Early Filipino Revolts

HIS101 - Module 4
Learning objectives

At the end of the topic, the student should be

able to:
• Identify the causes of the early Filipino revolt
• Explain the Spanish point of view in the
account of revolt and
• Explain the results of the early revolt
Overview

The imposition of the Catholic faith, forced labor, or polo, and the
usurpation of the land by the religious orders triggered off reaction
from Filipinos which came in the form of revolt.

These revolts happened during the early part of Spanish colonization,

particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries. Those revolts took place in
different parts of the Philippines.

Attempts to preserve the old religion by Filipinos inspired the revolts

led by Tamblot of Bohol and Bancao of Leyte. Both revolts took place
in 1621
As religious order usurped land from the native from the
natives, agrarian uprisings became rampant in the
provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and
Rizal in 1745-1746

Velarde who wrote Historia de la de Provincia Philipinas

de Compania de JESUS; segunda parte ( History of the
Philippine province of the Society of Jesus), was a Jesuit
priest. Fr. Casimiro Diaz wrote Conquista de las Filipinas
(Conquest of the Philippine Islands) in 1890 and
Augustinian friar.
Excerpt of an Account of the Blanco Revolt ( As documented by
Frs. Velarde and Diaz)

The natives of Cariaga in the Island of Leyte became impatient and

revolted without waiting for the result in Bohol. Incited thereto by
Bancao, the ruling chief of Limasawa , who in the year 1565
received with friendly welcome Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and the
Spaniards who came to the slang, supplying them with what they
needed, for which Philip II sent him a royal decree thanking him
for the kind hospitality which he showed to those first Spaniards.
 He was baptized, as a young man, should that he was
loyal to the Christian but conquered by the enemy, he
charged sides in his old age. Live on the island of
Leyte, and they induced six villages on the island to
rebel. In order to remove from them their fear of the
Spaniards, he told his followers that they could change
the Spaniards into stone. Father Melchor de Vera went
to Cebu to give a warning of sedition and obtain aid to
check it.
Excerpt of an Account of the Sumuroy Revolt

Another cause of early Filipino revolt was forced labor or polo. The Sumuroy
revolt spread to Zamboanga, Northern Mindanao, Cebu, Masbate, Camiguin,
Albay and Camarines.

There was an Indian name Sumoroy in the village of Palapag, who was
regarded as one of the best, among the best, although he was one of the very
worst and was as evil as his father. He was greatly addicted to drunkenness
and he had so promoted it that all the village was contaminated with the vice
as well as that of lust- vices so closely allied to the idolatry of which truth there
are many examples in Holy writ. The inhabitant of Palapag was corrupted by
those evil inhabitants at that time when the Don Diego Fajardo had the
intention of relieving the nearby provinces of Tagalogs and Pampangga from
the burden of working at the harbor of Cavite, in the building if galleon and
vessel necessary.
Usurpation of Indians Land by Friars

By the eighteenth century, many religious orders had acquired land often
obtained through usurpation of land or land grabbing. Not only when the
natives were driven out of the communal lands that they owned but were
even forbidden to gather firewood, pasture firewood, pasture their
animals and fish in the river. Agrarian uprising took place in rice and sugar
producing provinces Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Tondo and Bulacan. These
provinces had haciendas owned by different religious orders. This matter
reached the king of Spain who wrote a letter addressed to the president
and auditors of the Royal Audiencia of the Philippines.
Don Pedro Enriquez, an auditor of the same Audencia, made a sworn
statement of his proceeding of what we have done under the
commission which was conferred on him by the government therefore
the pacification of the villages of Taguig, Hagonoy, Paranaque, Bacoor,
Cavite el Viejo and another district which united on account of the
controversy over the ownership of the land which the religious
Dominicans and both calced and discalced Augustinians are
endeavoring to keep.