Top 10 Things To Know About The Philippines Revolution

Philippines Revolution. Photo by Desconocido. Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Things to Know About the Philippines Revolution

In 1898, the Philippines attempted to evict the Spaniards to get free from colonial rule after 300 years of being colonized.  The Philippines revolution was a rebellion movement that was started in 1896 by the people of the Philippines to protest against the harsh colonial rule of the Spanish. The revolution was a route to freedom and it exposed the weak administration of the Spanish rule.  The Americans refused to include the people of the Philippines in the negotiation that was aimed at deciding the future of the Philippines. Emilio Aguinaldo, a Philippine nationalist led the revolution that plunged the nation into a war with Spain, and later on into a war with the United States of America. However, the revolution failed in evicting the people of Spain from the island but exposed their weaknesses.

Below are the top ten things to know about the Philippines Revolution.

1. Who was the Initiator of the Revolution?

Photo by US Army Signal Corps. Wikimedia Commons

The Philippines revolution was initiated by a secret organization called the Katipunan, whose supreme leader was Andres Bonifacio. The organization’s supreme leader had learned from other revolutionists such as Doctor Jose Rizal who was the leader of La Liga Filipina, a movement that sought to set the people of the Philippines free from colonial oppression. However, Rizal was arrested and deported to his home country, Dapitan leading to the dissolution of the La Liga Filipina revolution. After Rizal was arrested, the news reached Bonifacio who, in return led to the formation of another revolution, the Katipunan, which attracted people from all social classes. Therefore Bonifacio founded the Katipunan organization which initiated the Philippine revolution.

2. Conflicts Arose within the Revolution

As the revolution continued, there were disagreements within the Katipunan organization which led to unending misunderstandings and conflicts. The Katipuneros began fighting each other weakening the unity that the organization had enjoyed in the early years. The rivalry in the organization was between the organization leaders, the commanders, and the territories. The rift continued and became strong until the organization was split into two sections that were named Magdiwang and Magdalo. The two were headed by Aguinaldo and Bonifacio. The members were also divided as some followed the commands of one leader while the other followed the other. However, the conflicts were resolved by having a vote where leaders were chosen. Members voted for Aguinaldo as the president while Bonifacio was given the title of director.

3. Revolts during the Philippines Revolution

Katipunan supreme leader Andrés Bonifacio. Photo by Chofre y Cia. Wikimedia Commons

The founding of the Katipunan created tension in the Spanish administration as the colonizers felt threatened. The Spanish leaders ordered a search and immediately arresting of members of the rebel group. The Katipunan leaders had planned a protest across the country. They targeted the Spanish government offices where they pulled down structures and destroyed documents including tax certificates belonging to the Spanish authorities. The rebellion failed because the Spanish army was heavily armed and they stopped the rebellion by arresting several members. Bonifacio continued with a series of revolts despite previously losing. He planned for several attacks in manila, San Juan, and other surrounding provinces. The revolution became stronger when they won the first battle when Aguinaldo and Mariano Alvarez conquered the Spanish authorities in Cavite.

4. How did the Original idea leading to the Revolution Come About?

According to history, the Philippines had the original idea of a revolution after building the Suez Canal in 1869. The canal was a bridge between the Philippines island and Europe and therefore exposed the people of the Philippines to European culture and history. The exposure to freedom and self-governance intrigued the Philippines to question the Spanish governance in the Philippines. The Europeans had freedom of speech and local leadership that drove the nation towards achieving the government agenda. The Philippines conceived the ideas and created rebel groups that led to a revolution that started in 1972. They launched the revolution movement after leading a protest in the province of Cavite.

5. Rival government in the revolution

Philippines Revolution. Photo by Desconocido. Wikimedia Commons

After the election of leaders in the revolution and the selection of Aguinaldo as the president, Bonifacio was not impressed despite being offered the position of director. Bonifacio, therefore, started his government in Cavanite where he was recognized by his followers as the leader of a newly founded government. He planned to overthrow Aguinaldo and take over the presidency in the revolution. However, Aguinaldo as the president ordered the arrest of Bonifacio and his followers. Bonifacio was arrested and charged with treason for trying to overthrow the seating government. He was sentenced to death by the war council and murdered in the city of Maragondon.

6. Americans’ arrival during the Revolution

The Philippine revolution took a different route in 1898 when the united states of America became part of the war. The war between America and Spain fuelled the revolution indirectly when America sunk the Spanish ships. The U.S. government declared war against Spain creating room for the Philippines to thrive. While Spanish, the American war heated up, the Philippines found an escape route from the harsh Spanish colonial rule. The revolution leader Aguinaldo became friends with the American authorities as he resolved to cooperate with the American government against the Spanish. The American support against the Spanish created new energy in the revolution as their exiled leaders such as Bonifacio returned home to fight for freedom.

7. Declaration of the Philippines as an Independent State

After the return of the revolution leaders from exile, the Philippine revolution became stronger as they launched more attacks on the Spanish authorities. The revolutionists had confidence in attacking the colonizers because they had backup from the American government. The American government had provided weapons and manpower for the Philippines. In June 1898, the Philippines was declared a free and independent state by the revolution president Aguinaldo. The declaration led to the emergence of a new state called the Philip[pine Republic. The national flag of the Philippines was first raised after the declaration and the drafted national anthem was sung by the people of the Philippines. The newly founded nation was free from the oppressive rule of the Spanish authorities.

8. Partial Resolution or Biak Na Bato

Pact of Biak-na-Bato. Author is unknown. Wikimedia Commons

The Philippine revolution occurred in phases and the first period of the revolution concluded with a partial solution to the underlying problem. The Filipino and Spanish authorities reached an agreement to temporarily end the revolution through the truce. The hostilities between the two sides were unending and many casualties were witnessed every day. The partial resolution was for the revolution led to accept going to exile to calm down the followers from fighting. The destination for the exile was Hong Kong as Aguinaldo and his followers were paid more than four hundred thousand American dollars. However, the solution was temporary as the truce was not agreed upon in good faith and the hostilities stopped temporarily.

9. How was Religion used in the Revolution?

The Philippine revolution had different causes such as religion when studied from a different point of view. The revolution by secret group, the Katipunan, and other groups used Christianity to accelerate the revolution. The Katipunan leaders used religious texts and photos from the bible teachings to convince people from low class to join the revolution and fight for freedom. The leaders showed people images of the story of the fall of man from the Garden of Eden which led to human suffering. Katipunan leaders suggested that the revolution was a form of liberation that would set people free from suffering. As a result, many people from the low middle and low classes joined the revolution.

10. The Propaganda Movement

After several unsuccessful revolts across the nation, the Spanish colonial authorities launched several arrests and torture of the rebels. Many arrested Filipino managed to escape and opted to flee the country. They however met with several other people from the Philippines in the Diaspora and started a propaganda movement. The movement aimed to criticize the harsh rule of the Spanish authorities in the Philippines. Filipino from abroad played a major role in ensuring the Spanish left Philippines as an independent state. The movement hoped to bring changes in the country as they hoped the Spanish authorities would change their political, social, and economic selfishness and concentrate on developing the country. However, the propaganda movement failed to attain its goals as its proposed reforms were denied by the Spanish authorities.