The Cavite mutiny of 1872 was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort San Felipe, the Spanish

arsenal in Cavite,[1]:107 Philippine Islands (then also known as part of the Spanish East Indies) on 20th
day of January year 1872. Around 200 locally recruited colonial troops and laborers rose up in the belief
that it would elevate to a national uprising. The mutiny was unsuccessful, and government soldiers
executed many of the participants and began to crack down on a burgeoning Philippines nationalist
movement. Many scholars believed that the Cavite Mutiny of 1872 was the beginning of Filipino
nationalism that would eventually lead to the Philippine Revolution of 1896.[2]

Spanish Accounts of the Mutiny

Jose Montero y Vidal is a Spanish Historian, who interpreted that the Mutiny was an attempt to remove
and overthrow the Spanish Colonizers in the Philippines. His account, corroborated with the account of
Governor - General Rafael Izquidero y Gutierrez, the governor-general of the Philippine Islands during
the Mutiny. They mentioned that the mutiny was powered by a group of native clergy.

Account of Jose Montero y Vidal

The Cavite Mutiny is an aim of natives to get rid of the Spanish government in the Philippines, due to the
removal of privileges enjoyed by the laborers of the Cavite arsenal such as exemption from the tribute
and forced labor. The democratic and republican books and pamphlets, the speeches and preaching of
the apostles of these new ideas in Spain and the outburst of the American publicists and the cruel
policies of the insensitive governor whom the reigning government sent to govern the country. Filipinos
put into action these ideas where the occurring conditions which gave rise to the idea of achieving their
independence.[3]

Account of Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo y Gutiérrez

He insisted that the mutiny is stimulated and prepared by the native clergy, mestizos and lawyers as a
signal of objection against the injustices of the government such as not paying provinces for tobacco
crops, pay tribute and rendering of forced labor. It is not clearly identified if Indios planned to
inaugurate a monarchy or a republic because they don't have a word in their own language to describe
this different form of government, whose leader in Filipino would be called "hari". However, it turned
out that they would set at the supreme of the government a priest, that the leader selected would be
Jose Burgos or Jacinto Zamora which is the plan of the rebels whose who guided them, and the means
they counted upon its realization.[4]

The Execution of GomBurZa

On Feb. 15, 1872, the Spanish colonial authorities sentenced three martyrdom Fathers Jose Burgos,
Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora to death by garrote at Bagumbayan, Philippines and charge with
treason and sedition, and subversion. Two days after their verdict, they were executed. The charges
against Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora was their alleged complicity in the uprising of workers at the
Cavite Naval Yard. It was believed by Governor Rafael Izquierdo that the Filipinos will create its own
government and allegedly, the three priests were nominated as the leader of the planed government in
order to break free in the Spanish government.

The death of Gomburza awakened strong spirits of anger and resentment among the Filipinos. They
grilled Spanish authorities and demanded reforms due to the prejudicial governance of the Spanish
Authorities. The martyrdom of the three priests apparently helped to inspire the creation of the
Propaganda Movement which targeted to seek modifications and inform the Spain colonial authorities
of the abuses they have cause to Filipinos.[6]

Besides from Gomburza execution, on January 28, 1872 the military court sentenced 41 mutineers to
death. However, on the next day Governor Rafael Izquierdo pardon the 28 mutineers and the rest was
confirmed to sentence. On February 6, 1872 11 mutineers where sentenced to death but Governor
Izquierdo commuted their death sentences to life imprisonment. Together with execution of garrotte to
the three martyrs was Enrique Paraiso, Maximo Innocencio and Crisanto Delos Reyes was imposed to
ten years imprisonment.[7]

Furthermore, there were people being sentenced by the military court of Spain to exile them the
Marianas (now Guam): Fr. Pedro Dandan, Fr. Mariano Sevilla, Toribio H. del Pilar (brother of Marcelo H.
del Pilar), Agustin Mendoza, Jose Guevara, Miguel Lasa, Justo Guazon, Fr. Aniceto Desiderio, Fr. Vicente
del Rosario, Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Antonio Ma. Regidor, Jose Basa y Enriquez, Mauricio de Leon,
Pedro Carillo, Gervasio Sanchez, Jose Ma. Basa, Pio Basa, Balvino Mauricio, Maximo Paterno (father of
Pedro Paterno), and Valentin Tosca.[8]

Aftermath

In the immediate aftermath of the mutiny, some Filipino soldiers were disarmed and later sent into exile
on the southern island of Mindanao. Those suspected of directly supporting the mutineers were
arrested and executed. The mutiny was used by the colonial government and Spanish friars to implicate
three secular priests, Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, collectively known as
Gomburza. They were executed by garrote in Luneta, also known in Tagalog as Bagumbayan, on
February 17, 1872.[1]:107 These executions, particularly those of the Gomburza, were to have a
significant effect on people because of the shadowy nature of the trials. José Rizal, whose brother
Paciano was a close friend of Burgos, dedicated his work, El filibusterismo, to these three priests.

