Faculty of Teachers Education

Davao Oriental State University

Martinez Drive, Guang Guang, Mati City
Davao Oriental, Philippines 8200

CASE STUDY PAPER

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CAVITE MUTINY

Prepared by;

Cristy M. Awit
Althea Charisse M. Cartalla
Liana Nicole T. Dela Cruz
Oshin T. Egpit
Floraly C. Garde
Sarah Jane A. Magdipig
Estela M. Masangay
Romarliza R. Paulin
Jevy P. Pingkian
April Myles G. Sahidsahid
Princess D. Tan
BACKGROUND

Our country has a lot of important history that will always be remembered
by all of us, especially the Philippine’s Independence that all Filipino people
celebrated in 12th of June. But in year 1872 there was two major events
happened in the Philippines which are the Cavite mutiny and the execution of
GOMBURZA, and these historical event lead Rizal on writing his two famous
novels and gaining the Philippine Independence. At the age of 10 Jose Rizal
and his brother Paciano witnessed the execution of GOMBURZA that made
Rizal on writing the two novels. He realized how cruel and abusive the
Spanish colonizers, so he dedicated the Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo to the GOMBURZA.

The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort San
Felipe, the Spanish arsenal in Cavite, Philippine Islands. The mutiny was build
because of the unfair treatment of Spanish officers in implementing the
payment of tributes, as well as the imposition of forced labor (polo y servecio)
which supposedly the soldiers and workers should be exempted. However,
not all of us knew that there were two different versions of the said event, the
Spanish version and Filipino version. According to a historian, the mutiny
aimed to overthrow the Spanish colonial government in the Philippines. The
mutiny’s masterminds were three Filipino priests, Mariano Gomez, Jose
Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, more commonly known as “Gomburza,”. It said
that the root cause of the mutiny was the stripping of privileges of the soldiers
and workers of the Cavite arsenal, particularly their exemption from payment
of tributes and forced labor. The workers were asking the Spanish officials to
reinstate their privileges. While according to Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, a
Filipino physician, historian, and politician, the mutiny simply started as a rally
organized by the workers of the arsenal pushing for the acquisition of
sufficient resources as well as reforms in the educational system in the
Philippines, an objective that was far different from what the Spanish officers
suggested. However, the Spanish friars, afraid of losing their hold on the
Filipinos as well as the privileges they enjoyed, told the Spanish authorities
that the Filipino workers aimed to free themselves from Spanish rule.

The GOMBURZA is another name for the execution of three priests, Mariano
Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora. The priests incurred the hatred of
Spanish authorities for fighting for equal rights among priests and leading the
campaign against the Spanish friars. They fought on the issues of
secularization in the Philippines that led to the conflict of religious and church
seculars, because of this they were accused with treason and sedition by
Spanish authorities after they were reportedly responsible for planning the
Cavite Mutiny. This study will broaden our mind on what really happens in the
Cavite Mutiny since this is one of the major historical events in our country. It
could also provide us knowledge on our history.
CASE EVALUATION

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CAVITE MUTINY?

(1872) – It is a historic year of two events: the Cavite Mutiny and the
martyrdom of three priests: Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto
Zamora (GOMBURZA).

SPANISH ACCOUNTS OF THE CAVITE MUNITY

The documentation of Spanish historian Jose Montero y Vidal centered on

how the event was event was an attempt in overthrowing the Spanish
government in the Philippines. Although regarded as a historian, his account
of the mutiny was criticized as woefully biased and rabid for a scholar.
Another account from the official report written by the Governor General
Rafael Izquierdo implicated the native clergy, who were then. Active in the
movement toward secularization of parishes. These two accounts
corroborated each other.

The Spanish Revolution, which overthrew a secular throne; the

propaganda against monarchical principles carried out by an unrestrained
press; attenuator [sic] of the most sacred respects towards the dethroned
majesty; the democratic and republican books and pamphlets; the
speeches and preaching of the apostles of these new ideas in
Spain; the outbursts of the American publicists and the criminal policy of
the senseless Governor whom the Revolutionary government sent to govern
the Philippines, and who put into practice these ideas were the
determining circumstances which gave rise, among certain Filipinos, to the
idea of attaining the their independence. They began to work towards
achieving this goal with the powerful assistance of a particular segment of the
local clergy who, out of animosity for friars, joined forces with the mother
country's enemies.

