The Cavite Mutiny (1872) - PDF

Republic of the Philippines BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY The National Engineering University Alangilan Campus Golden Country Homes, Alangilan Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines 4200...

Republic of the Philippines BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY The National Engineering University Alangilan Campus Golden Country Homes, Alangilan Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines 4200 Tel Nos.: (+63 43) 425-0139 local 2121 / 2221 E-mail Address: [email protected] | Website Address: http://www.batstate-u.edu.ph College of Engineering - Department of Mechanical Engineering READING IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY THE TWO FACES OF THE CAVITE MUTINY By: Chris Antonette Piedad-Pugay DEFINITION OF TERMS ⬗ MUTINY Revolt among a group of people to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously obedient. ⬗ SECULARIZATION A movement of the Filipino Catholic priests to replace the Spanish friars with native secular priests. ⬗ FRAILOCRACIA Term used to define the rulings of the friars during the 19th century. ⬗ ROYAL AUDIENCIA Corresponds to the Supreme Court of the present time. ⬗ GAROTTE An execution through strangulation (choking). ⬗ Arsenal Place where weapons and military equipment are stored or made. THE CAVITE MUTINY: SUMMARY ⬗ The Cavite mutiny (El Motín de Cavite) of 1872 was an uprising of the Filipino military personnel of Fort San Felipe, the Spanish arsenal in Cavite, on 20 January 1872. Around 200 locally recruited colonial troops 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 which began to crack down on a growing Philippine nationalist movement. THE SPANISH VERSION: A PLANNED CONSPIRACY ⬗ Governor General Rafael Gerónimo Cayetano Izquierdo y Gutiérrez was a Spanish Military Officer, politician, and statesman who served as the Governor- General of the Philippines from April 4, 1871 to January 8, 1873 and was famous for his “iron fist” type of government was one of the proponents of the Spanish version of the mutiny in Cavite. ⬗ José Montero y Vidal was Spanish writer, historian, geographer, and politician who interpreted that the Mutiny was an attempt to remove and overthrow the Spanish Colonizers in the Philippines.  ⬗ The two Spaniards deemed that the event of 1872 was planned earlier and was thought of it as a big conspiracy among educated leaders, mestizos, abogadillos, residents of Manila and Cavite and the native clergy. ⬗ They suggested that the conspirators of Manila and Cavite planned to kill high- ranking Spanish officers to be followed by the massacre of the friars. ⬗ The alleged pre-concerted signal among the conspirators of Manila and Cavite was the firing of rockets from the walls of Intramuros. ⬗ According to the accounts of the two, on January 20, 1872, the district of Sampaloc celebrated the feast of the Virgin of Loreto. Unfortunately, the participants to the feast celebrated the occasion with the usual fireworks displays. ⬗ Those in Cavite mistook the fireworks as the sign for the attack, and just like what was agreed upon, the 200 men headed by Sergeant Fernando La Madrid launched an attack targeting Spanish officers at sight and seized the arsenal in Fort San Felipe. ⬗ When the news reached Gov. Izquierdo, he readily ordered the reinforcement of the Spanish forces in Cavite to quell the revolt. The “revolution” was easily siezed when the expected reinforcement from Manila did not come ashore. Major instigators including Sergeant La Madrid were killed in the skirmish. THE CAUSE ⬗ Both Montero and Izquierdo scored out that the abolition of privileges enjoyed by the workers of Cavite arsenal (non-payment of tributes and exemption from force labor) were the main reason of the “revolution”. ⬗ Another major cause is the native clergy who out of animosity against the Spanish friars, “conspired and supported” the rebels and enemies of Spain to overthrow the government ⬗ Other causes include dirty propagandas propagated by the press, and democratic, liberal, and republican books and pamphlets reaching the country. THE EFFECT ⬗ Izquierdo blamed the unruly Spanish Press for “stockpiling” malicious propagandas grasped by the Filipinos and lambasted the indios as gullible and possessed an innate inclination for stealing. ⬗ He dissolved the native regiments of the artillery and ordered the creation of an artillery force to be composed exclusively of the Peninsulares. ⬗ He reported to the King of Spain that the rebels wanted to overthrow the Spanish government to install a new “hari” in the likes of Fr. Burgos and Zamora. ⬗ The GOMBURZA were tried by a court-martial and on February 17, 1872, in an attempt of the Spanish government and Frailocracia to instill fear among the Filipinos, the GOMBURZA were executed. ⬗ Patriots like Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Antonio Ma. Regidor, Jose and Pio Basa and other abogadillos were suspended by the Royal Audiencia (High Court) from the practice of law, arrested and were sentenced with life imprisonment at the Mariana Islands. THE FILIPINO VERSION: A RESPONSE TO INJUSTICE ⬗ Trinidad Hermenegildo José María Juan Francisco Pardo de Tavera y Gorricho was a Filipino physician, historian and politician of Spanish and Portuguese descent who was known for his writings about different aspects of Philippine culture and wrote the Filipino version of the bloody incident in Cavite. ⬗ Edmund Plauchut was a French journalist, writer, and traveler who complimented Pardo de Tavera’s account by confirming that the event happened due to discontentment of the arsenal workers and soldiers in Cavite fort but his account dwelt more on the execution of the three martyr priests which he actually witnessed. ⬗ On 20 January 1872, about 200 men comprised of soldiers, laborers of the arsenal, and residents of Cavite headed by Sergeant La Madrid rose in arms and assassinated the commanding officer and Spanish officers in sight. The insurgents were expecting support from the bulk of the army. