The Two Faces of the 1872 Cavite Mutiny

By Chris Antonette Piedad-Pugay

The 12th of June of every year since 1898 is a very important event for all
Filipinos. On this particular day, the entire Filipino nation as well as Filipino
communities all over the world gathers to celebrate the Philippines’
Independence Day. 1898 came to be a very significant year for all of us— it is
as equally important as 1896—the year when the Philippine Revolution broke
out owing to the Filipinos’ desire to be free from the abuses of the Spanish
colonial regime. But we should be reminded that another year is as historic as
the two—1872.

Two major events happened in 1872, first was the 1872 Cavite Mutiny and
the other was the martyrdom of the three martyr priests in the persons of
Fathers Mariano Gomes, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora
(GOMBURZA). However, not all of us knew that there were different accounts
in reference to the said event. All Filipinos must know the different sides of the
story—since this event led to another tragic yet meaningful part of our history—
the execution of GOMBURZA which in effect a major factor in the awakening of
nationalism among the Filipinos.

1872 Cavite Mutiny: Spanish Perspective

Jose Montero y Vidal, a prolific Spanish historian documented the event

and highlighted it as an attempt of the Indios to overthrow the Spanish
government in the Philippines. Meanwhile, Gov. Gen. Rafael Izquierdo’s official
report magnified the event and made use of it to implicate the native clergy,
which was then active in the call for secularization. The two accounts
complemented and corroborated with one other, only that the general’s report
was more spiteful. Initially, both Montero and Izquierdo scored out that the
abolition of privileges enjoyed by the workers of the Cavite arsenal such as non-
payment of tributes and exemption from forced labor were the main reasons of
the “revolution” as how they called it, however, other causes were enumerated
by them including the 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. In
particular, Izquierdo blamed the unruly Spanish Press for “stockpiling” malicious
propaganda grasped by the Filipinos. He reported to the King of Spain that the
“rebels” wanted to overthrow the Spanish government to install a new “hari” in
the likes of Fathers Burgos and Zamora. The general even added that the
native clergy enticed other participants by giving them charismatic assurance
that their fight wouldn't fail because God was with them coupled with handsome
promises of rewards such as employment, wealth, and ranks in the
army. Izquierdo, in his report, lambasted the Indios as gullible and possessed
an innate propensity for stealing.

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
in 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.

A Response to Injustice: The Filipino Version of the Incident

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.

Unraveling the Truth

Considering the four accounts of the 1872 Mutiny, there were some basic
facts that remained to be unvarying: 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; 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 weenjoy our freeedom, 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.”