September 1763 Gabriela Silang Martyred

Josefa Gabriela Silang, the first Filipino woman to lead a revolt during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines. Gabriela was the wife of Ilocano rebel leader Diego Silang, who was betrayed by a close friend and was assassinated on May 28, 1763 by order of royal and church authorities in Manila.

After her husband’s death, Gabriela took over her husband’s battle, fleeing on horseback to the mountains of Abra to establish her headquarters and reassemble her troops. She led the Filipino rebels and attacked the Spanish stronghold in Vigan, Ilocos Sur on September 10, 1763. Howev- er, the Spanish forces were ready for them and her army was ambushed. She escaped with 8 others, but was later arrested and summarily hanged on September 29, 1763 at Vigan’s town square.
Reference: Philippine News Agency.

Condensed from a post by: kahimyang.com
on September 10, 2011.

September 1815 Galleon Trade Between Mexico and The Philippines Ended

For 250 years, the Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons sailed the Pacific, carrying luxury goods. The galleon trade was the fundamental income-generating business for Spanish nationals living in the Philippine Islands during that period. However, only a very small coterie of privileged Spaniards were benefited – the Spanish governor, members of the consulado (merchants with consular duties and rights) usually insulares, and Spanish residents in Manila. A total of 110 Manila galleons sailed the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade between 1565 and 1815.

A positive result of the galleon trade was the intercultural exchanges be- tween the Philippines and the Mexico, symbolized by no less than the Mex- ican-made Virgin of Antipolo, chosen as the patroness of the sailors, who protected them from the untold perils across the Pacific.

The mango de Manila, tamarind and rice, the carabao (introduced in 1737 in Mexico), cockfighting, Chinese tea and textiles, fireworks display, tuba (coconut wine) reached Mexico through the trans-Pacific trade.

The return voyage brought innumer- able and valuable flora and fauna into the Philippines: avocado, guava, papa- ya, pineapple, horses and cattle. The moro-moro, moriones festival, and the image of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo were also of Mexican origins.

The Manila-Acapulco galleon trade began when Andres de Urdaneta in convoy under Miguel Lopez de Legas- pi, discovered a return route from Cebu City to Mexico in 1565.

On September 14, 1815, the galleon trade between the Philippines and Mexico ended. A few years later, in 1821, Mexico gained independence from Spain.

Condensed from post by: kahimyang.com on September 14, 2011

September 1891 El Filibusterismo Published

On September 18, 1891, the second novel of Dr. Jose Rizal, El Filibus- terismo (Reign of Greed), written in Spanish and a sequel to Noli Me Tange- re, was published in Ghent, Belgium.

Rizal, who began writing El Filibus- terismo in October 1887 in Calamba, Laguna, revised some chapters while he was in London and completed the book on March 29, 1891.

Rizal wrote El Filibusterismo in ded- ication to the three martyred priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Ja- cinto Zamora, expressing conviction that their treatment and deaths at the hands of the Spanish authorities was unjust.

Plots are poles apart compared with Noli Me Tangere, where people were encouraged to ask and aspire for change and liberation, in El Filibuster- ismo, Rizal urged the society to open its eyes to reality and rebel against the Spanish government for its op- pression and abuse.

In Noli Me Tangere, there is aspira- tion, beauty, romance, and mercy. In El Filibusterismo, readers will feel is bitterness, hatred, and antipathy. The romance and aspirations are gone. Even the characters’ personal- ities seem to have undergone radical change.

Posted by kahimyang.com on September 17, 2012