1872 CAVITE MUTINY: SPANISH ACCOUNTS OF THE MUTINTY

• Jose Montero y Vidal who interpreted that the Mutiny was an attempt to remove and overthrow the
Spanish Colonizers in the Philippines.

• Gov. Gen. Rafael Izquierdo described Cavite Mutiny as a sign of objection towards the injustice of the
government such as not paying provinces for tobacco crops, pay tribute, and rendering of forced labor.
his report lambasted the Indios as gullible and possessed an innate propensity for stealing. - Izquierdo
blamed the unruly Spanish Press for “stockpiling” malicious propagandas grasped by the Filipinos. 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 Fathers Burgos and Zamora. - One Franciscan friar disguised as Burgos and
suggested a mutiny to the mutineers. The senior friars used an una fuerte suma de dinero or a banquet
to convince Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo that Burgos was the mastermind of the coup. Gómez and
Zamora were close associates of Burgos, so they too were included in the allegations.

A RESPONSE TO INJUSTICE: THE FILIPINO VERSION OF THE CAVITE MUTINY

• The event is just a simple mutiny since up to that time the Filipinos have no intention of separation
from Spain but only secure materials and education advancements in the country. However, the
mutiny was used at a powerful level.

• Dr. Trinidad Hermenigildo Pardo de Tavera, in his point of view, the incident was a mere mutiny by the
native Filipino soldiers and laborers of the Cavite arsenal who turned out to be dissatisfied with the
abolition of their privileges. Tavera blamed Gov. Izquierdo’s cold-blooded policies.

• Tavera believed that the Spanish friars and Izquierdo used the Cavite Mutiny as a powerful lever. And
this resulted that the Madrid government without any attempt to investigate the real facts or extent of
the alleged revolution reported by Izquierdo and the friars believed the scheme was true.

• Edmund Plauchut traced the immediate cause to a peremptory order from the governor,
Izquierdo, exacting personal taxes from the Filipino laborers in the engineering and artillery corps in the
Cavite arsenal, and requiring them to perform forced labor like ordinary subjects.

• 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.

How did izquierdo react to montero's account?

Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo described the Cavite Mutiny as an attempt to overthrow Spanish rule
in the Philippines. He accused the local pastorates of being responsible for the uprising since they
indoctrinated the Indios

1. How did Governor-General Izquierdo describe Cavite Mutiny?

During the time of Governor-General Carlos Maria de la Torre y Navacerrada, Governor-General
Izquierdo already has his view of the people living in Cavite because of some inappropriate
gestures tend to dared from the government by protesting what they called the injustices of
having obliged the workers in the Cavite arsenal to pay tribute and to render personal services.
Governor-General Izquierdo describes Cavity Mutiny as “insurrection”, “uprising” and a
 “revolution”. He also insisted to blame the native clergy, scholars, and some residents as an
instigator of Cavite Mutiny. He saw how the people fought for their principles, views, and
perspectives towards how the government governing the people despite knowing the
risk of what happened to them after their revolution. On his account, he stated the native
soldiers took advantage of the Spaniards by seducing Indios who were so prone to
believe.
2. Which of the three versions of the Cavite Mutiny is most credible?

From my perspective, the most credible among those versions of the Cavite Mutiny is the
Filipinos’ version by Dr. Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera. I am not taking the side of my own fellow
Filipino but he clearly stated the version without emotions, taking a side between both parties
and only the truth. He revealed the connections between the government and the people when
Governor-General Izquierdo complete change in the aspect of affairs. According to the sources, the
uprising included the laborers and Filipino who were 200 altogether at the Cavite arsenal that toward
the end it turned into a reason for Spanish. As Mutiny was immediately squashed Spanish utilized the
frequency as their occasion to give a reason to quiet down the Filipino who had been calling the change
for legislative.

