The document discusses the Cavite Mutiny of 1872, detailing accounts from Spanish historians Jose Montero y Vidal and Governor Rafael Izquierdo, highlighting the involvement of native clergy and mestizos in the rebellion against Spanish rule. It describes the motivations behind the uprising, including grievances over labor conditions and the desire for independence, culminating in the execution of key leaders to deter future insurrections. The accounts reflect a biased perspective aimed at portraying the mutiny as a conspiracy against the Spanish government.
The document discusses the Cavite Mutiny of 1872, detailing accounts from Spanish historians Jose Montero y Vidal and Governor Rafael Izquierdo, highlighting the involvement of native clergy and mestizos in the rebellion against Spanish rule. It describes the motivations behind the uprising, including grievances over labor conditions and the desire for independence, culminating in the execution of key leaders to deter future insurrections. The accounts reflect a biased perspective aimed at portraying the mutiny as a conspiracy against the Spanish government.
The document discusses the Cavite Mutiny of 1872, detailing accounts from Spanish historians Jose Montero y Vidal and Governor Rafael Izquierdo, highlighting the involvement of native clergy and mestizos in the rebellion against Spanish rule. It describes the motivations behind the uprising, including grievances over labor conditions and the desire for independence, culminating in the execution of key leaders to deter future insurrections. The accounts reflect a biased perspective aimed at portraying the mutiny as a conspiracy against the Spanish government.
The document discusses the Cavite Mutiny of 1872, detailing accounts from Spanish historians Jose Montero y Vidal and Governor Rafael Izquierdo, highlighting the involvement of native clergy and mestizos in the rebellion against Spanish rule. It describes the motivations behind the uprising, including grievances over labor conditions and the desire for independence, culminating in the execution of key leaders to deter future insurrections. The accounts reflect a biased perspective aimed at portraying the mutiny as a conspiracy against the Spanish government.
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Spanish Accounts
of the Cavite Mutiny Prepared by: Justine Romero Sydrick Rapsing The documentation of Spanish historian Jose Montero y Vidal centered on how the event was an attempt in overthrowing the Spanish government in the Philippines. Although regarded as a historian, his account of the mutiny was criticized as woefully biased and rabid for a scholar. Another account from the official report written by then Governor General Rafael Izquierdo implicated the native clergy, who were then, active in the movement toward secularization of parishes. These two accounts corroborated each other. The Spanish revolution which overthrew a secular throne, the propaganda carried on by an unbridled press against monarchical principles, attentatory (sic) of the most sacred respects towards the dethroned majesty: the democratic and republican books and pamphlets: the speeches and preachings of the apostles of these new ideas in Spain, the outbursts of the American publicists and the criminal policy of the senseless Governor whom the Revolutionary government sent to govern the Philippines, and who put into practice these ideas were the determining circumstances which gave rise, among certain Filipinos, to the idea of attaining their independence. It was towards this goal that they started to work, with the powerful assistance of a certain section of the native clergy, who out of spite toward friars, made common cause with the enemies of the mother country. At various times but especially in the beginning of year 1872, the authorities received anonymous communications with the information that a great uprising would break out against the Spaniards, the minute the fleet at Cavite left for the South, and that all would be assassinated. Including the friars. But nobody gave importance to these notices. The conspiracy had been going on since the days of La Torre with utmost secrecy. At times, the principal leaders met either in the house of Filipino Spaniard, D. Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, or in that of the native priest, Jacinto Zamora, and these meetings were usually attended by the curate of Bacoor, the soul of the movement, whose energetic character and immense wealth enabled him to exercise a strong influence. Primary Source: Excerpts from the Official Report of Governor Izquierdo on the Cavite Mutiny of 1872
Source: Rafael Izquierdo, "Official Report on the Cavite
Mutiny," in Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 281-286, ...It seems definite that the insurrection was motivated and prepared by the native clergy, by the mestizos and native lawyers, and by those known here as abogadilos. The instigators, to carry out their criminal project, protested against the injustice of the government in not paying the provinces for their tobacco crop, and against the usury that some practice in documents that the Finance department gives crop owners who have to sell them at a loss. They encouraged the rebellion by protesting what they called the injustice of having obliged the workers in the Cavite arsenal to pay tribute starting January 1 and to render personal service, from which they were formerly exempted. Up to now it has not been clearly determined if they planned to establish a monarchy or a republic, because the Indios have no word in ther language to describe this different form of government, whose head in Filipino would be called hori; but it turns out that they would place at the head of the government a priest… that the head selected would be D. Jose Burgos, or D. Jacinto Zamora… Such is the plan of the rebels, those who guided them, and the means they counted upon for its realization. It is apparent that the accounts underscore the reason for the “revolution”: the abolition of privileges enjoyed by the workers of the Cavite arsenal such as exemption from payment of tribute and being employed in polos y servicios, or force labor. They also identified other reasons which seemingly made the issue a lot more serious, which included the presence of the native clergy, who, out of spite against the Spanish friars, “conspired and supported the rebels. Izquierdo, in an obviously biased report, highlighted that attempt to overthrow the Spanish government in the Philippines to install a new “hari” in the persons of Fathers Burgos and Zamora. According to him, native clergy attracted supporters by giving them charismatic assurance that their fight would not fail because they had God’s support, aside from promises of lofty rewards such as employment, wealth, and ranks in the army. In the Spaniard’s accounts, the event of 1872 was premeditated, and was part of a big conspiracy among the educated leaders, mestizos, lawyers, and residents of Manila and Cavite. They allegedly plan to liquidate high ranking Spanish officers, then kill the friars. The signal they identified among these conspirators of Manila and Cavite was the rockets fired from Intramuros. The accounts detail that on 20 January 1872, the district of Sampaloc celebrated the feast of the Virgin of Loreto, and came with it were some fireworks display. The Caviteños allegedly mistook this as the signal to commence with the attack. The 200-men contingent led by Sergeant Lamadrid attacked Spanish officers at sight and seized the arsenal. Izquierdo, upon learning of the attack, ordered the reinforcement of the Spanish forces in Cavite to quell the revolt. The "revolution" was easily crushed, when the Manileños who were expected to aid the Caviteños did not arrive. Leaders of the plot were killed in the resulting skirmish, while Fathers Gomez, Burgos,and Zamora were tried by a court- martial and sentenced to be executed. Others who were implicated such as Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Antonio Ma. Regidor, Jose and Pio Basa, and other Filipino lawyers were suspended from the practice of law, arrested, and sentenced to life imprisonment at the Marianas Island. Izquierdo dissolved the native regiments of artillery and ordered the creation of an artillery force composed exclusively by Peninsulares. On 17 February 1872, the GOMBURZA were executed to serve as a threat to Filipinos never to attempt to fight the Spaniards again.
