Philippine Revolution

Philippine Revolution, (1896–98), Filipino independence struggle that, after more than 300 years of
Spanish colonial rule, exposed the weakness of Spanish administration but failed to evict Spaniards from the
islands. The Spanish-American War brought Spain’s rule in the Philippines to a close in 1898 but
precipitated the Philippine-American War, a bloody war between Filipino revolutionaries and the U.S.
Army.

Numerous quasi-religious uprisings had punctuated the long era of Spanish sovereignty over the Philippines,
but none possessed sufficient coordination to oust the Europeans. During the 19th century, however, an
educated Filipino middle class emerged and with it a desire for Philippine independence. Opposition before
1872 was primarily confined to the Filipino clergy, who resented the Spanish monopoly of power within the
Roman Catholic Church in the islands. In that year the abortive Cavite Mutiny, a brief uprising against the
Spanish, served as an excuse for renewed Spanish repression. The martyrdom of three Filipino priests—José
Burgos, Mariano Gómez, and Jacinto Zamora—for allegedly conspiring with the rebels at Cavite sparked a
wave of anti-Spanish sentiment.

Reform-minded Filipinos took refuge in Europe, where they carried on a literary campaign known as the
Propaganda Movement. Dr. José Rizal quickly emerged as the leading Propagandist. His novel Noli me
tángere (1886; The Social Cancer, 1912) exposed the corruption of Manila Spanish society and stimulated
the movement for independence.

By 1892 it became obvious that Spain was unwilling to reform its colonial government. Andres Bonifacio, a
self-educated warehouse clerk, organized a secret revolutionary society, the Katipunan, in Manila.
Membership grew to an estimated 100,000 by August 1896, when the Spaniards discovered its existence.
Bonifacio immediately issued a call for armed rebellion. The Spanish then arrested Rizal, who had
advocated reform but never condoned the revolution. Rizal’s public execution, on December 30, 1896, so
enraged and united Filipinos as to make permanent retention of power by Spain clearly impossible.

In March 1897 leadership of the revolution passed to a young general, Emilio Aguinaldo, who had Bonifacio
shot for alleged sedition. Aguinaldo proved incapable of militarily defeating the Spanish troops, who were
augmented by Filipino mercenaries. In the later months of 1897, Aguinaldo’s revolutionary army was
pushed into the mountains southeast of Manila.

On December 15, 1897, the pact of Biak-na-Bato was proclaimed. Though its precise terms have been a
matter of impassioned debate ever since, the pact brought a temporary end to the Philippine Revolution.
Aguinaldo and other revolutionary leaders accepted exile in Hong Kong and 400,000 pesos, plus Spanish
promises of substantial governmental reforms, in return for laying down their arms. Neither side executed
the terms of the pact in good faith. Aguinaldo used the money to purchase arms in Hong Kong, and the
Spanish reneged on the promised reforms.

After the U.S. Navy commodore George Dewey annihilated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on May 1,
1898, Aguinaldo immediately returned to the Philippines. He began the revolution anew, this time against
the United States, which had assumed title to the Philippines as a result of the Spanish defeat. Aguinaldo
was captured in 1901 and subsequently appealed to Filipinos to cease fighting and accept U.S. sovereignty.

Philippine-American War, war between the United States and Filipino revolutionaries from 1899 to 1902, an
insurrection that may be seen as a continuation of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule. It began
after the United States assumed sovereignty of the Philippines following the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-
American War. Although an end to the insurrection was declared in 1902, sporadic fighting continued for
several years thereafter.

The end of Spanish rule and the First Philippine Republic

There had been numerous quasi-religious uprisings in the Philippines during the more than 300 years of
colonial rule, but the late 19th-century writings of José Rizal and others helped stimulate a more broad-
based movement for Philippine independence. Spain was unwilling to reform its colonial government, and
armed rebellion broke out in 1896. Rizal, who had advocated reform but not revolution, was shot for
sedition on December 30, 1896; his martyrdom fueled the revolution, led by the young general Emilio
Aguinaldo.

