Philippine Revolution

The Philippine Revolution was a major war for independence. It was fought against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898.

This conflict ended over 333 years of Spanish colonial rule. For centuries, Spain governed the archipelago. Much of this rule was managed from Mexico.

This changed after Mexico gained its own independence in 1821. Spain then had to govern the islands directly from Madrid. This period saw many changes in how the islands were run.

New ideas began to flow into the Philippines during the 1800s. This happened because the country opened to world trade.

In 1834, Manila officially opened to international business. This brought in new literature and different ways of thinking. These ideas included liberalism and nationalism. Nationalism is the feeling of pride and unity in one's own nation. An educated class of Filipinos, known as the ilustrados, began to advocate for reforms.

They wanted the Philippines to have representation in the Spanish Parliament.

Many people sought change through peaceful means first. José Rizal was a key figure in this movement. He wrote two famous novels to expose Spanish abuses. The first was "Noli Me Tángere" in 1887. The second was "El Filibusterismo" in 1891.

Rizal also founded an organization called La Liga Filipina in 1892. He wanted to seek reforms through legal channels. However, Spanish authorities arrested him and deported him to Dapitan. This event deeply affected the Filipino people.

The execution of three priests, known as Gomburza, had also fueled this desire for change.

When peaceful reform failed, a secret group formed. In 1892, Andrés Bonifacio helped found the Katipunan.

This group sought independence through armed revolution. The revolution began prematurely in August 1896. This happened because Spanish authorities discovered the secret organization in Manila. Fighting started in Central Luzon and spread to the Southern Tagalog region. Early battles focused on sieging Manila. While Bonifacio led these early efforts, they did not succeed in taking the capital.

Success varied across different provinces during the war. In Cavite, rebels won several major victories. These rebels were led by Mariano Álvarez and the cousins Baldomero and Emilio Aguinaldo.

This success led to a power struggle within the Katipunan. The group split into two factions: the Magdiwang and the Magdalo. In 1897, they held elections in Tejeros. Aguinaldo was elected president, but Bonifacio did not recognize the results. He believed the elections were fraudulent. This split led to the arrest and execution of Bonifacio in May 1897.

In 1898, the conflict changed with the arrival of the United States. The Spanish-American War began after the USS Maine sank in Havana.

On May 1, 1898, the U.S. Navy defeated the Spanish Navy at the Battle of Manila Bay. This gave the United States control over the area near Manila. Emilio Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines to resume the fight. On June 12, 1898, he issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence in Kawit.

However, Spain did not recognize this new independence.

The Treaty of Paris ended the war between Spain and the United States. Under this treaty, Spain sold the Philippines to the United States. No Filipinos were present during these treaty negotiations. This led to the Philippine-American War in 1899. The First Philippine Republic had been established with the Malolos Constitution.

Fighting continued until 1902. Eventually, the islands became a territory of the United States. A commonwealth government was later formed in 1935. Full independence finally arrived on July 4, 1946.