Bonifacio, a schoolmaster of Cavité. In 1895-1896 the friars acting as spies for the government, obtained the banishment of many hundreds of natives.
On the day after the Katipunan conspiracy had been brought prematurely to light by a traitor, three hundred prominent Revolt of 1896. Filipinos were lodged in prison. This precipitated the revolt. The insurrectos attacked the civil guard outside the city, but were unsuccessful. A week later some hundreds of insurgents attacked the powder magazine at San Juan del Monte, but were completely routed. Four of their chiefs were taken prisoners and executed in Manila. Ten days after the plot was discovered Manila and five other provinces were officially proclaimed in a state of siege. The insurrectos concentrated all their energies upon Cavité province. Several villages fell into their hands. The insurgent commander-in-chief was Emilio Aguinaldo. He was born in 1869 in Cavité, son of a native farmer of considerable ability, and of a half-caste mother whose father was a Chinaman. After attending the Tagálog school at Cavité he entered the Jesuit College in Manila but did not graduate. In 1893 he became municipal alcalde of Cavité, and later joined the Katipunan.
The government was in a difficult position. General Blanco had extremely few European troops at his disposal, and it was doubtful how far native troops could be trusted. Reinforcements were on the way from Spain, but the demands of Cuba had already depleted the Peninsula of the best fighting material. Blanco, blamed for not acting at once, was recalled. In December 1896 General Camilo Gaicia de Polavieja (b. 1838) arrived as his successor, with General José Lachambre (b. 1846) as chief of staff. Before Blanco left he had released Rizal and allowed him to go to Spain, but the friars caused his arrest and he was sent back to Manila, where he was executed by Polavieja's orders in December 1896.
Lachambre took the field in Cavité with energy and succeeded in quelling the rebellion in that province. He was then dispatched north. Numerous small battles were fought with Aguinaldo and the insurgents, who were repeatedly defeated only to reappear in other places. Polavieja's demand for more troops having been refused, he resigned, and was succeeded in the spring of 1897 by General Fernando Primo de Rivera. Hostilities continued, but the wet season set in, making operations extremely difficult. Before Primo de Rivera could make much headway against the insurgents affairs in Cuba became so serious that the Spanish government cabled him that pacification was most urgently desired. As a result he suspended operations and signed the treaty of Biacabató (Dec. 12, 1897), by which Aguinaldo and thirty-five of his chief followers were allowed to retire to Hongkong with a cash indemnity of 400,000 pesos. The Madrid government refused to confirm the terms of peace, and the peace rejoicings in Manila were followed by the persecution of all those who were known to have sympathized with the movement.
On the 15th of February 1898 in Havana harbour, the U.S.S. “Maine” was blown up. On the 15th of March Primo de Spanish-American War. Rivera, learning that the American Commodore George Dewey was mobilizing his fleet in the harbour of Hongkong, called a council at which the Spanish Admiral Patricio Montojo (b. 1839) stated that, in the event of a conflict, his own fleet would be inevitably destroyed. Primo de Rivera was now recalled and General Basilio Augusti (b. 1840) took his place. With a new governor general all plans had to be reconsidered. Before suitable defences could be made, word came from Hongkong that Dewey had started for Manila and Montojo hurriedly sailed from Subig Bay to Cavité, barely in time to anchor before Dewey arrived. Few among his crew understood handling a gun properly, and owing to the poor care which his vessels had received they were actually inferior to the individual vessels of the American squadron. Commodore Dewey arrived in the Bay of Manila on the 1st of May, and totally destroyed or disabled the Spanish fleet. The surrender of the city was refused. The Americans occupied Cavité. The battle of Manila Bay and the defeat of the Spanish fleet destroyed the prestige of Spain throughout the islands. Insurrections began in nearly every province. Aguinaldo and his friends were allowed to come to Cavité in an American transport. With the approval of Commodore Dewey, who allowed arms to be supplied him, Aguinaldo successfully renewed his campaign against the Spaniards until practically all Luzon, except the city of Manila and suburbs, was in his control. Reinforcements arrived, and on the 13th of August Manila was taken by the Americans, under General Wesley Merritt (b. 1856).
The refusal of General Merritt to permit Aguinaldo's troops to enter Manila created resentment on the part of the Filipinos. A so-called constitutional convention was held at Malolos, and a constitution was adopted. At the same time the Visayan Republic was organized, and it professed allegiance to Aguinaldo's government. Neither Aguinaldo's government nor the Visayan government was able to maintain order, and the whole country was subject to the looting of robber bands. The treaty of peace between the United States and Spain, by which the Philippine Islands passed into the hands of the former, was signed in Paris on the 10th of December 1898, but it was not confirmed by the Senate until the 6th of February 1899 During this period the Filipino army remained under arms. On the 4th of February hostilities broke out between the Americans and the Filipinos. The latter were defeated on the 5th, at Paco, with heavy loss. The American troops, now under General Revolt against the Americans. E. S. Otis (b. 1838), following up the enemy, drove them out of Malolos and then withdrew to Manila to await reinforcements, which brought the total American force up to about 60,000 men. It is unnecessary to trace in detail the gradual conquest of the islands, or the hundreds of engagements, often small, between the rebels and the Americans. Owing to the nature of the country, and the hope of securing independence from a possible overthrow of the Republican party in the United States, the war was prolonged for two or three years. With the capture of Aguinaldo on the 23rd of March 1901, the resistance became little more than that of guerrillas.
Civil government was introduced as fast as possible. During 1899 the Schurman commission, headed by Dr Jacob G. The Taft Commission. Schurman of Cornell University, was sent by President McKinley to report on the state of affairs. In February 1900 a second and more powerful commission was appointed, consisting of Judge W. H. Taft, Professor D. C. Worcester (b. 1866), General L. E. Wright (b. 1846), Mr H. C. Ide (b. 1844), and Professor Bernard Moses (b. 1846). Under the presidency of Mr Taft it began to exercise a legislative jurisdiction in September 1900. Its first act was to appropriate $1,000,000 for the construction and improvement of roads. It next provided for the improvement of Manila harbour, which involved an expenditure of $3,000,000. The fifth act extended to the islands the benefits of a civil service based on merit. In 1901 a general school law was passed under which 1000 American school teachers were introduced. They were scattered among 500 towns, to teach 2500 Filipino teachers English and modern methods of school teaching. Other legislation provided for the organization of a judiciary, a supreme court, the enactment of a code of civil procedure, the establishment of a bureau of forestry, a health department, and an agricultural bureau and a bureau of constabulary, made up of native soldiers officered by white men. Ladronism was very widely distributed under Spanish rule, and the old guardia civil committed outrages almost equal to those of the brigands themselves. The new constabulary has been eminently successful in maintaining law and order. Great progress has been made in the scientific mapping of the islands.
On the 4th of July 1901 the office of military governor was abolished, the military forces being largely recalled, and the Civil Government. part remaining being made henceforth subordinate to the civil authorities. Mr Taft became governor-general. A general amnesty was granted to all rebels and political prisoners who would take the oath of allegiance to the United States. On the 1st of July 1902 President
