What

Happened in
the Cavite
Mutiny?
What is
“mutiny”?
It is a rebellion against the
authorities, especially by
soldiers against their
officers.
1872
❑ the Cavite Mutiny; and
❑ the martyrdom of the
three priests:
(GOMBURZA).
Spanish Accounts
 There are two primary sources from the Spanish accounts:

Jose Montero’s Rafael Izquierdo’s

 Key Points in Jose Montero’s
Account
❑ removal of privileges enjoyed by the Filipino
workers/soldiers of the Cavite arsenal of exemption from
the tribute.
❑ What is an arsenal? It is an establishment for the
manufacture or storage of arms and military
equipment.

❑ house of Filipino Spaniard, Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, or in

that of the native priest, Jacinto Zamora.
 Key Points in Rafael Izquierdo’s
Account
– The rebellion was motivated and prepared by the native
priests, by the mestizos and native lawyers.
• The cause of the rebellion is the removal of the rights of the
workers/soldiers in the Cavite arsenal to be exempt from paying
tribute and to render forced labor (polo y servicio).
• The plan of the workers/soldiers is to put as the head of the
government a priest and that the head selected would be Jose Burgos
or Jacinto Zamora.
 ANALYSIS: Accounts of Montero
and Izquierdo
– the removal of privileges enjoyed by the workers of the Cavite
arsenal such as exemption from payment of tribute
– and being employed in polo y servicios or forced labor.
– Izquierdo, in an obviously biased report, highlighted the attempt to
overthrow the Spanish government in the Philippines to install a new
"hari" in the persons of Fathers Burgos and Zamora.
– According to him, native priests attracted supporters by giving
them charismatic assurance that their fight would not fail because
they had God's support, aside from promises of magnificent
rewards such as employment, wealth, and ranks in the army.
Accounts Contrary to the
Spanish Accounts
 Two other primary accounts exist that seem to
counter the Spanish accounts:

Trinidad Tavera’s Edmund Plauchut’s

Account Account
 Key Points in Trinidad Tavera’s
Account
– The incident was only a mutiny by Filipino soldiers/workers of
the Cavite arsenal because of their dissatisfaction caused by
the harsh policies of Governor General Izquierdo, such as the
removal of privileges and the prohibition of the founding of the
school of arts and trades for Filipinos.
• The Spanish friars and Izquierdo used the Cavite Mutiny as a way to
solve other issues by exaggerating the isolated mutiny attempt.
• The friars needed something to justify their continuing dominance in
the country, and the mutiny provided such opportunity.
 Key Points in Edmund Plauchut’s
Account
– Those who were employed in the arsenal of Cavite were
exempted from forced labor from time immemorial. But
without any warning, a law passed by the Governor
withdrew from such old employees such exemption.

• The friars used the incident as a part of a larger conspiracy to cement

their dominance, which had started to show cracks because of the
discontent of the Filipinos.
 ANALYSIS: Accounts of Tavera and
Plauchut
– These two accounts emphasize that the GOMBURZA have no
connection to the Cavite Mutiny at all and that the Cavite Mutiny
was exaggerated by the Spanish officials just to maintain their
dominance within the territories they were managing.
– The Spanish friars only connected the GOMBURZA to the mutiny
as part of a conspiracy to stop the movement of Filipino priests
who desired to have churches which they can manage instead of
being mere assistants to the regular Spanish friars.
Conclusion
– The GOMBURZA were executed by
garrote in public,
– Their martyrdom is widely
accepted as the dawn of Philippine
nationalism in the nineteenth
century, with Rizal dedicating his
second novel, El Filibusterismo, to
their memory.
 ACTIVITY

– What is your thought in the Martyrdom

of the three priest, GOMBURZA?