Essay About Nationalism In The Philippines

Spain ruled the Philippine islands since the 1570’s under a fairly relaxed occupation. Very few Spaniards were actual residents, missionaries, and merchants. In 1872, in Cavite province, about 200 native soldiers revolted against the colonial rule killing the Spaniard officers. Spain responded by building up its troops to about 28,000 and quickly eased up the revolt within months. Spanish reprisals severed and agitation among the population continued to spread across the country causing the Filipinos to be more rebellious. Local Filipino leaders such as Jose Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Emilio Aguinaldo and Marcello del Pilar emerged and were known as “Ilustrados” meaning “The Enligtened Ones”. Rizal whom at the time was still leading the rebellion from exile in Hong Kong and Barcelona was extradited, unfairly tried and executed by the Spaniards. This incident led to the birth of the Katipunan meaning “Society of the Sons of the People”, a secret brotherhood determined to separating the Philippines from its colonial master and uplifting the Filipino people. The group was led by a nationalist named Andres Bonifacio. The Katipunan members grew to as many as 30,000 and in August 1896, they called upon the Filipino population to rebel against the Spanish colonial government. Meanwhile, Bonifacio’s leadership was challenged by Aguinaldo accusing him of treason and had him executed on May 10, 1897. The fighting between the Filipinos and the Spaniards only intensified and continued throughout the year forcing Spain to negotiate. On December 15, 1897, the Spanish government, already facing a costly war in Cuba, agreed to grant amnesty to the revolutionaries, paid them and allowed them to go into exile in Hong Kong. All the ...

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...at was known as the “Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation”. In the proclamation, the president declared American sovereignty over the Philippines and promised good will to Filipinos who cooperated with their new overseers. On January 1st, 1899, Aguinaldo took an oath of office as the first president of the Philippines Republic, a move that the United States refused to recognize. Following publication of the McKinley proclamation, Aguinaldo issued his own proclamation condemning McKinley’s words as “violent and aggressive” and threatened to start a war against the Americans. On the night of February 4, 1899, Filipinos surrounding Manila attacked the Americans. However, they were defeated within 24 hours. Two days later the U.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of Paris and more troops were sent to the Philippines increasing the number from 12,000 men to some 35,000