The Present Rebellion.
In August, 1896, the present rebellion was begun. The causes of this uprising were similar to those that caused the preceding insurrections; the arrogance and the exactions of the friars, the oppressive taxes, the licenses and numerous fees, and other extortions practised by the Government officials were again the source of much discontent among the people. The natives, furthermore, were compelled to submit to usurious loans whenever they wished to raise money to carry on the various kinds of domestic enterprise. If a native was unable to satisfy the claims against him, his property was immediately confiscated by the Government. This power of confiscation was used most effectively against the well-to-do-natives, who thus were fleeced by the officials on the slightest pretext.
The Katipunan.
Smarting under these grievances, the natives formed a secret Revolutionary League, called the Katipunan, which soon numbered not less than 50,000 men. Cavité was the rebel stronghold, and from the day of its inception till the present time the rebellion has steadily grown; the barbarity and inhumanity of the Spaniards, now proverbial, have caused similar retaliations on the part of the rebels. And while this is not surprising, it is, nevertheless, surely to be deplored.
If the civilized and religious Spaniard tortured his prisoners,—by burning, smothering, disemboweling, and otherwise mutilating,—what was to be expected of the half-civilized ignorant native. He, however, displayed far more mercy and greater magnanimity than his European enemy. The Spaniards, indeed, revived all the horrors of the inquisition,—the thumbscrew, the stake, and the rack. Is it a wonder that the Filipinos, rankling with the memory of a recent outrage and an ancient wrong, sometimes inflicted the same punishments on the unfortunate Spaniards that fell into their hands?
The Black Hole of Manila.
La Bella Filipina in Troubadour Costume.