Cavite Mutiny of 1872 As Told in Two Ways
Cavite Mutiny of 1872 As Told in Two Ways
Cavite Mutiny of 1872 As Told in Two Ways
As told and as heard, every story has at least two angles to consider. Each angle or
side of the story has its own contentions, merits, or claims. Biases and prejudices
may be noticeable but they are undeniably inevitable as they form part of the
limitations of the one telling the story. To limit distortion, exaggeration or
perversion of facts, the need to expose oneself to differing versions of any event
is a necessary step in historical analysis in forming up with an informed
historical consciousness. One historical issue worth visiting Philippine history is
the Cavite Mutiny of 1872. The increasing interest given to historical events has
triggered the call to unearth historical data, documents which are of great value
mainly because of their proximity to the time and place the event happened, and
the credibility of the one telling the account. has been enticing people in the
academe to change the way learning history from simple gathering or
accumulating of basic historical facts which commonly answered the questions on
“who”, “when” and “where” and learning its historical details responding
exclusively to the “how” questions to historical analysis which enables any learner
or historian-to-be to answer the primordial question of the “why”.
The Cavite Mutiny of 1872 has two extant versions coming from two opposing
camps namely:
Spanish version and Filipino version.
The Spanish version of Cavite Mutiny of 1872 is narrated by Jose Montero y Vidal.
His account anchored on the thesis that the fateful event of the 2oth of January
1872 happens due to the concerted effort of disgruntled native soldiers and
laborers of Cavite arsenal who willfully revolted to overthrow the Spanish rule,
and thus, guilty of rebellion and sedition. By such acts, the execution of
prominent critics of the Spaniards and friars by the Spanish officials are justified,
and the sentence of life imprisonment and deportation of some natives critical of
their incongruous rule is unquestionably legit if not morally blurred. The account
of Jose Montero y Vidal was even made credibly possible by no less than Rafael
de Izquierdo, the governor-general of the time when the revolt of 1872
happened.
The Filipino version is told by Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera. For him, the so-called
Cavite Mutiny is a mere incident of mutiny orchestrated by native soldiers and
laborers who reacted to the harsh policy of the new governor-general, Rafael de
Izquierdo, who whimsically terminated the old-time privileges such as exempting
them from paying annual tribute and from rendering forced labor or polo. As
accounted, it is made clear that the mutiny is blown-up by the Spanish officials
and friars into a revolt as a way for Filipinos to gain independence from Spanish
monarchy.
ARGUMENTS
SPANISH VERSION
FILIPINO VERSION