USM R & D 18(2): 147-152 (2010)
ISSN 0302-7937
An environmental approach to the Philippine Revolution of 1896:
conversion of autobiographies as historical texts
Dwight David A Diestro
Division of History, Department of Social Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna
For Correspondence: [email protected]
Abstract
Through the use of autobiographies as historical texts, the physical environment during the Revolution of 1896 can be
portrayed. The writings of Isabelo de los Reyes, Santiago Alvarez, Carlos Ronquillo, Emilio Aguinaldo, and Pedro Paterno
comprised the bases of the study. The sequencing of events from 1896 to 1897 was highlighted. The study included the
causes/factors why the Revolution took place, actual cases and instances where the environment was foregrounded, and the
general description of the environment as identity markers for the participants of the Revolution. The individual was a rich
source of environmental descriptions. Alvarez, Ronquillo, and Aguinaldo were in the actual combat field; therefore when
they mentioned environmental elements, they knew how to take advantage of what nature can provide in terms of choices to
take. On the other hand, those engaged in agriculture in the circum-Manila area were described by de los Reyes. Among all
of them, Paterno was different because nature was given immediate meaning based on his life experience here and abroad.
He used it as a convenient source of metaphors. All history has an environmental dimension and the “self” through narratives
can bequeath documentary evidence for historians to interpret.
Key words: agricultural lands, documentary evidences, geography, Philippine history
Introduction
The Philippine Revolution of 1896 occupies a central
position in the narrative of the nation. It has been the focus
of various local and international studies, using the lens of
either political, economic, or social history. However, due to
the increasing concern for global warming, natural disaster
mitigation and impact assessment studies on technologydriven changes, the environment has become an ubiquitous
topic in the 21st century setting. Thus, a reading of the
revolutionary period within the ambit of the ecological,
geographical, and the spatial is part of the emerging
consciousness aimed towards a more holistic understanding
of the past.
All history in the truest sense is environmental. Events
take place because of human action located in definite time
and specific place. A turn to the environment is the motif
of this paper and it is based on written accounts of actual
participants/eyewitnesses of the Revolution of 1896. The
individual is “the center of gravity of narratives” (Dennett in
Lanuza 2002). The “self” has been considered as a reputable
source of viewpoints and perspectives in the social sciences,
the capability “to tell it like it is” makes it authoritative
(Hollway and Jefferson 2000). An autobiography is
formally defined as a “retrospective prose narrative written
by a real person concerning his own existence, where the
focus is his individual life, in particular, the story of his
personality” (Lejeune in Alasuutari 1997). The inclusion of
the nonhuman dimension in environmental history does not
mean the lessening of the human component in the process
of the unfolding of events because the anchor remains to
be the agential presence of the individual (Cronon 2001).
The deciphering of the meaning of the elements of nature
is an important objective while using the available sources
in developing the environmental shift to the past. Our
surroundings do not have “a clear voice of its own” (Cronon
2001) and through these autobiographies, the often taken for
granted locus of action will be given prominence. Broadly
speaking, the paper is an exploration, a fusion of two
recognizable tropes in historical research --- the environment
as enunciated by the “self” through autobiographical writing.
The formation of a more conscious public on the importance
of the physical setting in everyday life is desired. The starting
point is “how we extend our sense of self in relationship to
the world of nature” (Wilson 1996). Furthermore, identities
are strengthened when people create their own narrations.
Ultimately, these are relevant to the constitution of the
emplotment of the nation, as sharing of experiences by its
members makes the collective imagination more palpable
and real.
At this point, an overview of the Philippine environment
during the 19th century was provided. and taken from
147
Gregorio Sancianco’s The Progress of the Philippines
(1881,1975). He made the following observations for the
areas covered by the autobiographies used in this paper,
some data according to him were from Ramon Jordana y
Morera:
Bulacan--Farming in this province is fairly well
developed... Its principal agricultural products are rice,
sugar, maize, indigo, many kinds of fruits and vegetables.
Manila—This province, the seat of the capital of the
Archipelago... In the mountains of San Mateo remains some
part of the forest... with arboreous species...
Morong District—This district within the Province
of Manila has a very rugged terrain... Its uplands are
still inhabited by some pagan mountain dwellers... The
agricultural products consist of... rice, sugar, maize and
some others...
Laguna—Farming is fairly advanced; it produces sugar,
and coconut on a large scale besides maize, indigo, coffee,
and many others...
Cavite—This province has a small area. Farming is
fairly advanced and produces excellent coffee and much rice,
sugar, wheat cacao, pepper, and fruits; but its inhabitants
are in general labourers and farmhands. There are a few
landowners for the reason that the greater part of the land
belongs to the religious corporations...
