Was Emilio Aguinaldo sincere in his efforts for Philippine Independence?
IB History of the Americas
APRIL 19, 2016
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Word Count: 2,012
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Table of Contents
Part A- Evaluation of Sources ................................................................ 2
Part B- Investigation: .............................................................................. 4
Part C- Reflection:................................................................................... 8
References ................................................................................................ 9
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Part A- Evaluation of Sources
This investigation will answer the question, “Was Emilio Aguinaldo sincere in his efforts
for Philippine Independence?” This question is important because if one were to analyze the
Philippine American War, the name Emilio Aguinaldo would appear. If one were to actually
analyze the events of this war, their viewpoint and interpretation on the events could drastically
change depending on Aguinaldo’s sincerity. The scope of this investigation focuses on
Aguinaldo’s political career from before the Philippine American War (1896) to his death in
1964. One method used in this investigation is an examination of The U.S. Army and
Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War by Brian McAllister Linn. I will use sections from this
book due to the fact that Linn presents a few contrasting views on Aguinaldo. Another method
employed is to analyze the Philippine Declaration of Independence by Ambrosio Rianzares
Bautista. This is a primary source will be used to show the interests of Aguinaldo were reflected
in the establishment of a new government under himself.
Brian McAllister Linn, The U.S. Army and Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War
This is a valuable source to this investigation because Linn focused on the Philippine and
American War from a variety of viewpoints instead of strictly an American or Filipino1
viewpoint. Although this is a favorable source, one should keep in mind that this source has a
broad view on the war and focuses on several other people and events that do not relate to this
investigation. One should keep this limitation in mind while using this source because due to the
vast amount covered in the book, there may be significant gaps in between corresponding
In this investigation I will use the term Philippine to either reference the country, war or in the context of “the
people of the Philippines”. The term and spelling of Filipino will normally reference the ethnicity.
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knowledge that goes along with this investigation. This source was published in 1989, in Chapel
Hill, North Carolina by the University of North Carolina Press and was written by Brian
McAllister Linn. The original purpose of this document was to provide insight on the military
presence the United States of America had in Asia, more specifically the in Philippines from
1899 to 1902.
Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, Philippine Declaration of Independence
This source is one of value to this investigation because Bautista outlines the reasoning
behind the fight for Philippine independence in addition to the naming of Emilio Aguinaldo as
ruler of the new independent Philippines. When working with this source one should keep in
mind a few limitations such as bias or propaganda in order to rally more support for the
revolutionaries. This limitation might alter or exaggerate a few of the circumstances regarding
the fight for Philippine independence. In addition to the above limitation, one should also keep in
mind that this document was originally in Spanish, not English. Since that is the case there is a
possibility that a few lines could have been lost in translation. This is a primary source document
that was originally written on June 12th 1898 in the town of Cavite-Viejo in the Philippines
primarily by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista although signed be many others. The primary goal of
this document was to declare independence, declare that Aguinaldo would be a provincial
dictator as well as list grievances that eventually led to this independence.
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Part B- Investigation:
Emilio Aguinaldo, to some this name is very familiar or well known, however to many
people this name as well as the war that he was a part of are unknown. Aguinaldo was one of the
primary leaders of the Philippines while fighting for independence in the Philippine American
War2. The Philippine American War was started in 1899 and continued on until July 4th 1902,
however to examine the war one should also consider the events leading up to this conflict.
Before this became the Philippine American War, the Philippines were fighting another war
known as the Philippine Revolution. This war was fought between Spain and the Philippines
between the years of 1896 to 1898, which at that time the Philippines was a colony of Spain. Due
to several reasons such as liberalism, enlightenment, and nationalism the Philippines eventually
fought to become an independent country instead of being a colony under Spain’s rule. This
revolution resulted in a supposed win by the Philippines and led to them claiming their
independence. Although, it seemed as if the Philippines had gained their independence, at the
same time in the year of 1898, Spain was fighting a war with the United States of America, this
war is known as the Spanish American War. This war was primarily about independence of Cuba
from Spain. This war was fought in both the Caribbean as well as the Pacific Ocean. This war
resulted in Spain’s loss to the United States of America, this loss entailed the signing of the
Treaty of Paris 1898 in which the United States gained several Spanish colonies like Puerto Rico,
Guam, and the Philippines.3 So although the Philippines had declared independence from Spain,
they were no longer under the rule of Spain, this then led to the Philippine American War.
There are several other names for this war, but in this paper this conflict will be referred to as the “Philippine
American War”.
3 Edward Dolan, The Spanish-American War (Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 2001).
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At the end of the Philippine Revolution, Aguinaldo, who was a Filipino military leader,
was exiled to Hong Kong in December of 1897, but his exile was very short because Aguinaldo
returned to the Philippines in May of 1898. Upon returning Aguinaldo issues a proclamation of
independence and establishes a new government in which he is the dictator. After declaring
independence the United States started sending more troops and the tensions began to rise. There
were several skirmishes between the two sides, but the Philippine American War did not
officially start until February 4, 1899, where military conflict occurred in Manila. After that there
were several battles and fights between the two sides. This war also consisted of the use of
guerilla warfare in addition to several different means of torture. Eventually this war was ended
by the capture of Emilio Aguinaldo, after which he released a statement and pledged his
allegiance to the United States of America.
Emilio Aguinaldo played a significant role throughout the Philippine American War, but
while learning about the war one may question his intentions of his participation in the war. On
one hand Aguinaldo’s intentions could have been sincere, while on the other they could be
considered insincere. In this investigation there will be an examination of Aguinaldo and his
intentions. Aguinaldo was sincere in his efforts in the Philippine American War. Aguinaldo’s
sincerity can especially be seen in his exile of the country, the Philippine Declaration of
Independence, and his capture at the end of the Philippine American War.