Another movement for independence from Spanish rule was underway in Cuba, meanwhile. In March 1898,
following the destruction of the USS Maine in Havana a month earlier, the United States sent an ultimatum
to Spain demanding it accept U.S. arbitration and eventually relinquish its control of Cuba. In preparation
for the likelihood of war against Spain, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt placed the U.S.
Asiatic squadron in Hong Kong on alert. When war was declared in April, Commodore George Dewey
sailed from Hong Kong and defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on the morning of May 1, but he could
not occupy Manila until ground troops arrived three months later.

In the meantime, on June 12, the Filipinos declared independence and proclaimed a provisional republic
with Aguinaldo as president. Within days, on the other side of the Pacific, the American Anti-Imperialist
League had begun to take shape. This organization, which opposed American involvement in the
Philippines, grew into a mass movement that drew support from across the political spectrum. Its members
included luminaries such as social reformer Jane Addams, industrialist Andrew Carnegie, philosopher
William James, and author Mark Twain.

On August 13 Manila fell after a bloodless “battle.” Spanish Gov. Fermín Jáudenes had secretly arranged a
surrender after a mock show of resistance to salvage his honour. American troops were in possession of the
city, but Filipino insurgents controlled the rest of the country. The Treaty of Paris(1898), signed by
representatives of Spain and the United States in December, transferred Philippine sovereignty from Spain
to the United States. But the leaders of the nascent Philippine Republic, who were in actual control of the
entire archipelago except Manila, did not recognize U.S. sovereignty over the islands. The United States,
meanwhile, rejected Filipino claims of independence. Conflict was inevitable.

Burning of the Malolos cathedral covent, headquarters of Emilio Aguinaldo during the Philippine-American
War, March 1899.
On the night of February 4, 1899, shooting erupted on the outskirts of Manila. Morning found the Filipinos,
who had fought bravely, even recklessly, defeated at all points. While the fighting was in progress,
Aguinaldo issued a proclamation of war against the United States. Anti-imperialist sentiment was strong in
the United States, and on February 6 the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty that concluded the Spanish-American
War by a single vote. U.S. reinforcements were immediately sent to the Philippines. Antonio Luna, the
ablest commander among the Filipinos, was given charge of their military operations but seems to have been
greatly hampered by the jealousy and distrust of Aguinaldo, which he fully returned. Luna was murdered,
and on March 31 the rebel capital of Malolos was captured by U.S. forces.

The guerrilla campaign

U.S. troops in the Philippines during the Philippine-American War (1899–1902).

Meanwhile, the Filipino government had fled northward. In November 1899 the Filipinos resorted to
guerrilla warfare, with all its devastating consequences. The major operations of the insurrection were
conducted in Luzon, and, throughout them, the U.S. Army was assisted materially by indigenous Macabebe
scouts, who had previously served the Spanish regime and then transferred that loyalty to the United States.
The organized insurrection effectively ended with the capture of Aguinaldo on March 23, 1901, by U.S.
Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston. After learning of the location of Aguinaldo’s secret headquarters from a
captured courier, Funston personally led an audacious mission into the mountains of northern Luzon. He and
a handful of his officers posed as prisoners of war, marching under the guard of a column of Macabebe
scouts who were disguised as rebels. Aguinaldo, who had been expecting reinforcements, welcomed the lead
elements of the force only to be stunned by a demand to surrender. When Funston arrived, Aguinaldo
remarked, “Is this not some joke?” before being led back to Manila.
Although Aguinaldo pledged his allegiance to the United States and called for an end to hostilities, the
guerrilla campaign continued with unabated ferocity. Brig. Gen. Jacob F. Smith, enraged by a massacre of
U.S. troops, responded with retaliatory measures of such indiscriminate brutality that he was court-martialed
and forced to retire. After the surrender of Filipino Gen. Miguel Malvar in Samar on April 16, 1902, the
American civil government regarded the remaining guerrillas as mere bandits, though the fighting
continued. About a thousand guerrillas under Simeón Ola were not defeated until late 1903, and in Batangas
province, south of Manila, troops commanded by Macario Sakay resisted capture until as late as 1906.

The last organized resistance to U.S. power took place on Samar from 1904 to 1906. There the rebels’ tactic
of burning pacified villages contributed to their own defeat. Although an unconnected insurgency campaign
by Moro bands on Mindanao continued sporadically until 1913, the United States had gained undisputed
control of the Philippines, and it retained possession of the islands until 1946.

