History of Cavite

most of the information contained here are from the book "History of Cavite" by Alfredo B. Saulo and Esteban A. de Ocampo

Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, Cavite is already a bustling center of commerce dominated by barter agreements between and among the natives and traders coming from as far as Saudi Arabia. The center of commerce, then, can be traced to Cavite del Puerto, today’s Cavite City, which is so strategically located in the boundaries of the Manila Bay.

Likewise, the natives were already a thriving community satisfactorily living in an environment of peaceful co-existence. They have sufficient supply of staple food and they can securely claim the land they live on as theirs.

However, everything came to a turn around with the coming of the Spaniards. Cavite’s proximity to Manila made it an obvious and easy prey for expansion. And it may have taken quite a time before Filipinos vigorously fought for independence but the province of Cavite more than made up for this by taking the lead role in the revolution. However, it is quite sad to note that historians have not bothered to explain why Cavite, of all provinces, became the centerstage of the Philippine Revolution.

The Philippine revolution was carried on by Indios or by the natives; and it was the first successful revolution by a brown people in the history of mankind. Parenthetically, it was a revolution with a distinctively Caviteño accent. Although the date of the outbreak of the Philippine revolution is still a hot item for debate with the Katipunan declaration of independence at Pugad-Lawin(eagle's nest) being accepted as the official date, the armed uprising that occurred in Cavite eight days later is more extensive and popular in character. The victorious conquest by the revolutionary forces of the tribunales of San Francisco de Malabon, Noveleta and Cavite Viejo on August 31, 1896 saw a continous battle for indepence for five years, the most significant Asian uprising against foreign domination ever recorded in history.

It must also be noted that Katipunan(society), the secret society responsible for the Philippine revolution has a dichotomous organizational setup. The Magdiwang faction led by Andres Bonifacio and the Magdalo led by Emilio Aguinaldo. Although, historians tend to be more sympathetic with Bonifacio, it was Aguinaldo and the thousands of Caviteño volunteers who kept the revolution swinging with major victories that culminated with the liberation of most of Cavite from Spanish control. It is, therefore, very unfortunate that such a glorious moment in Filipino history has been undermined by overplaying the rivalry between Bonifacio and Aguinaldo. Despite these, though, Cavite's pivotal role in the revolution should not be undermined.

Furious. The war that raged Cavite is nothing short of furious. And the driving spirit is purely love of country. One by one, Cavitenos won their battles but as in any war, the enemies were also able to launched counter-offensives. The most successful of which saw the fall of Cavite to the advancing Spanish juggernaut which pushed Aguinaldo, who by this time is already elected President of the revolutionary government, out of the province. It is of note to say that despite the setback, Aguinaldo kept his revolutionary army intact. His strategic retreat to Biac-na-Bato(broken stone) turned out to be a major tactical victory for the revolution. It was in this place that the so-called Biac-na-Bato Republic was formed which the Spanish government under Primo de Rivera recognized as possessing the "element of internal sovereignty." A consequent pact signed here provided a brief lull in the revolution when the key leaders of the revolution led by Aguinaldo left for exile in Hong Kong where they get in contact with the Americans. (This episode in history, though, relates more to the Philippines' national history than that of Cavite's.)

When Aguinaldo and his companions returned to the Philippines to resume the war for independence, the reinforced Filipino army, now equipped with better artillery because of the indemnity provision of the Pact of Biac-na-Bato, steadily advanced. In a week's time after they restarted their offensive on May 24, 1898, the revolutionaries took over most of Cavite. So successful was the blitz campaign that Aguinaldo, on June 5, issued a decree fixing the date and place of the proclamation of Philippine independence.

In accordance with the timetable of Aguinaldo and the Hong Kong junta, the proclamation of Philippine independence in Kawit on June 12, 1898, and the establishment of a free, independent and sovereign government of Filipinos became a fait accompli weeks before the arrival of the first American expeditionary forces that robbed the country of its rightful victory and claim of independence on August 13, 1898. And Aguinaldo belatedly discovered that he should have not trusted the Americans. He convened the Malolos Congress on September 15, and by November 29, the Malolos Constitution was approved. The Filipino people now possessed all the requisites for an honorable seat in the concert of free nations - an independent government, an army, and a constitution.

Yet, the Treaty of Paris signed by by the Spanish-American peace commission disregarded everything the Filipinos have fought for. This, for the scandalous amount of $20,000,000 which the American government paid to the Spaniards representing the so-called improvements the later has introduced to the country.

Cavite played another pivotal role in the ensuing Filipino-American war. Being strategically situated at the outskirts of the capital, Cavite became the center of of a long protracted battle. This guerilla war, the first in Asia, shocked the American war planners who anticipated the Filipino-American war to be a mere two-month operation. Only the treacherous turncoatism of some native Filipinos and not the sophisticated war machine of the Americans put an end to this war with the capture of Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela on March 23, 1901.

