This chapter summarizes the key events in the Philippines from 1897-1898 during the struggle for independence from Spain. It discusses Aguinaldo negotiating with Americans to delay confrontation while recovering from recent battles. When the Spanish-American War began in 1898, the Americans defeated the Spanish navy at the Battle of Manila Bay. Aguinaldo returned to rally rebels and take control of much of Luzon, declaring independence. Meanwhile, the Americans occupied Manila in a secret agreement and prevented Filipino rebels from taking the city themselves, revealing their intent to control the Philippines rather than support independence.

1. CHAPTER 12
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
THE HONGKONG JUNTA
THE RELIEF OF PRIMO DE RIVERA
AGUINALDO RETURNS
THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY
THE SIEGE OF MANILA
AGUINALDO GOES TO SINGAPORE
THE SECRET AGREEMENT
THE INTERVIEW WITH PRATT
THE MOCK BATTLE OF MANILA
AGUINALDO AND WILDMAN
AMERICAN TERMS

2. The struggle continues
(1897-1898)

3. Governor General Primo de
Rivera’s success in the
battlefield of Cavite over
Aguinaldo’s forces could have
ended the Revolution.

4. Instead a truce agreed upon,
apparently an attempt on both
sides to recover from their
losses and resume fighting
later.

5. Some Filipinos, in fact,
continued to engaged the
Spanish forces and established
a temporary government like the
Makabulos “Republic” in
Tarlac.

6. Even before the Filipinos could recover
from the battles of 1896, General Emilio
Aguinaldo, as the recognized leader of
the Filipinos in exile in Hongkong and at
Home, negotiated the situation with the
Americans to delay confrontation with an
obviously more powerful country.

7. But the united states misled Aguinaldo to
believe that the Americans came as an ally
of the Filipinos in their fight to end
Spanish rule in the country. But in the end,
the Filipinos fears and suspicious proved to
be true. The American came to stay and
eventually took over as the new colonial
master.

8. THE RELIEF OF PRIMO DE
RIVERA

9. GOVERNOR-GENERAL
PRIMO de RIVERA’s success in
stopping the bloodshed was highly praised in
spain. The queen of Spain, who was reigning for
her son, rewarded him with the Grand Cross of
San Fernando and a pension of about P10,000.
GENERAL BASILIO
AUGUSTIN sent as governor-general to
succeed Primo de Rivera.

10. GENERAL BASILIO AUGUSTIN

11. Primo de Rivera knew the Philippines very
well because he had serve previously as
Governor of the country from 1880 to 1883.
With the possibility of a war between the
united states and Spain, Governor Primo de
Rivera would have been a wise choice to
govern the archipelago since he knew the
Filipinos well.

12. GOVERNOR-GENERAL PRIMO DE RIVERA

13. On April 9, 1898, General
Augustine arrived in
Manila and the following day
Primo de Rivera turned over
the reins of government to
him.

14. THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

15. The Cuban revolution had won the sympathy
of the Americans because the latter had big
investments in Cuba which they did not want
to be destroyed. Some in influential
Americans, Theodore Roosevelt, wanted
war with Spain so that the American navy
could expand. In 1897, he became Assistant
Secretary of the Navy.

16. CUBAN REVOLUTION
THEODORE ROOSEVELT

17. Roosevelt worked for the appointment
of Commodore George Dewey as
commander of the American Asiatic
Squadron. On February 25, 1898,
Roosevelt told Dewey to make
Hongkong, which was very near in
Manila, as his base of operations.

18. COMMODORE GEORGE DEWEY

19. On February 15,1898, the American
battleship, USS MAINE
exploded at Havana Harbor in Cuba.
Spain was blamed for the mishap.
More two hundred American sailors
and officers died. So on April
25,1989, the Congress of the United
States formally declared war on Spain.

20. THE BATTLE of MANILA BAY

21. Dewey received a message by cable
from the Secretary of War. It said:
“War has commenced between the
United States and Spain. Proceed
particularly against the Spanish fleet.
You must capture vessels or destroy.
Use utmost endeavor.

22. Dewey ordered his fleet to sail for
Manila Bay. Quietly, his fleet
entered the bay in the early morning
hours of May 1, 1898. The Spanish
batteries in Corregidor were too late
in detecting passage of the fleet.
Spanish squadron, commanded by
Admiral Patricio Montojo, was
waiting near Sangley Point, Cavite.

23. ADMIRAL PATRICIO MONTOJO

24. Montojo was watching
Dewey’s course as he entered
Manila Bay. Dewey spotted
the Spanish ships and ordered
his fleet to turn back and sail
toward Cavite. Standing on the
bridge of the flagship USS
Olympia.

25. AGUINALDO GOES TO SINGAPORE

26. It was early on April of 1898 when
rumors has already reached Manila
that war between Spain and the
United States was to be declared any
time. Isabelo Artacho, one of the
plagiarists of the Cuban Constitution,
went to Hongkong and demanded
Aguinaldo to divide the P400,000
indemnity that was given by the
colonial government to the rebels.

28. To avoid a scandal, Aguinaldo
was advised by Felipe
Agoncillo to leave Hongkong.
Two companions, Gregorio
Del Pilar and Jose Leyba,
Aguinaldo left for Singapore.

