 CAVITE MUTINY

EXECUTION OF GOMBURZA
INITIAL REFORMS DEMANDED
 Through the pulpit and press, Fr. Pedro Pelaez exposed and criticized rampant racial
discrimination against the Filipino clergy.
 He denounced the Spanish ecclesiastical authorities for denying the filipino clergy the right to
administer Filipino parishes and to hold positions in the hierarchy
 He appealed and submitted recommendations to Queen Isabella II of Spain for clerical
equality and dispatched articles expounding his crusade to education in the Philippines that
were later embodied in the Educational Reform Decree of 1863
 Other clamors for reform came from Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar, Dr.Gregorio Sanciangco,
and Fr. Jose Burgos.
 Balagtas subtly portrayed the “social cancer” of his times and earned the distinction of being
first Filipino artist with a social conscience
 Dr. Sanciangco wrote articles for La Discussion of Madrid in defense of the Filipinos against
malicious slanders.
 In El Progreso de Filipinas, Sanciangco analyzed the economic and political developments in the
Philippines under Spain.
 Fr. Jose Burgos, continued the work of Fr. Pelaez, his mentor.
 He worked for clerical equality and for the secularization of the parishes.
 During the heated controversy over the secularization of parishes, he published anonymalously
manifesto to the Spanish people over secularization of parishes
 He appealed that the brilliant Filipino youth be given a chance to make good and show their worth
 Gov. Gen. Carlos Ma.dela Torre called him a great Filipino, the greatest perhaps of his race.
 The conservative Spanish elements of the country branded him a filibustero.
 These conditions and developments aggravated social discontent and political insecurity.
 Gov. Manuel Pavia officially communicated to Madrid the urgent for reforms.
 Gov. dela Torre, warned Spain about increasing anti –Spanish feelings in the island
 Gov.Rafael de Izquierdo, blamed higher education as the motivating factor for all these agitations.
 He sought to prohibit any further ordination of Filipino priests and suggested that all native troops be
replaced by Spanish soldiers.
 The provisional government appointed Carlos Ma. dela Torre as governor general of the Philippines
 His liberal tendencies encouraged educated Filipinos to organize communities that discussed and
campaigned for political reforms and secularization of parishes
 Among the most active organizers were priests and laymen– Frs. Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomes, and
Jacinto Zamora; Augusto Mendoza, Jose Ma. Basa , Antonio Ma. Regidor, and Joaquin Pardo de
Tavera
 Juventud Escolar Liberal (Liberal Young Students), a patriotic society with Felipe Buencamino,
Paciano Rizal and Gregorio Sanciangco among it’s active members.
 THE CAVITE MUTINY

 20 January1872
 Forty men of the marine infantry and 22 of the artillery attacked and captured Fort San Felipe in
Cavite
 150 native soldiers and workers at the arsenal joined the mutineers
 Resented the Governor’s policy of curtailing their privileges of exemption from performing forced
labor and paying heavy tributes.
 Sergeant Fernando La Madrid led the mutiny
 Had hope for support from the seventh infantry guarding Cavite and from symphatizers from Manila
 Gov. Gen de Izquierdo sent reinforcements to Cavite
 The struggle was one sided but in the exchange of fire, the mutineers admirably showed their
fighting spirit
 Without food and support, the mutineers had to surrender
THE EXECUTION OF GOMBURZA
 FR. MARIANO GOMES

 Born on August 2,1799 in Santa Cruz, Manila

 One of the triumvirate priests known in Philippine history as
GOMBURZA
 Executed on February 17, 1872 at Bagumbayan (Luneta) by Spanish
colonial authorities on charges of subversion arising from the 1872
Cavite mutiny.
 Gomes, then aged 25, and designated head priest of Bacoor, Cavite,
fought for the Filipino priests' rights against abuses, getting the ire of
Spanish friars who eventually ordered his arrest and incarceration.
 He was thrown in jail along with Fr. Burgos, Fr. Zamora, Joaquin
Pardo de Tavera and Maximo Paterno. The priests' subsequent deaths
sparked the Philippine revolution.
 Before he was executed, Fr. Gomes published the newspaper "La
Verdad", or The Truth. The paper served as the voice of the Filipino
propagandists against the Spanish colonizers.
 Died on February 17, 1872
 FR. JOSE BURGOS

 Born on February 9, 1837 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur

 Don José Tiburcio Burgos, and a Filipino mestiza mother named Florencia
García
 He obtained three undergraduate degrees with honors, two master's degrees
and two doctorate degrees from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and from
the University of Santo Tomas. He conducted his first mass in Intramuros.
 Burgos' nationalist views, codified in editorial essays, championing political
and ecclesiastic reforms in favor of empowering more native clergymen,
made him a target of opposition to civil authorities.
 In 1864, an anonymous pamphlet was published in Manila, criticizing the
prejudice in the Church, and providing rebuttals against several canards
against the native clergy..
 In 1869, Felipé Buencamino, a young student and an acquaintance of
Burgos, was charged with spreading nationalist propaganda in the form of
leaflets scattered throughout his school's campus, demanding academic
freedom.
 By this time, Burgos had established a reputation as a defender of the native
clergy. His debates over the rights of native priests had extended to include
questions of race and nationalism. This reputation would eventually cause
him to be implicated in a mutiny in Cavite.
FR. JACINTO ZAMORA
 Born on August 14, 1835 to Venancio Zamora and Hilaria del Rosario
 Began his early education in Pandacan and later at the Colegio de San
Juan de Letran.
 He was classified as a Filipino mestizo under the Spanish caste system
prevailing at that time.
 He later transferred to the University of Santo Tomas after finishing his
Bachiller en Artes.
 Zamora graduated on March 16, 1858 with the degree of Bachelor of
Canon and Civil Laws. He became a student preparing for the
priesthood in the Seminary of Manila.
 After being ordained, Zamora handled parishes in Marikina, Pasig, and
Batangas. He was also assigned to manage the Manila Cathedral on 3
December 1864.
 Zamora had a habit of playing cards after saying Mass
 Once, he received an invitation stating that his friend had "Powder and
Munitions“
 Died on February 17, 1872
 The mutiny was magnified by the Spanish authorities into a rebellion
 The arrest of the liberal intellectuals was immediately ordered
 Among those arrested were Fathers Gomes, Burgos, Zamora, Augustin Mendoza, Mariano Lopez,
and Feliciano Lopez
 Among the civilians arrested were Dr. Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Antonio Ma. Regidor, Jose Ma.
Basa, and Enrique Paraiso
 71 prisoners were brought to Manila by the troops to Cavite
 All prisoners—priests, lawyers, businessmen, soldiers—were thrown into a common prison cell to
await their fate
 All were given brief “trials” and summary punishments
 The members of the defense panel were given 24 hrs of debate
 After 8 hrs of debate, the military court sentenced the three priests to die by garrote
 The rest of the accused were either exiled to the Marianas or were sentenced to imprisonment with
hard labor of 8-10 years
 Historians consider the execution of Frs. Gomes, Burgos, and Zamora as the rallying point of
Filipino nationalism that transformed latent nationalism into militant nationalism.