Concise takeaway Agoncillo’s History of the Filipino People is a pioneering nationalist narrative that reoriented Philippine historiography toward popular agency and anti-colonial interpretation; it remains indispensable for its perspective and influence, though readers should supplement it with later, more diverse scholarship to capture the full complexity of the archipelago’s past.
Agoncillo famously argued that the Philippine Revolution was not finished in 1898. He portrays Andres Bonifacio as the true hero of the revolution, while being critical of the Tejeros Convention where Emilio Aguinaldo’s elite faction outmaneuvered Bonifacio. He suggests that the elite hijacked the revolution for their own ends—a radical idea in the 1950s.
If you're interested in exploring more about the history of the Filipino people, you may also want to consult other works by Teodoro A. Agoncillo, such as: