AMERICAN

INTERVENTION AND
PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE

 While Aguinaldo and his group went into

voluntary exile in Hong Kong, Cuba was also

in the state of revolution
Cuba was also under the Spanish colonial
regime
To protect the huge investments of American
businessmen in the sugar industry in Cuba,
the US government was dragged into a war
with Spain
This development was closely monitored by
the Filipino revolutionaries in exile

The Spanish-American War of

1898
Cuba, a Spanish colony in
the West Indies, revolted
against Spain sometime in February 1895
Philippines, on the other hand, staged revolution in
August 1896
Many American businessmen had huge investments
in the sugar industry in Cuba
Fearing that Americans were endangered by the on-
going struggle between the Cubans and Spanish
authorities, US Pres William McKinley sent the US
battleship Maine to Cuba for the purpose of
evacuating the Americans in case the revolution
worsened.

 Meanwhile, on February 9, 1895, a letter from

Enrique Dupuy de Lome, a Spanish minister

to the United States, which had been stolen
from a post oce in Havana was published in
the New York Journal
This letter pictured US Pres McKinley as a
would-be politician and a weak president
It aroused the ire of the American people
considering that the person insulted was the
symbol of the American nation

 The battleship docked at Havana harbor was

blown up, allegedly by the Spaniards on

February 15, 1898, which resulted in the loss
of about 260 crewmen
This incident aroused public indignation in
the US
According to Randolf Hearst, the father of
Yellow journalism, the battleship was actually
blown up and sank not by the Spaniards but
by the American spies stationed in Cuba to
provoke the war

 Because of the preceding events, Pres

McKinley recommended direct American

intervention in Cuba to the US Congress on
April 11, 1898
The US Congress accepted McKinleys
recommendation and voted for war against
Spain
On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war against
the US
On April 25, 1898, the Spanish-American War
began

 On April 25, 1898, Commodore George Dewey,

upon the orders of Pres McKinley, proceeded

immediately to the Philippines, with the squadron
of:
Four armored cruisers
2. Two gunboats
3. Revenue cutter
4. Flagship Olympia
1.

In the early morning of May 1, 1898, they entered

Manila Bay, and engaged the Spanish eet of 12

ships, headed by Admiral Patricio Montojo (the
battle lasted only for a few hours)

 Implications of the Battle of the Manila Bay:

1. For the Americans, it showed the US as a world

power;
2. For the Filipinos, it signaled the end of more than
300 years of Spanish colonial rule;
3. Likewise, marked the beginning of American
colonial rule in the Philippines.

 After defeating the Spanish eet, Dewey

blockaded Manila while waiting reinforcements

from the US, because he had no land forces to
back them up in besieging the city

Meanwhile, Governor-General Basilio Agustin,

the successor of Primo de Rivera was very much

demoralized due to the following reasons:

1. The defection of the Filipinos from the Spanish

army to Aguinaldos side;

2. Deweys victory over the Spanish eet in Manila
Bay.

 The Governor-General appealed to the

Filipino people to assist Spain to resist

American aggression
To convince the Filipinos to cooperate with
the Spaniards, Agustin issued two decrees
creating the following:
1. Filipino Volunteer Militia
2. Consultative Assembly (headed by Pedro

Paterno)

But these bodies achieved nothing because

all those appointed militia sided with

Aguinaldo

Filipino-American collaboration
The Filipino exiles in Hong Kong closely

monitored the developments in the Philippines

and the conict between Spain and the United
States
They considered seeking assistance from US
government in their armed struggle against the
Spaniards

 Meanwhile, the generals in Hong Kong met a

problem regarding the disposal of the PH

400,000 given to them by Governor-General de
Rivera
Isabelo Artacho wanted the money to be
apportioned among themselves
He sued Aguinaldo in the Hong Kong Supreme
Court because Aguinaldo rejected Artachos
proposal
To escape the mess, Aguinaldo (as well as
Gregorio del Pilar and J. Leyba) secretly went
to Singapore and arrived there on April 23,
1898

 In the afternoon, Howard Bay, an

Englishman, informed Aguinaldo that E.

Spencer Pratt, the American consul, wanted
to confer with him:

1. Pratt gave Aguinaldo the impression that the

Americans would not colonize the Philippines,

considering its distance about 10,000 miles away
from the US
2. Aguinaldo consented to return to the Philippines
with Dewey to ght the Spaniards alongside the
Americans.

 However, when Aguinaldo returned to Hong

Kong, Dewey had already sailed to Philippines

Rounseville Wildman, American consul in Hong
Kong, gave Aguinaldo Deweys instruction for his
return to the Philippines
He suggested to Aguinaldo to establish a
dictatorial government, which was needed in the
prosecution of the war against the Spain, but had
to be replaced with a government similar to that
of the US once the war was over and peace was
restored
Wildman and Pratt assured Aguinaldo that the
American government sympathized with the
Filipinos aspirations for independence

 The Hong Kong junta, met and decided that

Aguinaldo should return to the Philippines to

lead the struggle against the Spaniards
In preparation for his return to the
Philippines, Aguinaldo gave Wildman
PH117,000 to purchase guns and ammunition
The rst shipment for PH50,000 arrived
promptly
The second delivery, however, did not happen

 Wildman arranged Aguinaldos return to the

Philippines boarding a revenue cutter

McCulloch
On May 17, 1898, the ship left Hong Kong
Arrived in Cavite two days after
Aguinaldo was accorded military honors (as a
general)

 Constantino identied four major forces on

the historical stage of Aguinaldos return to

the Philippines:

1. Spanish colonialism
2. American Imperialism
3. The Filipino ilustrados
4. The masses

 On May 21, 1898 (2 days after), Aguinaldo in a

letter advised the people to respect

foreigners and their properties, also enemies
who surrenderif we do not conduct
ourselves thus, the Americans will decide to
sell us or else divide up our territory as they
will hold us incapable of governing our land;
we shall not secure our liberty; rather the
contrary, our own soil will be delivered over to
other lands.

