Villages on fire from the Revolution of 1896 to World War II

The UP Department of History would like to invite everyone to attend the public lecture of Prof. Greg Bankoff, Ph.D. (Ateneo de Manila University) entitled Villages on fire from the Revolution of 1896 to World War II. The lecture will be held on March 12, 2026 (Thursday), 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, at the Silid Balatik, Pav 2, Palm Hall, UP Diliman.

REGISTER HERE:
https://tinyurl.com/VillagesOnFire

ABSTRACT
The traditional Filipino house was well adapted to its environment—and dangerously flammable. Built of light materials and clustered into barrios, villages burned quickly and often. A stray spark from a hearth, a toppled oil lamp, or a misfired firecracker could ignite an entire settlement. Many fires, however, were deliberate. Flame was a weapon of war, used to intimidate, punish, or destroy. Hundreds of barrios were torched during the Spanish and Philippine–American Wars and again in World War II.

Yet despite their frequency, village fires have left little historical trace. Drawing on the Historical Data Papers (1951), this study reconstructs a village fire regime shaped by combustible construction, new technological sources of ignition, and the recurrent weaponisation of fire. In contrast to the urban “fire gap,” village fires did not decline but often intensified, at times catalysing community renewal. Recognising village fire as a distinct category challenges Western fire typologies and broadens the environmental history of fire.

Source: UP Departamento ng Kasaysayan Facebook