Conquest and Colonization of the Philippines
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Finally Free
On 4 February 1899, general
hostilities began between Filipino and American forces when an American sentry
patrolling near the border between the Filipino and American lines shot a
Filipino soldier, after which Filipino forces returned fire, thus igniting a
second battle for the city.[vi]
Without the Spanish in the Philippines the Americans easily had the upper hand
on the Nation that had just stolen from Spain. The American generals took a
stance to control main trading points and central cities. Philippines being one
of the few nations to have been “stolen” from another, Spain, allows for its
uniqueness in the fact that without the presence of Spain in the first place it
would not have led to its independence. The
Jones Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1916 to serve as the new organic law
in the Philippines, promised eventual independence and instituted an elected
Philippine senate, bringing in the way of the final Independence of the Philippines
after having struggled with two other nations for hundreds of years. [vii]
Wanting a Change
The
Philippine Revolution against Spain began in August 1896, when the Katipunan
group was started. Led by Andrés Bonifacio, the Katipunan was a secessionist movement
whose goal was to make the Philippines independent. Without Spain, the Philippines
would have never been able to spark these ideas of freedom, because what they knew
prior to their arrival was Primal. Hostilities
broke out on February 4, 1899, after two American privates on patrol killed
three Filipino soldiers in San Juan, a Manila suburb.[iii]
Backed by the Americans, the Katipunan slowly gained control back over the archipelago.
With the execution of Bonifacio the war escalated and a US ship was sunk.
Caused by the sinking of their ship, the US declared war with Spain in 1898. [iv]
The Philippine Declaration of independence occurred on June 12, 1898 in Cavite
II el Viejo (presently Kawit), Cavite, Philippines. However, this act of
freedom was passed yet their total independence was not .[v]
New People in the Philippines
The Philippines wouldn’t have
developed as quickly without the influence of the Spanish. Prior to 1521, the Filipino people were
relatively Primitive and cut off, however, this all changed with the arrival of
Ferdinand Magellan. Upon his arrival, he claimed the archipelago in the name of
Spain, yet he was doomed for he was shortly killed in the Battle of Mactan in
the Philippines. This small exploration in the Philippines was a catalyst to
the later colonization by Miguel López
de Legaspi.[i]
With the colonization of the Islands, the Filipino people were heavily
influenced by their Spanish “Conquistadors.”
The long period of Spanish rule of
the Filipino people was however not a bad thing for the people. In Manila a cathedral was built with an
episcopal palace, Augustinian, Dominican and Franciscan monasteries and a
Jesuit house, showing the stress of the Christian Religion the Spanish imposed
on them. However the Spanish’s rule was interrupted in 1762, when the British
battled Spain for seven years. [ii]
This brief quarrel in the Philippines led to thoughts and sparks of rebellion.
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