 When news of Aguinaldos arrival spread, a

number of Filipino volunteers in the Spanish

army defected to the Filipino side
By the end of May, with a growing number of
revolutionary supporters, 5,000 Spaniards
had been captured
Within a week, Imus and Bacoor Cavite, and
Paranaque and Las Pinas in Morong were
seized by the rebels

 On June 2, 1898, Gen Artemio Ricarte

accepted the surrender of the Spanish

commanding general in Cavite
Within the month of June, almost the whole
of Luzon, except for the port of Cavite and
Manila, had fallen into the hands of the
rebels.

The Siege of Manila

When the Spanish navy was destroyed, many

Spaniards had taken refuge at Intramuros

Aguinaldo seized the opportunity to besiege
the city and cut o its food and water supply
to force the Spaniards out
Aguinaldo oered the option of surrender
three times, with generous terms, to Gov-
Gen Agustin but these were rejected as he
was also awaiting reinforcements from Spain
which never came

Aguinaldos Dictatorship
When Aguinaldo arrived from Hong Kong, he

brought with him a draft of constitutional plan

drawn up by Mariano Ponce
The plan was to establish a federal republic
His adviser Ambrosio Rianzares suggested a
dictatorial government to prosecute the war
against Spain
On May 24, 1898, Aguinaldo issued a decree:
1. Formally establishing a dictatorial government;
2. Nullify the orders issued under the Biak-na-Bato

Republic

 Having a government in operation, Aguinaldo

deemed it necessary to declare

INDEPENDENCE of the Philippines
Apolinario Mabini (unocial adviser of
Aguinaldo) objected the plan, for the reason
that there was a still a need to reorganize the
government for political stability
Aguinaldo, however, rejected the suggestion
of Mabini

Proclamation of Independence
Proclaimed on June 12, 1898, in the presence of a

huge crowd at the ancestral house of Gen Emilio

Aguinaldo between 4 and 5 in the afternoon
In Kawit, Cavite
Highlights of the events:

The unfurling of the Philippine national ag sewed in

Hong Kong by Marcela Agoncillo, Lorenza Agoncillo
and Delna Herbosa
2. Playing of the Marcha Filipina Magdalo by the Francisco
de Malabon marching band as the countrys national
anthem
3. The reading of the Declaration of Philippine
Independence (written by Ambrosio Rianzares
Bautista)
1.

 The Declaration of Independence was

translated into English by Sulpicio Guevarra

The proclamation of June 12, however, was
later modied by another proclamation done
at Malolos, Bulacan, upon the insistence of
Apolinario Mabini
Mabini objected the original proclamation as
it basically placed the Philippines under the
protection of the United States

To Revolutionary Government
On June 18, Aguinaldo issued a decree

reorganizing local governments in areas

liberated from Spain
Apolinario Mabini became Aguinaldos liberal
adviser
By virtue of the Decree of June 23, they
announced that:
1. Dictatorship was changed to a Revolutionary

government
2. Orders of the Biak-na-Bato Republic were revoked

 Emilio Jacinto (operating independently) was invited

by Mabini to join the government in Malolos

By the end of June the rebels controlled all of Luzon
except Manila, which was besieged.
On July 15, Aguinaldo chose his cabinet:
1.
2.

His brother Baldomero Secretary of War and Public Works

Cayetano Arellano oered the post of Secretary of Foreign
Aairs

Aguinaldo was proclaimed the Chief General on July

23
Immediately he deployed 14,000 Filipino soldiers
between the Spaniards and the Americans outside
the Intramuros

 At the same time, the American forces were

arriving:

1. Gen Thomas Anderson with 2,500 troops (June

30)
2. Gen Francis Greene with 3,500 troops (July 17)
3. Gen Arthur MacArthur 4,800 troops (July 31)

Gen Wesley E. Merritt had a total 10,964

men and 740 ocers

 For the fourth time, Aguinaldo negotiated a

surrender of the Spaniards

But Spanish ocials refused stressing that if
there is a need to surrender, they would
surrender to the Americans, not to Filipinos

Mock Battle of Manila

With reinforcements, Dewey started

negotiating with Gov-Gen Agustin and with

the Belgian consul, Andre, acting as mediator
for the surrender of the Spaniards
Spanish government immediately replaced
Agustin with Gov-Gen Fermin Jaudenes
The two powers agreed secretly to stage a
mock battle between them on one condition
that no Filipino troops would be allowed to
enter Manila

 Gen Merritt, overall commander, decided to

conduct the oensive from the side of the Manila

Bay
Gen Francis Greene the commander of the
second reinforcement instructed Aguinaldo
and his troops to cooperate with the Americans
by leaving the area free for the foreigners to
occupy
Gen Anderson commander of the rst
reinforcements telegraphed Aguinaldo not to
let his troops enter Manila without permission
from the American troops or else they would be
shot
Gen Arthur MacArthur commander of third
reinforcement

 In rainy morning of August 13, 1898, the

Americans started their mock attack together

with the Filipino forces
At about 11:20 am, the Spaniards raised the
ag of surrender
By 5 pm, surrender negotiations were
completed
On August 14, the document stating the
terms of surrender was formally signed by
representatives of both parties