Casualties
The human cost of the war was significant. An estimated 20,000 Filipino combatants were killed, and more
than 200,000 civilians perished as a result of combat, hunger, or disease. Of the 4,300 Americans lost, some
1,500 were killed in action, while nearly twice that number succumbed to disease

Revolution, in social and political science, a major, sudden, and hence typically violent alteration in
government and in related associations and structures. The term is used by analogy in such expressions as
the Industrial Revolution, where it refers to a radical and profound change in economic relationships and
technological conditions.

Early beliefs about revolution

Though the idea of revolution was originally related to the Aristotelian notion of cyclical alterations in the
forms of government, it now implies a fundamental departure from any previous historical pattern. A
revolution constitutes a challenge to the established political order and the eventual establishment of a new
order radically different from the preceding one. The great revolutions of European history, especially the
Glorious (English), French, and Russian revolutions, changed not only the system of government but also
the economic system, the social structure, and the cultural values of those societies.

Historically, the concept of revolution was seen as a very destructive force, from ancient Greece to the
European Middle Ages. The ancient Greeks saw revolution as a possibility only after the decay of the
fundamental moral and religious tenets of society. Plato believed that a constant, firmly entrenched code of
beliefs could prevent revolution. Aristotle elaborated on this concept, concluding that if a culture’s basic
value system is tenuous, the society will be vulnerable to revolution. Any radical alteration in basic values or
beliefs provides the ground for a revolutionary upheaval.

During the Middle Ages, the maintenance of the established beliefs and forms of government remained the
priority. Much attention was given to finding means of combating revolution and stifling changes in society.
Religious authority was so strong and its belief in the maintenance of order so fundamental that the church
directed people to accept the inequities of power, instead of upsetting the stability of society.

Only after the emergence of secular humanism during the Renaissance did this concept of revolution, as a
cause of the desecration of society, change to embrace a more modern perspective. The 16th-century Italian
writer Niccolò Machiavelli recognized the importance of creating a state that could endure the threat of
revolution; but, at the same time, his detailed analysis of power led to a new belief in the necessity of
changes in the structure of government on certain occasions. This new acceptance of change placed
Machiavelli at the forefront of modern revolutionary thought, even though he never used the word
revolution in his texts, and he was primarily concerned with the creation of a truly stable state.
.
The 17th-century English writer John Milton was an early believer in revolution’s inherent ability to help a
society realize its potential. He also saw revolution as the right of society to defend itself against abusive
tyrants, creating a new order that reflected the needs of the people. To Milton, revolution was the means of
accomplishing freedom. Later, in the 18th century, the French, Haitian, and American revolutions were
attempts to secure freedom from oppressive leadership. Modern revolutions have frequently incorporated
utopian ideals as a basis for change.

Immanuel Kant, the 18th-century German philosopher, believed in revolution as a force for the advancement
of humankind. Kant believed that revolution was a “natural” step in the realization of a higher ethical
foundation for society. This idea helped serve as a basis for the American and French revolutions.

The 19th-century German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel was a crucial catalyst in the formation of 20th-century
revolutionary thought. He saw revolutions as the fulfillment of human destiny, and he saw revolutionary
leaders as those necessary to instigate and implement reforms. Hegel’s theories served as the foundation for
the most influential revolutionary thinker, Karl Marx. Marx used Hegel’s abstractions as the basis for a plan
of class struggle, centred on a fight for the control of the economic processes of society. Marx believed in
progressive stages of human history, culminating in the working-class overthrow of the property-owning
class. For society to advance, the working class, or proletariat, must take over the means of production.
Marx viewed this eventuality as the conclusion of the human struggle for freedom and a classless society,
thus eliminating the need for further political change. Communist revolutions led by Marxists took place in
Russia, Yugoslavia, China, Vietnam, and Cuba, among other countries, in the 20th century.

