LESSON 7

BEYOND CAVITE MUTINY AND GOMBURZA

MARTYRS

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to;

1. Understand the meaning of Cavity Mutiny

and martyrdom
2. Analyze the conditions surrounding the
Cavity mutiny.
3. Recognize the values of dedication and the
spirit of nationalism.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. https://youtu.be/3PDYOFOnTQU
2. https://youtu.be/EKoRl4PHv0c
https://youtu.be/bR-JujViKio

A. DISCUSSION

INTRODUCTION

Mutiny is characterized by any overt act of defiance or attack upon military (including
naval) authority by two or more persons subject to such authority. The term is occasionally used
to describe non-military instances of defiance or attack—such as mutiny on board a
merchant ship or a rising of slaves in a state in which slavery is recognized by law or custom.
Mutiny should be distinguished from revolt or rebellion, which involve a more widespread
defiance and which generally have a political objective.

Mutiny was regarded as a most serious offense, especially aboard ships at sea.
Because the safety of the ship was thought to depend upon the submission of all persons on
board to the will of the captain, wide disciplinary powers were given to the commanding officer,
including the power to inflict the death penalty without a court-martial.

With the development of radio communications, however, such stringent penalties have
become less necessary, and, under many current military codes, sentences for mutiny can be
passed only by court-martial.

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TOPIC 1. CAVITY MUTINY

Cavite Mutiny, (January 20, 1872), brief uprising of 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.

The plan was to set fires in Tondo in order to distract the authorities while the artillery
regiment and infantry in Manila could take control of Fort Santiago and use cannon shots as
signals to Cavite. All Spaniards were to be killed, except for the women.

Their leader was Fernando La Madrid, a mestizo sergeant with his second in command
Jaerel Brent Senior, a Moreno. They seized Fort San Felipe and killed eleven Spanish officers.
The mutineers thought that fellow Filipino indigenous soldiers in Manila would join them in a
concerted uprising, the signal being the firing of rockets from the city walls on that night. 

Unfortunately, what they thought to be the signal was actually a burst of fireworks in
celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Loreto, the patron of Sampaloc.

News of the mutiny reached Manila, supposedly through the lover of a Spanish
sergeant, who then informed his superiors, and the Spanish authorities feared for a massive
Filipino uprising.

The next day, a regiment led by General Felipe Ginovés besieged the fort until the
mutineers surrendered. Ginovés then ordered his troops to fire at those who surrendered,
including La Madrid. The rebels were formed in a line, when Colonel Sabas asked who would
not cry out, "Viva España", and shot the one man who stepped forward. The rest were
imprisoned.

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 Gomez, José Burgos, and Jacinto
Zamora, collectively known as Gomburza.

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.

1. 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.

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 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.

2. 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 who
guided them, and the means they counted upon its realization.

       The two Spaniards deemed that the event of 1872 was planned earlier and was thought of
it as a big conspiracy among educated leaders, mestizos, abogadillos or native lawyers,
residents of Manila and Cavite and the native clergy.  They insinuated that the conspirators of
Manila and Cavite planned to liquidate high-ranking Spanish officers to be followed by the
massacre of the friars.  The alleged pre-concerted signal among the conspirators of Manila and
Cavite was the firing of rockets from the walls of Intramuros.

According to the accounts of the two, on 20 January 1872, the district of Sampaloc celebrated
the feast of the Virgin of Loreto, unfortunately participants to the feast celebrated the occasion
with the usual fireworks displays.  Allegedly, those in Cavite mistook the fireworks as the sign
for the attack, and just like what was agreed upon, the 200-men contingent headed by Sergeant
Lamadrid launched an attack targeting Spanish officers at sight and seized the arsenal.

       When the news reached the iron-fisted Gov. Izquierdo, he readily ordered the reinforcement
of the Spanish forces in Cavite to quell the revolt.  The “revolution” was easily crushed when the
expected reinforcement from Manila did not come ashore.  Major instigators including Sergeant
Lamadrid were killed in the skirmish, while the GOMBURZA were tried by a court-martial and
were sentenced to die by strangulation.  Patriots like Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Antonio Ma.
Regidor, Jose and Pio Basa and other abogadillos were suspended by the Audencia (High
Court) from the practice of law, arrested and were sentenced with life imprisonment at the
Marianas Island.  Furthermore, Gov. Izquierdo dissolved the native regiments of artillery and
ordered the creation of artillery force to be composed exclusively of the Peninsulares.

