+The Philippine Situation before the
American Conquest+
It is difficult to understand the situation existing in the Philippines
when the first gun was fired in Manila Bay without first turning back
the pages of history for a brief period. Much can be conveyed to the
reader, however, in explaining the grievances of many decades against
the colonial government, by saying that the Spanish system in the
islands was essentially the same as that followed in her South American
possessions, including the island of Cuba. What differences there may
have existed were purely of degree,—the atrocities committed in the
Oriental colony being the worse[1]. In the clerical predominance, in
the power of the Church, in the baseness of its industrial and economic
organization and the shallowness of the governmental machinery in every
branch,—the situation in the Philippines was the exact replica of that
found in Cuba.
Prior to 1872, some thirty-four major and minor revolts against the
foreign authority had already taken place in different localities of
the archipelago. Most of them were short-lived, and practically all
had been suppressed by the better-trained Spanish regulars, though not
without much bloodshed and extreme cruelties. It was between the years
1868-72, however, that the new era in the Philippines really began.
It was then that the storm broke as a result of three important and
closely allied events occurring almost together.
The first was the opening of the Suez canal which brought the Islands
closer to Europe. This bond was supplemented later by the laying of the
commercial cables, so that the Philippines learned to think with the
rest of the world. The proverbial Oriental content with despotism now
gave way to the yearning for self-expression, for nationalism, and for
freedom.
The second was the continuation, but in a more flagrant form, of racial
discrimination between the Spanish born whites and the native Malays.
This was specially manifested by the removal of Filipino priests from
their parishes to make way for the Spanish Recollets. The indignation
that swept the Filipino laymen at this act which they considered
unjustified is difficult to measure. But it marked the day when they
began to harbor thoughts against the Spaniards which they dared not
speak aloud.
The third event which wrought considerable changes in the Islands was
the founding of the short-lived Republic in Spain, for it was between
these years that Queen Isabella was overthrown and the Spanish radicals
gained the ascendancy. The movement was short-lived, but during that
brief period many radical and progressive officials had come to Manila
and planted in the minds of the natives some new and startling ideas
about democracy, equality and practical self-government. Furthermore,
these newly arrived officials bluntly and openly pointed out the
shortcomings and autocracy of the clergy who, it must be remembered,
were the most hated and feared representatives of Spain[2].
It is not surprising, then, that all the ancient grievances of the past
now received an added airing. In the face of it, however, the friars
kept up their courage and when the downfall of the Spanish liberals
again placed them in a position where they could wreak vengeance, they
immediately did so. The wholesale arrests, the garrotings, the cruel
punishments inflicted after the most flagrant of mock trials have been
recounted too often to be repeated here. Suffice it to say that the
most unspeakable instruments of torture employed in the days of the
Inquisition were revived and used. Wholesale deportations followed
to the Carolines, to Jolo, Balabac, Ceuta, Fernando Po, the Ladrone
Islands, and even to far away Africa. Many men, members of wealthy
Filipino families, succeeded in escaping to Europe where they could air
their pleas for better government with safety.
There were also wholesale executions, and much innocent blood was
sacrificed. Among the victims of this sad episode were three beloved
Filipino priests, one of whom was so old and so feeble that he was
carried to the scaffold. The evidence of mutiny against them all was so
doubtful that the Roman Catholic Church stubbornly refused to degrade
them. The Archbishop was so thoroughly convinced of their innocence
that he allowed them to wear their priestly robes to the gallows.
This policy of wanton cruelty, instead of inspiring the natives with
fear, drew them together. A new nation was here conceived, and the time
came when the Filipinos, instead of looking towards Spain as the land
to which they owed allegiance, turned to the Philippines as the true
father-land. All this occurred in 1872.
In the years that followed the movement grew. The native exiles living
in Spain and other continental countries, drawn together by a common
grievance and a common desire to better the fate of their countrymen,
founded societies and established newspapers in which they recounted
their wrongs and asked for reforms. Many of them were joined by
their sons who came for their education, but felt that they were also
charged with a sacred mission for the good of their country as well as
of Spain. Many writings of these men were secretly circulated in the
Philippines where they had a considerable influence. The most important
was undoubtedly a novel written by Dr. Jose Rizal, a native Filipino
then studying in the University of Heidelberg. _Noli me Tangere_ it was
called and it depicted the evils of the friar system in the Islands
and the injustice that resulted from it. This novel which was smuggled
into the Islands became the _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_ of the movement, and
Rizal rose to the prominence which he richly deserved. The book was,
of course, condemned by the Spanish officials and native houses were
searched in the hope of locating copies and punishing their owners. Yet
most of the available copies circulated secretly for years: truly a
remarkable proof of Filipino unity.
