Filipino Nationalism

Outline in HistoryCAPUSO, Czarilyn A. | BBA MM 3-3

I. Development of Filipino Nationalism

A. Cavite Mutiny

- The Cavite Mutiny of 1872 was an uprising of military personnel of Fort San

Felipe, the Spanish arsenal in Cavite, Philippines on January 20, 1872.

- Around 200 soldiers and laborers rose up in the belief that it would elevate to a

national uprising.

- The mutiny was unsuccessful, and government soldiers executed many of the

participants and began to crack down on a burgeoning nationalist movement

- Many scholars believe that the Cavite Mutiny of 1872 was the beginning of

Filipino nationalism that would eventually lead to the Philippine Revolution of

1896.

- The primary cause of the mutiny is believed to be an order from Governor-

General Rafael de Izquierdo to subject the soldiers of the Engineering and

Artillery Corps to personal taxes, from which they were previously exempt.

- The taxes required them to pay a monetary sum as well as to perform forced

labor called, "polo y servicio."

- The mutiny was sparked on January 20, when the laborers received their pay

and realized the taxes as well as the falla, the fine one paid to be exempt from

forced labor, had been deducted from their salaries.

B. Secularization of Priests

- Two kinds of priests served the Catholic Church in the Philippines.

- These were the regulars and the seculars.


- Regular priests belonged to religious orders. Their main task was to spread

Christianity. Examples were the Franciscans, Recollects, Spanish church in

Cavite circa 1899Dominicans, and Augustinians.

- Secular priests did not belong to any religious order. They were trained

specifically to run the parishes and were under the supervision of the bishops.

- Conflict began when the bishops insisted on visiting the parishes that were

being run by regular priests.

- It was their duty, they argued, to check on the administration of these parishes.

But the regular priests refused these visits, saying that they were not under the

bishop’s jurisdiction. They threatened to abandon their parishes if the bishops

persisted.

- In 1774, Archbishop Basilio Santa Justa decided to uphold the diocese’s

authority over the parishes and accepted the resignations of the regular priests/

- He assigned secular priests to take their place. Since there were not enough

seculars to fill all the vacancies the Archbishop hastened the ordination of

Filipino seculars.

- A royal decree was also issued on November 9, 1774, which provided for the

secularization of all parishes or the transfer of parochial administration from the

regular friars to the secular priests.

- The regulars resented the move because they considered the Filipinos unfit for

the priesthood.

- Among other reasons they cited the Filipinos’ brown skin, lack of education, and

inadequate experience.


- The controversy became more intense when the Jesuits returned to the

Philippines. They had been exiled from the country because of certain policies of

the order that the Spanish authorities did not like.

- The issue soon took on a racial slant.

- The Spaniards were clearly favouring their own regular priest over Filipino

priests.

- Monsignor Pedro Pelaez, an ecclesiastical governor of the Church, sided with

the Filipinos.

- Unfortunately, he died in an earthquake that destroyed the Manila Cathedral in

1863.

- After his death, other priests took his place in fighting for the secularization

movement.

- Among them were Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora.

C. Trial of Gomburza

- In February 17, 1872, Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jocinto Zamora

(Gomburza), all Filipino priest, was executed by the Spanish colonizers on

charges of subversion.

- The charges against Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora was their alleged

complicity in the uprising of workers at the Cavite Naval Yard.

- The death of Gomburza awakened strong feelings of anger and resentment

among the Filipinos.

- They questioned Spanish authorities and demanded reforms.


- The martyrdom of the three priests apparently helped to inspire the

organization of the Propaganda Movement, which aimed to seek reforms and

inform Spain of the abuses of its colonial government.

D. The Propaganda Movement

- Members of the Propaganda Movement were called propagandists or

reformists. They worked inside and outside the Philippines. Their objectives

were to seek:

o Recognition of the Philippines as a province of Spain

o Equal status for both Filipinos and Spaniards

o Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes

o Secularization of Philippine parishes.

o Recognition of human rights

- The Propaganda Movement never asked for Philippine independence because

its members believed that once Spain realized the pitiful state of the country,

the Spaniards would implement the changes the Filipinos were seeking.

- The Propagandists and their known works

o Jose Rizal, Noli Me Tangere & El Filibusterismo

o Graciano Lopez Jaena, "Fray Botod," "Esperanza," and "La Hija del

Fraile,"

o Marcelo H. del Pilar, "Caiingat Cayo", "Dasalan at Tocsohan," and "Ang

Sampung Kautusan ng mga Prayle"


E. La Liga Filipina

- In 1892, Jose Rizal (full name: Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal y Alonzo) returned to the

Philippines and proposed the establishment of a civic organization called “La Liga

Filipina.”

- On July 3, 1892, the following were elected as its officers: Ambrosio Salvador,

president: Agustin dela Rosa, fiscal; Bonifacio Arevalo, treasurer; and Deodato

Arellano, secretary. Rizal functioned as its adviser

- La Liga Filipina aimed to:

o Protect and assist all members

o Unite the whole country

o Fight violence and injustice

o Support education

o Study and implement reforms

- La Liga Filipina had no intention of rising up in arms against the government; but the

Spanish officials still felt threatened.