Batangas—It has the same conditions as the foregoing:
many inhabitants and little land... in the interior of the
province is the grand Taal Volcano surrounded by a rather
large lake. It is one of the richest provinces in agricultural
products that consist of coffee, sugar, rice, maize, indigo,
pepper, wheat, cotton, cacao, nutmeg, and many others—an
offering of its rich soil and mild climate...
Methodology
The primary sources of this paper were derived from selected
excerpts of autobiographies of five individuals who lived
during the revolutionary period. They are to be discussed in
this order: Isabelo de los Reyes, Santiago Alvarez, Carlos
Ronquillo, Emilio Aguinaldo, and Pedro Paterno. The author
chose them purposively because upon initial checking, the
environmental elements were visible in their writings. It is
indeed possible to include other materials to this study. There
is a particular theme/description/question to be applied to
the autobiography that is connected to the main research
problem, the conversion of autobiographical accounts as
historical texts capable of highlighting the environment
during the Revolution of 1896. The sequencing of the
autobiographies was based on the following concerns:
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1. The causes/factors why the Revolution took place that
are related to the environment
2. Actual cases of environmental conditions during the
period of the study/instances where the environment
was foregrounded
3. General description of the environment as identity
markers for the participants of the Revolution
Using the above as bases, the arrangement was in this
manner: De los Reyes falls under #1, Alvarez, Ronquillo,
and Aguinaldo were covered by #2, and Paterno was under
#3. The study was limited in the sense that there was no
thorough reading of the entire autobiography as a source
but only particular portions/continuities were considered.
Eventually, there was intertextuality in all of the materials;
therefore, generalizations were stated in the conclusion.
Autobiographies are classifiable as historical texts following
the elaboration made by Keith Jenkins (1999): “The historical
text consists of many individual statements most of which
are deemed to give an accurate or true description of some
state of affairs that occurred in the past, this evidential
statement are based on the traces of the past ‘found’ in the
historical, generic archive, and have about them --- when
suitably ‘contextualized’ and corroborated --- the aura of
facticity.”
Results and Discussion
A. Memoria (Isabelo de los Reyes)
De los Reyes was an intellectual of his time whose primary
occupation was that of being a journalist. The Memoria
was based on the information he obtained from his fellow
inmates while he was committed to the penitentiary in 1897.
The account he wrote was for the attention of GovernorGeneral Fernando Primo de Rivera. The strong anti-clerical
content was meant to portray the duality of Spain. There
was a sympathetic colonial ruler personified by the civil
government and on the other hand, a Spain that was embodied
in the much detestable frailocracy. The attention given to land
was to emphasize the wealth and power of the established
Church in the Philippines. The national economy was
basically agricultural, making the land-owning institution as
the most visible target of attack and criticism. De los Reyes
was emphatic that the reason why the Revolution of 1896
took place was the agrarian discontent among the Filipinos.
He propounded the notion that the presence of friar estates
was the culprit for the circum-Manila area (Cavite, Laguna,
Batangas, Bulacan, and Morong) to lead in waging a direct
assault against Spain. There was also a general decline
in commodity prices in the 1890s. Indigo and sugar were
affected. Production of coffee was nil due to crop infestation.
Only rice was enjoying a constant demand, being the staple
food of the people. But this was aggravated, a big jolt
happened when locust colonies, as big as cloud formations,
wiped out rice cultivation in June and July of 1896. Easily, in
his point of view, farmers joined the Revolution because of
the continuing increases in the land rentals imposed by estate
administrators despite of the absence of actual capacity to
pay. In San Juan del Monte, a regular plot was rented for four
pesos but the crops planted were also assessed and taxed.
There was additional payment of 20 reales for a mango tree,
2.5 reales for every sugar cane shoot, and 35 centavos for
every ilang-ilang tree. In the province of Cavite, the arbitrary
computation of the value of rice was rampant. Anyone who
questioned the imposed scheme can be dispossessed of his
tenurial privileges. Different strategies were done to take
advantage of the powerlessness of the tenant. De los Reyes
was straightforward in identifying the friars as the principal
cause of the downfall of Spain. Exactions on the people
made poverty rampant. He described the Katipunan as the
organization of the poor and had a communistic vision of the
future. The will to fight came from below and the vulnerable
elements of the society were the tenants and leaseholders of
land. The base of the Katipunan was the area in Luzon with
dismal landlord-tenant relations.
