F.B. - The First Blogger

If Ferdinand Blumentritt was alive today, he would be a blogger.

In fact, he was already “blogging” some hundred years ago using the traditional modes of communication of his day - writing articles for and exchanging letters with various institutions and people who were, one way or another, involved in then emerging field of Philippine studies.

Thus the high school professor from a little town in a faraway land that is today known as the Czech Republic, became a widely respected figure in the struggle for Philippine independence, without even having to leave his town.

He never set foot on the Philippine soil, yet his death in 1913 was earnestly mourned in Manila by the nation in whose emancipation he invested much of his intellect. Doesn’t that sound like every blogger’s dream?

This blog is taking the liberty of “stepping into Blumentritt’s shoes” with the best intentions of reviving the tradition he established, i.e. observing the continuing struggles of Filipinos from the Central European perspective and taking part in the debates about what are the best paths to be taken by the nation for its own sake.