In 1872 took place what is now known as the Cavite insurrection. This uprising had in itself no real importance; it only gained importance because of the attention which was paid to it. The cause of the revolt was the desire of the people for native priests. There was a party among the native clergy whose leaders were demanding that the friars should be forbidden to act as parish priests, and should be made to give up certain benefits to which they were not entitled.

The native party had some right on its side in these demands. A treaty had been made at Trent, some years before, defining the positions and rights of the clergy in the islands. Under this treaty the friars were not entitled to act as parish priests. They asked this privilege from the Pope, however, and it was granted them. As a result the Filipino clergy could act only in inferior positions, as assistants and lay readers. They enjoyed but few of the rights and dignities of their calling.

The leader of the clergy who were demanding their rights was a priest named José Burgos (hō sā´ bur´gōs). He was native born, and a man of great strength and dignity of character. It is not believed that he, or the priests who were among his followers, really incited the revolt at Cavite. He had, however, many enemies, and these succeeded in making him appear to be guilty.

But whatever the origin of the uprising, it went wrong through a mistake about signals. A number of the native soldiery were concerned in the affair, and were to have aided the plotters in Manila. It was agreed that certain men in Manila should get everything ready, and send up a rocket, by which signal those at Cavite would know that the time had come to act. It happened, however, that one night in the latter part of January a fiesta was held in one of the suburbs of Manila. Fireworks were set off, and these the soldiers at Cavite mistook for the signal of attack. They therefore seized the arsenal at Cavite, and attacked the Europeans living in and about the town.

When it was too late to undo their action, they discovered the mistake. Their friends at Manila had no idea what was taking place. They did not come to the aid of the revolters at Cavite, and when they learned the news, there was no time to gather their forces. The loyal troops were called out, and the trouble was put down in two days.

All might even yet have gone well with the country if this matter could have been allowed to rest right there. The government, however, saw fit to regard this uprising as of grave importance. All who were suspected of a part in it were severely punished; many were shot, and three of the native priests were garrotted. These priests were Dr. Burgos, Dr. Mariano Gomez (mä rē ä´nō gō´meth), and Dr. Jacinto Zamora (hä sēn´tō thä mō´rä). As to their guilt, there will always be a doubt, and to this day the native clergy declare that these men were innocent of planning the revolt.

These executions made the people desperate. The secret societies which had been forming all over Luzon had up to this time been merely local lodges of the great society of Freemasons. Now they were turned into political societies, with a definite aim, and that aim was to win greater liberty for the Filipinos. These societies afterwards played a very important part in the history of the islands.

Shortly after the uprising at Cavite, another revolt occurred in Zamboanga; but this was put down with the help of the Moros. After the Cavite insurrection, the native regiment of artillery was disbanded, and a regiment of artillery from the Peninsula was brought to the islands.

In spite of all these disturbances, considerable public work was done during the next few years. The ports of Legaspi, Tacloban, and Leyte were opened to foreign commerce in 1873–1874, and in 1875 the famous Bridge of Spain across the Pasig River, in Manila, was built and thrown open for public use. The opening of the Suez Canal was a helpful thing to the commerce of the Philippines, and under wise and just government there might have been a time of prosperity for the country.

In 1877 Don Domingo Moriones y Morillo (dō min´gō mō rē ō´nās ē mō rēl´yō) became governor-general. When he arrived in Manila, the King’s Regiment, the mainstay of the Spanish forces in the islands, was in revolt. This revolt had been kept a secret by the retiring governor-general, for fear of the result if the natives should learn the truth. The new governor-general caused the regiment to be drawn up in line and numbered. When this had been done, every tenth man was told off to be shot next morning. Moriones was afterwards persuaded to spare many of these men, but the ringleaders were all shot; some others were put into prison for long terms, and about fifty of them were sent back to Spain in disgrace.

The term of office upon which he entered with such vigor was marked by a number of very good acts on the part of the governor-general. His name should be remembered with gratitude in Manila, for it was he who caused the public waterworks to be built. Over a hundred years before, a patriotic governor-general, Don Fernando Carriedo (fer nän´dō cä rē ā´dō), had left a fund to provide the city with a suitable water supply. This money was to be kept at interest until the fund grew large enough for the purpose, and it had increased so much that work should have been begun a good many years before. But those having the money in charge were not willing to give it up, and it was only after a bitter struggle that Governor-General Moriones was able to get Carriedo’s wishes carried out. This enterprise was a great blessing to the city of Manila, as the value of a pure water supply cannot be over-estimated.

Moriones also did what he could to get appropriations from the treasury to pay off the tobacco growers, whose condition was at this time pitiful indeed. They had not been paid for some years, while at the same time they were not allowed to grow any other crop by which they might maintain themselves. In 1881 this tobacco monopoly, which had worked such wrong to the people, was ended by royal decree of King Alfonso XII.

In 1880 there was a violent earthquake in Manila. The disturbances lasted from the 14th of July to the 25th of the same month, and did a great deal of damage in the city, causing loss of property and life. The people were reduced to such a state of terror that they dared not live in the better class of houses in Manila, but took to the nipa huts in the suburbs. These houses were less dangerous because of their light structure.