In the mid-20th century, American historian Crane Brinton analyzed the tendencies of a society prior to a
major revolution. He saw a prerevolutionary society as having a combination of social and political tensions,
caused by a gradual breakdown of the society’s values. This leads to a fracture of political authority, as the
governing body must rely upon an increasingly desperate use of force to remain in power. Commensurate
with this is the emergence of reform elements that serve to emphasize the corruption of the political
authority. As the existing political order begins to lose its grasp on authority, momentum builds among the
diverse forces of the opposition. As the government becomes more precarious, the splinter groups that form
the threat to the existing order band together to topple the authority.

Brinton also observed the different stages of a major revolution. After the government is overthrown, there
is usually a period of optimistic idealism, and the revolutionaries engage in much perfectionist rhetoric. But
this phase does not last very long. The practical tasks of governing have to be faced, and a split develops
between moderates and radicals. It ends in the defeat of the moderates, the rise of extremists, and the
concentration of all power in their hands. For one faction to prevail and maintain its authority, the use of
force is almost inevitable. The goals of the revolution fade, as a totalitarian regime takes command. Some of
the basic tenets of the original revolutionary movement, however, are eventually incorporated in the end.
The French and Russian revolutions followed this course of development, as did the Islamic revolution in
Iran in the late 20th century.

A strictly political revolution, independent of social transformation, does not possess the same pattern of
prerevolutionary and postrevolutionary events. It may be merely a change in political authority (as in many
coups d’état) or a somewhat broader transformation of the structures of power (as in the American and
Mexican revolutions).

Emilio Aguinaldo (born March 22/23, 1869, near Cavite, Luzon, Philippines—died February 6, 1964,
Quezon City) Filipino leader and politician who fought first against Spain and later against the United States
for the independence of the Philippines.

Early life, Spanish-American War, and the struggle for the independence of the Philippines
Aguinaldo was of Chinese and Tagalog parentage. He attended San Juan de Letrán College in Manila but
left school early to help his mother run the family farm. In August 1896 he was mayor of Cavite Viejo
(present-day Kawit; adjacent to Cavite city) and was the local leader of the Katipunan, a revolutionary
society that fought bitterly and successfully against the Spanish. In December 1897 he signed an agreement
called the Pact of Biac-na-Bató with the Spanish governor general. Aguinaldo agreed to leave the
Philippines and to remain permanently in exile on condition of a substantial financial reward from Spain
coupled with the promise of liberal reforms. While first in Hong Kong and then in Singapore, he made
arrangements with representatives of the American consulates and of Commodore George Dewey to return
to the Philippines to assist the United States in the war against Spain.

Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines on May 19, 1898, and announced renewal of the struggle with Spain.
The Filipinos, who declared their independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, proclaimed a provisional
republic, of which Aguinaldo was to become president, and in September a revolutionary assembly met and
ratified Filipino independence. However, the Philippines, along with Puerto Rico and Guam, were ceded by
Spain to the United States by the Treaty of Paris, which was signed on December 10, 1898.

Relations between the Americans and the Filipinos were unfriendly and grew steadily worse. On January 23,
1899, the Malolos Constitution—by virtue of which the Philippines was declared a republic and which had
been approved by the assembly and by Aguinaldo—was proclaimed. Aguinaldo, who had been president of
the provisional government, was elected president.

Burning of the Malolos cathedral covent, headquarters of Emilio Aguinaldo during the Philippine-American
War, March 1899.
On the night of February 4 the inevitable conflict between the Americans and Filipinos surrounding Manila
was precipitated. By the morning of February 5 the Filipinos, who had fought bravely, had been defeated at
all points. While the fighting was in progress, Aguinaldo issued a proclamation of war against the United
States, which immediately sent reinforcements to the Philippines. The Filipino government fled northward.
In November 1899 the Filipinos resorted to guerrilla warfare.

Filipino insurgents surrendering during the Philippine-American War, c. 1900.

