Short Lived Fight for Independence

The arrest of Rizal shocked activists and in 1892, they formed the Katipunan under leader Andres Bonificio (a self-educated warehouseman). Katipunan prepared for an armed revolt and wanted to free Philipines of Spanish rule. Soon after, Emilio Aguinaldo later took over as leader. (1) In 1896, the Cavite revolution began, which led to a peace between Spain and the local Filipinos. Unfortunately, it ended shortly because neither nation respected the agreements. A new revolution took its place when the Spanish American war began in April 25, 1898. (2)

Roosevelt, who was president at the time, ordered Dewey to attack the Spanish fleet in the Philippines. The Battle of Manila Bay was the first of many. Eventually, Commodore Dewey’s ship passed under siege guns on Corregidor Island, and by noon on May 1, 1898, destroyed the Spanish fleet. (3) Prior to this date, Aguinaldo, who had left the Philippines after the peace with Spain, came back on May 19^th, 1898 and continued to command his rebel forces. Dewey encouraged Aguinaldo to revolt and gave him arms to fight. The Filipino rebels, by the time the US had arrived on land, had taken the entire island of Luzon except for Manila in which they were laying siege to. (2)

From his house on Cavite (his declared capital), Aguinaldo declared independence on June 12, 1898. Meanwhile, the US stood in conflict. They hadn’t originally intended to take over the Philippines, but other imperial nations like Britain, France, Japan, and especially Germany threatened US’s place in the Asia-Pacific trade. (3) On July 1898, Spanish governor Fermin Jaudenes surrendered Manila on terms that preserved Spanish pride but totally ignored Aguinaldo. The Americans took Manila on August 13, 1898. Aguinaldo realized that the US wasn’t going to acknowledge their independence so he moved the capital to Malalos in Bulacan because it was easier to defend. (3) The Treaty of Paris declared, on December 10, 1898, the official surrender of the Philippines from Spain to the United States. Spain ceded the country they had long ruled.