Case Study 2: What Happened in the Cavite Mutiny?

The year 1872 is a historic year of two events: the Cavite Mutiny
and the martyrdom of the three priests: Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos,
and Jacinto Zamora, later on immortalized as GOMBURZA. These
events are very important milestones in Philippine history and have
caused ripples throughout time, directly influencing the decisiveevents
of the Philippine Revolution toward the end of the century. While the
significance is unquestioned, what made this year controversial are the
different sides to the story, a battle of perspectives supported by
primary sources. ln this case study, we zoom in to the events of the
Cavite Mutiny, a major factor in the awakening of nationalism among
the Filipinos of that time.
Spanish Accounts of the Cavite Mutiny
The documentation of Spanish historian Jose Montero y Vidal
centered on how the event was an attempt in overthrowing the Spanish
government in the Philippines. Although regarded as a historian, his
account of the mutiny was criticized as woefully biased and rabid for a
scholar. Another account from the official report written by then
Governor General Rafael Izquierdo implicated the native clergy, who
were then, active in the movement toward secularizationof parishes.
These two accounts corroborated each other.
Primary Source: Excerpts from Montero's Account of the Cavity
Mutiny
Source: Jose Monteroy Vidal, "Spanish Version of the Cavite Mutiny of
1872," in Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of
Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 269-
273.
The abolition of privileges enjoyed by the laborers of the Cavite
arsenal of exemption from the tribute was, according to some, the
cause of the insurrection. There were, however, other causes. The
Spanish revolution which overthrew a secular throne, the propaganda
carried on by an unbridled press against monarchical principles,
attenuator of the most sacred respects towards the dethroned majesty;
the democratic and republican books and pamphlets; the speeches and
preaching of the apostles of these new ideas in Spain;the outbursts of
the American publicists and the criminal policy of thesenseless Governor
whom the Revolutionary government sent to govern the Philippines,
and who put into practice these ideas were the determining
circumstances which gave rise, among certain Filipinos, to the idea of
attaining their independence. It was towards this goal that they started
to work, with the powerful assistance of a certain section of the native
clergy, who out of spite toward friars, made common cause with the
enemies of the mother country.
At various times but especially in the beginning of year 1872, the
authorities received anonymous communications with the information
that a great uprising would break out against the Spaniards, the minute
the fleet at Cavite left for the South, and that all would be assassinated,
including the friars. But nobody gave importance to these notices. The
conspiracy had been going on sincethe days of La Torre with utmost
secrecy. At times, the principal leaders met either in the house of
Filipino Spaniard, D. Joaquin Pardode Tavera, or in that of the native
priest, Jacinto Zamora, and these meetings were usually attended by
the curate of Bacoor, the soul of the movement, whose energetic
character and immense wealth enabled him to exerc1se a strong
influence.
Primary Source: Excerpts from the Official Report of Governor
Izquierdo on the Cavite Mutiny of 1872
Source: Rafael Izquierdo, "Official Report on the Cavite Mutiny," in
Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine
History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 281-286.
...It seems definite that the insurrection was motivated and prepared
by the native clergy, by the mestizos and native lawyers, and by those
known here as abogadillos..
The instigators, to carry out their criminal project, protested
against the injustice of the government in not paying the provinces for
their tobacco crop, and against the usury that some practice in
documents that the Finance department gives crop owners who have to
sell them at a loss. They encouraged the rebellion by protesting what
they called the injustice of having obliged the workers in the Cavite
arsenal to pay tribute starting January 1 and to render personalservice,
from which they were formerly exempted..
Up to now it has not been clearly determined if they planned to
establish a monarchy or a republic, because the Indios have no word in
their language to describe this different form of government, Whosehead
in Filipino would be called hari; but it turns out that they would place
at the head of the government a priest.. that the head selectedwould
be D. Jose Burgos, or D. Jacinto ZamOrä. Such is... the plan of the
rebels, those who guided them, and the means they counted uponfor its
realization.
It is apparent that the accounts underscore the reason for the
"revolution": the abolition of privileges enjoyed by the workers of the
Cavite arsenal such as exemption trom payment of tribute and being
employed in polos y servicios, or force labor. They also identified other
reasons which seemingly made the issue a lot more serious, which
included the presence of the native clergy, who, out of spite aganst the
Spanish friars, "conspired and supported the rebels. Izquierdo, in an
obviously biased report, highlighted that attempt to overthrow the
Spanish government in the Philippines to install a new "hari in the
