A SYNTHESIS PAPER

The Cavite Mutiny

On January 20, 1872, the Filipino soldiers stationed at Fort San Felipe, the Spanish
arsenal in Cavite, rose up in the Cavite Mutiny. The events were recorded and highlighted
by the famous Spanish historian Jose Montero y Vidal as an attempt by the Indios to
overthrow the Spanish government in the Philippines. The Filipino account of the deadly
incident in Cavite was written by Filipino academic and researcher Trinidad Hermenigildo
Pardo de Tavera. From his point of view, the incident was merely a mutiny by the local
Filipino workers and troops at the Cavite arsenal who were apparently upset over the
removal of their rights.

To enable Filipino priests to seize control of the parishes in the nation and make
them vulnerable to the wrath of the friars, the Filipino clergy actively participated in the
secularization drive. Like many earlier uprisings led by Filipinos during the Spanish
occupation, the Cavite Mutiny was simply a reaction to the massive injustices committed
by the Spanish government against the Filipino people. Though the Cavite Mutiny's goal
of advocating for better worker rights was not achieved, it was successful in its true goal
of arousing the nationalistic spirit in the Filipino people at the cost of the deaths of those
who took part in it. It turned out to be the incident that revealed the brutal nature of the
Spanish government.

They blamed the Cavite Mutiny on the Filipino intellectuals and the Filipino religious
orders, claiming they used their control over the uneducated common people to start the
bloody revolution that the Spanish people feared was going to break. This also resulted
in the execution of GOMBURZA, which is regarded as one of the most important occasions
during the Spanish occupation and further brought the Spanish cruelty to the attention
of the Filipino people. The terrible realities of the Spanish occupation affected everyone,
including those serving in the Christian faith, which the Spanish introduced to the Filipinos
and for which they have a great degree of respect. Because of the unnecessary display
of brutality and authority by the Spaniards, the killing of the three priests caused a lot of
controversy among the Filipino people.

Those who had previously remained passive spectators to the atrocities of the
Spanish occupation suddenly raised their voices in protest at the hundreds of years of
harsh treatment of the Filipino people by the Spanish government. In general, the Cavite
Mutiny should be given more weight in discussions of Philippine history during the Spanish
colonization because it was a significant turning point in the Filipino people's shift of

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perspective during the Spanish period, which encouraged more people to speak out
against the injustices they experienced under the Spanish regime and eventually take
violent action to do so.

Did Rizal retract?

The National Hero himself is alleged to have signed Rizal's letter of retraction,
dated December 29, 1896. Rizal did not retract any of his own writings or works. This
sentence from a document led many historians and academics to conclude that Dr. Rizal
had apologized for everything in his speech, works, publications, or behaviour that was
in conflict with his character as a son of the Catholic Church. The validity of his retraction
has been the subject of disputes, suspicion, and contentious discussions among people
who seek the truth for many years.

Many witnesses saw Rizal kiss the cross before his execution, and 11 individuals
were present when he wrote a retraction, signed a Catholic prayer book, and recited
Catholic prayers, according to certain historians. According to Father Marciano Rizal, a
great-grandson of Rizal, Rizal's four confessions were corroborated by five witnesses, ten
credible witnesses, seven newspapers, twelve historians, and writers, including the
bishops of Aglipayan, members of the Freemasons, and opponents of the church. A
witness who was notarized and was highly recognized by Rizal for his honesty made his
statement while serving as the head of the Spanish Supreme Court.

According to UP professor emeritus of history, "because, in his opinion, direct

evidence has more weight than purely circumstantial evidence when viewed through the
lens of history”. Although there are many points to the authenticity of the retraction letter
written by our National Hero, I personally believe that he did not retract it. Rizal was
charged with participating in propaganda, which is punishable by the death penalty under
the Spanish Code. Nicolas Zafra called the retraction "a simple fact of history." Guzman
contends that refusing to retract "the obvious suspicion and impatience of some masons".

The 1896 Cry of Rebellion

The first cry was a historical incident in which the Filipinos tore their cedulas, which
according to Andres Bonifacio symbolized their enslavement by the Spaniards. The
Katipunan, a secret organization of Filipinos, was exposed to the Spaniards, leading to
the 1896 Philippine Revolution, which saw many of its members imprisoned. In order to

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choose when to carry out their plot to assault the Spanish government, Bonifacio made
the decision to hold a meeting outside of the city. A monument honoring the leaders of
the Philippine Revolution, which is thought to have taken place there on August 26, was
erected in Balintawak in 1896.

However, other Katipunan figures, including Pio Valenzuela, Santiago Alvarez, and
Guillermo Magsangkay, disputed the date and location of the Philippine Revolution's First
Cry. According to Pio Valenzuela, a friend of Bonifacio and a Katipunan member, the
Katipunan's first haven was at Balintawak, especially in Apolonio Samson's home and yard
in Kangkong on August 22, 1896. Andres Bonifacio, Procopio Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto,
Teodoro Plata, and Agueldo del Rosario were present with him. On August 23, 1896, they
discussed whether or not to initiate the revolution against the Spanish government on
August 29, 1896, in Juan Ramos' storehouse and yard in Pugad Lawin.

According to Santiago Alvarez, who wrote under the pen name Kidlat ng Apoy and was
one of the organizers of the Cavite revolt, they endured a taxing journey to reach Apolonio
Samson's home in Kangkong. The Supremo assigned guards and stationed a detachment
at the Balintawak boundary where they were gathered on August 22, 1896. On August
23, 1896, they arrived at Cabesang Melchora's home. The insurrection took place on
August 26, 1896, according to Guilllermo Magsangkay, a comrade and fellow Bonifacio
Katipunero.

On the same day, Andres Bonifacio presided over a significant gathering in Apolonio
Samson's home in Balintawak, which also included Aguedo del Rosario, Tomas Remigio,
Briccio Pantas, Teodoro Plata, Pio Valenzuela, and others. Emilio Jacinto served as
secretary. In a speech he gave to the people, Bonifacio informed them of the leaders'
argument and asked them to decide whether they should wait for the Spaniards to shoot
them or begin the rebellion as soon as their rebellion against Spain was exposed. "Revolt!"
was screamed by the crowd as they took his side. Then, Bonifacio urged the populace to
promise to revolt by destroying their cedulas. In spite of the objections of Plata, Pantas,
and Valenzuela, the board of directors decided in favor of revolution. After conducting a
thorough analysis of the main sources, the National Historical Commission of the
Philippines determined in 1963 that the First Cry of the Philippine Revolution took place
on August 23, 1896 near Pugad Lawin.

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