Since 2022, the Reclaiming a Lost Archive’s (RAL) project in partnership with UP Diliman has engaged in the digital repatriation of manuscripts looted by British forces from the Augustinian library and archive in Manila in 1762. This year, the project culminates with over a thousand manuscript pages transcribed by students and volunteers. Continuing in the spirit of the project’s lively discussions over historical indigenous points of view and the legacy of Spanish colonialism in the Philippines today, the RAL and UPD held an essay contest to encourage young scholars to explore our collection. This contest was open to students, graduate students, and early career scholars (without doctoral degrees) affiliated with academic institutions in the Philippines or overseas.
The contests judges were Dr. Ma. Louisa Camagay, Dr. Maria Serena Diokno, and Dr. Ricardo Jose
The contest winners, linked below, were
First place:
Jesuit Misconduct, Imperial Loyalty, and European Insecurity in Fray Jaime Tarin’s Letter to Fray Álvaro de Benavente
By Carlos Joaquin Tabalon
Second Place:
Nanguram iti amianan: An eyewitness account of the 1660-1661 northern Philippine revolt in Levantamiento de Ilocos y Pangasinan (1661)
By Jeraiah Gray
Distinguished Submission*:
The World Behind the Miracle: Luis Alangan and the 1624 Miracle in Panay
By John Carlos Duque
Our heartfelt thanks to all who entered!
*The editors of the site chose this essay for publication after the contest awards were decided.