Pact of Biak-na-Bato

Pact of Biak-na-Bato
Filipino revolutionaries exiled to Hong Kong. Sitting on Emilio Aguinaldo's right is Lt. Col. Miguel Primo de Rivera,[1]: 278  nephew and aide-de-camp of Fernando Primo de Rivera and father of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, who was held hostage until Aguinaldo's indemnity was paid.[2]: 309–310  Standing behind Aguinaldo is Col. Gregorio del Pilar. Standing behind Miguel and to his right is Pedro Paterno.
TypePeace treaty, General Amnesty
SignedDecember 14, 1897[3]
LocationSan Miguel, Bulacan in Luzon Island, Philippines
Signatories
LanguagesSpanish, Tagalog
The Filipino negotiators for the Pact of Biak-na-Bato. Seated from left to right: Pedro Paterno and Emilio Aguinaldo with five companions

The Pact of Biak-na-Bato, signed on December 14, 1897,[3][4] created a truce between Spanish colonial Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera and the revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo to end the Philippine Revolution. Aguinaldo and his fellow revolutionaries were given amnesty and monetary indemnity by the Spanish Government, in return for which the revolutionary government would go into exile in Hong Kong. Aguinaldo had decided to use the money to purchase advance firearms and ammunition later on return to the archipelago.[5]: 49 [6]: 232 

The pact was signed in San Miguel, Bulacan, in the house of Pablo Tecson, a Philippine revolutionary captain who served as brigadier general in the 'Brigada Del Pilar' (military troop) of General Gregorio del Pilar during the Revolution.

A hand-drawn Spanish military map of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo's headquarters at Biak-na-bato (ca. 1897)
  1. ^ Harper's Pictorial History of the War with Spain, 1899, Vol. 2, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers
  2. ^ Nofi, A.A., 1996, The Spanish–American War, 1898, Pennsylvania: Combined Books, ISBN 0-938289-57-8
  3. ^ a b Spencer Tucker (2009). The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. pp. 58-59. ISBN 978-1-85109-951-1.
  4. ^ Aguinaldo 1899
  5. ^ Mabini, A., 1969, The Philippine Revolution, Republic of the Philippines dept. of Education, National Historical Commission
  6. ^ Alvarez, S.V., 1992, Recalling the Revolution, Madison: Center for Southeast Asia Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, ISBN 1-881261-05-0