B. The Katipunan and the Revolution (Santiago V.
Alvarez)
Alvarez was a general closely affiliated with Andres
Bonifacio, in fact he was a relative of Gregoria de Jesus,
the wife of Bonifacio. The events of 1896 were described
by him in a detailed manner including the initiation of
Emilio Aguinaldo on March 14, 1896. It was an evening
that was moonlit. The code for the absence of any security
problem in the vicinity of the Katipunan gathering was
to say that the place was “cool” (malamig in the Filipino
language). According to his recollection, Bonifacio in the
following month called for a meeting in Pasig to study
the revolutionary situation. Alvarez left Cavite on May 3,
1896 by the sea, the trip lasted for an hour and then took
another ride in the Pasig river. Joined by four other vessels,
they went to the venue which was called Sapang Nabas. A
flotilla slowly emerged as the Katipuneros from Sta. Ana,
Mandaluyong, San Pedro Makati, Pateros, Taguig, and Pasig
itself, commingled. Obviously, the river network was the
conduit for the participants. The weather was stormy, and in
all probability, there was a typhoon at that time. Strong rains
made their clothes wet. The meeting was held in two places,
one after the other, because of the inclement situation. The
natural cover against the patrolling guards who were by the
river was the thick bamboo grove and heavy vegetation. The
perimeter security was made loose even if the new venue
was practicality at the town center because the downpour
became stronger. Alvarez noted that the Katipuneros were
saying one thing about their experience, “Nature was on
our side and this kind of weather was what we needed to
protect us”. On May 4, the following day, they were back
on the row boats “sailing dreamily downstream” discussing
the issues of the meeting. A similar rainy period enveloped
the Katipunan during the month of August, the inaugural
phase in the revolutionary struggle. According to Alvarez,
there was continuous rain and bodies were “numb by the
cold wind”. The revolutionary forces were in bivouac in
places like Caloocan, Balara, Kangkong, Mandaluyong, and
up to Marikina. There was so much mud everywhere and if
one was accidentally hit in the eye, it can cause blindness.
Clothes again easily got wet and the Katipuneros found
themselves receiving apparels which were either too big or
too small, causing them to laugh because of their “funny
appearance”. Communication among the chapters of the
Katipunan was extremely difficult. Andres Bonifacio’s
leadership was viewed as lethargic because he was nowhere
to be found. Lines became porous and easily broken by the
enemies. Signals for the Filipinos forces to act together were
impossible to implement. The Katipunan leaders decided to
seek refuge in the mountains of Montalban. Certainly, the
weather was a factor in their movements. The text of Alvarez
is full of environmental markers; he mentioned cane fields,
orchards, wooded areas, rice paddies, and banana plants
as he wrote his account. He was perceptive of nature that
encircled him as he traversed his objective to emancipate the
country form the colonial oppressors.
C. Isang Talata tungkol sa Paghihimagsik (Revolucion)
1896-1987 (Carlos V. Ronquillo)
Ronquillo was from Cavite and was familiar with the terrain
of the place. He was aware of the naval bombardment from
the sea and the Spanish onslaught via the Laguna area.
Closely identified with Emilio Aguinaldo, he was privy to
military tactics and design, especially the construction of
trenches. He noted further the tendency of people to go to the
mountains to seek cover and protection. Decoys which look
like humans were successfully used in the province. Spanish
bullets were wasted on firing upon them ceaselessly. At that
time, it can be said that not all that looked like a target was
a legitimate one. A ruse can be magnificently prepared for
the enemy. The horizon was peppered with camouflage.
One innovation that was certainly unique to Cavite was
the use of rotten irok or kaong against the enemy. This
can cause great itchiness and irritation upon skin contact.
When passageways were narrow and using the advantage
of a higher ground position, these fruit pebbles can easily
be thrown to the forwarding enemy groups. Ronquillo
recognized the strategic importance of the town of Silang
because of its location in the mountainous portion of Cavite.
Along with others, he thought it was an impenetrable
fortress which acted as a lookout towards the neighboring
province of Laguna. But by the middle of February 1897,
Silang was in the hands of the Spaniards. The deep ravines,
the heavy foliage, and the tricky contours were ineffective
to the more than 10,000 forces that Spain mustered. The
pathways to Silang were considered as invincible to the
enemy. It took the Spaniards four days to gain foothold with
the help of disloyal Filipinos who squealed how the terrain
can be circumvented. Sad to say, nature can be overruled
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when there was no actual unity. Ronquillo lamented the loss
of Silang. Valuable information about geographical aspects
of the Revolution in Cavite is found in the autobiography.
He ended his account by saying that what he wrote was an
offering to the mother country in the form of a crown of
flowers which came from the garden of Kalayaan (freedom).
