This volume, written by Charles W. Briggs, is a mission-study text-book based on his decade of experience as a missionary in Panay and Negros from 1900 to 1910. Published in 1913, the work provides an in-depth look at the Philippines shortly after the conclusion of the Spanish-American War and the establishment of the American civil government. It details the archipelago’s geography, pre-colonial and Spanish colonial history, and the structure of Filipino social classes. The core of the book analyzes the religious landscape under American sovereignty, specifically addressing the history of Roman Catholicism under Spanish friar rule and the rise of both the Protestant evangelical missions and the nationalist Independent Filipino Catholic Church (Aglipayano movement). The author’s stated purpose was to introduce the people and needs of the Philippines to those interested in a spiritual interpretation of the nation's affairs during a critical period of transition.
The progressing Philippines