EARLY REVOLTS AGAINST SPAIN

Aiman B. Arabain

Table Of Contents

Tondo Conspiracy Gabriela Silang Revolt Hermano Pule Revolt Francisco Dagohoy Revolt Juan Sumoroy Revolt Palaris Revolt Francisco Maniago Revolt Marcelo H. Del Pilar Graciano Lopez Jaena Dr. Jose Rizal Antonio Luna Mariano Ponce Jose Maria PanganibanPedro PaternoIsabelo de los ReyesDominador GomezJoe Alejandro

Tondo Conspiracy

The Conspiracy of the Maharlikas, also referred to as the Revolt of the Lakans or the Tondo Conspiracy of 1587-1588 was a plot against Spanish colonial rule by the Tagalog andCapampangan noblemen, or datus, of Manila and some towns of Bulacan and Pampanga, in thePhilippines. It was led by Agustín de Legazpi, grandson of Martin Pangan conquistador  Miguel López de Legazpi, nephew of Rajah Lakandula, and his first cousin,. The datus swore to rise up in arms by anointing their necks with a split egg. The uprising failed when they were betrayed to the Spanish authorities by Antonio Surabao (Susabau) of Calamianes.

The mastermind of the plot was Agustín de Legazpi; grandson of conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi, nephew of Rajah Lakandula and son-in-law of sultan Bolkieh of Brunei; whose first cousin was Martin Pangan, the gobernadorcillo of Tondo. Besides the two, the other leaders were Magat Salamat, son of Rajah Lakandula and the crown-prince of Tondo; Juan Banal, another Tondo prince and Salámat’s brother-in-law; Geronimo Basi and Gabriel Tuambacar, brothers of Agustín de Legazpi; Pedro Balingit, the lord of Pandacan; Felipe Salonga, the lord of Polo; Dionisio Capolo (Kapulong), the lord of Candaba and brother of Felipe Salonga; Juan Basi, the lord of Taguig; Esteban Taes (Tasi), the lord of Bulacan; Felipe Salalila, the lord of Misil; Agustín Manuguit, son of Felipe Salalila; Luis Amanicaloa, another prince of Tondo; Felipe Amarlangagui, the commander-

and-chief of Caranglan; Omaghicon, the Minister of Navotas and Pitongatan (Pitong Gatang), another prince of Tondo.

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Gabriela Silang Revolt

Arguably one of the most famous revolts in Philippine history is the Silang Revolt from 1762 to 1763, led by the couple of Diego and Gabriela Silang. Unlike the other revolts, this revolt took place during the British invasion of Manila.

On December 14, 1762, Diego Silang declared the independence of Ilocandia, naming the state "Free Ilocos" and proclaimed Vigan the capital of this newly-independent state. The British heard about this revolt in Manila and even asked the help of Silang in fighting the Spanish.

However, Silang was killed on May 28, 1763 by Miguel Vicos, a friend of Silang. The Spanish authorities paid for his murder, leading to his death in the arms of his wife, Gabriela. She continued her husband's struggle, earning the title "Joan of Arc of the Ilocos" because of her many victories in battle. The battles of the Silang revolt are a prime example of the use ofdivide et impera, since Spanish troops largely used Kampampangan soldiers to fight the Ilocanos.

Eventually, the revolt ended with the defeat of the Ilocanos. Gabriela Silang was executed by Spanish authorities in Vigan on September 10, 1763.

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Hermano Pule Revolt

One of the most famous religious revolts is the Pule Revolt, more formally known as the Religious Revolt of Hermano Pule. Undertaken between June 1840 and November 1841, this revolt was led by Apolinario de la Cruz, otherwise known as "Hermano Pule".

De la Cruz started his own religious order, the Confraternity of Saint Joseph (Spanish: Confradia de San José) in Lucban, located in the present-day province of Quezon (then called Tayabas), in June of 1840. However, there were two types of priests in the Philippines then: secular priests, or parish priests, which were usually Filipino, and religious priests, or convent priests, which were usually Spanish. Due to the concentration of Spanish religious power and authority in the already-established religious orders (the Augustinians, Jesuits and Franciscans to name a few) and the concept that Filipino priests should only stay in the church and not the convent and vice-versa (although this was not always followed), the Spanish government banned the new order, especially

due to its deviation from original Catholic rituals and teachings, such as prayers and rituals suited for Filipinos.

However, thousands of people in Tayabas, Batangas, Laguna and even Manila already joined. Because of this, the Spanish government sent in troops to forcibly break up the order, forcing De la Cruz and his followers to rise in armed revolt in self-defense. Many bloody battles were fought with

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the order's last stand in Mount San Cristobal, near Mount Banahaw, in October of 1841.

