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THE FILIPINO-AMERICAN RELATIONS
CHAPTER 5
THE PACT OF BIAK NA BATO
An agreement signed December 14, 1897 by General Emilio Aguinaldo and Spanish Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera to provisionally stop the armed conflict between the Filipinos and Spaniards.
A ceasefire was declared by both camps and an agreement was made; That the Spanish government will grant self-rule to the Philippines in 3 years if Aguinaldo went to exile and surrender his arms. In exchange, Aguinaldo will receive P800,000 (Mexican Pesos) as remuneration to the revolutionaries and an amnesty. After receiving a partial payment of P400,000, Aguinaldo left for HongKong.
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR The conflict between the United States and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas.
The war originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain. The war went on in Cuba, and a series of incidents brought the United States to the brink of intervention. Riots in Havana led to the sending of the battleship Maine to that city’s port as a precaution for the safety of U.S. citizens and property.
However, the US battleship Maine suddenly exploded from the inside and sunk while docked at the Havana harbor which resulted to the death of more than 200 individuals. This incident led to the increased anti-Spanish sentiments in the States.
THE BATTLE OF MANILA/”THE MOCK BATTLE OF MANILA” The battle took place as a planned and mock conflict. The staged battle was a result of the Spanish and American commanders negotiations ever since the American land forces had arrived in june, 1898
The Spanish Governor-General of Philippines knew that he could not win against such a large American force, he thought that it was better to hand over the city to Americans rather than the Filipino revolutionaries. So Spanish and American commanders decided to do some mock fighting and then switch the control of the city from Spanish hands to American command.
THE TREATY OF PARIS OF 1898 The parties at war agreed to convene in Paris to negotiate a treaty that would officially end the hostilities of the Spanish- American war.
The treaty officially ended the period of Spanish colonization in the Philippines and granted possession of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. It also required that the United States pay $20 million USD in recompense to the Spanish government.
THE WHITE MAN’S BURDEN
A widely held belief among Westerners that they have the moral duty to civilize the non-whites such as the Filipinos.
BENEVOLENT ASSIMILATION PROCLAMATION The proclamation openly acknowledged the intentions of the US to stay in the Philippines and to exercise the rights of sovereignty over its inhabitants.
President William McKinley proclaimed that the military government maintained in Manila is to be extended to the whole Philippine islands and that the United States government succeeds the sovereignty of the Spanish government over the Philippines
PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR The Treaty of Paris and the Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation resulted to tension between the military forces of the Philippines and the US that led to the Philippine-American war on February 4, 1899.
The incident at the San Juan Bridge : “ Private William Grayson tried to stop advancing Filipino soldiers who were on their way toward an American-occupied area. According to Grayson's account, they told four Filipino soldiers to "Halt!" and, when the men responded by cocking their rifles, they fired at them and then retreated. Grayson claimed that he killed a Filipino lieutenant and another Filipino soldier.
Despite the attempts of Aguinaldo to contain the San Juan Bridge incident, General Arthur MacArthur ordered his men to advance against the Filipinos the following day, thus starting the philippine-american war.
PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR “THE BATTLE OF TIRAD PASS” The Battle of Tirad Pass; The native forces under the command of General Gregorio del Pilar tried to delay advancing American troops to give Aguinaldo ample time to find more secured headquarters.
Del Pilar asked his 60 men to position themselves on top of the mountain where, from their vantage point, they could see a whole battalion of 300 American soldiers advancing.
Del Pilar later succumbed to the Americans. Del Pilar was killed and, according to a journalist accompanying the Americans, with his mortal remains looted for souvenirs.
In a diary entry dated December 2, 1899 , also the day of the battle, Del Pilar wrote: “The General [Aguinaldo] has given me a pick of all the men that can be spared and ordered me to defend the pass. I realize what a terrible has been given me. And yet, I feel that this is the most glorious moment of my life. What I do is d in awone for my beloved country. No sacrifice can be too great”
EMILIO AGUINALDO’S PROCLAMATION OF SURRENDER TO THE UNITED STATES