3. Compare the three versions of the Cavite Mutiny. Spaniards' Version of the Cavite Mutiny -
According to the Spaniards, they knew from the earliest starting point that the Filipinos are
arranging a little upset as well as a huge insurgency against them. They too guaranteed that the
said unrest that is going to happen won't just occur in Cavite yet also in Manila. Filipinos' Version
of Cavite Mutiny-According to this form Filipino individual were pushed as far as possible to
oppose the Spaniards on account of the shameful acts. The treachery installment for tobacco, to
all advantages and right that was detracted from the Filipino worker in Cavite and other
oppressive demonstrations of the Spaniards drove them to revolt

Generally, there is a resemblance between the various stories of the Cavite Mutiny;
there are also differences in the narratives of the different authors. The most notable differences
between the two versions are the many possible causes of the insurgency. The literary style of
Montero y Vidal implies that the Filipinos had planned the uprising for a long time and had
already started the commotion and that the Spaniards had done nothing wrong. He
appeared to embolden the Spaniards and declared their actions to be just and proper. This is
to be expected of a Spanish author. After all, he is a Spaniard and therefore supports
the Spanish community. Governor-General Izquierdo's account is likewise identical to that of
Montero. They both said in their stories that the native clergy were the major instigators of the
revolution, and they even identified several of them. The abolition of workers' privileges, which is
the "most-believed" probable reason for the mutiny, is attributed to Izquierdo. In addition to
the harsh treatment he had received from the Philippines, he had the nerve to send an official report
to the Spanish War Minister that a revolutionary conspiracy involving the Indians under the
leadership of the indigenous religious clergywas being carried out to overthrow the Spanish
government and to kill the Spanish government in general, including the friars. After all, he is a
Spaniard and, just like Montero, would stand by the Spanish people without even consideration to
the wider public. Next is the description of Pardo de Tavera, a Spanish/Filipino historian. He was the
person who penned Cavite Mutiny's Filipino translation. The Cavite Mutiny accused General
Izquierdo of his cold-blooded policies, for instance, abolishing the indigenous military's privilege
and prohibiting the establishment of the Philippines of art and

vocational schools. It is certain though his narrative that, overall, Pardo de Tavera
intended to simply excuse the Philippines' wrongful and mistreated and educate the audience of the
Spanish government's failures that set the way for the event. The same goes for Edmund Plauchut, a
French reporter.

1872 Cavite mutiny

Execution of Gomburza

Forced exile of many Philippine liberals to Hong Kong, Japan, the Marianas and other places

Beginning of Filipino nationalism leading to the Philippine Revolution of 1896 and later the
Philippine–American War (1899–1902)

The Cavite mutiny (Spanish: El Motín de Cavite; Filipino: Pag-aaklas sa Kabite) was an uprising of
Filipino military personnel of Fort San Felipe, the Spanish arsenal in Cavite,[1]: 107 Philippine Islands
(then also known as part of the Spanish East Indies) on January 20, 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
and began to crack down on a burgeoning Philippines nationalist movement. Many scholars believed
that the Cavite mutiny was the beginning of Filipino nationalism that would eventually lead to the
Philippine Revolution of 1896.[2]

Causes of the Cavite mutiny

The causes of the Cavite Mutiny can be identified through examining the different accounts in this
historic event.

Spanish accounts of the mutiny

José Montero y Vidal was a Spanish historian who interpreted that the mutiny was an attempt to
remove and overthrow the Spanish colonizers in the Philippines. His account, corroborated with the
account of Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo, the governor-general of the Philippines at the time of
the mutiny. Both mentioned that the mutiny was powered by a group of native clergy.

Account of Jose Montero y Vidal

The Cavite Mutiny was an aim of the natives to get rid of the Spanish government in the Philippines,
due to the removal of privileges enjoyed by the laborers of the Cavite arsenal at Fort San Felipe, such
as exemption from the tribute and forced labor (polo y servicio). The democratic and republican
books and pamphlets, the speeches and preaching of the apostles of these new ideas in Spain and
the outburst of the American publicists and the cruel policies of the insensitive governor whom the
reigning government sent to govern the country. Native Filipinos put into action these ideas where
the occurring conditions which gave rise to the idea of achieving their independence.[3]

Account of Governor-General Izquierdo

Governor-General Izquierdo insisted that the mutiny was stimulated and prepared by the native
clergy, mestizos and lawyers as a signal of objection against the injustices of the government such as
not paying provinces for tobacco crops, pay tribute and rendering of forced labor. It is not clearly
identified if the natives planned to inaugurate a monarchy or a republic because they do not have a
word in their own language to describe this different form of government, whose leader in Filipino
would be called "hari". However, it turned out that they would set at the supreme of the
government a priest and that the leader selected would be José Burgos or Jacinto Zamora, which
was the plan of the rebels who guided them; and the means they counted upon its realization.[4]