This same year cable communication was set up between Spain and Manila.

In 1881 Governor-General Primo de Rivera (prē´mō dā rē vā´rä) came to office. One of the first things he did was to organize an expedition against the Igorrotes of northern Luzon; but, like all other attempts to subdue these people, this expedition was a failure. The Spanish soldiers who took part in it left behind them among the Igorrotes such a record for cruelty and violence that to this day most of these people hate the sight of a white man.

There was trouble enough for the people during Rivera’s rule. In 1882 a cholera epidemic broke out in Manila, and in less than three months 30,000 people died in the city and its suburbs and throughout the province. There were also several typhoons of unusual violence, and a terrifying eruption of Mayon volcano, which lasted for many months.

In 1883 Joaquin Jovellar y Soler (hō ä kēn´ hō vāl´här ē sō´lėr), who had won a name for himself as the “peacemaker” in Cuba, became governor-general of the Philippines. He was well received by the Spanish, and made some attempt to bring about reforms in the country. The old-time tribute, the cause of so many revolts among the people, was replaced by the “cedula personal,” or paper of identity, which every inhabitant above eighteen years of age was compelled to have. During his time, there were small outbreaks among the people, and threats of a general insurrection, which led to more troops being sent out from the Peninsula. It became necessary now to have Spanish troops almost altogether, as the native soldiers could not be depended upon to fire on their own people.

By now there was coming to the front in the islands a considerable body of thoughtful young men. These were beginning to demand greater liberty for the Filipinos. In the Visayas, Graciano Lopez Jaena (grä seä´no lō´peth hä ā nä) had become a teacher of the people. This man has been called the “John the Baptist of the Visayas.”

The people in that part of the country were in a position even more hopeless than were those in Luzon. They knew little or nothing of what was going on in the northern islands. They had no leaders of their own, but were dominated by different parties among their rulers. These parties were constantly quarreling among themselves and with the government at home. Between these factions the people lay like corn between the millstones, crushed almost beyond hope of ever attaining the smallest human rights.

Jaena was born in Jaro, near Iloilo, and was a student in the seminario there. Like many young men of his time, he had the desire to go to Spain and finish his studies. The friars had taken alarm at the number of young Filipino men who were doing this, and they refused Jaena permission to leave his studies at the seminario. They claimed that, as he was one of their students, they had a right to dictate how he should dispose of his life, and where he should pursue his studies. An action so arbitrary and unjust as this was not to be borne by a young man of any spirit. Jaena left the seminario without the permission of his teachers, went to Manila, and from there to Spain.

In Madrid he made the acquaintance of a number of members of the Liberal Party, who listened willingly to what the young man had to say, and made great efforts to get him an audience with the Ministers of State. For a time he was well received in Spain, but the Liberal Party fell into discredit at court, and Jaena was unable to gain a hearing for any of the reforms that were so dear to his heart. He lived in great poverty in Madrid, forced to do menial work to maintain himself. He was never able to get back to his own country, for which he suffered so much, but died in Madrid while still a comparatively young man. He left a great many writings which are well known throughout the Visayas. His name is as much honored in that part of the country as is the name of Rizal everywhere in the Philippines.

Dr. José Rizal y Mercado (rē thäl´ ē mer kä´dō) will never be forgotten while there are patriotic Filipinos left to keep his memory alive. He was a native of Calamba (kä läm´bä), in Laguna Province, and was born in the early sixties. He was graduated from the Jesuit College in Manila, and from there he went to Europe, where he studied medicine. He was graduated from Madrid University as Doctor of Medicine and Philosophy.

Afterwards he went to Paris and to several German universities, from one of which he took another degree. In Germany he became greatly interested in the socialistic movement of the day. He mingled freely with the German students, among whom he was very popular, and shared in their ideas of human rights and political liberty. He was a true Catholic, but he longed to see his country freed from the narrow rule which had made civil government in the Philippines a farce.

The influence of the Orders in the islands had become known even in Spain as a hurtful thing for the country. As far back as the year 1870 the Spanish Minister of State, in a formal report, had recommended that the friars be removed from charge of the schools in the islands. Now the demand was becoming general that their places should be taken by secular priests who were natives of the country.

Rizal believed that it would be necessary to send the Orders out of the Philippines before the country could ever be prosperous. While abroad he wrote a novel entitled “Nolle me Tangere,” in which he showed plainly the attitude of the friars and the people toward one another. This novel was written in the Spanish language, but was published in Germany. While Rizal was living as a student in France, he wrote another political novel, “El Filibustero.”

Later he returned to the islands, and there did notable work in his profession of medicine. He became actively interested in the condition of the country, as well. In his own town he led a party which demanded of the Dominican Order that it show title deeds to a large tract of agricultural land of which it had possession. This brought down upon him the opposition of the friars, and he found it wise to return to Europe. In his absence his relatives and many of the chief families with whom he had been friendly in his town were persecuted, and driven from the lands which they had rented from the religious Orders. Their holdings were given to Spaniards, and they received no compensation for their losses.

