The Katipunan is established, the discovery of which by Spanish authorities initiated the Philippine Revolution.
The Philippine Revolution (Filipino: Himagsikang Pilipino / Rebolusyong Pilipino; Spanish: Revolucin Filipina), called the Tagalog War (Spanish: Guerra Tagala) by the Spanish, was a revolution, a civil war and subsequent conflict fought between the people and insurgents of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities of the Spanish East Indies, under the Spanish Empire (Kingdom of Spain).
The Philippine Revolution began in August 1896, when the Spanish authorities discovered the Katipunan, an anti-colonial secret organization. The Katipunan, led by Andrs Bonifacio, began to influence much of the Philippines taking full advantage of Spanish failures against Cuban nationalists in 1895 and declaring Spain a weakened empire. During a mass gathering in Caloocan, the leaders of the Katipunan organized into a revolutionary government, named the newly established government "Haring Bayang Katagalugan", and openly declared a nationwide armed revolution. Bonifacio called for an attack on the capital city of Manila. This attack failed; however, the surrounding provinces began to revolt. In particular, rebels in Cavite led by Mariano lvarez and Baldomero Aguinaldo (who were leaders from two different factions of the Katipunan) won early major victories. A power struggle among the revolutionaries led to a schism among Katipunan leadership followed by Bonifacio's execution in 1897, with command having shifted to Emilio Aguinaldo, who led the newly formed revolutionary government. That year, revolutionaries and the Spanish signed the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, which temporarily reduced hostilities. Filipino revolutionary officers exiled themselves to Hong Kong. However, the hostilities never completely ceased.On April 21, 1898, after the sinking of USS Maine in Havana Harbor and prior to its declaration of war on April 25, the United States launched a naval blockade of the Spanish colonial island of Cuba, off its southern coast of the peninsula of Florida. This was the first military action of the SpanishAmerican War of 1898. On May 1, the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron, under Commodore George Dewey, decisively defeated the Spanish Navy in the Battle of Manila Bay, effectively seizing control of Manila. On May 19, Aguinaldo, unofficially allied with the United States, returned to the Philippines and resumed attacks against the Spaniards. By June, the rebels had gained control of nearly all of the Philippines, with the exception of Manila. On June 12, Aguinaldo issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence. Although this signified the end date of the revolution, neither Spain nor the United States recognized Philippine independence.The Spanish rule of the Philippines officially ended with the Treaty of Paris of 1898, which also ended the SpanishAmerican War. In the treaty, Spain ceded control of the Philippines and other territories to the United States. There was an uneasy peace around Manila, with the American forces controlling the city and the weaker Philippines forces surrounding them.
On February 4, 1899, in the Battle of Manila, fighting broke out between the Filipino and American forces, beginning the PhilippineAmerican War. Aguinaldo immediately ordered "that peace and friendly relations with the Americans be broken and that the latter be treated as enemies". In June 1899, the nascent First Philippine Republic formally declared war against the United States, in which the Americans prevailed.
The Philippines would not become an internationally recognized independent state until 1946.
The Katipunan, officially known as the Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK; English: Supreme and Honorable Association of the Children of the Nation; Spanish: Suprema y Honorable Asociación de los Hijos del Pueblo), was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish colonialism Filipinos in Manila in 1892; its primary goal was to gain independence from Spain through a revolution.
Documents discovered in the 21st century suggest that the society had been organized as early as January 1892 but may not have become active until July 7 of the same year; that was the date that Filipino writer José Rizal was to be banished to Dapitan.Founded by Filipino patriots Andrés Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Ladislao Diwa and others, the Katipunan was a secret organization until it was discovered in 1896. This discovery led to the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution.
The Katipunan being a secret organization, had its members subjected to the utmost secrecy and abidance to the rules established by the society. Aspiring applicants were given standard initiation rites in order to become members of the society. At first, membership in the Katipunan was only open to male Filipinos; later, women were accepted into the society. The Katipunan had its own publication, Kalayaan (Freedom) which issued its first and last printing in March 1896. Revolutionary ideals and works flourished within the society, and Filipino literature was expanded by some of its prominent members.
In planning the revolution, Bonifacio contacted Rizal for his full-fledged support for the Katipunan in exchange for a promise to rescue Rizal from his detention. In May 1896, the leadership of the Katipunan met with the Captain of a visiting Japanese warship in an attempt to secure a source of arms for the revolution, but without success. The Katipunan's existence was revealed to the Spanish authorities. Days after the Spanish authorities learned of the existence of the secret society, in August 1896, Bonifacio and his men tore up their cédulas during the Cry of Pugad Lawin that started the Philippine Revolution.