1897 in the Philippines

Incumbents

Spanish Colonial Government

• Governor-General:
  • Camilo de Polavieja (until April 15)
  • José de Lachambre (April 15 – 23)
  • Fernándo Primo de Rivera (starting April 23)

Philippine Revolutionary Government (Tejeros Government)

• Vice President:
  • Mariano Trías (March 22 – November 2)
• Captain General: Artemio Ricarte

Republic of Biak-na-Bato

• Vice President:
  • Mariano Trías (starting March 22)

Events

January

• January 4 – Eleven of the fifteen Filipinos who would later be called the Fifteen Martyrs of Bicol are executed in Bagumbayan.
• January 11 – Thirteen Filipinos who would later be called the Thirteen Martyrs of Bagumbayan are executed.

February

• February 6:
  • Ten Katipunan members convicted of subversion are executed in Bagumbayan, Manila.
  • A revolt in parts of Negros Oriental led by native priests ends in a battle with the defeat of the natives by the Spanish forces.
• February 13 – Governor-General Camilo de Polavieja begins his campaign with 16,000 Spanish soldiers to regain Cavite from Filipino revolutionaries.
• February 17 – Filipino forces win in the Battle of Zapote Bridge at the boundary of Las Piñas and Cavite.
• February 19 – Spaniards recapture Silang, Cavite in a battle.
• February 25 – Spaniards recapture Dasmariñas, Cavite in a battle.

March

• March 22 – The two factions of the Katipunan convene at the Tejeros Convention to resolve the leadership status in the organization.
• March 23 – Nineteen Filipinos who would later be called the Nineteen Martyrs of Aklan are executed in Kalibo.

May

• May 10 – Andrés Bonifacio and his brother Procopio Bonifacio are killed in Maragondon, Cavite.

November

• November 1 – The Republic of Biak-na-Bato is established by Emilio Aguinaldo and his fellow revolutionaries, marking the first republic in the Philippines.

December

• December 14 – The Pact of Biak-na-Bato is signed between Governor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera and Emilio Aguinaldo, aiming to end the Philippine Revolution.

Holidays

As a colony of the Spanish Empire and being predominantly Catholic, the following were considered holidays:

• January 1 – New Year's Day
• April 15 – Maundy Thursday
• April 16 – Good Friday
• December 25 – Christmas Day

Births

• January 23 – Ildefonso Santos, Filipino poet, sculptor, and writer (d. 1984)
• March 3 – José Romero, Filipino politician (d. 1978)
• June 29 – George J. Willmann, naturalized Filipino missionary from the United States (d. 1977)
• September 11 – Francisca Susano, Filipino supercentenarian (d. 2021)
• December 3 – Elisa Ochoa, first Filipina in the Congress of the Philippines (d. 1978)

Deaths

• January 4 – Eleven of the Fifteen Martyrs of Bicol are executed.
• January 11 – The Thirteen Martyrs of Bagumbayan are executed.
  • José Dizon, one of the founders of Katipunan
• February 6 – Members of the Katipunan are executed:
  • Román Basa (b. 1848)
  • Teodoro Plata (b. 1866)
  • Vicente Molina
  • Hermenegildo de los Reyes
  • José Trinidad
  • Pedro Nicodemus
  • Feliciano del Rosario
  • Gervasio Samson
  • Doroteo Dominguez
  • Apolonio de la Cruz
• February 17 – Edilberto Evangelista, Filipino civil engineer and general (b. 1862)
• March 23 – The Nineteen Martyrs of Aklan are executed.
• May 10 – Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino nationalist and revolutionary; one of the founders of Katipunan (b. 1863)

Unknown dates

• Those executed after January 11, 1897:
  • Hugo Perez
  • Pedro Joson
  • Marcello de los Santos Esguerra
  • Eugenio de los Reyes y Herrera
  • Valentin Matias Lagasca y Cruz

References

References

1. (2009). "Philippine History – Martyrs of the Philippine Revolution".
2. Reyno, Ma. Cielito. (September 7, 2012). "Events of February 1897".
3. Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy. (September 23, 1899). "True Version of the Philippine Revolution". Authorama: Public Domain Books.