        On 17 February 1872 in an attempt of the Spanish government and Frailocracia to instill

fear among the Filipinos so that they may never commit such daring act again, the GOMBURZA
were executed.  This event was tragic but served as one of the moving forces that shaped
Filipino nationalism.

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Filipino Version of the Cavity Mutiny

        Dr. Trinidad Hermenigildo Pardo de Tavera, a Filipino scholar and researcher, wrote the
Filipino version of the bloody incident in Cavite.  In his point of view, the incident was a mere
mutiny by the native Filipino soldiers and laborers of the Cavite arsenal who turned out to be
dissatisfied with the abolition of their privileges.  Indirectly, Tavera blamed Gov. Izquierdo’s cold-
blooded policies such as the abolition of privileges of the workers and native army members of
the arsenal and the prohibition of the founding of school of arts and trades for the Filipinos,
which the general believed as a cover-up for the organization of a political club.

       On 20 January 1872, about 200 men comprised of soldiers, laborers of the arsenal, and
residents of Cavite headed by Sergeant Lamadrid rose in arms and assassinated the
commanding officer and Spanish officers in sight.  The insurgents were expecting support from
the bulk of the army unfortunately, that didn’t happen.  The news about the mutiny reached
authorities in Manila and Gen. Izquierdo immediately ordered the reinforcement of Spanish
troops in Cavite.  After two days, the mutiny was officially declared subdued.

      Tavera believed that the Spanish friars and Izquierdo used the Cavite Mutiny as a powerful
lever by magnifying it as a full-blown conspiracy involving not only the native army but also
included residents of Cavite and Manila, and more importantly the native clergy to overthrow the
Spanish government in the Philippines.  It is noteworthy that during the time, the Central
Government in Madrid announced its intention to deprive the friars of all the powers of
intervention in matters of civil government and the direction and management of educational
institutions.  This turnout of events was believed by Tavera, prompted the friars to do something
drastic in their dire sedire to maintain power in the Philippines.

       Meanwhile, in the intention of installing reforms, the Central Government of Spain

welcomed an educational decree authored by Segismundo Moret promoted the fusion of
sectarian schools run by the friars into a school called Philippine Institute.  The decree proposed
to improve the standard of education in the Philippines by requiring teaching positions in such
schools to be filled by competitive examinations. This improvement was warmly received by
most Filipinos in spite of the native clergy’s zest for secularization.

       The friars, fearing that their influence in the Philippines would be a thing of the past, took
advantage of the incident and presented it to the Spanish Government as a vast conspiracy
organized throughout the archipelago with the object of destroying Spanish sovereignty. Tavera
sadly confirmed that the Madrid government came to believe that the scheme was true without
any attempt to investigate the real facts or extent of the alleged “revolution” reported by
Izquierdo and the friars.

       Convicted educated men who participated in the mutiny were sentenced life imprisonment
while members of the native clergy headed by the GOMBURZA were tried and executed by
garrote.  This episode leads to the awakening of nationalism and eventually to the outbreak of
Philippine Revolution of 1896.  The French writer Edmund Plauchut’s account complimented
Tavera’s account by confirming that the event happened due to discontentment of the arsenal
workers and soldiers in Cavite fort.  The Frenchman, however, dwelt more on the execution of
the three martyr priests which he actually witnessed.

