Philippine Revolution

Philippine Revolution

(1896–98) Filipino independence struggle that failed to end Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. There had been numerous quasi-religious uprisings during the more than 300 years of colonial rule, but the late 19th-century writings of Jose Rizal and others helped stimulate a more broad-based movement for Philippine independence. Spain was unwilling to reform its colonial government, and armed rebellion broke out in 1896. Rizal, who had advocated reform but not revolution, was shot for sedition; his martyrdom fueled the revolution. The rebel forces of Emilio Aguinaldo were unable to defeat the Spanish, but the Filipinos proclaimed their independence in the wake of Spain's defeat in the Spanish-American War (1898). The Treaty of Paris ceded the Philippines to the U.S., however, and Aguinaldo continued the revolutionary struggle, now against the U.S.; he gave up the struggle after being arrested in 1901. See also Philippine-American War.