Essay About The Philippine Revolution

Introduction

The Philippine Revolution was a military conflict between the Filipinos and Spanish colonial regime that started in the year 1896. The Filipinos were growing exhausted of the Spaniards’ rule over them. A charismatic leader, Andrès Bonifacio, formed a ghost propaganda movement, The Katipunan, to battle the Spaniards for independence. The Katipunan leaders and everyone associated with the revolution all knew the risks of getting captured: dying and risking the chance at freedom. War and bloodshed was the only decision for freedom; it was necessary to gain independence from Spain. The Filipino people joined as a whole to overthrow their Spanish dictators. It was a long fought war that seemed to last an eternity but on Dec. 15, 1897, the pact of Biak-na-Bato was declared. Though it wasn’t the perfect deal for each side, the pact brought a temporary end to the Philippine Revolution. The Philippine Revolution was a frightening, but necessary action by the Filipinos to pave way to their independence from Spain.

Ever since I was a young boy, I have always wondered about my heritage. I wondered why so many words in Tagalog were the same in Spanish. The mystery of my heritage drew me spurred me to try to learn more. I have always wondered where this country, “Philippines”, came from because the Philippines is so diverse with different people having different customs from others. Then in one of my social studies classes, our teacher taught us about the Philippine Revolution. I learned about how Spain had conquered Philippines for hundreds of years and the Filipino natives were growing tired of their oppressive rule. I only learned a little because it was such a short section. It was at this time that I knew I wanted to learn ...

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...s that Spain was unwilling to reform its colonial government. Andres Bonifacio, a self-educated warehouse clerical assistant, coordinated a secret revolutionary movement, the Katipunan, in Manila. “The Katipunan had an approximated 100,000 by August 1896”. (Dyal,45) when the Spaniards found out its existence. In 1896 the armed struggle began in Manila and quickly spread throughout the country. Aguinaldo defeated Spanish forces in several battles and rose to become the leader of Katipunan. In 1897 ,the Pact of Biak-na-Bato signaled a cease-fire and temporary end to the Revolution. Aguinaldo and his fellow Filipino Revolutionaries were gifted amnesty if the revolutionary leaders would go into exile. The Pact of Biak-na-Bato did not signal an end to the revolution. Aguinaldo and his men believed that the Spaniards would never give in to the conditions of the pact.