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Account of Edmund Plauchut
Edmund Plauchut (1824-1909) was a French journalist, writer, traveler, residing in Manila. He
traced the immediate cause to a peremptory order from the governor, Izquierdo, exacting
personal taxes from the Filipino laborers in the engineering and artillery corps in the Cavite
arsenal, and requiring them to perform forced labor like ordinary subjects.
Until then, these workers in the arsenal had been enjoying exemptions from both taxes and
forced labor. January 20, the day of the revolt, was payday and the laborers found the amount
of taxes as well as the corresponding fee in lieu of the forced labor deducted from their pay
envelopes. It was the last straw. That night they mutinied.
Forty infantry soldiers and twenty men from the artillery took over command of the Fort of San
Felipe and fired cannonades to announce to the world their moment of triumph. It was a short-
lived victory.
Apparently, the mutineers had expected to be joined by their comrades in the 7th infantry
company assigned to patrol the Cavite plaza. They became terror-stricken, however, when they
beckoned to the 7th infantry men from the ramparts of the fort and their comrades did not make
any move to join them. Instead, the company started attacking them. The rebels decided to bolt
the gates and wait for morning when support from Manila was expected to come.
He gave a dispassionate account of it and its causes in an article published in the Revue des
Deux Mondes in 1877. He traced that the primary cause of the mutiny is believed to "be an
order from Governor-General Carlos to subject the soldiers of the Engineering and Artillery
Corps to personal taxes, from which they were previously exempt.
The taxes required them to pay a monetary sum as well as to perform forced labor called, polo
y servicio. The mutiny was sparked on January 20, 1872 when the laborers received their pay
and realized the taxes as well as the falla, the fine one paid to be exempt from forced labor, had
been deducted from their salaries.
Different accounts in the Cavite mutiny also highlighted other probable causes of the
"revolution" which includes Spanish Revolution which overthrew the secular throne, dirty
propagandas proliferated by unrestrained press, democratic, liberal and republican books and
pamphlets reaching the Philippines, and most importantly, the presence of the native clergy who
out of animosity against the Spanish friars, "conspired and supported" the rebels and enemies
of Spain.

Some facts about 1872 Cavite Mutiny

First, there was dissatisfaction among the workers of the arsenal as well as the members of the
native army after their privileges were drawn back by Gen. Izquierdo.

Second, Gen. Izquierdo introduced rigid and strict policies that made the Filipinos move and
turn away from Spanish government out of disgust.

Third, the Central Government failed to conduct an investigation on what truly transpired but
relied on reports of Izquierdo and the friars and the opinion of the public.

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Fourth, the happy days of the friars were already numbered in 1872 when the Central
Government in Spain decided to deprive them of the power to intervene in government affairs
as well as in the direction and management of schools prompting them to commit frantic moves
to extend their stay and power.

Fifth, the Filipino clergy members actively participated in the secularization movement in order
to allow Filipino priests to take hold of the parishes in the country making them prey to the rage
of the friars.

Sixth, Filipinos during the time were active participants, and responded to what they deemed as
injustices; and

Lastly, the execution of GOMBURZA was a blunder on the part of the Spanish government, for
the action severed the ill-feelings of the Filipinos and the event inspired Filipino patriots to call
for reforms and eventually independence.  There may be different versions of the event, but one
thing is certain, the 1872 Cavite Mutiny paved way for a momentous 1898.

        The road to independence was rough and tough to toddle, many patriots named and
unnamed shed their bloods to attain reforms and achieve independence.  12 June 1898 may be
a glorious event for us, but we should not forget that before we came across to victory, our
forefathers suffered enough. 

As we enjoy our freedom, may we be more historically aware of our past to have a better
future ahead of us.  And just like what Elias said in Noli me Tangere, may we “not forget those
who fell during the night.”

The Execution of Gomburza

On February 15, 1872, the Spanish colonial authorities sentenced three martyr
Fathers Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora to death by garrote at Bagumbayan,
Philippines and charged 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 planned government in order to break free of
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, 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.
Besides from Gomburza execution, on January 28, 1872 the military court sentenced 41
mutineers to death. However, on the next day Governor Rafael Izquierdo pardoned 28
mutineers and the rest were confirmed to sentence. On February 6, 1872, 11 mutineers were
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 were imposed to ten years imprisonment.

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 Furthermore, there were people being sentenced by the military court of Spain to exile
them to 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.

They were executed by garrote in Luneta, also known in Tagalog as Bagumbayan, on

February 17, 1872. 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.

Who were the GOMBURZA?