The Spaniards eventually won, and Apolinario de la Cruz was executed on November 4, 1841 in the then-provincial capital, Tayabas.

It did not end there, though. Many members of the Spanish armed forces' Tayabas regiment, based in Malate in Manila, had relatives that were members of the order, of which many of those relatives were also killed in the ensuing violence. On January 20, 1843, the regiment, led by Sergeant Irineo Samaniego, rose in mutiny, eventually capturing Fort Santiago in Intramuros. The next day, however, the gates of Fort Santiago were opened by loyalist soldiers. After a bloody battle, the mutineers were defeated by loyalist troops, resulting in the execution of Samaniego and 81 of his followers the same day.

Francisco Dagohoy Revolt

In 1744 in what is now the province of Bohol, what is known today as the Dagohoy Revolt was undertaken by Francisco Dagohoy and some of his followers. This revolt is unique since it is the only Philippine revolt completely related to matters of religious customs.

After a duel in which Dagohoy's brother died, the local parish priest refused to give his brother a proper

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Christian burial, since dueling is a mortal sin. The refusal of the priest to give his brother a proper

Christian burial eventually led to the longest revolt ever held in Philippine history: 85 years. It also led to the establishment of a free Boholano government. Twenty governors-general, from Juan Arrechederra to Manuel Ricafort Palacín y Ararca, failed to stop the revolt. Ricafort himself sent a force of 2,200 troops to Bohol, which was defeated by Dagohoy's followers. Another attack, also sent by Ricafort in 1828 and 1829, failed as well.

Dagohoy died two years before the revolt ended, though, which led to the end of the revolt in 1829. Some 19,000 survivors were granted pardon and were eventually allowed to live in new Boholano villages: namely, the present-day towns of Balilihan, Batuan, Bilar (Vilar), Catigbian and Sevilla (Cabulao).

Juan Sumoroy Revolt

Sumuroy Revolt(1649-50) In what is today the town of Palapag in Northern Samar, Juan Ponce Sumuroy, a Waray, and some of his followers rose in arms on June 1, 1649 over the polo system being undertaken in Samar. This is known as the Sumuroy Revolt, named after Juan Ponce Sumuroy.

The government in Manila directed that all natives subject to the polo are not to be sent to places distant from their hometowns to do their polo. However, under orders of the various townalcaldes,

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the revolt. The local parish priest of Palapag was murdered and the revolt eventually spread to Mindanao, Bicol and the

rest of the Visayas, especially in places such as Cebu, Masbate, Camiguin, Zamboanga, Albay,

Camarines and parts of northern Mindanao, such as Surigao. A free government was also established in the mountains of Samar.

The defeat, capture and execution of Sumuroy in June 1650 led to the end of the revolt.

The first government established by the Americans in the Philippines followed the surrender of Manila in August 1898. It was a military government. During the duration of the war, the Philippines was ruled by the president of the United States in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. In its brief existence, from 1898 to 1901, the military government established a supreme court composed of six Filipinos and three Americans. The first chief justice was Cayetano Arellano.

Towns and provincial governments were organized and elections for local officials held. Also introduced was the public school system in the Philippines, with English being taught for the first time; American soldiers acted as the first English teachers.

On March 2, 1901, the military government in the Philippines ceased to exist when the United States Congress enacted the Army Appropriations Act. This law carried the Spooner Amendment, which removed from the United States president the final authority to govern the Philippines. This power was to be exercised by the United States Congress through the president.

As a result, a civil government was established in the Philippines and inaugurated on July 4, 1901. Judge William H. Taft was the first civil governor. (In 1905, the title was changed to governor general).

Palaris Revolt

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The Palaris Revolt of 1762-1765 was led by Juan de la Cruz Palaris, also known as Pantaleon Perez, of Binalatongan (now San Carlos City), Philippines. He was the son to Tomas Perez, a cabeza de barangay. He was born in Barrio Coliling, San Carlos City, Pangasinan, in the year 1733, third in a family of five, with three brothers and one sister. The first two elder brothers died when they were yet small and the youngest brother lived to marry yet. While the sister next to him grew into a beautiful but manly woman who used to kill a wild boar single handedly. She was finally killed in her own game, that is, she was killed and devoured by the wild boars.