In 1892, fully knowing the danger which a visit to the Islands meant,
the gentle idealist returned to the Philippines. Shortly after his
arrival he formed a “Philippine League.” The predominating idea of this
society was of the peaceful type, for it sought merely educational,
moral and economic progress. In fact, it was too mild a plan for many
Filipinos. Nevertheless, the Spaniards seized the only Filipino leader
who, more than any other malcontent, stood for peace and cooperation
with the Spanish government and exiled him to the southern island
of Mindanao. It was sheer blundering stupidity, for by doing it
they raised the already venerated leader to a pinnacle difficult to
exaggerate[3].
With Rizal as an exile in distant Mindanao, the other native leaders
now abandoned all thought of securing reform through peaceful methods.
They turned to direct action as the last resort. A small secret society
under the leadership of Andres Bonifacio was formed, and it soon became
the most powerful insurrectionary body in the Islands. It was called
the “Katipunan,” and its doors were opened to both rich and poor alike.
To the many thousands of able-bodied Filipinos who joined it, the
society was almost like a new religion. It is worth while to examine
the ideals taught to the Neophytes. Here were some of them:
All men are equal, regardless of the color of their skin.
The life which is not consecrated to the cause of justice is a tree
without shade, even though it may not have a poisonous root.
Good practices solely for personal benefit, and not from a desire
to do good, are worthless.
The true holiness is charity, love for others, and adjusting one’s
acts according to the good and the reasonable.
One may have more than another in riches, wisdom or beauty but in
manhood all are equal.
Always preserve a high sense of honor, for the word of the
honorable man is sacred.
Waste not time; riches lost may be recovered, but time, once lost,
never returns.
Defend the weak, and fight the oppressor.
In Life’s thorny road, the man is the guide of his wife and
children, and if he teaches them evil, evil will they practice.
The greatest man is not the king nor he with a high bridged nose,
nor white skin, nor the priest who represents God; but he is really
noble who, born in the forest, possesses no language save his
native tongue, and yet is moderate in speech and careful to uphold
his dignity and his honor. This man is a patriot and knows how to
defend his country.
When this country is radiant with the light of liberty and we
are all united as brothers, then will the pains of the past be
rewarded[4].
Despite the strict oaths of secrecy taken by its members, however, the
Spanish authorities got wind of the society. The report was spread
that the Katipunan meant to massacre the entire population. The friars
in their delirious anxiety could now do but one thing—ask the civil
authorities for more power and greater activity by the police with the
consequent increase of arrests. In order to gain information from the
suspected, the most horrible methods of torture were again employed.
Men were hung up by their thumbs, their bones were crushed,—too often
they were mutilated for life.
It was just about this time that Dr. Rizal, becoming dissatisfied
with the violent methods planned by the revolutionists, petitioned
the Spanish government that he be sent to the fever-stricken camps of
Cuba where he might serve in Her Majesty’s army as a physician. The
Governor-General granted Rizal’s petition. Before he reached Manila,
however, the rebellion had begun. Nevertheless he was allowed to
continue his journey to Spain where he planned to join the army for
Cuba.
But as if the enmity of the friars could not otherwise be appeased,
Rizal was detained when he reached Suez, arrested and brought back to
Manila. A new Governor-General, chosen by the friars, now sealed his
fate. Following another mock trial at which the Filipino martyr was not
even allowed to choose his counsel, he was led to his execution and in
the presence of a howling, cheering Spanish crowd killed by a volley.
There were comparatively few Filipinos present. Most of them were in
their homes, praying for the man about to be sacrificed on the altar of
freedom.
The volley of musketry which rang out that early December morning in
1896 sealed the fate of Spain forever in the Philippines. The nation
which had been conceived in 1872 was now born. The circumstances of
Rizal’s death were so dramatic, the ideals for which he labored so
noble, and his innocence of complicity in the existing revolution so
clearly manifest, that the native multitudes were inspired as if by a
second crucifixion.
One can only wonder that the final outbreak did not occur sooner. Two
months before Rizal’s execution, for example, the Spaniards caused the
arrest of numerous Filipinos in Vigan, a province which up to that
time had not revolted. These men were shipped to Manila in the holds
of vessels like pieces of merchandise, their hands and feet being tied
securely. On arrival at the capital the victims were hauled from their
dingy hole by derricks and dumped into a filthy crowded jail where many
died of suffocation. In other parts of the archipelago, this process
of extermination continued. Day after day, night after night, men and
women were dragged out of their homes and sent to prison for inspection.
