Jose Clemente Zulueta

José Clemente Zulueta
Member of the Malolos Congress from Balabac
In office September 15, 1898 – November 13, 1899
Personal details
Born	(1876-11-23)November 23, 1876 Paco, Manila, Captaincy General of the Philippines, Spanish Empire
Died	September 10, 1904(1904-09-10) (aged 27) Manila, Philippine Islands
Spouse	Paz Alejandrino Natividad
Nickname	Peping
Military service
Allegiance	First Philippine Republic
Branch/service	Philippine Revolutionary Army
Battles/wars	Philippine Revolution

José Clemente Zulueta y Estrada (November 23, 1876 – September 10, 1904) was a Filipino writer, Philippine Revolution historian and bibliographer. Together with General Mamerto Natividad, he wrote the proclamation entitled "To The Brave Sons of the Philippines", which called for the expulsion of the friars from the Philippines. He chronicled the Philippine Revolution and was later appointed Collecting Librarian for the insular government by the Philippine Commission. He favored the rewriting of Philippine history, giving importance to the indigenous element (elemento indígena).

Early life

José Clemente Zulueta, was born in

At the Biak Na Bato Headquarters, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo issued a proclamation drafted for him by Jose Clemente Zulueta and General Mamerto Natividad, Aguinaldo's second in command. The proclamation was entitled "To The Brave Sons of the Philippines". It called for the expulsion of the friars, return of land to Filipinos, freedom of press, religious tolerance and legal equality. The tenth paragraph describes the aspirations of the Philippine Revolution:

Mindful of the common good, we aspire to the glory of obtaining liberty, independence and honor for the country. We aspire to have common law, created for all citizens, which will serve them as a guarantee and assurance of respect, without exception. We aspire to have a government which will represent all the active forces of the country, in which will take part the most capable, the most worthy in virtues and talents, without regard to their birth, their wealth, or the face to which they belong. We desire that no friar shall set his foot on any part of the Archipelago, and that no convent or monastery or center of corruption, or partisans of that theocracy which has made this land another inquisitorial Spain, shall remain. In our ranks order shall always be respected.^[1]

Later on, he worked with

In the latter part of 1899, Zulueta returned to Manila and resumed his law studies. He took the bar examination in 1902. Others who took the bar exam that year were Manuel Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, and Juan Sumulong. Zulueta's love for writing kept him from practicing law. He collaborated with Don Modesto Reyes in establishing the newspaper, La Union, which the General Elwell S. Otis, later banned because of its anti-American content.

The Philippine Commission, a commission appointed by the President of the United States, and at the time, headed by William Howard Taft, tasked Zulueta to collect the art and literary materials for exhibition in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. On March 17, 1903, the Philippine Commission also passed Act 688, authorizing the appointment of a Collecting Librarian for the insular government. Jose Clemente Zulueta was chosen for this position. As provided by law, his duties were stated as follows: “…whose duty it shall be, under the supervision and direction of the Civil Governor, to visit the countries of Europe, Mexico, and elsewhere for the purpose of purchasing books and manuscripts relating to the history of the Philippine Islands, making historical researches into said history, procuring copies of official documents relating thereto, with the view to the foundation in Manila of a public historical library upon the subject of the Philippine Islands.”^[4]

To fulfill his duties as Collecting Librarian, Zulueta sailed for Marseilles on April 29, 1903. He proceeded to Barcelona and Madrid where he presented his credentials to the American minister in the capital. He worked in the Biblioteca Nacional and in the Museo Biblioteca de Ultramar, which had its origin from the materials exhibited during the Exposicion General de Filipinas. He discovered a rich collection of papers and documents among which gave importance to Governor Valdes y Tamon's work Las Plazas, Castillos, Fuerzas, y Presidios de las Provincias sugetas a su Real Dominio en las Yslas Philipinas under the orders of the Magestad Cathólica (Dios le guarde) in 1839. Zulueta also found in the Biblioteca de la Real Academia de la Historia the unpublished work of Father Francisco Ignacio Alcina's Relacion. At the King's College, he saw the Vocabulario Tagalo, dated 1585, a manuscript compiled by Fr. Domingo de los Santos, printed in the town of Tayabas in 1703.^[5]

As required by law, Zulueta wrote a report entitled Fuentes Historicos de Filipinas in June 1904. He returned to Manila on July 30, 1904. The historical documents he obtained from foreign archives became known as the “Zulueta Papers”. They were deposited in the National Library. Unfortunately, this priceless historical collection was destroyed when the National Library burned down during the liberation of Manila in February 1945.^[6]

Zulueta subsequently joined the faculty of Liceo de Manila and taught subjects on Philippine and World History. He served as librarian at the Centro Artistico and Club Internacional, which sent members on fellowship grants to the United States. The first to receive such grant was the City Engineer, Santiago Artiaga.

Marriage and family life

In 1899, Jose Clemente Zulueta married Paz “Pacita” Alejandrino Natividad, a younger sister of General Mamerto Natividad. They had three children: Carlos "Carling" Natividad Zulueta, Gloria Natividad Zulueta, and Judge Jose “Peping” Natividad Zulueta.

Death

Jose Clemente Zulueta did not live long enough to realize his dream to write what he considered genuine history of the Philippines, a history taken from the Filipino point of view with the “characteristics of the indigenous elements in the history of the Philippines.” He succumbed to illness and died in Manila on September 10, 1904. He was only 27 years old. His efforts and ideas were further championed by

• Eminent Filipinos, National Historic Commission, 1970
• Who's Who in Philippine History, Carlos Quirino, Tahanan Books, 1995
• Great Filipinos In History, Gregorio F. Zaide, Verde Bookstore, 1970
• Dictionary of Philippine Biography, Vol. 2, Manuel E. Arsenio, Filipiniana Publications, 1970
• The Price Of Freedom, General Jose Alejandrino, National Library, 1949, p. 22-25
• Soriano, D.H. et al. The Roces Family: Publishers, With A History Of The Philippine Press. Isla Filipinas Pub., 1987
• By Their Deeds: The Paternos Of The Spanish Era, Jean Marie Yap Paterno & Miguel Roces Paterno, Reyes Publishing, 2019, p. 145