Case Study 2: What Happened in the Cavite Mutiny? The year 1872 is a historic year of two events: the Cavite Mutin, the martyrdom of the three priests: Mariano Gomez, Jose Burl. ss Jacinto Zamora, later on immortalized as GOMBURZA. These crete very important milestones in Philippine history and have caused yj - throughout time, directly influencing the decisive events of the Philinn Revolution toward the end of the century. While the cei unquestioned, what made this year controversial are the different sid a the story, a battle of perspectives supported by primary sources. In this : study, we zoom in to the events of the Cavite Mutiny, a major factor ere awakening of nationalism among the Filipinos of that time. : Spanish Accounts of the Cavite Mutiny The documentation of Spanish historian Jose Montero y Vidal centereg 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. | Primary Source: Excerpts from Montero’s Account of the Cavite Mutiny Source: Jose Montero y Vidal, “Spanish Version of the Cavite Mutiny of 1872,” in Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of | Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 269- | 273. | The abolition of privileges enjoyed by the laborers of the Cavite arsenal | of exemption from the tribute was, according to some, the cause of the insurrection. There were, however, other causes. 56 Readings in Philippine Historye Spanish revolution which overthre propaganda carried on by an unbridled ; dethroned majesty; the democratic and Tepublican books and a % ine the speeches and preachings of the apostles of these new ideas ing a the outbursts of the American publicists and the eriminal 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, 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. 'W @ secular throne; the 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 oe secrecy. At times, the principal leaders met either in i is Filipino Spaniard, D. Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, or in that of pee Priest, Jacinto Zamora, and these meetings were usually attended by curate of Bacoor, the soul of the movement, whose energetic character i i i strong influence. and immense Ith enabled him to exercise 4 $1 = rt of Governor Primary Source: Excerpts from the Official Repo! Izquierdo on the Cavite Mutiny of 1872 ; on the Cavite Mutiny, Source: Rafael Izquierdo, “Official Report a of Philippine Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documenio”) ee 981-286 History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, tion Was eo and native lawye! in ted and prepared It seems definite that the insurrec moti a cee by the native clergy, by the mestizos known here as abogadillos... . jet protested atts ‘The instigators, to carry out their criminal ee ee rovinces for thei the injustice of the government in 10 PAH i in documents tobacco erop, and against the usury thst eT a gall chem that the Finance department gives PT protesting what they called 4t a loss. They encouraged the rebellion y phe Cavite arsenal Lo pay the injustice of having obliged the wore 7 seas nd Cesare ¢ ‘Chapter 5 | Philippine History: Spacetribute starting danuary 1 ‘and to render personal service, from Which thoy were formerly exempted... Up to now it has not been clearly determined ifthey planned to establigh ‘\ monarchy oF a republic, because the Indios have no word in thei, \ this different form of government, Whose head jn, ng out that they would place at. hat the head selected would be Jangunge to describe Filipino would be called hari; but it tu tho head of the government a priest D. dose Burgos, or D, Jacinto Zamora. Suich is. the plan of the rebels, those who guided them, and the meang 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 such as exemption from payment of tribute and being employed in vicios, or force labor. They also identified other reasons which “cemingly made the issue a lot more serious, which included the presence of 7 he native clergy, who, out of spite against the Spanish friars, “conspired and paper ed” the rebels, Izquierdo, in an obviously biased report, highlighted ‘“ttempt to overthrow the Spanish government in the Philippines to in the persons of Fathers Burgos and Zamora. According * native clergy attracted supporters by giving them charismatic ice that their fight would not fail because they had God's support, aside fi ; te th °m Promises of lofty rewards such as employment, wealth, and ranks e army, In the Spaniard’s account: i was part of, ‘ounts, the event of 1872 was premeditated, and Peta big conspiracy among the educated leaders, mestizos, lawyers, an icant of Manila and Cavite. They allegedly plan to liquidate high- ing Spanish officers, then kill the friars. The signal they identified among these conspirators of Manila and Cavite was the rockets fired from Tntramuros, ‘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 Cavitefios 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. Tzquierdo, 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 Maniletios who were expected to aid the Caviteiios did not arrive. Leaders of the plot were killed in the resulting skirmish, while Fathers Gomez, Burgos, % Readings in Philippine Historyand Zamora were tried by a court-martial and sentenesd to be executed. Others who were implicated such ax Joaquin Pardo de Tavers, Antonio Ms. Regidor, Jose and Pio Basa, and other Filivine inwyers were suspended from the practice of law, arrested, and sentenced tw ide impnemitnact at the Marianas leland. Izquierdo dissolved the native regiments A arullery and ordered tbe creation of an artillery force cmnpmed exchuarvely by Peninsulares. On 17 February 1872, the GOMBUKZA were executed to serve a8 & threat to Filipinos never to attempt to fight the Spaniards ages. Differing Accounts of the Events of 1872 Ce adie A ‘Two other primary accounts exist that seem to counter the accounts of Izquierdo and Montero. First, the account of Dr. Trinidad Hermenegilde Pardo de Tavera, a Filipino scholar and researcher, who wrote a Filipino version of the bloody incident in Cavite. Primary Source: Excerpts from Pardo de Tavera’s Account of the Cavite Mutiny Source: Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, “Filipino Version of the Cavite Mutiny.” in Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 