This ghastly business could not continue forever, and even the home
government awoke in time to recall Governor Poltaveja and send in his
place a more peaceful administrator, General Primo de Rivera. Governor
Rivera wanted peace, and he immediately offered an amnesty to all
who would lay down their arms within a specified time. The Filipino
leaders, conscious of their inability to cope effectively with the
Crown forces, which had recently been reenforced, and being desirous of
assuring the welfare of their country, thereupon issued a proclamation
in which they stated the conditions under which they would agree to lay
down their arms. This document must be examined with care. It demanded:
1. Expulsion of the friars.
2. Parliamentary representation, freedom of the press, religious
toleration, administrative and economic autonomy.
3. Equal pay and equal treatment for Spanish and insular civil officers.
4. Restoration of all friar lands to their original owners.
5. No more banishments.
6. Legal equality for all classes.
The Spanish governor promised to fulfill all these requests and as
a further guarantee of his good faith offered to pay the leaders of
the Katipunan who were to be banished to a foreign land the sum of
$400,000.00. After negotiations which lasted several months, the
so-called “Pact of Biac-na-bato” was signed, and Aguinaldo with
thirty-four other leaders sailed for Hongkong. “No definite time was
fixed during which these men were to remain away from the Philippines;
and if the promises made by Spain were not fulfilled they had the
right to return”[5]. The old slander that Aguinaldo sold out the
revolutionary movement for a bribe has been so thoroughly exploded by
the best of authorities, that it requires uncommon audacity to repeat
it[6].
The fact was, however, that Governor Rivera was trying to steer a
middle course. He issued a scathing denunciation of the friars,
but failed to recommend their removal. It did not take long for
the Filipinos to realize that none of the expected reforms were
forthcoming. New insurrections immediately broke out in different
sections of the archipelago. In the island of Cebu, 400 miles south of
Manila, the rebels raided the city and besieged the Spanish forces in
their citadel. In northern Luzon the revolt quickly gained impetus. All
this occurred, of course, in the absence of their recognized leader,
Aguinaldo[7].
Conditions had reached such an acute state on February 22, 1898,
forty-nine days before the United States declared war on Spain, that
the American consul, Williams, stationed in Manila, sent the following
significant dispatch to the State Department in Washington:
Conditions here and in Cuba are practically alike. War exists; and
battles are of almost daily occurrence. Prisoners are brought
here and shot without trial, and Manila is under martial law. The
Crown forces have been unable to dislodge a rebel army within ten
miles of Manila, and last Saturday, February 19, a battle was
there fought. A republic is organized here as in Cuba. Insurgents
are being armed and drilled, are rapidly increasing in number and
efficiency, and all agree that a general uprising will come as
soon as the Governor-General embarks for Spain, which is fixed for
March[8].
Into this turbulent arena of war and organized revolt Admiral Dewey
sailed with his squadron, and with a few well-directed shots destroyed
the Spanish fleet without the loss of a single life. The wires of the
world vibrated with the startling news of his victory and the conquest
of the archipelago had begun.
REFERENCES FOR CHAPTER II
[1] A. G. Keller, _Colonization_, p. 358.
[2] Blair and Robertson, vol. lii, p. 118.
[3] Foreman, _The Philippine Islands_, p. 533.
Austin Craig, _Life of Rizal_.
C. E. Russell, _The Hero of the Filipinos_.
[4] F. D. Laubach, _The People of the Philippine Islands_, p. 104.
[5] Findings of the Report of Schurman Commission, vol. i, p. 171.
[6] See 55th Cong., 3d Sess., S. D. 62, pt. 1, p. 421.
Aguinaldo’s bribery was exploded by Governor Rivera himself in
the Spanish Senate on June 11, 1898, when he said that
Aguinaldo undertook to submit if the Spanish government would
provide for the widows and orphans of the insurgents. Rivera
then added that the other promises he had made, he thought
later not expedient to keep. (Reference to this in Cong. Rec.,
vol. 56th Cong., 1st Sess., pt. 2, p. 1334. Proceedings of
Senate.)
[7] Report of American Consul General Williams, Sen. Doc., No.
62, 55th Cong., 3d Sess., p. 221.
[8] Sen. Doc., No. 62 (1898), p. 319.