HIST 11

READINGS IN THE PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Name: CLAUDINE C. PADALAPAT Date: April 20, 2023
Course & Section: BSED-SCI-1A
Exercises 3.2 The 1872 Cavite Mutiny. Explain and discuss the following questions below.

1. How do you understand the word “mutiny”?

I found the word “mutiny” is equal to insurrection, an uprising or activity of rebellion

against a certain ruler. From the excerpt presented in our lesson the Cavite Mutiny is an
example of an uprising event in the Philippine history.

2. How Does Governor Rafael de Izquierdo describe Cavite Mutiny compared to the version of
Dr. Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera?

In the basis of Governor Rafael de Izquierdo excerpt it can be sense that this comes in
a spiteful approach or has the intention to implicate something evil. He took advantage of the
Cavite mutiny. He had urged that Filipinos are easy credulous and inborn thief – for the reason
that he used the Cavite Mutiny as a cover-up for the injustices he made to the Filipinos by
creating it as a tool to expose that Filipinos want to overthrow the Spanish government through
a revolution. He had reported to the Kingdom of Spain that Filipinos are allegedly planning a
political club that shall threaten the colony, he further disseminated to the King of Spain that
Filipinos are secretly planning to eliminate Spanish- High ranking officers and to exterminate
friars to further paved way for the Filipinos aim to hail a “Hari” either D. Jose Burgos or D.
Jacinto Zamora as a leader of the government. Even Filipinos were just trying to express their
call for secularization in response to inhumane changes the said governor general had
promulgated this that had further led to an immense tragic fate of the GOMBURZA and to all
the fallen patriots in the dark.

In the version of Filipino’s point of view delivered by Dr. Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera,
there stated that the reason of the mutiny is to express the disappointment of the Filipino natives
and the Cavite arsenal to the cold-blooded policies of Gov. Izquierdo. The governor general
hindered social-empowerment agendas for the betterment of the constituents instead
implemented the total opposite. The Cavite mutiny was ended by the Spanish troops due to the
failure arrival of insurgent’s support. According to Tavera, the Spanish friars and the governor
general benefited from the event, they had used the Cavite mutiny for their gain. It was
announced in Madrid that the Friars are to be excluded from intervening government matters,
in order to maintain the power of the church they made a huge thing in order to keep it. As for
Governor Rafael de Izquierdo he benefited well from this to cover his inhumane policies that
had keep the lives of the average deplorable.

3. What does the account of Jose Montero y Vidal tell us? To which version is the account
related to? Explain your answer.

From the view point of the Spanish historian Jose Montero y Vidal, he documented the
Cavite Mutiny as an event with the attempt of “Indio” or Filipinos to depose the Spanish
 governance over the Philippines. He further stated factors that had furthered contributed to the
commencing of so called “revolution” in which were the abolition of privileges that is
absolutely beneficial to the Cavite Arsenal Workers, termination of being free from paying
tributes and the eradication of being exempted from force labor. In addition, some other driving
mechanisms such as the instruments of liberal knowledge that had come its entry to the
Philippines, the idea of democracy, and above all is the existence of the native clergy that has
a strong criticism against the friars had propelled the aim to strengthen the support for the rebels
and the rivals of Spain. It was on the day of January 20, 1872 during the Sampaloc celebration
of the feast of Virgin of Loreto, the contingent consisting of 200 men set forth their attack when
they misinterpreted the fireworks that was a part of the celebration as the intended sign of the
attack according to what was planned. As a wrong call, the attack was quelled by the
reinforcement of Spanish forces when the Manila reinforcement did not arrive. This resulted
to the death of the main movers together with Sergeant Lamadrid. According to the excerpt of
Jose Montero Y Vidal, after the tragic event the GOMBURZA was accused and were
summoned to the Council of War and were condemned to death as other elite patriots were
exiled to the Marianas Island.

4. Among the three versions of Cavite Mutiny, which one do you think is the most credible?
Why? Explain your answer.

In my own understanding and evaluation among the three versions of the Cavite mutiny
what I think is the most credible one is the version of Dr.
Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera. It is the inferior who had suffered more. In the eyes of the
recent centuries, history would never deny the severity of the tyrants in making the Philippines
a colony for the prosperity of Spain. The Spanish versions have their own say but if
comprehend in depths, the Spaniards themselves got the privileges and the biggest opportunity
and power to make the Filipino’s life better and to attain a good life but look what they did.
The Spanish tyrants was close-minded in the ideas of the world, which is not a good thing.
There will be no revolts and bloody skirmish if they themselves valued the Filipinos and they
treat the Filipinos humans too just like them.

5. Compare the three versions of the Cavite Mutiny according to their definition of mutiny, its
causes and its effects.
• Governor Rafael de Izquierdo version and Jose Montero y Vidal version both implicated the
Spanish perspective. The two excerpts corroborated each other in accord to what they had
witnessed. It just as what they had in mind and their goals, they would write what is in favor
in their side with no consideration of the opposition’s side of the story. The cause of claiming
that Filipinos are plotting revolts against the Spanish rule is to hide their injustices to the
people that had resulted to the death and exile of the patriots and the death of the
GOMBURZA.
• Dr. Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera’s excerpt represents the Filipino’s perspective together with
supporting accounts of Edmund Plauchut. These excerpts utter the voices of the inferior
Filipinos calling for some good change that shall flourish the common good. It is natural to
fight for what is absolute once the dignity of a man is being undignified and demeaned by
those cruel rulers that has no dreams for the average lives. Just like what was stated in the
latter statement, it is the cruelty that had brought courage to the oppressed. It had failed at
first and many had fallen but the Cavite mutiny was the burning matches to advance for a
greater fight onwards victorious liberty.