May 1 Marks 111 years of American Intervention

Published on April 25, 2009

The Spanish Governor-General devised a way to salvage Spanish honor. He negotiated a secret agreement with American military commanders: his troops would put up only a show of resistance and, on a prearranged signal, would surrender. In this way, the governor would be spared the ignominy of giving up without a fight. American forces would neither bombard the city nor allow the Filipinos to take part.

On August 12, 1898, an armistice was signed in Paris, France, between the Spanish and American governments which ended the Spanish-American War (but a final peace treaty was still months away.)

Filipino attorney Felipe Agoncillo went to Paris and tried to represent the Philippine nationalists in the negotiations, but he was excluded by the Americans and the Spanish representatives who did not want the Filipinos involved.

On August 13, with American commanders reportedly unaware that a peace protocol had been signed the previous day, American forces in Manila staged a “mock battle” with the Spanish defenders, who then surrendered as per prior arrangement. The Filipino revolutionaries surrounding the city were intentionally excluded, and not allowed to enter the city which was now under American control.

The Spanish garrison was disarmed and the soldiers, now prisoners of war, awaited repatriation back to Spain. It was the end of 377 years of Spanish colonization in the Philippines.

After the American flag was raised over Intramuros, Aguinaldo demanded joint occupation and was refused. He was informed that his army would be fired upon if it crossed into the walled district.

On September 15, 1898, the Revolutionary Government met in Malolos to draw up a constitution for the First Philippine Republic.

On Dec. 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War. Spain ceded the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the United States. In return, the United States paid Spain 20 million dollars for the Philippines.

Throughout most of 1898 American President William McKinley’s intentions towards the Philippines remained unclear. However, on Dec. 21, 1898, just eleven days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, he issued the Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation, which stated that “The future control, disposition, and government of the Philippine Islands are ceded to the United States.” He had decided: the Philippines would not be allowed independence.

In early 1899, tensions mounted between the Americans and the Filipinos. The Filipino government negotiated with the American commander, General Elwell Otis, who was waiting for additional army regiments from the U.S. When they arrived in late January, he ended the negotiations.

On the night of February 4, 1899, an American soldier, Pvt. Willie Grayson, shot a Filipino sentry in Santa Mesa district, Manila. Soon, there was fighting up and down the line.

Thus began the Philippine-American War, a war of conquest, in which hundreds of thousands of Filipinos died (various estimates place the number of Filipino dead at between 200,000 and one million.) American losses were 4,390.

It was not a “benevolent” beginning to American control of the archipelago, which has continued in various guises up until the present day. Has the Philippines ever really achieved the independence that Emilio Aguinaldo believed was promised to him by Admiral Dewey 111 years ago?(Bulatlat.com)

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