Lesson No: 9 TITLE: THE CAVITE MUTINY

DESCRIPTION:

Three of the most known Filipino martyrs during the Spanish Regime aside from
Rizal were Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora. Their death ignited
the development of the Philippine nationalism in a way that the most Filipinos
didn’t realize. In this topic, students will criticize the different perspectives
concerning the real story behind the Cavite Mutiny controversy. This discussion
will prove whether the issue involve is just a mere mutiny or a conspiracy that
would lead to a large-scale revolution if ever.

CONTENT

The constant change in the post of the governor- general in the Philippines brought
not only havoc in the Philippine politics but also a dismay especially on the part of
the natives who experience the direct effect of the changing of officials holding
offices. Carlos Maria dela Torre was known to be the most liberal minded
governor- general of the Philippines for allowing programs that benefited most of
the natives. Through this, he was loved by the people and in turn leads to the
establishments of different schools for arts and trades.

Rafael Izquierdo assumed the post of the governor- general replacing the loved
Carlos Maria Dela Torre. Alongside with the changes in the post of governor-
general are the changes in the policies of the outgoing officials together with the
removal of the privileges of the workers especially of the Cavite Arsenal. These
harsh rules of Izquierdo caused the natives to hate on him and tensions between the
workers and the officials of the government.

January 20, 1892, a chaos happened in Cavite. The workers assassinated the head
of the Cavite Arsenal and injured his wife. The mutiny was headed by Francisco
La Madrid with the purpose of voicing out their plight of returning their privileges
on not paying taxes and exemption in the polo y servicio be returned. The mutiny
failed because the expected reinforcement from Manila didn’t come. After almost
two days of insurrection, the mutiny was quelled and its leader, Francisco La
Madrid was killed. All the involve individuals were either killed or exiled. The
most notable people involved in this event were Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora.
They were accused of spearheading the conspiracy alongside with native lawyers
and soldiers.
The Cavite Mutiny/ Conspiracy was a big debate among historians as to which is
right. Is it a mere mutiny or a conspiracy? Hence, there are different first hand
sources presented below to be evaluated and analyzed in order to have a better
picture of the said event.