The Cavite

Mutiny of 1872
 Background of the Issue
In 1872, a mutiny was executed by Filipinos against the
Spanish friars which occurred in San Felipe Fort, Cavite.
Three Filipino Priests were excuted:
1. Mariano Gomez
2. Jose Burgos
3. Jacinto Zamora

There are 2 different versions and 3 written accounts

regarding the mutiny incident.
 The first was thought to be a planned conspiracy against
the spanish regime and the second as a response to injustice
done to the Filipinos at that time .

The Cavite Mutiny is an important event in the history

because its occurrence led to the execution of the three
martyr Filipino catholic priest . The three priest were
executed by the spanish colonial authorities on charges
subversion arising from the 1872 Cavite Mutiny .
 Jose Rizal even dedicated his second novel entitled El
Felibustirismo , to the martyrs. In the 19th century , many
Filipinos became priest . But they were not given their own
parishes because of the racial prejudice of the Spanish
priest .

So, many Filipino priest campaigned for reforms in the

Catholic Church, and this was called " secularization
controversy ".
 It was led by Fathers Pedro Pelaez , Jose Burgos ,
Mariano Gomez, Jacinto Zamora and others. Due to
oppression to the Filipinos by the new governor general ,
Rafael de Izquerdo , some Filipino soldiers and workers at
the Cavite arsenal mutinied on the night of February 20,
1872 wherein they killed the Spanish officers and captured
the fort . The group was, howerver , defeated the
following day by the Spanish troops .
 Many mutineers were killed and some patriotic Filipinos
were arrested and tried including the Filipino martyr priest
because of their known fight on reforms inside the Catholic
Church. The accussation againts them was treason to Spain
and were killed by strangulation at the garrote in Luneta.
This execution has inspired the many Filipinos to fight
againts the colonizers.
 Spanish Version

Jose Montero y Vidal

Spanish Historian & Government Official residing in Manila during the Cavite
Mutiny
His book Historia General de Filipinas was produced in Madrid in 1895
 Official Report

Rafael Izquierdo
The Governor General during the Cavite Mutiny
His report was sent to the Central Government in Madrid, Spain
 Jose Montero y Vidal, a prolific Spanish historian
documented the event and highlighted it is an attempt of
the Indios to over throw the Spanish government in the
Philippines. Meanwhile , Gov. Gen. Rafael Izquerdo's
official report magnified the event and made used of it to
implicate the native clergy , which was then active to call
for secularization.
The two accounts complimented and corroborated with
one another , only that the general's report was more
spiteful. Both Montero and Izquerdo scored out that the
abolition of previleges enjoyed by the workers of Cavite
arsenal such as non-payment of tributes and exemption
from force labor were enumerated by them including the
Spanish Revolution which overthow the secular throne ,
dirty propahandas proliferated by unrestrained press,
democratic , liberal and republican books and pamphlets
reaching
 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 propagandas 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 will not fail because God is
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 to 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.
 Filipino Version

Pardo de Tavera
Filipino Scholar, Scientist, Historical Researcher
Census of the Philippine Islands, 1903
B. 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
Sixth, Filipinos during the time were active participants, and
responded to wh
elings at 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
 • GomBurZa fathers were executed by
strangulation.
• Others were also executed and life
imprisoned.
After the Mutiny

What happened after the

Mutiny?

Mariano Gomez Jose Burgos Jacinto Zamora