Analysis of the “Proclamation of

the Philippine Independence”

 A re-examination of the document on the declaration
of independence can reveal some often overlooked
historical truths about this important event in
Philippine history. Aside from this, the document
reflects about the general revolutionary sentiment of
that period.

 For example, the abuses specifically mentioned in the

proclamation like friar abuse, racial discrimination,
and inequality before the law reflect the most
compelling sentiments represented by the
revolutionary leadership.
 The land and agrarian crisis felt by the numerous
Filipino peasants in the 19th century. This is ironic
especially when renowned Philippine Revolution
historian, Teodoro Agoncillo, stated that the
Philippine Revolution was an agrarian revolution.

 The common revolutionary soldiers fought in the

revolution for the hope of owning the lands that they
were tilling once the friar estates in different provinces
like Batangas and Laguna dissolve, if and when the
revolution succeeded.
 Such aspects and realities of the revolutionary
struggle with either unfamiliar to the middle class
revolutionary leaders like Emilio Aguinaldo,
Ambrosio Rianzares-Bautista, and Felipe
Buencamino, or were intentionally left out
because they were landholders themselves.
 The Treaty of Paris

It was an agreement signed between Spain

and the United States of America regarding the
ownership of the Philippine Islands and other
Spanish colonies in South America. The
agreement ended the short-lived Spanish-
American War.
 The treaty was signed on December 10, 1898,
6 months after the revolutionary government
declared the Philippine Independence. The
Philippines was sold to the United States at $20
million and effectively undermined the
sovereignty of the Filipinos after their
revolutionary victory. The Americans occupied
the Philippines immediately which resulted in
the Philippine-American War.
 The proclamation gives us the impression on
how the victorious revolutionary government of
Aguinaldo historicized the struggle of
independence. The execution of GOMBURZA
and the failed Cavite Mutiny of 1872 shows that
they saw this event as a significant awakening of
the Filipinos in the real conditions of the nation
under Spain. Bonifacio and his co-founders were
also left out, it can be argued, thus that way of
historical narration also reflect the politics of the
victors. The enmity between Aguinaldo’s Magdalo
and Bonifacio’s Magdiwang in Katipunan is no
secret in the pages of our history.
 The point is, even official records and documents
like the proclamation of independence, while
truthful most of the time, still exude the politics
and biases of whoever is in power. It is the task of
the historian, thus to analyze the content of these
documents in relation to the dominant politics and
the contexts of people and institutions
surrounding it.
 This tells us a lesson on taking primary
sources like official government records
within the circumstance of this production.
Studying one historical subject, thus,
entails looking at multiple primary sources
and pieces of historical evidences in order
to have a more nuanced and contextual
analysis of our past.