Cavite Mutiny

I. Brief Overview
a. What is the Cavite Mutiny?

The Cavite Mutiny is an event in Philippine history where the 200 Filipino troops and workers at
the Cavite arsenal, which became the excuse for Spanish repression of the embryonic Philippine
nationalist movement. Ironically, the harsh reaction of the Spanish authorities served ultimately
to promote the nationalist cause.

b. What are the general events that led to the martyrdom of the Gomburza?

First Event:  On February 15, 1872, the Spanish colonial authorities sentenced three martyr
Fathers Jose Burgos, Mariano Gómez, and Jacinto Zamora to death by garrote at Bagumbayan,
Philippines and charged with treason and sedition, and subversion.

Second Event: 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 planned
government to break free of the Spanish government.

Last Event: 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, ironically, assisted in
the creation of the Propaganda Movement which aimed to seek reforms and inform the Spanish
people on the abuses of its colonial authorities in the Philippine Islands.

II. People Involved

a. Who was Fernando La Madrid?
A sergeant who led the mutiny after Spanish authorities subjected his co-soldiers at the
Engineering and Artillery Corps to personal taxes from which they had previously been
exempted. The taxes obliged them to pay a monetary sum and to do the forced labor
b. Who was Trinidad H. Padro de Tavera?
A Filipino physician, historian, and politician of Spanish and Portuguese descent. Trinidad,
also known by his name T. H. Pardo de Tavera, was known for his writings about different
aspects of Philippine culture.
c. Who was Jose Montero y Vidal?
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.

d. Who was Carlos Maria de la Torre Navacerrada?

 A Spanish soldier and politician. He served as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1869
to 1871 and considered to be the most beloved of the Spanish Governors-General ever
assigned in the Philippines.
e. Who was Rafael Geronimo Cayetano Izquierdo y Gutierrez?
A Spanish Military Officer, politician, and statesman. He was famous for his use of "Iron Fist"
type of government, contradicting the liberal government of his predecessor, Carlos María
de la Torre y Navacerrada. He was the Governor-General during the 1872 Cavite mutiny
which led to execution of 41 of the mutineers, including the Gomburza martyrs. Izquierdo
also acted as Governor-General of Puerto Rico from March 1862 to April 1862.
f. Who was Fr. Mariano Gomez?
A Filipino Catholic priest, who was falsely accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial
authorities in the Philippines in the 19th century. He was placed in a mock trial and
summarily executed in Manila along with two other clergymen collectively known as the
Gomburza.
g. Who was Fr. Jose Burgos?
Roman Catholic priest who advocated the reform of Spanish rule in the Philippines. His
execution made him a martyr of the period preceding the Philippine Revolution.
h. Who was Fr. Jacinto Zamora?
A Filipino Catholic priest, part of the Gomburza, a trio of priests who were falsely accused of
mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th century.
i. Who was Francisco Zaldua?
A distinguished professor of law and an active member of the Liberal Party. He served
frequently in Congress and in other positions and presided over the constituent convention
of Ríonegro in 1863. In the subsequent division of the party between the more doctrinaire
Radicals and the Independents who followed Rafael Núñez, Zaldúa initially aligned himself
with the latter, even though he was essentially a moderate. Thus, both factions accepted
him as their presidential candidate in 1881. 
III. Evidence Submitted
a. What evidence did the Filipino side submitted to the Court?
The mutiny was quickly crushed, but the Spanish regime under the reactionary governor
Rafael de Izquierdo magnified the incident and used it as an excuse to clamp down on those
Filipinos who had been calling for governmental reform. Several Filipino intellectuals were
seized and accused of complicity with the mutineers.
b. What were the pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution (Spanish friars)?
The Spanish friars use the mutiy as a powerful level conspiracy.
The friars feard that their influence I Philippines would be a thing of past.
c. What did the Governor-General interpret the event?
When then Governor-General Carlos Maria de la Torre was still in the country, he received a
letter about his reinstatement without knowing about the civil war in Spain. Upon his
departure, his liberal program was stunted upon the sudden arrival of Rafael Geronimo
Cayetano Izquierdo. Izquierdo noted that he would rule the Philippines "with a cross in one
hand and a sword in the other".

IV. Aftermath
a. What happened after the event?
Due to the friar's influence, three (3) Filipino priests Mariano Gomez, Burgos, and Jacinto
Zamora -- were implicated in the trial by another fellow Filipino, Francisco Zaldua (Saldua in
other references). This event, among many others, paved the way to drive out Spain.
b. How did Rizal use this event in writing his novel?
The martyrdom of the three secular priests would resonate among Filipinos; grief and
outrage over their execution would make way for the first stirrings of the Filipino revolution,
thus making the first secular martyrs of a nascent national identity. Jose Rizal would
dedicate his second novel, El Filibusterismo, to the memory of GomBurZa, to what they
stood for, and to the symbolic weight their deaths would henceforth hold