The authorities learned from anonymous communications that a massive

uprising against the Spaniards would occur as soon as the fleet at Cavite
departed for the South and that everyone would be assassinated. This
conspiracy had been going on since La Torre's time with the utmost secrecy.
The movement's spiritual leader, the native curate of Bacoor, whose vivacious
personality and enormous wealth allowed him to exercise a strong influence,
or the home of Filipino Spaniard D. Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, were the two
locations where the principal leaders occasionally met.

It seems clear that the native clergy, mestizo and native lawyers, and
those locally referred to as "abogadillos" were behind and prepared the
insurrection.

In order to carry out their criminal project, the instigators protested against
the government's injustice in not paying the provinces for their tobacco crop
as well as against some usury practices in the documents that the Finance
department provides crop owners who must sell their crops at a loss. They
promoted the rebellion by criticizing what they saw as the injustice of forcing
the former exempt employees of the Cavite arsenal to begin paying tribute
and performing personal service as of January 1. It has not yet been
determined with certainty whether they intended to establish a monarchy or a
republic because the Indios lack a word in their language to describe this
alternative form of government, whose head would be known as hari in
Filipino. However, it has since been discovered that they intended to put a
priest at the head of the government, and the priest they chose would be D.
D., Jose Burgos, or Zamora, Jacinto

The accounts clearly highlight the "revolution's" motivation: the removal of

privileges enjoyed by Cavite Arsenal employees, such as tax exemption and
employment in "polos y servicios," or forced labor. Izquierdo, in an obviously
biased report, highlighted that attempt to overthrow the Spanish government
in the Philippines in order to install a new "hari" in the person of Fathers
Burgors and Zamora. They also identified other factors that seemed to make
the situation a lot more serious, such as the presence of the native clergy
who, out of spite against the Spanish friars, "conspired and supported" the
rebels.In addition to promises of lofty rewards like employment, wealth, and
positions in the army, he claimed that native clergy attracted supporters by
charismatically assuring them that their fight would succeed because they had
God's support.

The event of 1872, according to the Spanish accounts, was planned and
was a part of a large conspiracy involving educated leaders, mestizos,
lawyers, and residents of Manila and Cavite. They allegedly intended to
assassinate senior Spanish officers before killing the friars. The rockets fired
from Intramuros were the signal that these conspirators from Manila and
Cavite were involved.

The accounts describe how the Sampaloc district celebrated the Virgin of
Loreto feast day on January 20, 1872, along with a fireworks display.
According to reports, the Cavite residents mistook this for permission to start
the attack. The 200-man contingent under the command of Sergeant Madrid
immediately engaged Spanish officers and took the arsenal. Izquierdo
ordered the Spanish forces in Cavite to be bolstered after learning about the
attack in order to put an end to the uprising.

When the Manilenos who were supposed to help the Cavitenos did not
show up, the "revolution" was quickly put an end to. In the ensuing battle, the
plot's leaders were slain, and Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora were tried
by a court-martial and given death sentences. There were other people
involved, including Antonio Ma and Joaquin de Tavera. Regidor, Jose and Pio
Basa, as well as other Filipino attorneys, had their licenses revoked, were
taken into custody, and received life sentences on Marianas Island. Izquierdo
ordered the formation of an artillery force made up only of Peninsulares after
dissolving the native regiments of artillery.
 On 17 February 1872, the GOMBURZA were executed to serve as a threat
to Filipinosnever to attempt to fight the Spaniards again.

The Spanish citizens and the friars made significant use of this uprising
among the Cavite soldiers. The General Government in Madrid had previously
declared its intention to deny the friars on these islands the authority to direct
and manage the university, as well as the right to intervene in matters of civil
government. These facts and promises gave the Filipinos great hope that their
country's affairs would improve, while the friars, on the other hand, were afraid
that their influence in the colony would soon be completely gone. Up until that
point, there had been no intention of breaking away from Spain, and the
people's only goal was to ensure the advancement of the nation's economy
and educational system.

The incident, according to this account, was simply a response by Filipino

soldiers and laborers of the Cavite arsenal to the dissatisfaction caused by the
harsh policies of Izquiedor, such as the elimination of privileges and the
prohibition of the establishment of Filipino schools of arts and trades, which
the General saw as a cover for the establishment of a political club.

Tavera is of the opinion that the Spanish friars and Izquierdo used the
Cavite Mutiny as a way to address other issues by blowing out proportion the
isolated mutiny attempt. During this time, the Central Government in Madrid
was planning to deprive the friars of all the powers of intervention in the
matters of civil government and direction and management of educational
institutions. The friars needed something to justify their continuing dominance
in the country, and the mutiny provided such opportunity.