persons of Fathers Burgos and Zamora. According to him, native clergy
attracted supporters by giving them charismatic assurance that their
fight would not fail because they had God's support, aside from
promises of lofty rewards such as employment, wealth, and ranks in
the army.
In the Spaniard's accounts, the event of 1872 was premeditated,
and was part of a big conspiracy among the educated leaders, mestizos,
lawyers, and residents of Manila and Cavite. They allegedly plan to
liquidate high ranking Spanish officers, then kill the friars. The signal
they identified among these conspirators of Manila and Cavite was the
rockets fired from Intramuros.
The accounts detail that on 20 January 1872, the district of
Sampaloc celebrated the feast of the Virgin of Loreto, and came with it
were some fireworks display. The Caviteños allegedly mistook this as
the signal to commence with the attack. The 200-men contingent led
by Sergeant Lamadrid attacked Spanish officers at sight and seizedthe
arsenal. Izquierdo, upon learning of the attack, ordered the
reinforcement of the Spanish forces in Cavite to quell the revolt. The
"revolution was easily crushed, when the Manileños who were expected
to aid the Caviteños did not arrive. Leaders of the plot werekilled in the
resulting skirmish, while Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora were
tried by a court-martial and sentenced to be executed. Others who were
implicated such as Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, AntonioMa. Regidor, Jose
and Pio Basa, and other Filipino lawyers were suspended from the
practice of law, arrested, and sentenced to life imprisonment at the
Marianas Island. Izquierdo dissolved the native regiments of artillery
and ordered the creation of an artillery force composed exclusively by
Peninsulares.
On 17 February 1872, the GOMBURZA were executed to serve as
a threat to Filipinos never to attempt to fight the Spaniards again.
Differing Accounts of the Events of 1872
Two other primary accounts exist that seem to counter the
accounts of Izquierdo and Montero. First, the account of Dr. Trinidad
Hermenegildo Pardo de Tavera, a Pilipino scholar and researcher, who
wrote a Filipino version of the bloody incident in Cavite.
Primary Source: Excerpts from Pardo de Tavera's Account of the
Cavite Mutiny
Source: Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, "Filipino Version of the Cavity
Mutiny," in Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of
Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 274
280.
This uprising among the soldiers in Cavite was used as spowerful
level by the Spanish residents and by the friars. the CentralGovernment
in Madrid had announced its intention to deprive the friars in these
islands of powers of intervention in matters of civil government and of
the direction and management of the university ..it was due to these
facts and promises that the Filipinos had great hopes of an
improvement in the affairs of their country, while the friars, on the
other hand, feared that their power in the colony would soon be
complete a thing of the past.
...Up to that time there had been no intention of secession from Spain,
and the only aspiration of the people was. to secure the material and
education advancement of the country...
According to this account, the incident was merely a mutiny by
Filipino soldiers and laborers of the Cavite rsenal to the dissatisfaction
arising from the draconian policies of Izquierdo, such as the abolitionof
privileges and the prohibition of the founding of the school of arts and
trades tor Filpinos, which the General saw as a smokescreen to creating
a political club.
Tavera is of the opinion that the Spanish friars and Izquierdo used
the Cavite Mutiny as a way to address other issues by blowing out of
proportion the isolated mutiny attempt. During this time, the Central
Government in Madrid was planning to deprive the friars of allthe powers
of intervention in matters of civil government and direction and
management of educational institutions. The friars needed something
to justify their continuing dominance in the country, and the mutiny
provided such opportunity.
However, the Central Spanish Government introduced an
educational decree fusing sectarian schools run by the friars into a
school called the Philippine Institute. The decree aimed to improve the
standard of education in the Philippines by requiring teaching positions
in these schools to be filled by competitive examinations, an
improvement welcomed by most Filipinos.
Another account, this time by French writer Edmund Plauchut,
complemented Tavera's account and analyzed the motivations of the
1872 Cavite Mutiny.
Primary Source: Excerpts from Plauchut's Account of the Cavite
Mutiny
Source: Edmund Plauchut, The Cavite Mutiny of 1872 and the
Martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za," in Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide,
Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National
Book Store, 1990), 251-268.
General La Torre.. created a junta composed of high officials...
including some friars and six Spanish officials.... At the same time there
was created by the government in Madrid a committee to investigate
the same problems submitted to the Manila committee. When the two
finished work, it was found that they came to the sameconclusions. Here
is the summary of the reforms they considered necessary to introduce:
1. Changes in tariff rates at customs, and the methods of collection.
2. Removal of surcharges on foreign importations.
3.Reduction of export fees