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The news about the mutiny reached authorities in Manila and Gen. Izquierdo immediately ordered the reinforcement of Spanish troops in Cavite. After two days, the mutiny was officially declared subdued. PARDO DE TAVERA’S POINT OF VIEW ⬗ The incident was a mere mutiny by the native Filipino soldiers and laborers of Cavite arsenal who turned out to be dissatisfied with the abolition of their privileges. ⬗ Gov. Izquierdo’s cold-blooded policies (abolition of privileges of the workers and native army members of the arsenal and the prohibition of the founding of school of arts and trades for the Filipinos, which he believed as a cover-up for the organization of a political club) is the main reason of the uprising.  ⬗ It is also important to note the during this time: The Central Government in Madrid announced the deprivation of the friars of all the powers of intervention in matters of civil government and the direction and management of educational institutions. In 1870 Segismundo Moret, the Minister of Colonies, issued a decree that promoted the fusion of sectarian schools run by the friars into a school called Instituto Filipino (Philippine Institute). The Filipino clergy members actively participated in the secularization movement in order to allow Filipinos priests to take hold of the parishes in the country. ⬗ The friars took advantage of the incident and presented it to the Spanish Government as a vast conspiracy throughout the archipelago with the objective of destroying Spanish sovereignty. ⬗ Spanish friars and Izquierdo used the uprising as a powerful lever by magnifying it as a full-blown conspiracy involving not only the native army but also including the residents of Cavite and Manila, and the native clergy to overthrow the Spanish government in the Philippines. ⬗ Tavera sadly confirmed that the Madrid government came to believe that the scheme was true without any attempt to investigate the real facts or extent of the alleged “revolution” reported by Izquierdo and the friars. THE UNRAVELING TRUTHS Considering the accounts of the 1872 Mutiny, there were some basic facts that remained to be unvarying: ⬗ First, there was dissatisfaction among the workers of the arsenal as well as the members of the native army after their privileges were drawn back by Gen. Izquierdo. ⬗ Second, Gen. Izquierdo introduced rigid and strict policies that made the Filipinos move and turn away from Spanish government out of disgust. ⬗ Third, the Central Government failed to conduct an investigation on what truly transpired but relied on reports of Izquierdo and the friars and opinion of the public. ⬗ Fourth, the happy days of the friars were already numbered in 1872 when the Central Government in Spain decided to deprive them of the power to intervene in government affairs as well as in the direction and management of schools prompting them to commit frantic moves to extend their stay and power. ⬗ Fifth, the Filipino clergy members actively participated in the secularization movement in order to allow Filipinos priests to take hold of the parishes in the country making them prey to the rage of the friars. ⬗ Sixth, Filipinos during the time were active participants, and responded to what they deemed as injustices. ⬗ Lastly, the execution of GOMBURZA was a blunder on the part of the Spanish government, for the action severed the ill-feelings of the Filipinos and the event inspired Filipino patriots to call for reforms and eventually independence.  ⬗ There may be different versions of the event, but one thing is certain: the 1872 Cavite Mutiny paved way for a momentous 1898 event, the Philippine Independence. MISCELLANEA ⬗ One main reason why the GomBurZa was accussed of spearheding the Cavite Mutiny and was charged of treason and sedition was because of the of their involvement in the movement called secularization headed by Fr. Pedro Pelaez. The friars wanted their power and influence back and one way to do it is to discredit the native clergy and accuse them of leading the mutiny for the Central Government to mistrust the clergy. Thus, Padre Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora were captured, put under a trial, found guilty, and was sentenced of garrote. ⬗ Mariano Gómez was the head priest of Bacoor, Cavite on 2 June 1824. He taught for the agriculture and cottage industries aside from taking care of spiritual necessities. He is also one of those who fought for the rights of his fellow native priests against Spanish abuses and was also active in the publication of the newspaper La Verdad (The Truth). ⬗ José Apolonio Burgos was a pastor in the district of Intramuros whose debates over the rights of native priests had extended to include questions of race and nationalism which eventually cause him to be implicated in a mutiny in Cavite. ⬗ Jacinto Zamora handled parishes in Marikina, Pasig, and Batangas. He was also assigned to manage the Manila Cathedral on 3 December 1864. He had a habit of playing cards after saying Mass which led him to be accused of leading a mutiny. Once, he received an invitation stating that his friend had "Powder and Munitions"; in a gambler's language, "Powder and Munitions" meant that the player had much money to gamble with. This invitation fell into the hands of the Spaniards and worse, it was on the night of the Cavite mutiny. This invitation was used by the Spaniards as evidence against Zamora. The court accused them of inciting the revolt, even if the evidence was not adequate. Prepared by: ___________________________ Mr. Gian Nicolo Dexter M. Atienza Lecturer