Gomburza, alternatively stylized as GOMBURZA or GomBurZa, refers to three Filipino

Catholic priests, Mariano Gomez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, who were executed
by garrote in 17 February 1872 in 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.

Mariano Gomes de los Angeles was a well-known Roman Catholic priest during their time,
part of the trio accused of mutiny by Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th
century. Gomez was the child of Alejandro Francisco Gomez and Martina Custodia. He was
born in the suburb of Santa Cruz, Manila on 2 August 1799.

He was a Tornatras, one born from mixed native (Filipino), Chinese, and Spanish
ancestries. He studied at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and later studied theology at
the University of Santo Tomas, preparing himself for the priesthood in the Seminary of Manila.
Gomez was designated as the head priest of Bacoor, Cavite on 2 June 1824.

He also taught for the agriculture and cottage industries aside from taking care of
spiritual necessities. He fought for the rights of his fellow native priests against Spanish abuses.
He was also active in the publication of the newspaper La Verdad. On 17 February 1872, he
was one of the priests executed due to the false accusations of treason and sedition, taking a
supposed active role in the Cavite Mutiny. He was later on sentenced to death by garrote in a
military court at Bagumbayan field.

José Apolonio Burgos y García was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur on 9 February 1837 and was
baptized on the 12th of the same month. His parents were Jose Burgos, a Spanish lieutenant in
the Spanish militia of Ilocos, and Florencia Garcia, a native of Vigan.

During his early teenage years, he studied at the Colegio San Juan de Letran and later
went to the University of Santo Tomas, receiving a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1855, Bachelor of
Theology in 1859, Licentiate in Philosophy in 1860, Licentiate in Theology in 1862, Doctor of
Theology, and Doctor of Canon Law in 1868.

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 Fr. Burgos has been described as a “precursor to Rizal,” the type of secular priest who
really clamored for Filipino rights. As a student, he was said to have incited a demonstration that
ended in violence when the Letran administration tried to curb students’ rights and imposed its
candidate in student council elections.

As a priest, he co-headed a reform committee and was keen on seeing Filipinos taking
up more positions in the Church. He saw the Philippine Church as rightfully belonging to the
Filipinos—by that he meant the insulares, Spaniards born in the Philippines.

Jacinto Zamora y del Rosario was born on 14 August 1835 in Pandacan, Manila. His parents
were Venancio Zamora and Hilario del Rosario. He studied at the Colegio de San Juan de
Letran and graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Arts.

He later transferred to the University of Santo Tomas and obtained a degree of Bachelor
of Canon and Civil Laws. He prepared for priesthood in the Seminary of Manila. He had dreamt
of becoming a priest at a young age.

After being given ministerial and priestly authority, Zamora was able to establish
parishes in Marikina, Pasig, and Batangas and was assigned to also oversee Manila Cathedral
on 3 December 1864.

The Gomburza 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.

Twenty years later, during the 1890s, a new crop of ilustrados would take inspiration
from the deaths of Gomburza. One of them, a man named Jose Rizal, would write his
novel, Noli Me Tangere, and dedicate it to the trio.

The death of Gomburza solidified the nascent nationalism felt by so many. The concept
of “Filipino” and what is “Philippine” only grew from there. Besides Rizal, the Katipunan also
grew emboldened by the liberal ideas which propelled their inadvertent martyrdom, even going
so far as using Gomburza as a password.

Ultimately, the secularization movement would grow into a call for a wholly Filipino
church. During the Revolution of 1896, two men, Isabelo de los Reyes and Fr. Gregorio Aglipay,
would make that dream a reality and create a church that was truly Filipino, the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente.

Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora didn’t necessarily die fighting for a cause they
championed. But the cause they did die for managed to change our history and create a Filipino
identity as we understand it today.

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 Asynchronous Learning

B. RELATED LEARNING

Activity 1: What is the significance of 1872 Cavity Mutiny in the effort to attain Freedom
from the Spaniards? What were the main cause of the uprising of the Filipinos in the
Arsenal?
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WATCH: Cavity Mutiny & GomBurZa: https://youtu.be/GruhpddknXY

1. Was there a direct connection of the GomBurZa with the Cavity mutineers?

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