274~ 280. ‘This uprising among the soldiers in Cavite was used as a powerful level by the Spanish residents and by the friars... the Central Government in Madrid had announced its intention to deprive the friars in these islands of powers of intervention in matters of civil government and of the direction and management of the university... it was due to these facts and promises that the Filipinos had great hopes of an improvement in the affairs of their country, while the friars, on the other hand. feared that their power in the colony would soon be complete a thing of the past. _.Up to that time there had been no intention of secession from Spain. and the only aspiration of the people was to secure the material and education advancement of the country... According to this account, the incident was merely a mutiny by Filipino soldiers and laborers of the Cavite arsenal to the dissatisfaction arising fromdl ‘ ey _ draconian policies of Izquierdo, such as the abolition of privileges and ul fe prohibition of the founding of the school of arts and trades for Filipinos, which the General saw as a smokescreen to creating @ political dul nish friars and [zquierdo used the ng out of proportion the isolated mutiny attempt. During this time, the Central ene Madrid was planning to deprive the friars ° all the Pome late im matters of civil government and direction aM! "4 sere inetitutions. The friars needed somethin to justi Oe ni : dominance in the country, and the mutiny provided such opportuni ‘Tavera is of the opinion that the Spa! : Cavite Mutiny as a way to address other issues by blow» d managem introduced an educational a school called the dard of education schools to be filled by most Filipinos. However, the Central Spanish Governmen| decree fusing sectaria Philippine Institute. The decree , in the Philippines by requiring teaching posit by competitive examinations, 2" improvement We’ rench writer Edmun‘ t, this time by F nd analyzed the motivations ons in these Jcomed d Plauchut, ‘Another account! of the 1872 ted Tavera’s account al compleme! Cavite Mutiny. Primary Source: Excerpts from Plauchut'’s. Account of the Cavite Mutiny f 1872 and the Source: Edmund Plauchut, “The Cavite Mutiny | Martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za,” in Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 251-268. created a junta composed of high officials... including some friars and six Spanish officials.... At the same time there ‘was created by the government in Madrid a committee to investigate the same problems submitted to the Manila committee. When the two finished work, it was found that they came to the same conclusions. Here is the summary of the reforms they considered necessary to introduce: General La Torre... 1. Changes in tariff rates at customs, and the methods of collection: 2, Removal of surcharges on foreign importations. 3. Reduction of export fees. 60 Readings in Philippine HistoryPermission for foreigners to reside in the Philippines, buy 4. real estate, enjoy freedom of worship, and operate commercial transports flying the Spanish flag. 5. Establishment of an advisory council to inform the Minister of Overseas Affairs in Madrid on the necessary reforms to be implemented. 6. Changes in primary and secondary education. 7, Establishment of an Institute of Civil Administration in the Philippines, rendering unnecessary the sending home of short- term civil officials every time there is a change of ministry. 8, Study of direct-tax system. 9. Abolition of the tobacco monopoly. .-The arrival in Manila of General Izquierdo... put a sudden end to all dreams of reforms... the prosecutions instituted by the new Governor General were probably expected as a result of the bitter disputes between the Filipino clerics and the friars. Such a policy must really end in a strong desire on the part of the other to repress cruelly. In regard to schools, it was previously decreed that there should be in Manila a Society of Arts and ‘Trades to be opened in March of 1871... to repress the growth of liberal teachings, General Izquierdo suspended the opening of the school... the day previous to the scheduled inauguration... The Filipinos had a duty to render service on public roads construction and pay taxes every year. But those who were employed at the maestranza of the artillery, in the engineering shops and arsenal of Cavite, were exempted from this obligation from time immemorial... Without preliminaries of any kind, a decree by the Governor withdrew from such old employees their retirement privileges and declassified them into the ranks of those who worked on public roads. ‘The friars used the incident as a part of a larger conspiracy to cement their dominance, which had started to show cracks because of the discontent of the Filipinos. They showcased the mutiny as part of a greater conspiracy in the Philippines by Filipinos to overthrow the Spanish Government. Unintentionally, and more so, prophetically, the Cavite Mutiny of 1872 resulted in the martyrdom of GOMBURZA, and paved the way to the revolution culminating in 1898. Chapter 3| Philippine History: Spaces for Conflict ancl Controversies 61The GOMBURZA is the collective name of the three martyred priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, who were tagged as the masterminds of the Savite Mutiny, They were prominent Filipino priests charged with treason and sedition. It is believed that the Spanish clergy connected the priests to the mutiny as part of a conspiracy to stifle the movement of secular priests who desired to have their own parishes instead of being merely assistants to the regular friars. The GOMBURZA were executed by garrote in public, a scene purportedly witnessed by a young Jose Rizal. Their martyrdom is widely accepted as the dawn of Philippine nationalism in the nineteenth century, with Rizal dedicating his second novel, El Filibusterismo, to their memory: “The Government, by enshrouding your trial in mystery and pardoning your co-accused, has suggested that some mistake was committed when yeur fate was’ decided; and the whole of the Philippines, in paying homage to your memory and calling you martyrs, totally rejects your guilt. The Church, by refusing to degrade you, has put in doubt the crime charged against you.”