The challenge was to nurture Philippine independence and
he saw it as similar to tending a particular plant species but
blood was its source of growth.
D. Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan (Emilio Aguinaldo)
Aguinaldo was the first president of the country and
a recognized military strategist. His recollection was
significant because of the range of information both
personal and official that can be found in his writings. His
version of events can be extremely useful in describing the
revolutionary period. The human side and the quotidian
enriched his prose. An example was when he mentioned an
incident, he accidentally stepped on a snake called ahas na
tulog (sleepy snake) but did not cause any harm because
he was wearing boots and it was actually a harmless
variety. In September 1896, a month after the start of the
Revolution, while they were fighting the Spanish forces
headed by General Ernesto de Aguirre, Filipino forces under
Aguinaldo surprised the enemy. They were able to cross a
river with very strong currents by forming a human chain.
Though it was shallow, they thought it was easy to walk
over by foot, but they were wrong. So Aguinaldo decided to
employ a technique of holding each other by the arm stretch.
The Spaniards were caught unaware and were shocked to
meet them. In the melee that ensued Aguirre left his sable
de mando (commander’s sword) which Aguinaldo took
and considered it an omen for future success. In the battle
of Zapote, the Filipinos had an initial advantage when the
bridge leading to Cavite was dismantled and replaced by
very weak materials made of bamboos and a little amount
of soil. It was a very effective tactic because the following
day, when the Spaniards arrived they fell immediately into
the trap. They had no choice but to go down the river and
by doing so, they became vulnerable to the sniper position
of Aguinaldo’s forces. Many Spaniards were killed. In
his words, “bumaha ng dugo sa ilog ng Zapote” (the river
of Zapote was full of blood). The Spaniards retaliated by
bombarding Cavite from the Manila Bay. Land was in the
hands of the native residents but the sea was dominated by
the Spanish navy. Steadily, the province of Cavite became
a liberated zone. Thousands of people from other areas
transferred their domicile because for the first time, there
was a sizable territory devoid of direct Spanish rule. There
was joy among Filipinos that even on their way to fight their
enemies; they were accompanied by musical bands. The
strong federation was further evidenced by sharing of food
and resources. Granaries of the well-to-do were opened. But
this was temporary; Spain was able to regain Cavite because
reinforcements came from the Iberian Peninsula. By the
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middle of 1897, Aguinaldo was on his way to Bulacan and
Cavite was superseded. He left with a heavy heart. But,
there was a need to restrengthen the Filipino forces in the
new headquarters located in Biyak-na-Bato from which the
revolutionary fervor would radiate. It was dangerous on
Aguinaldo’s part to transfer and pass through enemy lines
but with the help of advance parties, they knew the way to
take and travelled only during night-time. They were also
met by well-meaning and sympathetic compatriots who
gave them food, shelter and other sustenance. During this
time, Aguinaldo was having on and off fever and was taking
quinine to cure himself. A medicine man named Marianong
Putik was able to heal Aguinaldo after about ten days.
Finally, he was able to move out of Cavite and reached
the Pasig River and in an islet rested because he was again
feverish. He was almost captured by the guardia civil as
he was staying in a hut by the river. A woman shouted that
General Aguinaldo was around but she was not considered
credible by the passing officer. Then, a big boat arrived and
soon they were able to reach Montalban and a new phase
in Aguinaldo’s life would commence. His destination was
Biyak-na-Bato which would bring him eventually to Hong
Kong because of the ceasefire between Spain and the
revolutionary forces by December of 1897.
E. The Pact of Biyak-na-Bato (Pedro Peterno)
Paterno was the flamboyant personality of his generation.
In his writings, he often interspersed them with his musings
about the grandeur of Philippine scenery and the solitude
that one can obtain from nature. The reason for this might
have been his long absence from the country, he was in his
teens when he left for Europe to study. The sampaguita
flower was his favourite signifier. Paterno wrote in the very
first chapter of the above-cited material (while on his way
to Bulacan to meet the revolutionaries at Biyak-na-Bato) a
statement indicative of his location vis-a-vis the features of
the homeland, “I was disposed to sacrifice my well-being,
the comforts of my home, and even my own life for my
adorable country which I idolized and venerated since
childhood. Before, when I was away from my native land, I
could feel the warmth of her sun and perfume of her flowers
in far exotic Europe.” With a strong desire for peace between
Spain and the Philippines, he wandered across a substantial
part of Luzon to talk to the Filipino rank and file. It was his
first hand encounter with the actual countryside. Thus, his
memory of events was characterized by associating himself
with the environment. They were fully visible in what he
wrote. While staying in Biyak-na-Bato, the encampment of
Aguinaldo, though given comfortable accommodation, he
had difficulty sleeping because of the noise that surrounded
him coming primarily from animals and insects. He believed
that the revolutionary troops were trampling on the domain
of nature. According to him, hawks, kalaws and the tictic,
owls and sabucots, “protested in continuous mournful and
savage cries over the encroachment of man, the guerrilleros
who were disturbing their eternal calm and paradisiacal
tranquillity.” Paterno was aware of the “multiple sovereignty”
at that time; he knew the importance of the mountain
recesses as the enclaves of those who were challenging
the center. Biyak-na-Bato in San Miguel, Bulacan was the
embodiment of the periphery lodged in a strategic position.