After three years of costly fighting, the insurrection was finally brought to an end when, in a daring
operation on March 23, 1901, led by Gen. Frederick Funston, Aguinaldo was captured in his secret
headquarters at Palanan in northern Luzon. Aguinaldo took an oath of allegiance to the United States, was
granted a pension from the U.S. government, and retired to private life

In 1935 the commonwealth government of the Philippines was established in preparation for independence.
Aguinaldo ran for president, but he was decisively beaten. He returned to private life until the Japanese
invaded the Philippines in December 1941. The Japanese used Aguinaldo as an anti-American tool. He
made speeches and signed articles. In early 1942 he addressed a radio appeal to U.S. Gen. Douglas
MacArthur—who at that time was with the U.S. garrison holding out against the Japanese on Corregidor
Island—to surrender (the troops there did surrender in May 1942, but MacArthur had already been
evacuated).
The Americans returned to the Philippines in late 1944, and, after they had retaken Manila in 1945,
Aguinaldo was arrested. He and others accused of collaboration with the Japanese were imprisoned for some
months before they were released by presidential amnesty. In 1950 Aguinaldo was appointed by Pres.
Elpidio Quirino as a member of the Council of State. In his later years he devoted much attention to
veterans’ affairs, the promotion of nationalism and democracy in the Philippines, and the improvement of
relations between the Philippines and the United States.

Andres Bonifacio (born Nov. 30, 1863, Manila—died May 10, 1897, Mt. Buntis, Phil.) Philippine patriot,
founder and leader of the nationalist Katipunan society, who instigated the revolt of August 1896 against the
Spanish.

Bonifacio was born of poor parents in Manila and had little formal education, working as a messenger and
warehouse keeper before becoming involved in revolutionary activity. He was, however, well-read. Unlike
the nationalist poet and novelist José Rizal, who wanted to reform Spanish rule in the Philippines, Bonifacio
advocated complete independence from Spain. In 1892 he founded the Katipunan in Manila, modelling its
organization and ceremony on that of the Masonic order. The Katipunan at first grew slowly, but by 1896 it
had an estimated 100,000 members and branches not only in Manila but also in central Luzon and on the
islands of Panay, Mindoro, and Mindanao. Its members were mostly workers and peasants; the urban middle
class supported reform rather than revolution.

In August 1896 Bonifacio led the long-planned insurrection on Luzon; but his forces were defeated by
Spanish troops, and he was forced to retreat to Montalban in the north, while Emilio Aguinaldo, one of his
lieutenants, carried on resistance. As the Spanish systematically routed the insurrectos, it became
increasingly clear that Bonifacio was an ineffective military leader. In March 1897 a convention at Tejeros
named Aguinaldo, rather than Bonifacio, president of a new Philippine republic. Refusing to recognize the
convention, Bonifacio tried to establish his own rebel government. In April 1897 Aguinaldo had Bonifacio
arrested and tried for treason; he was executed by a firing squad.

Philippines, island country of Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. It is an archipelago consisting of
more than 7,000 islands and islets lying about 500 miles (800 km) off the coast of Vietnam. Manila is the
capital, but nearby Quezon City is the country’s most-populous city. Both are part of the National Capital
Region (Metro Manila), located on Luzon, the largest island. The second largest island of the Philippines is
Mindanao, in the southeast.

The Philippines takes its name from Philip II, who was king of Spain during the Spanish colonization of the
islands in the 16th century. Because it was under Spanish rule for 333 years and under U.S. tutelage for a
further 48 years, the Philippines has many cultural affinities with the West. It is, for example, the second
most-populous Asian country (following India) with English as an official language and one of only two
predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia (the other being East Timor). Despite the prominence of
such Anglo-European cultural characteristics, the peoples of the Philippines are Asian in consciousness and
aspiration.

The country was wracked by political turmoil in the last quarter of the 20th century. After enduring more
than a decade of authoritarian rule under Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, the broadly popular People Power
movement in 1986 led a bloodless uprising against the regime. The confrontation resulted not only in the
ouster and exile of Marcos but also in the restoration of democratic government to the Philippines

Villagers tending a rice field in the Philippines.

Contemporary Filipinos continue to grapple with a society that is replete with paradoxes, perhaps the most
obvious being the presence of extreme wealth alongside tremendous poverty. Rich in resources, the
Philippines has the potential to build a strong industrial economy, but the country remains largely
agricultural. Especially toward the end of the 20th century, rapid industrial expansion was spurred by a high
degree of domestic and foreign investment. That growth, however, simultaneously contributed to severe
degradation of the environment. The Philippines also emerged as a regional leader in education during the
late 20th century, with a well-established public school and university system, and by the early 21st century
the country had one of the highest literacy rates in Asia.