Nevertheless, the Central Spanish Government issued an educational

decree that combined sectarian schools run by friars into a single institution
known as the Philippine Institute. Most Filipinos applauded the improvement
in the standard of education brought about by the decree's requirement that
teaching positions in these schools be filled through competitive
examinations.

Six Spanish officials and a few friars made up the junta that General La
Torre assembled. A Madrid-based committee was established at the same
time to look into the same issues brought up by the Manila committee. When
the two finishedwork, it was found that they came to the same conclusions.
Here is the summary of the reformsthey considered necessary to introduced:

1. Changes in tariff rates at customs, and the methods of collection.

2. Removal of surcharges on foreign importations.
3. Reduction of export fees.
4. Permission for foreigners to reside in the Philippines, buy real state, enjoy
freedom of worship, and operate commercial transports flying the Spanish
flag.
5. Establishment of an advisory council to inform the Minister of Overseas
Affairs in Madrid on the necessary reforms to be implemented.
6. Changes in primary and secondary education.
7. Establishment of an Institute of Civil Administration in the Philippines,
rendering unnecessary the sending home of short-term civil officials every
time there is a change ofministry.
8. Study of direct-tax system.9. Abolition of the tobacco monopoly.

The prosecutions launched by the current Governor General were

probably anticipated as a result of the bitter disputes between the Filipino
clerics and the friars, but General Izquierdo's arrival in Manila put an abrupt
end to all dreams of reform. Such a strategy must actually result in a strong
desire on the part of the other to brutally repress.

CONCLUSIONS

The Cavite Mutiny is recognized as the revolt and revolution of Cavite’s

soldiers and laborers, where Filipino laborers battled against Spanish troops
as a result of Spanish brutality. As a current resident of the Philippines, I do
think that Cavite’s importance today is tied to our own feeling of nationalism.
Even though they knew that Spain would have more forces, these uprisings
and movements served as one of the first uprisings of Filipinos against
Spanish repression. Despite this, they fought until the bitter end, which led to
the deaths of three priests: Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora. Since I too think
that the Spanish version of the events is untrue, I do think that their killing was
unjustified.

For us Filipinos who want to voice our own opinions against the
Government and other groups that are mistreating our nation and its citizens,
these events serve as a source of inspiration and caution. We need to know
when and how to express our thoughts in a safe and effective manner since
we risk being unfairly accused, just like the Three priests were back then. In
conclusion, I do think that the Cavite Mutiny is relevant in today’s society
because of how it affected our morals, beliefs, and rights

In conclusion, a variety of explanations, including political, social, and

economic ones, explain why the Cavite Mutiny occurred. After analyzing the
information and arguments put out during the discussion, however, we are of
the opinion that the economic factors closely align with the revolution's
immediate origins. It has been demonstrated through statements from
Izquierdo and Tavera that the mutiny itself was motivated by economic
factors. This is in line with earlier arguments. Filipino laborers were previously
exempt from paying taxes and engaging in forced labor, therefore when they
were made to do so, Edmund Plauchaut claims, it provided them the option to
make an economic decision that resulted in the Cavite Mutiny. With these
facts in mind, we can draw the conclusion that the people were not coerced or
watched over by the government into making the mutiny political because it is
actually an economic one. We cannot just accept the accounts of other
historians as true.
REFEREMCES

GomBurZa, Wikipidia, Febuary 2017

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomburza?
fbclid=IwAR0GLAEwfyv5uNegIw1dPgegPAG0jR5oykkGqvJeWWPfNK7AQoY
1tUs0VqI

Edmund Plauchut, “The Cavite Mutiny of 1872 and the Martyrdom of Gom-
Bur-Za,” inthe Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of
Philippine History, Volume 7(Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 251-268

Jose Montero y Vidal, “Spanish Version of the Cavite Mutiny of 1872” in

Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History,
Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 269-273

Rafael Izquirdo, “Official Report on the Cavite Mutiny,” in Gregorio Zaide and
Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila:
National Book Store, 1990), 281-286.

Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, “Filipino Version of Cavite Mutiny,” in Gregorio

Zaide andSonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume
7 (Manila; National BookStore, 1990),274—280

Varinder, “ The Cavity Mutiny”, News Share, May 26, 2022

https://www.newsshare.in/what-caused-the-cavite-mutiny-54812.html?
fbclid=IwAR1C5yXPWr_6pPai3843-
N4duqDV1vK03qin8d2reYktae9TY40zv3plaok