MN – 04

Readings in Philippine History

Lesson 2:
Cavity Mutiny

The Struggle of the Filipino People: Our Call to Freedom & Independence
Cavite Mutiny
- one of the factors that ignited the Filipino sense of nationhood and led to Philippine Revolution
in 1896.
- a remarkable event among Filipinos for it prompted to the martyrdom of Gomburza > priests
(Mariano Gomez, Jose Apolonio Burgos & Jacinto Zamora) – executed on Feb. 17, 1872

- Jan 20, 1872 > about 200 Filipino Military Personnel of Fort San Felipe Arsenal in Cavite,
Philippines staged a mutiny which in a way led to the Philippine Revolution in1896.
- 1872, Cavite Mutiny > precipitated by the removal of long- standing personal benefits to the
workers such as tax & forced labor exemptions on order from the Governor General Rafael de
Izquierdo.

Spaniard’s Version of Cavite Mutiny

- written by Jose Montero y Vidal (Spanish Historian) in his book Historia General de Filipinas
- overstated the mutiny of some dissatisfied soldiers & laborers into a revolt to bring down
Spanish rule & this intricated some patriots like Gomburza and others.
- dolefully biased where Dr. T.H. Pardo de Tavera commented “ He speaks as a Spaniard bent
on perverting the fact at his pleasure; he is mischievously partial.”

- Jose Montero knew that the so called “ revolution” that happened in Cavite is because of the
abolition of the privileges enjoyed by the laborers of the Cavite arsenal such as non-payment of
tributes and of exemption from the force labor were the main reasons of the “revolution”.
-They called it as revolution instead of mutiny, although the mutiny is different from revolution itself.
> because the mutiny is trying to challenge the established government in terms of military system
in the Philippines during the time and they called it “himagsikan”/ “pagababago” sa pamamahala
ng pamahalaan.
- Attaining independence > it was towards this goal that the Filipinos started to work, with the
powerful assistance of a certain section of the native clergy, who out of spite toward the friars,
made common cause w/ the enemies of the mother country.
- In the beginning of 1872 – authorities received anonymous communications w/ the information
that a great uprising would break out the Spaniards, the minute the fleet at Cavite left for the South
and that all would be assassinated, including the friars.
- The conspiracy has been going on since the days of La Torre w/ utmost secrecy.
- They reported to the King of Spain that the rebels wanted to overthrow the Spanish government
to install new king in the likes of Fathers Burgos & Zamora.
- According to some historians, the people involved in the “revolution” used the name of Father
Burgos to recruit people for the mutiny. “…ang pag-aanyaya ni Father Burgos ang nasabing dahilan
ng pag-aalsa sa Cavite.”
- At times, the principal leaders met either at the house of the Filipino Spaniard, D. Joaquin Pardo
de Tavera, or in that native priest, Jacinto Zamora > meetings were usually attended by the curate
of the Bacoor, the soul of the movement, whose energetic character & immense wealth enabled
him to exercise a strong influence.
- The garrison of Manila – involved multitude of civilians and composed mostly of native soldiers.
- The plan was to assassinate the officers, servants and masters, and the escort of the Captain-
General at Malacañang to dispose the government himself, then the friars and other Spaniards
were later to have their turn.
- The pre-concerted signal among the conspirators of Cavite & Manila was the firing of rockets
from the walls of the city.
- As details were arranged, it was agreed that the uprising was to breakout in the evening of the 20th
of January, 1872.
- In Sampaloc, the fiesta of the patron saint, the Virgin of Loreto was being celebrated w/ plomp &
splendor > On the night of January 20, fireworks were displayed and rockets were fired in the air >
those in Cavite mistook these for the signal of revolt and at 9:30 n the evening of that day, 200
native soldiers under the leadership of Sergeant La Madrid rose up in arms, assassinated the
commander of the fort and wounded his wife.
 D. Fernando Rojas ( military governor of Cavite) dispatched 2 Spaniards to inform Manila
Authorities of the uprising but they were met on the way by a group of natives, belonging to Guias
established by La Torre who put them instantly to death.
 D. Domingo Mijares, an employee of the arsenal left Cavite in war vessel for Manila, arriving at
mindnight. > He informed the commandant of marine of what had occurred, and immediately
relayed news to Governor Izquierdo.
- Early the next morning 2 regiments, under the command of D. Felipe Ginoves (segundocabo),
left for Cavite on board the merchant vessels Filipino, Manila, Isabela I & II. > demanded
rendition & waited the whole day of 21st for the rebels to surrender, w/o ordering the assault of their
position in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, after the whole day of waiting in vain for the
rendition of the rebels’, Ginoves launched an assault against the latter’s position early in the morning of
the 22nd, putting to the sword the majority of the rebels and making prisoners of the rest. > Official
proclamation announced the suppression of the revolt on the same day.
 Don Jose Burgos & D. Jacinto Zamora (curates of the Cathedral), D. Mariano Gomez (curate
of Bacoor, Cavite), several other Filipino priests, D. Antonia Maria Regidor (lawyer and Regidor
of the Ayuntamiento) D. Joaquin Pardo de Tavera (Consejero de administracion), Pedro Carillo,
Gervasio Sanchez & Jose Mauricio de Leon, lawyer Enrique Paraiso and Jose and Piobasa,
employees, and Crisanto Reyes, Maximo Paterno and several other Filipinos were arrested >
these are the individuals who were pointed out as instigators.
 April 3, 1872 - Patriots like D. Joaquin Pardo de Tavera , D. Antonio Ma. Regidor, D. Jose
Basa y Enriquez D. Pedro Carillo, D. Gercasio Sanchez, D. Jose Mauricio de Leon and Pio
Basa and other abogadillos were suspended by Audencia (High Court) from the practice of law,
arrested and were sentenced with life imprisonment at the Marianas Island.  April 4, 1872 -
Furthermore, Gov. Izquierdo dissolved the native regiments of artillery and ordered the creation of
artillery force to be composed exclusively of the Peninsulares/ mga Espanyol na pinanganak
mismo sa Spain.
- Council of war > which from the beginning took charge of the causes in connection with the
Cavite uprising, passed the death sentence on 41 of the rebels.
 January 27 – the Captain-General fixed his “cumplase” on the sentence.
 February 6 – 11 more were sentenced to death but the Governor General, by decree of the
following day, commuted his sentence to life improsenment.
 February 8 - the sentence of death was pronounced to Camerino & 10 years imprisonment of
11 individuals of the famous “Guias de la Torre” for the assassination of the Spaniards who, on the
night of January 20, were sent to Manila to carry the news of uprising.
 February 5 – the same council sentenced to die by strangulation the Filipino priests, D. Jose
Burgos, D. Jacinto Zamora, and D. Mariano Gomez & Fransisco Saldua; Maximo Inocencio,
Enrique Paraiso, and Crisanto de los Reyes to 10 tears imprisonment.
 February 17, 1872 – in an attempt of the Spanish government and Frairocracia to instill fear
among the Filipinos so that they may never commit such daring act again, the Gomburza were
executed at Bagumbayan. (Gomez, Zamora, Burgos, Saldua).