It was not known whether Pantaleon Perez was able to enter to school during his lifetime. The sources on this matter are silent, but he must have acquired some form of practical education while he was in Manila because when he returned to San Carlos, he was held in high esteem and the people looked up to him as a cultured and refined man. In the words of Simon de Anda: "he once served as a coachman of Auditor Don Francisco Enriques de Villacorta." His dealing with his townsmen earned for him their confidence and respect and, being a dynamic and restless man, he easily became their leader.

History records him as Juan de la Cruz "Palaripar" then as "Palaris," but for convenience he was more popularly known as "Palaris." He was called "Palaripar" as he was the fastest runner and his legs appeared to be twirling like an auger and the ground furrowed.

Francisco Maniago Revolt

Maniago Revolt led by Don Francisco Maniago, initially caused by natives' protest against the polo and bandala ("polo" was forced labour and "bandala" was tribute in the form of food stuff. bandala was the Kapampangan word for food basket.) , later became a struggle to free

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the natives from Spanish rule. The rebels were weakened by Gov. de Lara's cooperation of The Maniago Revolt was an uprising in Pampanga during the 1660s. It was a revolt against the Spanish during the colonial period and was named after its leader, Francisco Maniago. During that time, Pampanga drew most of the attention from the religious group because of its relative wealth. They also bore the burden of more tribute, forced labor, and rice exploitation. They were made to work for eight months under unfair conditions and were not paid for their labor and for the rice purchased from them. Their patience was put to the limit and they signified their intention to revolt by setting their campsite on fire. The fight soon began and because the Spaniards were busy fighting against the Dutch, they were badly depleted by the Kapampangans. Maniago was very clever and was able to make his fellows believe in the idea of attaining freedom if they revolt. He succeeded not only in the attempt of having his natives believe in his propaganda but also the Pangasineses, Cagayanons and the Ilocanos. But sometimes, Maniago lied and exaggerated his claims. He once told his followers that a group of Pamapangos entered Manila and killed all the Spaniards there. However, he was very confident that he can actually persuade the chieftains of each town in Pampanga to kill the Spaniards and free the province from them. Although their motives were already executed, a Spanish governor named Manrique de Lara was able to neutralize the rebellion by using the "divide and rule" trick. He began with a "show of force" directed at Macabebe, one of the more affluent towns in the province at that time. The Macabebe was intimidated and became friendly towards the Spaniards, who responded in the same way. This strategy was also done to other towns in the province and in the end, Maniago and his followers did not have a choice but to agree in making peace with Governor de Lara. The Governor also tricked Maniago into leaving Manila with a bribe of being appointed as a master of camp in the Pampango regiment in the city. Maniago was never heard from again and according to one account, he was

shot months later in Mexico, Pampanga. The Maniago revolt was the start of a much bigger and even bloodier revolt in Pangasinan. This battle was led by a man named Andres Malong who had heeded the call of Maniago to revolt against the Spaniards.

According to some accounts flags and banners adopted during the Maniago Revolt was red, yellow (gold ) and green probably displayed as three orizontal stripes.salagintu (red, gold and green) named after the golden beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata)... said to be the colour used by the Kapampangan nobility, it was said to be used during he Kapampangan Revolt of Francisco Maniago in 1660 and later by the Kapampangan secular clergy. It is still the colour used during festivals where Catholicism remains strong.

since local historians could not find anything written by the spaniards, they speculate that the colours attributed to Maniago and his revolt were just the personal colour of the Pamintuan and Baluyut clans, families who were actively involved in the revolt. they weren't proscribed after the revolt, rather they continued to prosper after it.

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Marcelo H. del Pilar

Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán (August 30, 1850 – July 4, 1896), better known by his nom-de-plume Plaridel, was a celebrated figure in the Philippine Revolution and a leading propagandist for reforms in the Philippines A master polemicist in both the Tagalog andSpanish languages, he helped the Propaganda Movement through his speeches and liberal writings on the plight of the Filipinos as a result of the abuses of the Spanish friars in the country. He was the editor and co-publisher of La Solidaridad (The Solidarity), a newspaper advocating reforms for the Philippines.

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Graciano Lopez Jaena

Graciano López Jaena (December 18, 1856-January 20, 1896) was a Filipino journalist, orator, and revolutionary from Iloilo, well known for his written work, La Solidaridad.

Philippine historians regard López Jaena, along with Marcelo H. del Pilar and José Rizal, as the triumvirate of Filipino propagandists. Of these three ilustrados, López Jaena was the first to arrive and may have founded the genesis of the Propaganda Movement.

Dr. Jose Rizal

10José Protacio Rizal Mercado Realonda y Alonso  (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896, Bagumbayan), was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by National Heroes Committee.[2] His execution by the Spanish in 1896, a date marked annually as Rizal Day, a Philippine national holiday, was one of the causes of the Philippine Revolution.

