetings with Literary or Artistic Flavors.” Words of the World. https://wordsoftheworlds.substack.com/p/tertulia-a-spanish-word-for-a-social

Simpson, Mark (July 2002). “Meet the Metrosexual.” Salon.com.

Simpson, Mark (29 July 2022). “Meet the Metrosexual—Twenty Years On.” MarkSimpson.com. https://marksimpson.com/2022/07/29/meet-the-metrosexual-twenty-years-on/

Are you ready to plunge into the archives of Philippine history?

Last weekend, the book version of this podcast, 'Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves', was launched in a small event at Book Bar SG along Duxton Road in Singapore. Of course, I got into a funny little accident right before it happened. Listen to scenes from the Singapore book launch here! My publisher and I talk about how the book came into being, how The Colonial Dept. tries to teach history, and what my process is for writing episodes and essays.

Follow us on IG: ⁠@thecolonialdept⁠

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Email us: ⁠[email protected]⁠

The book version of this podcast is called Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946. ⁠⁠Purchase here⁠⁠. (An ebook version is ⁠⁠also available in Amazon⁠⁠.)