Filipino Version of Cavite Mutiny

- written by Dr. Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera (Filipino Scientist, scholar and historical
researcher.
- In his account, the Cavity Mutiny was simply a mutiny by the Filipino soldiers and laborers of
the Cavite arsenal who turned out to be dissatisfied w/ the eradication of their privileges.
- He blamed in his account blamed Gov. General Izquierdo’s harsh policies like the abolition
of their privileges of exemption from paying yearly tribute and rendering forced labor.
- Tavera believed that the Spanish friars & Izquierdo used Cavite Mutiny as a powerful lever
magnifying it as a full-blown conspiracy involving not only the native army but also included
residents of Cavite and Manila, and more importantly the native clergy to overthrow the Spanish
government in the Philippines.
- The Central Government in Madrid announced its intention to deprive all the friars of all the
powers of intervention in matters of civil government and the direction and management of
educational institutions.
- The decree proposed to improve the standard education in the Philippines by requiring
teaching positions in such schools to be filled with competitive examinations. This improvement
was warmly received by most Filipinos in spite of the native clergy’s zest for secularization.
- The friars, fearing that their influence in the Philippines would be a thing of the past, took
advantage of the incident and presented it to the Spanish government as a vast conspiracy
organized throughout the archipelago with the object of destroying Spanish sovereignty.
- Convicted educated men who participated in the mutiny were sentenced life imprisonment
while members of the native clergy headed by the Gomburza were tried and executed by
Garrote.
-February 15, 1872 – a 5-hour marathon trial happened.
 Jose Arrieta- the lawyer of Gomburza and a professor from UST was paid by the Friars and
government to side with them and wanted Jose Burgos to claim everything.
 Fransisco Saldua- was paid to become a “witness” that the recruitment for the mutiny was
under the name of Father Burgos. Yet, he was also executed on the exact day the Gomburza

The Official Report of Governor Izquierdo on The Cavite Mutiny of 1872

 Gov. General Rafael Izquierdo made a report to the Spanish Ministry of WAR ON January
23, 1872.
- He blamed in his report the native clergy, scholars and some residents of Manila and
neighboring provinces as instigators of Cavite Mutiny.
- He expressively describes the Mutiny as an “insurrection”, “uprising” and “revolution”.
- All the Spaniards, including the friars would be executed except for the women; and their
belongings confiscated. Foreigners would be respected.
- To start the revolution, they planned to set fire in Tondo, once the fire was set while the
authorities were busy putting it out, the regiment of artillery with the help of the part of the
infantry would seize Fort Santiago of this capital, firing cannons to inform the rebels of Cavite.
- The rebels in Cavite counted on the artillery detachment that occupied the fort and on the navy
helped by 500 natives led by the pardoned leader Camerino > Camerino and his men located
at the town of Bacoor and separated from the Fort of San Felipe by a small arm of the sea,
would cross the water and reach the fort where they would find arms and ammunition.
- The rebels in Cavite made the signals agreed upon by means of lanterns but the native
civilians in Bacoor failed because of vigilance of Spanish navy that had placed there a gunboat
and armed vessels.
- Loyalists who went to arrest the parish priest of Bacoor found an abandoned vessel loaded
with arms, including carbines and revolvers.
- It has also been said that this center of junta received inspiration from Madrid, where
newspapers of advanced ideas flourished; to sustain them subscriptions are solicited; in effect,
newspapers such as El Eco Filipino were sent here form Madrid which were distributed by
persons now imprisoned, whose articles thundered against everything that can be found here.