Other accounts of the mutiny

Account of Trinidad Pardo de Tavera

The event was just a simple mutiny since up to that time the Filipinos have no intention of separation
from Spain but only secure materials and education advancements in the country. However, the
mutiny was used at a powerful level. Also, in this time, the central government deprived friars of the
powers of involvement in civil government and in governing and handling universities. This resulted
in the friars' fear that their leverage in the Philippines would be a thing in the past, took advantage
of the mutiny and reported it to the Spanish government as a broad conspiracy organized
throughout the archipelago with the object of abolishing Spanish sovereignty. The Madrid
government without any attempt to investigate the real facts or extent of the alleged revolution
reported by Izquierdo and the friars believed the scheme was true.[4]

Account of Edmund Plauchut

Plauchut traced the immediate cause to a peremptory order from the Governor-General Izquierdo,
exacting personal taxes from the Filipino laborers in the engineering and artillery corps in the Cavite
arsenal, and requiring them to perform forced labor like ordinary subjects. Until then, these workers
in the arsenal had been enjoying exemptions from both taxes and forced labor. January 20, the day
of the revolt, was payday and the laborers found the amount of taxes as well as the corresponding
fee in lieu of the forced labor deducted from their pay envelopes. It was the last straw. That night
they mutinied. Forty infantry soldiers and twenty men from the artillery took over command of Fort
of San Felipe and fired carronades to announce their moment of triumph. It was a short-lived victory.
Apparently, the mutineers had expected to be joined by their comrades in the 7th infantry company
assigned to patrol the Cavite plaza. They became terror-stricken, however, when they beckoned to
the 7th infantry men from the ramparts of the fort and their comrades did not make any move to
join them. Instead, the company started attacking them. The rebels decided to bolt the gates and
wait for morning when support from Manila was expected to come. He gave a dispassionate account
of it and its causes in an article published in the Revue des Deux Mondes in 1877. He traced that the
primary cause of the mutiny is believed to "be an order from Governor-General Carlos de la Torre
(Izquierdo's predecessor) to subject the soldiers of the Engineering and Artillery Corps to personal
taxes, from which they were previously exempt. The taxes required them to pay a monetary sum as
well as to perform forced labor called, polo y servicio. The mutiny was sparked on January 20, 1872,
when the laborers received their pay and realized the taxes as well as the falla, the fine one paid to
be exempt from forced labor, had been deducted from their salaries.

Different accounts in the Cavite mutiny also highlighted other probable causes of the "revolution"
which included a Spanish revolution which overthrew the secular throne, dirty propagandas
proliferated by unrestrained press, democratic, liberal and republican books and pamphlets reaching
the Philippines, and most importantly, the presence of the native clergy who out of animosity
against the Spanish friars, "conspired and supported" the rebels and enemies of Spain.

Spanish Account

GOMBURZA were the brain of mutiny

Used mutiny to show that Filipinos wanted to overthrow Spanish government, big deal

lSpanish wanted domination

Deffering Account

Filipinos revolted because they don’t want to be in a Spanish government

Lamadrid was the leader and brain of mutiny

The mutiny is an isolated case, not big deal

Filipinos wanted equal rights

Filipinos revolted because of removal of their reforms, unfairness

Similarities

GOMBURZA were executed

Mutiny Happened because of monopoly and such

Both accounts were bias on some information

Spanish Accounts of the Cavite Mutiny
Differing Accounts of the Events in Cavite Mutiny

Primary Source: Excerpt from Pardo de Tavera’s Account of the Cavite Mutiny. A Filipino scholar and
researcher
What is the relevance of 1872 Cavite Mutiny and martyrdom of GOMBURZA in our fight for
independence?

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. This
episode leads to the awakening of nationalism and eventually to the outbreak of Philippine
Revolution of 1896.

The Spanish colonial period of the Philippines began when explorer Ferdinand Magellan came to the
islands in 1521 and claimed it as a colony for the Spanish Empire. The period lasted until the
Philippine Revolution in 1898