Philippine Revolution

Philippine Revolution
Part of decolonization of Asia and Spanish–American War
Clockwise from top left: Surviving Spanish troops in Barcelona after the Siege of Baler, Filipino soldiers during the near end of the Revolution, Filipino negotiators for the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, Painting of the Battle of Zapote Bridge, and the Malolos Congress
Date August 23, 1896 – January 23, 1899 (2 years and 5 months) Location Philippines Result Inconclusive[a] Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain Spain cedes control of the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris Philippine–American War started soon after Territorial changes Establishment of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines and later the First Philippine Republic, asserting sovereignty
Belligerents
1896–1897 Katipunan Sovereign Tagalog Nation (until March 1897) Tejeros Government (March–November 1897) Republic of Biak-na-Bato (November–December 1897)	1896–1897  Spain Captaincy General of the Philippines Province of La Pampanga
1898 Philippine Revolutionaries Dictatorial Government (May–June) Revolutionary Government (from June)  United States (May)	1898  Spain Captaincy General of the Philippines Province of La Pampanga
1899  First Philippine Republic	1899  United States
Commanders and leaders
See list Andrés Bonifacio  Emilio Aguinaldo Román Basa  Teodoro Plata  Ladislao Diwa Emilio Jacinto Gregoria de Jesús Julio Nakpil Macario Sakay Mariano Álvarez Mariano Trías Santiago Álvarez Baldomero Aguinaldo Miguel Malvar Artemio Ricarte Pío del Pilar Tomás Mascardo Gregorio del Pilar Francisco Macabulos Teresa Magbanua Pantaleón Villegas  X Arcadio Maxilom Aniceto Lacson George Dewey Wesley Merritt	See list Ramón Blanco Camilo de Polavieja Fernando Primo de Rivera Basilio Augustín Fermin Jáudenes Diego de los Ríos José Olaguer Feliú José de Lachambre
Strength
1896: 100,000[1][2]–400,000[3][4]	1896: 12,700–17,700 [citation needed] 1898: ${\displaystyle \approx }$55,000 [b][citation needed]
Casualties and losses
${\displaystyle \approx }$28,646  †/ (DOW)[5] Many more lost to disease[6]	Unknown; heavy. Many more lost to disease[6]
Many Filipino civilians dead from both Spanish troops and Katipunan atrocities[5]

The Philippine Revolution (Filipino: Himagsikang Pilipino or Rebolusyong Pilipino; Spanish: Revolución Filipina or Guerra Tagala)^[7] was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year colonial rule of Spain in the archipelago. The Philippines was one of the last major colonies of the Spanish Empire, which had already suffered a massive decline in the 1820s. Cuba rebelled in 1895, and in 1898, the United States intervened and the Spanish soon capitulated. In June, Philippine revolutionaries declared independence. However, it was not recognized by Spain, which sold the islands to the United States in the Treaty of Paris.

Led by Andrés Bonifacio, the Katipunan was formed in secrecy in 1892 in the wake of the nascent La Liga Filipina, an organization created by Filipino nationalist José Rizal and others in Spain with goals of Philippine representation to the Spanish Parliament. Katipunan soon gained influence across the islands, and sought an armed revolution. However, that revolution started prematurely in August 1896 upon its discovery by Spanish authorities in Manila. The organization soon declared war against Spain in Caloocan.^[8] Early battles and skirmishes were centered around sieging the capital city of Manila led by Bonifacio himself, which ultimately failed. However, revolutionaries in the neighboring provinces fared better, particularly in Cavite, where rebels led by Mariano Álvarez and cousins Baldomero and Emilio Aguinaldo won early major victories. This disparity in success, along with multiple factors, contributed to the eventual power struggle from within Katipunan's leadership. Two factions formed: Bonifacio's Magdiwang and Aguinaldo's Magdalo. This struggle culminated in the 1897 elections in Tejeros, which saw Emilio Aguinaldo elected as president in absentia. Bonifacio nullified the results after a Magdalo member questioned his election as the Secretary of the Interior. This resulted in a schism, with Bonifacio's supporters alleging that the elections was fraudulent, with Bonifacio himself refusing to recognize the results. In April 1897, Aguinaldo ordered the arrest of Bonifacio. A trial was set in Maragondon, where the Magdalo-led jury found Bonifacio and his brother Procopio guilty of treason, sentencing both of them to death. Despite calls for commuting the sentence for the sake of national unity, the brothers were executed in May 1897. Later that year, Aguinaldo's government and Spanish authorities signed the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, which temporarily reduced hostilities. Filipino revolutionary officers exiled themselves to Hong Kong. However, the hostilities never completely ceased.^[9]

On April 21, 1898, after the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor, the United States declared war against the Spanish Empire, starting the Spanish-American War.^[10] On May 1, the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron, under George Dewey, decisively defeated the Spanish Navy in the Battle of Manila Bay, effectively seizing control of the area surrounding Manila. On May 19, Aguinaldo, unofficially allied with the United States, returned to the Philippines and resumed attacks against the Spaniards. By June, the rebels had gained control of nearly the entirety of the countryside, while the cities remained under Spanish control. On June 12, Aguinaldo issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence in Kawit.^[11] Although this signified the end date of the revolution, neither Spain nor the United States recognized Philippine independence.^[12] The Treaty of Paris was signed between Spain and the United States, formally ending Spanish rule to the islands and the Spanish-American war.^[9] Despite attempts by the Filipino government, there were no Filipinos in the treaty.

On February 4, 1899, fighting broke out between the Filipino and American forces, beginning the Philippine–American War. Aguinaldo immediately declared war, ordering "that peace and friendly relations with the Americans be broken and that the latter be treated as enemies".^[13] In June 1899, the First Philippine Republic formally declared war against the United States,^[14][15] which ended with the Philippine Organic Act in July 1902. As a result, the islands become an unincorporated territory of the United States. A commonwealth government was formed in 1935, with Manuel L. Quezon, Aguinaldo's aide-de-camp during the revolution, assuming presidency. The Philippines was intended to become independent after a ten-year commonwealth period but was cut short in the advent of the Second World War in the Pacific. The country finally became fully independent on July 4, 1946, 50 years after the start of the revolution.

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