On January 27, 1872, Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo approved the death sentences on forty-one of
the mutineers. On February 6, eleven more were sentenced to death, but these were later commuted to
life imprisonment. Others were exiled to other islands of the colonial Spanish East Indies such as Guam,
Mariana Islands, including the father of Pedro Paterno, Maximo Paterno, Antonio M. Regidor y Jurado,
and José María Basa.[1]:107–108 The most important group created a colony of Filipino expatriates in
Europe, particularly in the Spanish capital of Madrid and Barcelona, where they were able to create
small insurgent associations and print publications that were to advance the claims of the seeding
Philippine Revolution.

Finally, a decree was made, stating there were to be no further ordinations/appointments of Filipinos as
Roman Catholic parish priests.[1]:107 In spite of the mutiny, the Spanish authorities continued to
employ large numbers of native Filipino troops, carabineros and civil guards in their colonial forces
through the 1870s–1890s until the Spanish–American War of 1898.[11]

Behind the story of Cavite Mutiny

During the short trial, the captured mutineers testified against José Burgos. The state witness, Francisco
Saldua, declared that he had been told by one of the Basa brothers that the government of Father
Burgos would bring a navy fleet of the United States to assist a revolution with which Ramón Maurente,
the supposed field marshal, was financing with 50,000 pesos. The heads of the friar orders held a
conference and decided to get rid of Burgos by implicating him to a plot. One Franciscan friar disguised
as Burgos and suggested a mutiny to the mutineers. The senior friars used an una fuerte suma de dinero
or a banquet to convince Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo that Burgos was the mastermind of the
coup. Gómez and Zamora were close associates of Burgos, so they too were included in the allegations.
Also, Francisco Saldua had been the principal informer against the three priests. His statement had been
the main basis for the convictions and he had been promised pardon in exchanged for his testimony,
however, he was condemned along with the three. He was the first to be executed among them on
February 17, 1872.

The Central Government of Madrid proclaimed that they want to deprive the friars of all the power of
intervention in matters of civil government and direction and management of educational institutions.
The friars feared that their dominance in the country become a thing of a past, so that they need
something to justify it and the mutiny provided such opportunity.

However, Philippine Institute was introduced by the Spanish government this is an educational decree
fusing sectarian schools run by the friars. This decree aimed to improve the standard of education in the
Philippines by requiring teaching position in these schools to be filled by competitive examinations, an
important welcomed by most Filipinos.

Gomburza, alternatively spelled GOMBURZA or GomBurZa, refers to three Filipino Catholic priests
(Mariano Gomez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora), who were executed on February 17, 1872 at
Bagumbayan, Philippines by Spanish colonial authorities on charges of subversion arising from the 1872
Cavite mutiny. The name is a portmanteau of the priests' surnames.
Their execution had a profound effect on many late 19th-century Filipinos; José Rizal, later to become
the country's national hero, would dedicate his novel El Filibusterismo to their memory.[1] Mutiny by
workers in the Cavite Naval Yard was the pretext[2][3] needed by the authorities to redress a perceived
humiliation from the principal objective, José Burgos, who threatened the established order

Oral :

Back in Year 1872, 20th of January. Filipinos were maltreat, unprivileged to do something they want,
accused to something they didn’t do, others were killed merciless, Filipinos don’t desire to expel the
Spaniards. Rather all they wish was a right treatment to every perspective, equal rights, and a
humanitarian policy.

GAMBORZA

February 17, 1872. This 3 priest “Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora” were accused,
sentenced to death through GARROTE (a type of iron or length of wire or cord.) because they were
accused by the Spaniards because of the rebellion in cavite back in 1872. The oldest brother of Jose Rizal
witnessed the death of these priest. And he related the violent killing of these Spaniards.