Analyzing Primary Sources

- there is more to just reading history

- much of our history is written because there are
accounts of eyewitnesses
- the problem is ? Which account should we
believe?
- as the saying in historical studies goes
“there is one past but many histories”
 - it does not detract from any form of historical
study, rather it contributes to the scholarship or study
of historical sources

- analyzing how perspective are made on historical

events.
 - look at the physical nature of your source. (i.e., an
actual old letter, rather than a transcribed and published
version of the same letter)

- is it prescriptive — telling you what people thought

should happen — or descriptive — telling you what
people thought did happen?

- does it tell you about the beliefs/actions of the elite,

or of “ordinary” people? From whose perspective?
THE FIRST CRY
OF THE
REVOLUTION
(AUGUST 1896)
Historical Context

- “Cry of Rebellion “ – “el grito de rebelion”

- Philippine Revolution of 1896 began with later

became known as the “First Cry”

- first cry – initial move of the Filipinos to

begin the revolution for independence

- tearing up their cedulas or residence

certificate as a symbol of their subservience to
Spain
 - the event happened when Katipunan was exposed
on August 19, 1896, Spaniards began to crack down
on suspected rebels

- the Katipunan Supremo Andres Bonifacio proceed

to a designated meeting place outside the city to
decide on their next move

- the original plan was to start the revolution at the

end of August, but with the arrest of
Katipuneros, Bonifacio found it wise to begin
the revolt that day and attack Manila at the
end of the month
 - in 1911, a monument to the Heroes of 1896 was
erected in Balintawak where beginning in 1908, it
was believed that the first cry occurred there on
August 26

- however the date and place of the event were

later contradicted by different Katipunan
personalities who claimed that they were there at the
time

- in 1963, the National Historical Commission

(today’s National Historical Commission of the
Philippines)
- NHCP decided that following extensive research of
primary sources, the First Cry of Philippine
Revolution of 1896 happened on August 23, 1896 at
Pugad Lawin, now part of Project 8 in Quezon City

- the controversy, however, persist, with historians

and other personalities (especially the descendants
of the Katipunero witnesses) claiming that the
official date and place are wrong
Dr. Pio Valenzuela’s Account

- the official date and place of the first cry were

largely based on his account

- official of the Katipunan and a friend of Andres

Bonifacio, who was present during the event

- only doctor participating in the cry

- in his first version, he said that the Cry was in

Balintawak on Wednesday of August 26, 1896.
- later, he wrote his Memoirs of the Revolution and
claimed that the Cry took place at Pugad Lawin on
August 23, 1896

- his account was published as Memoirs of the

K.K.K. and the Philippine Revolution (Manila, n.d.)
Santiago Alvarez’s Account

- a well-known Katipunero from Cavite and a

son of Mariano Alvarez. Santiago is a relative
of Gregoria de Jesus

- unlike the author of the first version mentioned

(Valenzuela), Santiago Alvarez is not an
eyewitness of this event

- he was in Cavite at that time

- this version of him is not given of equal value as
compared with the other versions

- in 1927, a pre-World War II Tagalog weekly

magazine named Sampaguita began publishing
the Katipunan memoirs of Gen. Santiago V.
Alvarez
- appeared in 36 parts, was later published
as book titled “The Katipunan and the
Revolution” (QC:ADMU, 1992) with an
English translation by Paula Carolina
Malay

- The story of the first cry is found in

Chapter 6 of the memoir

- a merely narration of the events that

happened in Bahay Toro (now part of
Project 8, Q.C.) on August 24, 1896
Guillermo Masangkay’s Account

- a childhood friend and fellow Katipunero of Andres

Bonifacio

- in an interview with the Sunday Tribune magazine,

according to him, the first rally of the Philippine
Revolution happened on August 26, 1896 at
Balintawak

- the date and site presented were accepted by

the preliminary years of American government.
- In an interview published in the newspaper Bagong
Buhay on August 26, 1957, Masangkay changed
his narrative stating that the revolution began on
August 23, 1896

- but was later changed again when his descendant

and granddaughter, Soledad Buehler-Borromeo
cited sources, including Masangkay paper, that
original date was August 26
Gregoria de Jesus Account

- One of the participants in the drama of the

Philippine Revolution of 1896 was Gregoria De Jesus.
- “Lakambini of the Katipunan” and wife of Andres
Bonifacio,
- Custodian of secret documents, seal and weapons.

- Bonifacio and his men gathered in the hills of

Balintawak for the war of liberation. According to her
version of the first cry it occurred near Caloocan on
August 25, 1896.
With the accounts presented, there is a markable
disagreement to where and when the Cry happened.

Using primary and secondary sources, it happened in

four places: Balintawak, Kangkong, Pugad Lawin and
Bahay Toro, while the dates differ: 23, 24, 25, or 26th of
August 1986.

For the dates, this is due to Bonifacio’s movement from

different place from time to time in evading the Spanish
Government who were pursuing the Katipuneros. This
explains why there are several accounts of the Cry.
Question
1.According to the accounts, where and when did the first cry of revolution happen?
2.What is the significance of the tearing of the cedulas? What did the cedulas signify?
3.What are the similarities and differences among the three accounts?

Access and watch the YouTube video entitled “Xiao Time: Ag Unang Sigaw ng Himagsikan
sa Balintawak, Kalookan” posted by PTV channel. Then answer the following questions:

What does the video tell you about the many different accounts?
Is there a chance that all sources are valid ?
What other information on the revolution did you learn about the video?