ONE PAST, BUT MANY

HISTORIES;
Controversies And Conflicting Views
In Philippine History
EXECUTION OF
GOMBURZA AND
THE CAVITE
MUTINY
Lesson Objectives
At the end of the discussion, the students should be able to:
• Appraise the knowledge of the students with regards to the
controversial and conflicting views on the different historical
accounts.
• Demonstrate the ability to formulate arguments in favor or
against a particular issue using primary sources
• Recognize the multiplicity of interpretation that can be read
from a histroicla text
ENGAGE: Read in advance the attached PDF in our GCR about our
topic ONE PAST, MANY HISTORIES, and share your thoughts in the
comment section.
Two major events happened in
1872:
• 1872 Cavite Mutiny
• The martyrdom of the three martyr
priest.
• Cavite Mutiny (January 20, 1872)
• Brief uprising of 200 Filipino men comprised of
soldiers, laborers of the arsenal, and resident of
the Cavite headed by Sergeant Lamadrid rose up
in arms and assassinated the commanding officer
and Spanish officers in sight after their salaries
were reduced upon the order of Governor-
General Rafael de Izquierdo by subjecting them to
personal taxes, from which they were previously
exempt.
• The mutiny was unsuccessful, and government soldiers
executed many of the participants and began to crack
down on a burgeoning Philippines nationalist
movement. Many scholars believed that the Cavite
Mutiny of 1872 was the beginning of Filipino
nationalism that would eventually lead to the Philippine
Revolution of 1896.
Governor Rafael de Izquierdo
• He magnified the incident and used it as an excuse to clamp down
those Filipinos who had been calling for governmental reform. It
was believed by Governor Rafael Izquierdo that the Filipinos will
create its own government and allegedly, the three priests were
nominated as the leader of the planned government in order to
break free of the Spanish government.
• They mentioned that the mutiny was powered by a group of
native clergy due to the removal of privileges.
Governor Rafael de Izquierdo

• He made use of it to implicate the native clergy which was

then active in the call for secularization.
• Number of Filipino intellectuals were seized and accused of
complicity with the mutineers. After a brief trial, three
priest: Jose Burgos, Jacinto Zamora, and Mariano Gomez
were publicly executed.
Jose Montero y Vidal (Spanish historian)

He documented that the event is an attempt

of the Indios to overthrow the Spanish
government due to the removal of their
privileges such as non payment of tributes
and exemption from force labor.
Governor Rafael de Izquierdo and Jose
Montero y Vidal (Spanish historian)
• Izquierdo and Vidal scored out that the
main reasons of the revolution were
removal of their privileges such as non-
payment of tributes and exemption from
force labor.
Izquierdo and Vidal deemed that the event
was planned earlier and was thought of it
as a big conspiracy among educated
leaders, mestizos, native lawyers, residents
of Manila and Cavite, and the native clergy.
The alleged pre-concerted signal among
the conspirators of Manila and Cavite was
the firing of rockets from the walls of
intramuros.
 1. the incident was a mere mutiny by the
FILIPINO ACCOUNTS native Filipino soldiers and laborers of the
Cavite arsenal who turned out to be
dissatisfied with the abolition of their
privileges.
2.Madrid, Central government deprived
friars of the powers civil government and in
governing and handling universities, which
the general believed as a cover-up for the
organization of a political hub
Account of 3. Friars reported it to the Spanish
Trinidad Pardo de Tavera government as a broad conspiracy with the
object of abolishing Spanish sovereignty.
FILIPINO ACCOUNTS
1. In Madrid Spain, A committee
investigated about the injustices and
absuses of the Spanish friars.
2. Spanish Government ordered reforms
ex. A society of arts and trades in
Manila should be established, study of
direct tax-system.
3. Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo y
Gutiérrez wanted to continue their
Account of political dominance in Philippines.
Edmund Plauchut
 Intra-clergy Conflict
GOMBURZA or the three priests were not involved in
the mutiny; they hardly even knew each other.
What they were, however, were prominent figures
in the secularization movement, which wanted to
take Church power away from the colonial Spanish
and give native Filipinos increased roles in Church
affairs.
Most important, it gave the Church amazing
economic power. Churches reaped massive
profits in the form of tithes from church-
goers and by exploiting farmers and the
land they tilled. Being assigned to a “good”
church like the Antipolo Shrine or Quiapo
meant you’d be set for life.
As the result:
• Major instigators including Sergeant Lamadrid were
killed in the battle.
• Patriots like Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Antonio Ma.
Regidor, Jose and Pio Basa and other native lawyers
(Abogadillos) were suspended by the Audencia (high
court) from the practice of law, arrested, and were
sentenced with life imprisonment at the Marianas
Island.
As the result:
• GOMBURZA were tried in the court-martial and were
sentenced to death.
• Twenty years later, during the 1890s, a new crop
of illustrados would take inspiration from the deaths of
Gomburza. One of them, a man named Jose Rizal,
would write his novel, Noli Me Tangere, and dedicate it
to the trio.
• The death of Gomburza awakened strong spirits of
anger and resentment among the Filipinos.
• They grilled Spanish authorities and demanded
reforms due to the prejudicial governance of the
Spanish Authorities.
• The martyrdom of the three priests apparently
helped to inspire the creation of the Propaganda
Movement which targeted to seek modifications
and inform the Spain colonial authorities of the
abuses they have cause to Filipinos.
Filipinos just wanted some of their rights such as right not to
fair taxes, exemption to labor Force, to create Secular
Churches ,establish a school. However, Political Friars in the
Philippines use the simple Cavite Mutiny referred it as
powerful revolution and reported it to Madrid Spain that
Filipino wanted total overthrowing of Spanish Government.
Continued Political abuses and injustices of Spanish Friars in
the Philippines, the death of GOMBURZA and DR. JOSE P.
RIZAL lead to the 1896 Philippine Revolution.
 THE UNVARYING TRUTHS
• Dissatisfaction among the workers of the arsenal and the
members of the native army after the cancelation of the
privileges;
• Gen. Izquierdo’s rigid and strict policies;
• The Central Government’s failure to conduct an investigation on
what truly transpired and relied only on the reports made
mainly by Gen. Izquierdo;
• The Central Government of Spain’s decision to deprive the friars
of the power to intervene in government affairs as well as in the
direction and management of schools.
• The Filipino clergy members actively participated in the
secularization movement;
• Filipinos were active participants, and responded to
what they deemed as injustices; and
• 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.
“May we not forget those who fell
during the night”

- Elias of Noli me Tangere

In continuation of our topic “One Past, but
many Histories”, kindly access the other
PPT in our GCR about the conflicting
views about the “SITE OF THE FIRST
MASS”
Source: 

https://nhcp.gov.ph/the-two-faces-of-the-1872-cavite-mutiny/