Paterno attempted to fuse the divide. Even if he felt that
nature itself was against it, “the woodlands, the mountains
that I crossed, the trees and the flowers seemed to tell me:
“Go back, Conqueror!” I faced obstacles everywhere”, he
continued his quest. He travelled in style and ease; he was
carried by several men in a hammock. Without the help
of guides and accommodating leaders, he could not have
reached the various outposts of the Filipinos. In his words,
“we passed the fields and forests and by the hillsides and
mountains and by the jungles, which are known only by
the revolutionary chiefs.” There was a persistent negative
reply on his initiative, the revolutionaries invoked that how
can there be peace when the Philippines was their own
country. Spain was not an integral part of the Philippines.
However, due to certain events like the death of one of the
important military leaders, General Mamerto Natividad, and
the possibility of obtaining an exit strategy than can further
enhance the revolutionary thrust in the long run, the Pact
of Biyak-na-Bato was signed. Aguinaldo, accompanied by
immediate staff including Paterno, sailed for Hong Kong.
He was true to form, even in exile, in the sense that while
he admired the place as “beautiful and commercial,” its
mountains was seen by Paterno as no different from Biyakna-Bato. With his cosmopolitan background, he was not
that enthusiastic to be in foreign soil again, “I would never
exchange the brown hills of Banahaw for all of them.” It
can be said that the vista of Paterno was always filtered
according to Philippine space and time. He had a unique
kind of ethnocentricism. He was familiar with the world but
he judged it according to his place of origin. Unwittingly,
he made the Philippines the center of everything because
what others had were similar to what his country already
possessed.
Conclusion
The period, 1896 to 1897 was given attention in which
the environment was the focus through the continuity that
was shown and sequencing of the materials. The human
dimension cannot be dissociated from the fact that a setting
was always needed for events to take shape. Any study of
the revolutionary period will find autobiographies as useful
primary sources because the individual experience and way
of looking at things were portrayed. The production of a
distinct narrative is always possible by the eyewitnesses of
the events. The situation at that time, during the Revolution
was replete with environmental elements. The locusts
mentioned by De los Reyes added a heavy burden on the
cultivators and the agrarian condition was far from what the
people can sustain. Alvarez noted the hardship of waging
action when there was so much rain and the weather was
stormy. There was a greater demand from the participants
of the struggle because they had to surmount obstacles
complicated by the behaviour of the natural world. Ronquillo
accepted that the strength of the revolutionary army was to
be found not in the contours of the physical dimension but
in the fortitude of individual fighters. A sense of loyalty
and belonging was crucial in times of war. Aguinaldo
emphasized the advantage of the Filipinos was on their
acquired knowledge of the terrain. It was easy to move
around and choose appropriate tactics because they were
familiar with the place. Paterno was different among them
because nature was given immediate meaning based on his
life experience here and abroad. He used it as a convenient
source of metaphors. De los Santos, Alvarez, Ronquillo and
Aguinaldo cited nature as part of the givens in life. Paterno,
on the other hand made environmental features take part
in dialogue with him. He was the most poetic and artistic
in his view of nature but he was the least affected by the
vagaries of the revolutionary climate at that time, he was a
wealthy man. To some extent, De los Santos did not have
a direct hand in the revolutionary struggle. He was some
kind of an independent observer. Alvarez, Ronquillo, and
Aguinaldo were in the actual combat field; therefore when
they mentioned environmental elements, they knew how
to take advantage of what nature can provide in terms of
choices to take. Life can be harsh, it can be easy but it
would depend on what the specific situation was. It was up
to the dramatis personae, the human beings of the past, to
make the responses. Our understanding of the revolutionary
period has been enhanced because there were people who
took the time to convey their messages, and the strands that
can be sifted were environmentalism and the “self” as an
active agent of change leading to national liberation.
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