29. THE INTERVIEW WITH PRATT

30. Aguinaldo and his companions arrived
in Singapore on April 23, 1898. An
Englishman, Howard Bray, who had
lived in the Philippines for a long time,
came to visit Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo
came to Singapore incognito. Pratt
made all the arrangements for
Aguinaldo’s return to Hongkong.

31. FELIPE AGONCILLO

32. AGUINALDO AND WILDMAN

33. On April 26, 1898,
Aguinaldo and his companions
sailed for Hongkong. Dewey
had already left for Manila
when Aguinaldo arrived in the
Brirish colony.

34. The American consul at
Hongkong, Rounseville Wildman,
told him that Dewey had left
instructions for the return of
Aguinaldo to the Philippines.
Aguinaldo should established a
government like that of the United
States.

35. THE HONGKONG JUNTA

36. When Dewey won the Battle
of Manila Bay and News
about it reached all parts of the
world, the Filipino patriots in
Hongkong met to discuss the
steps to be taken to take over the
Philippines.

37. Aguinaldo told the Junta that the
situation in the Philippines was
very serious and sought their
opinions over the matter. There was
an exchange of points of view and
the Junta unanimously decided that
Aguinaldo should return to the
Philippines.

38. AGUINALDO RETURNS

39. Aguinaldo accepted the Junta’s decision,
for he had faith and confidence in its
members. Members of Junta, were Felipe
Agoncillo as President with Doroteo
Lopez as secretary; Teodoro Santico,
Anastacio Francisco, Mariano Llanera,
Miguel Malvar, Andres Garchitorena,
Severo Buenaventura, Maximo Kabigting,
Faustino Lichauco, and Antonio
Montenegro.

40. On May 17, 1898, Aguinaldo
boarded the American revenue
cutter McCulloch, which was
bound for Manila. The ship
arrived in Manila Bay two
days later.

41. THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

42. When Aguinaldo had finished disembarking
the war equipment which were purchased in
Hongkong, Filipino rebels came to pay him a
visit. On May 21, Aguinaldo issued a
proclamtion saying that, “ Everything appears
favorable for attaining independence … I urge
that we strive to unite our efforts, and let us
fire our hearts with the idea of vindicating
our country. Many nations are on our side.”

43. The end of May, Aguinaldo’s armed
forces had captured about 5,000
prisoners. Town after town, in Cavite and
Morong, fell into the hands of the
Filipino rebels. In Pampanga, Laguna,
Batangas, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija,
Tayabas, Bataan and Camarines, the
people were up in arms against Spain.

44. June 1898, practically the whole of
Luzon, with the exception of the Port
of Cavite, which was in American
hands, and the City of Manila, which
was under the Spaniards, was in the
hands of the Filipino rebels. On June
12,1898, Aguinaldo signed the
Proclamation of the Philippine
Independence in Kawit, Cavite.

45. THE SIEGE OF MANILA

46. The defeat of the Spanish fleet
discouraged the Spanish officials in
the City to prevent the Filipino
population from siding with
Aguinaldo, Governor-General Basilio
Augustin issued a circular saying that
the unity of the Philippines and its
liberties lay with Spain.

47. The Filipino rebels besieged
Manila, which was then called
Intramuros or the Walled City.
Dewey could not deploy troops in
Manila because he did not have
enough soldiers aboard the battleship.

48. THE SECRET AGREEMENT

49. In June and July, however, American
troops arrived in Manila Bay. They
landed in Paranaque and encamped south of
Pasay. General Arthur MacArthur,
believed that they could fight the Spaniards.
Governor was ready to surrender to the
Americans, but the government of Spain
did not like this. He was relieved of his
duty and was succeeded by General Fermin
Jaudenes.

50. Jaudenes believed that the
Spanish position was very
weak. He entered into a secret
agreement with Dewey and
General Wesley Meritt.

51. THE MOCK BATTLE OF MANILA

52. It was August 13, 1898, there
was a downpour because the rainy
season had arrived. The American
soldiers walked quietly towards the
walls of the city in preparation for
the “battle”.

53. When the firing started, the
Filipino soldiers advanced.
General Meritt ordered
General Francis V. Greene
to stop the Filipinos.

54. THE AMERICAN TERMS

55. At five o’clock in the afternoon of
August 13, the Spanish governor-general
agreed to sign the surrender document.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., the
protocol of peace was signed by the
representatives of Spain and the United
States. According to this protocol, both
nations would appoint not more than five
commissioners each.

56. These commissioners were to meet on
October 1, 1898 in Paris, France to discuss
the terms of peace treaty. On August 12,
Washington time, President William
McKinley of the United States issued a
proclamation ordering that “all military
operation was cabled to General Meritt in
Manila. However because Dewey cut the
cable linking in Manila with the outside
world after the battle of Manila Bay.

57. Meritt received the proclamation
on August 16, three days after the
mock battle of Manila. The
Americans who had promised
friendship and alliance to
Aguinaldo’s forces had taken over
the Philippines.

58. Submitted By:
JOANA MARIE R. PEREZ
&
JUDECEL CLAVERIA