4. Permission for foreigners to reside in the Philippines, buy real

estate, enjoy freedom of worship, and operate commercial transports
flying the Spanish flag.
5.Establishment of an advisory council to inform the Minister of
Overseas Affairs in Madrid on the necessary reforms to be
implemented.
6. Changes in primary and secondary education.
7. Establishment of an Institute of Civil Administration in the
Philippines, rendering unnecessary the sending home of short-term civil
officials every time there is a change of ministry.
8. Study of direct-tax system.
9. Abolition of the tobacco monopoly.
...The arrival in Manila of General Izquierdo... put a sudden end to all
dreams of reforms... the prosecutions instituted by the new Governor
General were probably expected as a result of the bitter disputes
between the Filipino clerics and the trials. Such a policy must really end
in a strong desire on the part of the other to repress cruelly.
In regard to schools, it was previously decreed that there should
be in Manila a Society of Arts and Trades to be opened in March of
1871... to repress the growth of liberal teachings, General Izquierdo
suspended the opening of the school... the day previous to the
scheduled inauguration..
The Filipinos had a duty to render service on public roads
construction and pay taxes every year. But those who were employedat
the maestranza of the artillery, in the engineering shops and arsenal of
Cavite, were exempted from this obligation from time immemorial...
Without preliminaries of any kind, a decree by the Governor withdrew
from such old employees their retirement privileges and declassified
them into the ranks of those who worked on public roads.
The friars used the incident as a part of a larger conspiracy to
cement their dominance, which had started to show cracks because of
the discontent of the Filipinos. They showcased the mutiny as part of a
greater conspiracy in the Philippines by Filipinos to overthrow the
Spanish Government. Unintentionally, and more so, prophetically, the
Cavite Mutiny of 1872 resulted in the martyrdom of GOMBURZA, and
paved the way to the revolution culminating in 1898.
The GOMBURZA is the collective name of the three martyred
priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, Who
were tagged as the masterminds of the Cavite Mutiny. They were
prominent Filipino priests charged with treason and sedition. It is
believed that the Spanish clergy connected the priests to the
mutiny as part or a conspiracy to stifle the movement of secular
priests who desired to have their own parishes instead of being
merely assistants to the regular friars. The GOMBURZA were
executed by garrote in public, a scene purportedly witnessed by a
young Jose Rizal.
Their martyrdom is widely accepted as the dawn of Philippine
nationalism in the nineteenth century, with Rizal dedicating his
second novel, El Filibusterismo, to their memory:

“The Government, by enshrouding your trial in mystery

and pardoning your co-accused, has suggested that some
mistake was committed when your fate was decided; and the
whole of the Philippines, in paying homage to your memory
and calling you martyrs, totallyrejects your guilt. The Church,
by refusing to degrade you, has put in doubt the crime charged
against you.