Pi Revolt

When the Spanish took control and colonized the Philippines beginning in 1571, many revolts and uprisings took place during that time. The main objectives that the Spanish had in taking over the Philippines were to convert the Filipinos to Christianity and to colonize the country for their own benefits. It wasn’t until three centuries later that the people of the Philippines realized they needed to form a massive revolt against the Spaniards. In this final attempt as the Filipinos all were once again reunited they were able to gain back their independence and land. The two main reasons for the Indio uprisings between this period was because of the different types of oppression and exploitation people of the Philippines constantly faced. One of the many uprisings were led by Diego Silang who fought against tax collection and abuses. The importance of his uprising was its spread to two different provinces with the help of English troops that were occupying Manila at the time. After Silang’s death, his with Gabriela continued fighting against the Spaniards. In many cases, the real rulers of the Philippines were the Spanish friars. They were able to wield their powers by forcing people to believe religion and their faith was the answer behind everything. The major roles of these friars were to convert their religion to Christianity while teaching them the basics of European civilization. They exploited their power in the Philippines by raping women because they supposedly would be freed from sin, suppression of education, cruel treatment of tenants, and they taking advantage of their amount of food by consuming more than they should. When people/ barangays rose up and tried to fight for their rights the friars would kill that person and send their body down a river to frighten people. The ilustrados role in creating a national identity for the Philippines was to show them how they were being treated unfairly and what they were doing wrong. They made the Indios, natives, and Filipinos realize that the mistreatment and exploitation from the Spaniards wouldn’t come to an end, unless they all decided to join together as one. The social structure that the Spanish put up in the Philippines was split into four classes. At the top of the pyramid were Spaniards, next to bishops and friars, following after them were the Indios with power and money ,and lastly labor workers and Indios with no power or money. In order to gain more power the Spanish began to make several changes while capitalism in Europe started to flourish. Changes included the stopping of trade routes and taking over natural resources. People were also forced to work harder for less pay. After the Spanish gained more power and control in Luzon and the Visayas, they weren’t successful in Mindanao because people were more united in that area. In addition, the Secularization and Propaganda movement played important roles in the development of a nationalist conscious. Having Filipino priests stripped off their parishes not because of their lack of skills but because they were natives also helped them come to fruitition. After three Filipino priests were accused as the brains behind the uprising in Cavite and executed unjustly, Filipinos saw that they needed to unite and put an end to the exploitation of the Spaniards. Otherwise they’d never get out from being under Spanish rule. Another crucial factor that led to the birth of nationalism was the Propaganda Movement which aimed to work for reforms, go against injustices and violence, and help their people in need. It exposed the corruption and exploitation of the Spanish friars and its government. Although the many uprisings, revolts, and even the Propaganda Movement failed as a whole, it still helped to shape a nationalist conscious among the people. It exposed the corruption and exploitation of the Spanish friars and its government.