CAVITE

MUTINY
BY: JILLIAN KAYE S. DAED
CAVITE PROVINCE
 Cavite Province
lies along the southern shore of
Manila Bay. It is bounded on the
north by Manila Bay and Metro
Manila, on the east by Laguna, on
the west by the South China Sea, and
on the south by Batangas.
 BRIEF PROFILE
 Capital: Trece Martires City
 Land Area: 128,755 Hectares
 Population: 1,150,103 (1990)
 Cities: Trece Martires, Cavite and
Tagaytay
 Number of Towns: 20
Cavite was a center of military operations during the
Philippine Revolution of 1896. The Spaniards executed
13 Filipino revolutionaries in Cavite City that year: the
provincial capital is now named after them "Trece
Martires City".

On June 12, 1898, General Emilio Aguinaldo

proclaimed Philippine independence from his
residence in Kawit. Bacoor became the capital until
the seat of government was transferred to Malolos,
Bulacan.
What is Mutiny?
mu·tiny (myo̵̅̅ o̅t′'n ē)
noun pl. mutinies -·nies

Rebellion of soldiers or sailors against their officers

The Cavite Mutiny took place at an arsenal in
Cavite, Philippines on January 20, 1872. Around
200 Filipino soldiers and laborers rose up against
Spanish oppression in the hopes of starting a
national uprising. The mutiny was unsuccessful,
and the Spanish executed many of the participants
and began to crack down on a burgeoning
nationalist movement.
CAUSE:
The primary cause of the mutiny is believed to be an
order from Governor-General Rafael de Izquierdo to
subject the soldiers of the Engineering and Artillery
Corps to personal taxes, from which they were
previously exempt. The taxes required them to pay a
monetary sum as well as to perform forced labor or
called, "polo y servicio". The mutiny was 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.
BATTLE:
Their leader was Ferdinand La Madrid, a mestizo
Sergeant. The mutineers thought that soldiers in
Manila would join them in a concerted uprising, the
signal being the firing of rockets from the city walls on
that night. Unfortunately, what they thought to be the
signal was actually a burst of fireworks in celebration
of the feast of St. Loreto, the patron of Sampaloc.
The mutiny was quickly crushed, but the
Spanish administration under the
reactionary governor Rafael de Izquierdo
magnified the incident and used it as an
excuse to clamp down on those Filipinos
who had been calling for governmental
reform.
GOMBURZA
GOMEZBURGOSZAMORA
Executed by Garrotte in
Bagumbayan, Manila on February
17, 1872, for allegedly instigating
the Cavite Mutiny.
Fr. Mariano Gomez 1799-1872
Fr. Jose Burgos 1837-1872
Fr. Jacinto Zamora 1835-1872
The mutiny was used by Spanish
colonial government to implicate
three Filipino priests.
The three priests — Fathers Mariano
Gomez, Jose Apolonio Burgos and Jacinto
Zamora—all graduates of the University of
Sto. Tomas, were brilliant men who used
their education to fight for reforms to break
the 300 year old dominance of the Spanish
government.
Gomez, parish priest in Bacoor, Cavite was founder of
the newspaper La Verdad (The Truth) in which he
described the deplorable conditions of the country
and printed the liberal articles of Burgos.

Burgos was linked to many activities perceived as

hostile towards the Spanish since he was also one of
the organizers of the Committee of Reformers which
campaigned for more liberal laws. The Cleric section,
includes Gomez and Zamora, was headed by Burgos.
These executions, particularly those of the GOMBURZA,
were to have a significant effect on people because of the
shadowy nature of the trials. Jose Rizal dedicated his work,
EL FILIBUSTERISMO for the executed priests.

On January 27, 1872 Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo

approved the death sentences on forty-one of the
mutineers. On February 6, eleven more were sentenced
to death, but these were commuted to life
imprisonment. Others were exiled to Guam. Those who
were exiled were able to make their way to more
progressive places like London, Hong Kong, or Tokyo.
They were able to start small movements that were to
help the Philippine Revolution.
Importance of Cavite Mutiny
in Philippine History
Many believe that the Cavite Mutiny of
1872 was the beginning of Filipino
nationalism that would eventually lead
to the Philippine Revolution of 1896.