The province of Cavite had three successive governors, each serving from one to four months because of the abnormal situation during the Philippine Revolution. Of course, this does not include the Little Republic of Cavite, under the Magdalo Council headed by Baldomero Aguinaldo, from November 1896 to about mid-May 1897, a period of six months.

The first governor of Cavite was General Mariano Trias, the former Vice President of the first revolutionary government and of the Biak-na-Bato Republic, who started his term on July 15, 1898. It quite possible that Trias held the governorship of Cavite in concurrent capacity.

However, in less than a month, Trias was replaced by General Emiliano Riego de Dios, whose administration as Cavite governor began on August 10 and lasted for only about two months. This was to be expected because the revolutionary situation was quite fluid. On October 7, Ladislao Diwa, a member of the Katipunan triumvirate, was appointed governor. It quite possible that Diwa held the governorship until the outbreak of the Philippine-American war on February 4, 1899, a period of about four months.

The province of Cavite was represented by four regularly elected delegates to the Malolos Congress, namely:
  1. Jose Basa y Enriquez(1843-1912), the founder-owner of a private school in Cavite where Aguinaldo had studied briefly before he went to Letran College;
  2. Hugo Ilagan(1844-1907), a well-known lawyer of Indang and a signatory to the Malolos Constitution;
  3. Jose Salamanca(1863-1924) of San Roque, Cavite, a former colonel in the revolutionary army, linguist, poet, composer, playwright, and editor of the Cavite Press(1910-1912); and
  4. Severino delas Alas(1815-1918), a noted lawyer and educator of Indang.
In addition, numerous other Cavite¤os etched indelible marks that formed part of the making of the first Philippine Republic, the first in Asia.

The American regime exacted with greatest severity the force of its Reconcentration Act in Cavite. The trenchent editorials from journalist and poet-laureate Fernando Ma. Guerrero, editor of the nationalist El Renacimiento(The Awakening), exposed the sordid and dehumanizing conditions of Cavite¤os reconcentrated by the American authorities in Bacoor, Cavite. Despite having appointed Gen. Mariano Trias as governor of Cavite, the first under the Amrican regime and the second time for the venerable Filipino, the sporadic yet consistent uprising in different the municipalities persisted. Thus, after four years in office, Gen. Trias was finally replaced by Col. Louis J. Van Schaick. This, after the Philippine Commission, the American-controlled legislature, reduced the number of municipalities in Cavite from twenty-two to nine(9). Van Schaick, who served from 1905 to 1907, proved to be tenacious in improving the peace and order situation in the province at the cost of the lives and rights of the people.

In 1908, Leonardo R. Osorio of San Francisco de Malabon became the first elective and third provincial governor(1908-1909). He is known to have spent his own money in helping poor families and indigent prisoners in the provincial jail.

General Tomas Mercado of Kawit was elected provincial governor in 1910. He served for only one term, and then quit from politics. He was succeeded in 1912 by Antero S. Soriano of Sta. Cruz de Malabon, acknowledged to be the first political kingpin of Cavite. He was reelected for a second term in 1916, and when his eligibility for Cavite governorship expired in 1919, he ran and won a seat in the Philippine Senate where he became the trusted lieutenant of then Senate President Manuel Quezon. In 1925, Soriano won an overwhelming majority in a special election called to fill the position vacated by the death of Cavite Representative Augusto Reyes. The colorful political career of Soriano, however, came to an abrupt end when death overtaken him.

After Soriano, four other provincial governors were elected before the start of the Commonwealth government; namely:
  1. Luis O. Ferrer, Sr., 1919-1921;
  2. Raymundo C. Jaciel, 1922-1925;
  3. Fabian Pugeda, 1925-1931; and
  4. Pedro Espiritu, 1931-1934.
Of the four, Espiritu had easily the most colorful career. For fourteen years, 1921-1935, he was a mainstay of the opposition Democrata Party in Cavite. Endowed with a golden tongue, he had no peer as orator in both Tagalog and Spanish in the entire province. A journalist of note, Espiritu edited Tagalog as well as Spanish papers, including Ang Bansa(The Nation), La Nacion(The Nation), Ang Republika(The Republic), and Ang Bayani(The Hero). Espiritu, who started his political career as the lone representative of Cavite in the lower house of the Philippine legislature, died on his 48th birthday on May 5, 1935 when he was just beginning his second term as governor.

The statutory transition period of ten years for the Commonwealth Government was cut into halves as a result of the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Philippines. During the first half of the Commonwealth period, Cavite had the following governors:
  1. Ramon Samonte, 1935-1940;
  2. Emilio P. Virata (acting), 1939; and
  3. Luis Y. Ferrer, Jr., 1940-1944.
    Ferrer's term was extended into part of the Japanese occupation as
    Like other provinces in the country, Cavite had a governor duly elected during the Commonwealth period but allowed to continue in office under the Japanese Military Administration, or a temporary appointive governor. Elected in 1940, Luis Y. Ferrer, Jr. of general trias continued as governor