One of the first indications of Emilio Aguinaldo’s sincerity can be seen in his exile, both
going into exile and his return from exile. At the end of the Philippine Revolution Aguinaldo and
several other Filipinos were exiled to Hong Kong under the Pact of Biac na bato. In this pact it
was agreed that Aguinaldo would be paid for a voluntary exile while in exchange there would be
amnesty towards the Filipinos in addition to a promise that Spain would enact reforms in the
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Philippines.4 This exile only lasted a short time, Aguinaldo returned because the Spanish had not
held up their end of the pact.5 The actions taken by Emilio Aguinaldo indicate that he had his
country’s best interest at heart by ending the war and accepting exile so that the Philippines
could progress and gain one step towards their independence from Spain. To further enforce the
idea that Aguinaldo was sincere in his efforts, he only returned from his exile after he saw no
changes in the conditions of the Philippines. The combination of these two events indicate that
Aguinaldo believed in Philippine Independence. One may argue that the exile was only taken
because of the money and that Aguinaldo only returned because he saw an opportunity to gain
power but this can be refuted by the fact that Aguinaldo only broke the exile after there were no
changes. Aguinaldo’s sincere beliefs were further expressed in the Philippine Declaration of
Independence.
Another indication of Aguinaldo’s genuine motives for being involved in the Philippine
American War would be in the Philippine Declaration of Independence and more importantly an
establishment of a new government. Shortly after returning from his exile in Hong Kong,
Aguinaldo’s forces, namely Ambrosio Bautista, wrote up the Philippine Declaration of
Independence which named Aguinaldo as the new leader of the Philippines. Also in this
document it is laid out that the people of the Philippines had the right to be free, in addition to
the country having the same rights as other countries and independent states.6 These factors in
this significant document further expresses that Aguinaldo was genuine. By creating this
document so shortly after his return as well as establishing that the Philippines is an independent
nation it is solidified that Aguinaldo had sincerity throughout his efforts. It could be refuted that
A.B. Feuer, America at War: The Philippines, 1898-1913 (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002), xix.
Ambrosio Bautista, Philippine Declaration of Independence (Cavite-Viejo, 1898).
6 (Bautista 1898).
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this document was only created in order to place Aguinaldo in a seat of power, but Aguinaldo
was truly a patriot who wanted the best for his country, and in his eyes as well as others he one
who could bring about this change. If Aguinaldo was not truly supported then this document
would not have been so widely supported, or it would not have specifically named Aguinaldo as
the rightful leader. But in order to reach Aguinaldo’s goals for the Philippines he would have had
to go to war with the United States of America.
A final indication of Aguinaldo being sincere in his efforts can be seen in the results of
his capture by the United States of America. Aguinaldo was captured by the United States
military in March of 1901, shortly after, in April, Aguinaldo swore allegiance to the United
States of America. In addition to swearing allegiance, Aguinaldo made a statement urging the
revolutionaries to accept sovereignty.7 At this point Aguinaldo’s forces were not doing so well
fighting against the United States Military, so the reasoning behind Aguinaldo swearing
allegiance and making that statement was that by swearing allegiance, unnecessary fighting as
well as deaths will be stopped. Aguinaldo chose to end this war sooner rather than later in order
to preserve life.8 Some may disagree with this claim and take the stance that Aguinaldo only
swore allegiance in order to preserve his own life, however the terms of the agreement on
Aguinaldo swearing and surrendering also included amnesty for the rest of Aguinaldo’s forces.9
Although there can be several viewpoint on a person, especially on Emilio Aguinaldo, it
can be said that through his actions as well as his responses to events there is significant
evidence that Emilio Aguinaldo was sincere in his efforts regarding the Philippine American
Brian Linn, The U.S. Army and Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War, 1899-1902 (Chapel Hill, NC: University
of North Carolina Press, 1989) 148.
8 John Walsh, The Philippine Insurrection: 1899-1902: America's Only Try for an Overseas Empire (New York,
NY: Franklin Watts, 1973) 61.
9 (Walsh 1973) 61.
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War and Philippine independence in general. Aguinaldo expressed this throughout the events of
the Philippine American War from the very beginning, with his exile, to the end with his capture.
Aguinaldo had the best interest of his country at heart.
Part C- Reflection:
In this investigation of Emilio Aguinaldo, there were a few apparent obstacles that could
present themselves to a historian that I had to overcome. During the early planning stages of this
paper when I was researching the topic of the Philippine American War in general, it was quite
hard to find sources from historians while it was quite easy to find sources that were not as
credible. But as I delved deeper into my investigation, the biggest challenge was finding primary
sources, as well as secondary sources that told the story of the Philippine American War and
Emilio Aguinaldo from both points of view. At first there was a significant amount of writing
told from the United States point of view, by this I mean that several sources tended to focus
more on the military tactics and how the Philippine American War was a victory for the United
States. While on the other hand it was difficult finding sources that focused on the Filipino side
of the war. This would be a significant limitation to a historian due to the fact that only hearing
certain pieces of information and viewpoints could drastically alter a historian’s stance and
interpretation of the said events.
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References
Bautista, Ambrosio Rianzares. "Philippine Decleration of Independence." Philippine Decleration
of Independence. Cavite-Viejo, June 12, 1898.
Dolan, Edward F. The Spanish- American War. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 2001.
Feuer, A.B. America at War: The Philippines, 1898-1913. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002.
Linn, Brian McAllister. The U.S. Army and Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War, 18991902. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989.
Walsh, John. The Philippine Insurrection: 1899-1902: America's Only Try for an Overseas
Empire. New York: Franklin Watts, 1973.