Rizal was born to a rich family in Calamba, Laguna and was the seventh of eleven children. He attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts, and enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas. He continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, earning the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He also attended the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg.

Rizal was a polyglot conversant in twenty-two languages. He was a prolific poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El filibusterismo. These social commentaries on Spanish rule formed the nucleus of literature that inspired peaceful reformists and armed revolutionaries alike.

As a political figure, José Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led byAndrés Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of achieving Philippine self-government peacefully through institutional reform rather than through violent revolution, although he would support "violent means" as a last resort. Rizal believed that the only justification for national liberation and self-government is the restoration of

the dignity of the people, saying "Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow?"  The general consensus among Rizal scholars is that his execution by the Spanish helped to bring about thePhilippine Revolution.

Antonio Luna

11Antonio Luna y Novicio (October 29, 1866 - June 5, 1899) was a Filipino pharmacist and general who fought in the Philippine-American War. He was also the founder of the Philippines's first military academy.

Mariano Ponce

Mariano Ponce (March 23, 1863 – May 23, 1918), was a Filipino physician, writer, and active member of the Propaganda Movement. In Spain, he was among the founders of La Solidaridad and Asociacion Hispano-Filipino. Among his significant works was Efemerides Filipinas, a column on historical events in the Philippines which appeared in La Oceania Española (1892–1893) and El Ideal (1911–1912). He wrote Ang Wika at Lahi (1917), a discussion on the importance of a national language. He served as Bulacan's representative to the National Assembly.

Jose Maria Panganiban

12Panganiban worked hard in the Propaganda Movement even after contracting tuberculosis. With his meager allowance, he worked in the midst of hunger and sickness. On July 5, 1899, he wrote to Jose Rizal urging the latter to carry on the work they started saying: “Whatever we have already started should be pushed through even at the sacrifice of our lives, our honor, and fortunes.” He wished that he had the same strength as before so that he could work with his compatriots to the end. On August 19, 1890, death came to him in his boarding house at No. 2 Rambla de Canaletas, Barcelona. He was buried in grave No. 2043 of the Southwest Cemetery of Barcelona. Dr. Domingo Abella, a historian, did a great service to this nation by locating the

remains of his province mate in Spain and in bringing them back to the Philippines. The Filipino propagandists in Europe mourned Panganiban’s death. Rizal saluted him as an “excellent companion of labor and difficulty…endowed with uncommon talent, with privileged intelligence, and with indefatigable industry, was one of the sacred, legitimate hopes of his unfortunate country.”

Pedro Paterno

Pedro Alejandro Paterno y de Vera-Ignacio, also spelled Pedro Alejandro Paterno y Debera Ignacio (born on February 17, 1857 - died on April 26, 1911; in some references the birth date is February 27, 1858 while the death date is March 11, 1911)[  was a Filipino politician , as well as a poet and novelist.

His intervention on behalf of the Spanish led to the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato on December 14, 1897, an account of which he published in 1910. Among his other works include the first novel written by a native Filipino, Ninay (1885), and the first Filipino collection of poems in Spanish, Sampaguitas y otras poesías varias (Jasmines and Other Poems), published in Madrid in 1880.

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Isabelo delos Reyes

Isabelo Florentino De Los Reyes, Sr., also known as Don Belong (July 7, 1864 – October 10, 1938), was a prominent Filipino politician, writer and labor activist in the 19th and 20th centuries. He was the founder of the Aglipayan Church, an independent Philippine national church. For his writings and activism with labor unions, he was called the Father of FilipinoSocialism.

As a young man, he followed his mother's footsteps by initially turning to writing as a career; he won a prize at the age of 23 for his first book. He became a journalist, editor, and publisher in Manila, and was imprisoned in 1897 for revolutionary activities. He was deported to Spain, where he was jailed until 1898. While living and working in Madrid, he was influenced by the writings of European socialists and Marxists. Returning to the Philippines in 1901, he founded the first labor union in the country. He also was active in seeking independence from the United States. After serving in the Philippine Senate, he settled into private life and religious writing.

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Dominador Gomez

Dominador Gomez (1868 - 1929) was a physician, propagandist, labor leader and legislator. He succeeded Isabelo De Los Reyes as the Union Obrera Democratica (UOD) leader.

Jose Alejandrino

Jose Alejandrino (revolutionary) (b. December 1, 1870 - d. June 1, 1951) was a revolutionary general, propagandist and chemical engineer by profession.

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