In 1893 Rizal went to Hong-Kong, meaning to settle there and practise his profession. A little later he was given to understand that it would be safe for him to come back to Manila, and he came. When he reached the customs house at Manila, his baggage was rigidly searched, and it was claimed that among his effects were found a number of disloyal pamphlets. Among these were some proclamations which it was claimed he had written for the purpose of starting a revolt among the natives.

It is not common sense to believe that Rizal had any of these things in his trunk, and it is now generally understood that they were placed there by those who did the searching. His enemies demanded that he should be executed as a traitor, but the governor-general would not give him up to them. Instead he was banished to northern Mindanao, where for four years he lived very quietly. He practised medicine there among the people, and many foreigners came from over the sea to consult him. He performed several remarkable operations upon the eyes during these years.

Then the Cuban troubles broke out, and, to prove his loyalty to Spain, Dr. Rizal asked permission to go to Cuba as an army doctor in the Spanish forces. This favor was granted him July 28, 1896. He went up to Manila by way of Cebu, just at the time of the outbreak of 1896. He was the idol of the people; everywhere his countrymen were talking about him, and looking to him as a leader; his name brought them hope and strengthened their courage. By them he was regarded as the future liberator of the race, and to them he represented the promise of liberty.

All this so alarmed his enemies that they declared it dangerous to have him in Manila. He was at once put on board the Spanish cruiser Castilla, and from there transferred to the mail steamer Isla de Panay, bound for Barcelona. He carried letters of recommendation to the Ministers of War and of the Colonies, which were sent to him by General Blanco with a personal letter.

His enemies were determined to have his life, and he was cabled at Barcelona to return at once to the islands. Certain accusations were made against him, and he was thrown into prison at the Fortress of Montjierat (mont-hē ā´rät) in Spain, until a steamer should return to the islands. Then he was sent back to Manila, a state prisoner, isolated from all but his jailers.

He was brought to trial for sedition and rebellion before a court-martial of eight captains, with a lieutenant-colonel presiding; but there was no testimony against him. How could there be? The facts show that it was quite impossible for Rizal to have had anything to do with the revolution of 1896. He had been a prisoner of state, in seclusion, for years. He had had no communication with the people of Luzon, and there was nothing to show that he had taken any part in the revolt. But he had been condemned beforehand, and of all the cruel acts of Governor-General Polavieja (pō lä vē ā´hä), the cruelest was his decree for the execution of this man.

There were but a few days between Rizal’s sentence and his death. He was engaged to marry Miss Josephine Taufer, the adopted daughter of an American gentleman who had been a patient of Rizal’s in Hong-Kong, and to her he was married on the day of his execution. He was shot at six o’clock in the morning of December 30, 1896, and an immense crowd gathered on the Luneta to witness that terrible sacrifice.

His widow joined the insurgents. She was present at the battle of Silang (sē läng´), and fled with the rest before the Spanish, tramping through twenty-three villages on her way to the northern provinces. She was at last banished from the country by Governor-General Polavieja. During the American occupation she returned for a time to the islands whose welfare was so dear to her martyred husband. Later she went to Hong-Kong, where she died, in March, 1902.

The name of José Rizal is now hailed with honor. The government has made the anniversary of his birth a public holiday, and it is observed yearly in the public schools of the archipelago. Thus is his memory kept alive. His unselfish love for his native country should be remembered and shared by the Filipino boys and girls now growing up to work for the good of the land for which he hoped and dared so much.

Summary.—The Cavite insurrection, which took place in 1872, while not in itself of great importance, was the real beginning of the rebellion of 1896. It failed through a mistake in regard to signals. The Spanish authorities overrated the importance of this uprising, and those whom they accused of being concerned in it were punished with great severity. This course drove the people to desperation. Other uprisings took place, and there was great disturbance in the country. Many good public works went on, however. The Carriedo waterworks were built and put in operation, and an effort was made to raise money to pay off the tobacco growers. In 1881 the tobacco monopoly was done away with by royal decree of Alfonso XII.

In 1882 came the great cholera epidemic in Manila. During the time it raged, 30,000 people died in the city and province. During these years, teachers of the people began to rise in the Visayas, as well as in Luzon. Jaena, the Visayan patriot, was in Spain, trying to obtain justice for his people. Later, Dr. José Rizal began writing of the wrongs of his country. He came back to Manila, after an absence of some years, but was banished to Mindanao. When the trouble in Cuba began, he volunteered to go there as a surgeon in the Spanish army. He sailed from Manila to Barcelona, expecting to go from there to Cuba. At Barcelona, on the strength of despatches from Manila, he was thrown into prison, and later was sent back to Manila. His enemies there secured his trial on a false charge of sedition, and he was sentenced to death and executed.

Questions.—What was the main cause of the Cavite insurrection of 1872? Who was Don Fernando Carriedo? When were the Manila waterworks completed? When was the tobacco monopoly ended? Who was Jaena? Give an account of Dr. Rizal and his work.