Dagohoy rebellion

Dagohoy rebellion
Part of the Philippine revolts against Spain
Date January 24, 1744 – August 31, 1829 Location Bohol, Captaincy General of the Philippines Result Inconclusive Pardoned 19,420 survivors and permitted them to live in new villages at the lowlands
Belligerents
Spain	Boholano people
Commanders and leaders
Gasper de la Torre (starting in 1744) Mariano Ricafort Palacin (ending in 1829) Jose Lazaro Cairo Manuel Sanz	Francisco Dagohoy Ignacio Arañez Pedro Baguio Bernardo Sanote Maximino Dagohoy (Sendrijas)
Strength
2,200 soldiers	3,000–20,000 followers (in 1744)
Casualties and losses
546 killed (mainly ambushed)	19,420 surrendered 395 died in battle 98 exiled

Statue of Francisco Dagohoy commemorating the Dagohoy Rebellion at the Rizal Park in Manila, 2018.

The Dagohoy rebellion, also known as the Dagohoy revolution and the Dagohoy revolt, is considered as the longest rebellion in Philippine history. Led by Francisco Dagohoy, or Francisco Sendrijas, the rebellion took place on the island of Bohol from 1744 to 1800, lasting for roughly 56 years.

It was one of two significant revolts that occurred in Bohol during the Spanish era. The other one was the Tamblot uprising in 1621 led by Tamblot, a babaylan or native priest from Bohol which was basically a religious conflict.

Rebellion

The Dagohoy Rebellion was one of two significant revolts that occurred in Bohol during the Spanish Era. The other was the Tamblot Uprising in 1621 led by Tamblot, a babaylan or native priest from Bohol which was basically a religious conflict.

Unlike the Tamblot revolt, the Dagohoy rebellion was not a religious conflict. Rather, it was like most of the early revolts which were ignited by forced labor (polo y servicios), bandala, excessive tax collection and payment of tributes. On top of these injustices of the Jesuit priests, what triggered Dagohoy most was the refusal of the Jesuit priest to give a Christian burial to his brother who died in a duel. This caused Dagohoy to call upon his fellow Boholanos to raise arms against the colonial government. The rebellion outlasted several Spanish governors-general and several missions.

In 1744, Gaspar Morales, the Jesuit curate of Inabanga, ordered Francisco's brother, Sagarino, who was a constable, to capture an apostate fugitive. Sagarino pursued the fugitive, but the latter resisted and killed him. Morales refused to give Sagarino a Christian burial because he had died in a duel, a practice banned by the Church.

Infuriated, Francisco instigated the people to rise in arms. The signal of the uprising was the killing of Giuseppe Lamberti, Italian Jesuit curate of Jagna, on 24 January 1744. The rebellion rolled over the whole island like a typhoon; Morales was killed by Dagohoy afterward. Bishop of Cebu, Miguel Lino de Espeleta, who exercised ecclesiastical authority over Bohol, tried in vain to mollify the rebellious Boholanos.

Bohol revolutionary government

Dagohoy defeated the Spanish forces sent against him. He established an independent government in the mountains of Bohol on 20 December 1745, and had 3,000 followers, which subsequently increased to 20,000. His followers remained unsubdued in their mountains stronghold and, even after Dagohoy's death, continued to defy Spanish power.

One reason for his success is his reliance on collective farming practices. After the death of Spanish landlords, the farmers wanted to begin farming again. Many farmers wanted to institute land reform but the Revolutionary Cabinet decided that they should work in umahang communal or communal farms. Farmers would be the owners of the farms they would work in & have a say in its affairs. More than 15 dozen farms were collectivized in Bohol. This helped the revolution to have the least amount of food shortages no matter the turbulent weather & made the Bohol of today an agricultural superpower.

A cave in Danao was the headquarters of Dagohoy. Many passages within Dagohoy's cave led underwater to dry land, and it is said that every time Spaniards searched the cave, Dagohoy could swim underwater through this passage to hide in the breathing space.

Twenty Spanish governors-general, from Gasper de la Torre (1739–45) to Juan Antonio Martínez (1822–25), tried to quell the rebellion and failed. In 1825, Mariano Ricafort Palacin (1825–30) became governor-general of the Philippines. Upon his order, alcalde-mayor Jose Lazaro Cairo, at the head of 2,200 Filipino-Spanish troops and several batteries, invaded Bohol on 7 May 1827. The Boholanos resisted fiercely. Cairo won several engagements but failed to crush the rebellion.

Legacy

Flag of Bohol

The Dagohoy rebellion features in the Bohol provincial flag as one of the two Sundang or native swords with handle and hand-guards on top. These two sundang, which are reclining respectively towards the left and right, depict the Dagohoy and Tamblot revolts, symbolizing that "a true Boholano will rise and fight if supervening factors embroil them into something beyond reason or tolerance."

The town of Dagohoy, Bohol is named in his honor. It was Vice President Carlos P. Garcia who proposed the name "Dagohoy" in honor of Francisco Sendrijas alias Dagohoy. The name Dagohoy is a concatenation of the Visayan phrase Dagon sa huyuhoy or "talisman of the breeze" in English.

The Dagohoy Memorial National High School in Dagohoy, Bohol is also named in his honor and memory.

References

• Dagohoy Revolution
• Tirol, Jes End of Dagohoy Revolution Part 1
• Tirol, Jes. End of Dagohoy Revolution Part 2
• Hellingman, Jeroen (4 April 2002). "A Short History of Bohol (Part I)". IJsselstein. Archived from the original on June 1, 2002.
• Hellingman, Jeroen (5 October 2003). "Bohol, Cave Country". IJsselstein. Archived from the original on May 26, 2004.
• Tirol, Jes (4 June 2006). "Abatan River Cruise: A travel through history". Bohol Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008.
• Constantino, Renato; Constantino, Letizia R. (1975). The Philippines: A Past Revisited. Tala Publishing Series. ISBN 9789718958001.

Related Literature

• Agoncillo, Teodoro A. History of the Filipino People. GAROTECH Publishing, 1990 (8th Edition).
• Arcila, Jose S. Rizal and the Emergence of the Philippine Nation. 2001 revised edition.
• Constantino, Renato. The Philippines: A Past Revisited. Tala Publishing Series, 1975.
• Corpuz, Onofre D. The Roots of the Filipino Nation. 1989.
• Scott, William Henry. Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society. AdMU: 1994.
• Zaide, Gregorio F. Great Filipinos in History: An Epic of Filipino Greatness in War and Peace. Verde Bookstore, 1970.
• Zaide, Gregorio. Dagohoy: Champion of Philippine Freedom. Manila: Enriquez, Alduan and Co., 1941.

External links

• Pugay, Chris Antonette P.The Revolts before the Revolution www.nhi.gov.ph