Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the nation”). In August 1896, an armed struggle for independence broke out, and Rizal
was accused of masterminding it. Rizal had, in fact, called the revolution “absurd and
savage” and had earlier turned down an invitation from Bonifacio to participate. His
trial lasted a day, one of the seven military judges concluding that Rizal's being a native
must be considered “an aggravating factor”. Rizal's Spanish military lawyer did little for
him so he finally rose to defend himself. “I have sought political liberty,” he said, “but
never the freedom to rebel.” He was duly found guilty and executed by firing squad in
Manila in what is now known as Rizal Park on December 30, 1896. The night before
he died he wrote
Mi Ultimo Adios
, a farewell poem to the country he loved (see p.65).
The Philippine Revolution
News of Rizal's martyrdom inflamed the uprising ignited by Bonifacio. Spanish
o
cials deluded themselves, blaming it on a few troublemakers, but by now Bonifacio
had decided violence was the only option and, with his young firebrand general,
Emilio Aguinaldo
(1869-1964), he called openly for a government “like that of the
United States”. Aguinaldo, a local government o
cial from Cavite, had joined the
Katipunan in 1894 and once the fighting started swiftly became the rebels' most
successful commander. At the
Tejeros Convention
in 1897 Aguinaldo was elected
president of the new Republic of the Philippines by his fellow
katipuneros
- when
Bonifacio was offered a far lower position, he declared the election void in a fit of rage.
Soon after, Aguinaldo had Bonifacio and his brothers arrested, sentenced in a mock
trial and executed. At the end of 1897, the Spanish finalized a truce with Aguinaldo,
the
Pact of Biak-na-Bato
: the Spanish would pay the rebels 800,000 pesos, half
immediately, a quarter when they laid down their arms and the rest after a Te Deum to
mark the armistice was chanted in Manila Cathedral. In exchange Aguinaldo agreed to
go abroad. A cheque in his pocket, he sailed for Hong Kong, disavowing his rebellion.
However, in 1898, as a result of a dispute over Cuba, war broke out between the
United States
and Spain, and as an extension of it the US decided to expel Spain from
the Philippines. The Spanish fleet was soundly beaten in Manila Bay by ships under the
command of George Dewey, who on the morning of April 30, 1898, gave the famous
order to his captain, “You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.” The Filipinos fought
on the side of the US, and when the battle was over General Aguinaldo, now back
from Hong Kong having disavowed his disavowal of the rebellion, declared the
Philippines independent; the First
Philippine Republic
was formally established by the
Malolos Constitution
in January 1899, with Aguinaldo as first president. The US,
however, had other ideas and paid Spain US$20 million for its former possession.
Having got rid of one colonizing power, Filipinos were now answerable to another.
American rule
After the Spanish left the country, the Filipinos continued to fight for independence
in what's known as the
Philippine-American War
, a savage conflict that is virtually
forgotten in the US today. Fighting began in early 1899 and lasted for three years,
although skirmishes continued for another seven years, especially in Mindanao. US
troops used tactics to pacify locals that they would later employ in Vietnam, such as
strategic hamleting and scorched-earth, and by the end of February, Manila was ablaze
1821
1872
1887
1892
Mexico becomes
independent; the Manila
galleon trade ends.
Cavite Revolt
José Rizal's novel
Noli Me Tángere
published in Berlin
Andrés Bonifacio founds
the Katipunan to fight for
independence from Spain