- On July 6, 1892 only three days after La Liga Filipina’s establishment, Jose Rizal was

secretly arrested.

- The next day, Governor General Eulogio Despujol ordered Rizal’s deportation to

Dapitan, a small, secluded town in Zamboanga.

- La Liga Filipina's membership was active in the beginning; but later, they began to

drift apart. The rich members wanted to continue supporting the Propaganda

Movement; but the others seemed to have lost all hope that reforms could still be

granted.


- Andres Bonifacio was one of those who believed that the only way to achieve

meaningful change was through a bloody revolution.

La Solidaridad

- In order to help achieve its goals, the Propaganda Movement put up its own

newspaper, called La Solidaridad.

- The Soli, as the reformists fondly called their official organ, came out once every two

weeks. The first issue saw print was published on November 15, 1895.

- The Solidaridad’s first editor was Graciano Lopez Jaena. Marcelo H. del Pilar took

over in October 1889.

- Del Pilar managed the Soli until it stopped publication due to lack of funds.

Why the Propaganda Movement Failed?

- The propaganda movement did not succeed in its pursuit of reforms.

- The colonial government did not agree to any of its demands.

- Spain itself was undergoing a lot of internal problems all that time, which could

explain why the mother country failed to heed the Filipino’s petitions.

- The friars, on the other hand, were at the height of their power and displayed even

more arrogance in flaunting their influence.

- They had neither the time nor the desire to listen to the voice of the people.

- Many of the reformists showed a deep love for their country, although they still

failed to maintain a united front. Because most of them belonged to the upper

middle class, they had to exercise caution in order to safeguard their wealth and

other private interests.


- Personal differences and petty quarrels, apart from the lack of funds, were also a

hindrance to the movements success. Lastly, no other strong and charismatic leader

emerged from the group aside from Jose Rizal.

F. KKK Founding

- The KKK members agreed on the following objectives:

o The political goal was to completely separate the Philippines from Spain

after declaring the country’s independence.

o The moral goal was to teach the Filipinos good manners, cleanliness,

hygiene, fine morals, and how to guard themselves against religious

fanaticism..

o The civic goal was to encourage Filipinos to help themselves and to defend

the poor oppressed.

- The “Kataastaasang Sanggunian” (supreme council) was the highest governing

body of the Katipunan. It was headed by a supremo, or president. Each province

had a “Sangguaniang Bayan” (Provincial Council) and each town had a

“Sangguniang Balangay” (Popular Council).

- Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (30 November 1863 – 10 May 1897) was a Filipino

nationalist and revolutionary.

- He is often called "the father of the Philippine Revolution". He was a founder

and later Supremo ("supreme leader") of the Katipunan movement which

sought the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule and

started the Philippine Revolution.


- Emilio Jacinto y Dizon (December 15, 1875 — April 16, 1899), was a Filipino

revolutionary known as the Brains of the Katipunan.

Women Membership in the Katipunan

- For a woman to become admitted in KKK, one must be a wife, a daughter, or a

sister of a male katipunero. It was estimated that from 20 to 50 women had

become members of the society

- The first woman to become member of the Katipunan was Gregoria de Jesús,

wife of Bonifacio. She was called the Lakambini ng Katipunan (Princess of the

Katipunan).

- The women rendered valuable services to the Katipunan.

- They guarded the secret papers and documents of the society. Whenever the

Katipunan held sessions in a certain house, they usually made merry, singing

and dancing with some of the men in the living room so that the civil guard were

led that there was nothing but a harmless social party within.

Membership of KKK

- Any person who wished to join the Katipunan was subjected to certain initiation

rites, resembling those of Masonic rites, to test his courage, patriotism, and

loyalty.

- New recruits underwent the initiation rite three at a time so that no member

knew more than two other members of the society.


- The neophyte was first blindfolded and then led into a dimly lighted room with

black curtains where his folded cloth was removed from his eyes. An

admonition, in Tagalog, was posted at the entrance to the room:

“ Kung may lakás at tapang, ìkaw'y makatutuloy!(If you have strength and valor, you can proceed!) ”

“ Kung ang pag-uusisa ang nagdalá sa iyó dito'y umurong ka.If what has brought you here is only curiosity–go away! ”

“ Kung di ka marunong pumigil n iyong masasamang hilig, umurong ka;g̃� kailan man ang pintuan ng̃�

May-kapangyarihan at Kagalanggalang Katipunan n m á Anak n Baya'y hindig̃� g̃� g̃� bubuksan nang dahil sa iyó.

If you cannot control your passions, retire. Never shall the doorsof the Supreme and Venerable Society of the Sons of the People be opened to

you. ”

- Inside the candle-lit room, they would be brought to a table adorned with a

skull and a bolo. There, they would condemn the abuses of the Spanish

government and vow to fight colonial oppression

Filipino Nationalism

Education

Transcript of Filipino Nationalism