Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa

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CAVITE MUTINY

INTRODUCTION:

● Cavite Mutiny -It was an uprising of military personnel of Fort San Felipe
, in 1872. - Around 200 soldiers and laborers rose up in the belief that it
would elevate to a national uprising. The mutiny was unsuccessful;
government soldiers executed many of the participants. -But scholars
believe that the Cavite Mutiny was the beginning of Filipino nationalism
that led to the Philippine Revolution of 1896 .

● Why did they Revolt? -The primary cause was believed to be an order
from Governor-General Rafael de Izquierdo to subject the soldiers of the
Engineering and Artillery Corps to personal taxes, to which they were
previously exempted. The taxes required them to pay a monetary sum as
well as to perform force labor called, "polo y servicio." -The mutiny
sparked on January 20, 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.
.
CASE SUMMARY:

● One hundred and forty years ago, on January 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 in 1896. The 1872
Cavite Mutiny was precipitated by the removal of long-standing personal
benefits to the workers such as tax (tribute) and forced labor exemptions on
order from the Governor General Rafael de Izquierdo.
● Izquierdo replaced Governor General Carlos Maria de la Torre some months
before in 1871 and immediately rescinded Torre’s liberal measures and
imposed his iron-fist rule. He was opposed to any hint of reformist or
nationalistic movements in the Philippines. He was in office for less than two
years, but he will be remembered for his cruelty to the Filipinos and the
barbaric execution of the three martyr-priests blamed for the mutiny: Fathers
Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, later collectively called
“Gomburza.”
● The mutineers were led by Sgt. Fernando La Madrid; they seized the Fort and
killed the Spanish officers. Fearing a general uprising, the Spanish
government in Manila sent a regiment under General Felipe Ginoves to
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recover the Fort. The besieged mutiny was quelled, and many mutineers
including Sgt. La Madrid were killed. Later, others were sentenced to death or
hard labor.
● Izquierdo used the mutiny to implicate Gomburza and other notable Filipinos
known for their liberal leanings. Prominent Filipinos such as priests,
professionals, and businessmen were arrested on flimsy and trumped-up
charges and sentenced to prison, death, or exile. These include Joaquin Pardo
de Tavera, Jose Basa, and Antonio M. Regidor. It was said that the Cavite
mutineers got their cue from Manila when they saw and heard fireworks
across the Manila Bay which was really a celebration of the feast of the Lady
of Loreto in Sampaloc.
● When the Archbishop of Manila, Rev. Meliton Martinez, refused to cooperate
and defrock the priests, the Spanish court-martial on February 15 went ahead
and maliciously found Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora guilty of treason
for instigating the Cavite mutiny. Two days later, the three priests were put to
death by garrotte in Bagumbayan, now known as Luneta. (Garrote was a
barbaric Spanish method of execution in which an iron collar was tightened
around the prisoner’s neck until death occurred.)
● Father Burgos was of Spanish descent, born in the Philippines. He was a
parish priest of the Manila Cathedral and had been known to be close to the
liberal Governor General de la Torre. He was 35 years old at the time and was
active and outspoken in advocating the Filipinization of the clergy. He was
quoted as saying, “Why shall a young man strive to rise in the profession of
law or theology when he can vision no future for himself but obscurity?”
● Father Zamora, 37, was also Spanish, born in the Philippines. He was the
parish priest of Marikina and was known to be unfriendly to and would not
countenance any arrogance or authoritative behavior from Spaniards coming
from Spain. He once snubbed a Spanish governor who came to visit Marikina.
● Father Gomez was an old man in his mid-’70, Chinese-Filipino, born in
Cavite. He held the most senior position of the three as Archbishop’s Vicar in
Cavite. He was truly nationalistic and accepted the death penalty calmly as
though it were his penance for being pro-Filipinos.
● The three priests were stripped of their albs, and with chained hands and feet
were brought to their cells after their sentence. They received numerous visits
from folks coming from Cavite, Bulacan, and elsewhere. Forty thousand
Filipinos came to Luneta to witness and quietly condemn the execution, and
Gomburza became a rallying catchword for the down-trodden Filipinos
seeking justice and freedom from Spain.
● In the dedication page of his second book, El Filibusterismo, published in
1891, Dr. Jose Rizal wrote, “I dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil
which I undertake to combat…”
● It is well to remember that the seeds of nationalism that was sown in Cavite
blossomed to the Philippine Revolution and later to the Declaration of
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Independence by Emilio Aguinaldo which took place also in Cavite. As for

CONCLUSION:

Considering the four accounts of the 1872 Mutiny, there were some basic facts that
remained to be unvarying: First, there was dissatisfaction among the workers of the
arsenal as well as the members of the native army after their privileges were drawn back
by Gen. Izquierdo; Second, Gen. Izquierdo introduced rigid and strict policies that made
the Filipinos move and turn away from Spanish government out of disgust; Third, the
Central Government failed to conduct an investigation on what truly transpired but relied
on reports of Izquierdo and the friars and the opinion of the public; Fourth, the happy
days of the friars were already numbered in 1872 when the Central Government in Spain
decided to deprive them of the power to intervene in government affairs as well as in the
direction and management of schools prompting them to commit frantic moves to extend
their stay and power; Fifth, the Filipino clergy members actively participated in the
secularization movement in order to allow Filipino priests to take hold of the parishes in
the country making them prey to the rage of the friars; Sixth, Filipinos during the time
were active participants, and responded to what they deemed as injustices; and Lastly, 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. There may be different versions of the
event, but one thing is certain, the 1872 Cavite Mutiny paved way for a momentous 1898.