AS OUR MIGHT GROWS LESS: THE PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR IN CONTEXT by JOSE AMIEL P. ANGELES A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of History and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2013 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Jose Amiel P. Angeles Title: As Our Might Grows Less: The Philippine-American War in Context This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of History by: Glenn Anthony May Chairperson Carlos Aguirre Core Member Alexander Dracobly Core Member Thuong Vu Institutional Representative and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research and Innovation; Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded December 2013 ii © 2013 Jose Amiel P. Angeles iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Jose Amiel Palma Angeles Doctor of Philosophy Department of History December 2013 Title: As Our Might Grows Less: The Philippine-American War in Context The Philippine-American War has rarely been analyzed from the Filipino viewpoint. As a consequence, Filipino military activity is little known or misunderstood. This study aims to shed light on the Filipino side of the conflict. It does so by utilizing the Philippine Insurgent Records, which are the records of the Philippine government. More importantly, the thesis examines 300 years of Filipino history, starting with the Spanish conquest, in order to provide a framework for understanding Philippine military culture. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Jose Amiel Palma Angeles GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City (Philippines) DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy in History, 2013, University of Oregon Master of Arts in History, 2006, Ateneo de Manila University Bachelor of Arts in History, 2002 Ateneo de Manila University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Military History Southeast Asian History PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Teaching Assistant – Ateneo de Manila University Hi-165 2002-2003 Undergraduate Philippine History Class, Prehispanic era until the Spanish-American War Instructor – Ateneo de Manila University Hi-18 2003-2006 Undergraduate Western History Class Hi-165 2005-2006 Undergraduate Philippine History Class, Prehispanic era until the Spanish-American War Graduate Teaching Fellow—University of Oregon Various courses as both discussion leader and grader 2006-2011, 2013 Courses include World History, Vietnam War, War in the Modern World, European History Sole Instructor—University of Oregon Hi-240 War in World History I Summer 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 Hi-407 Seminar class, Readings in Military History 3rd Term 2011-2012 Hi-241 War in World History 2 Summer 2012 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: University of Oregon Fighting Fund 2006 v Southeast Asian Studies Award, University of Oregon 2009 John A. Schwab Memorial Scholarship (2008-2009) Turner Award (2011) PUBLICATIONS: Angeles, Jose Amiel P. “The Battle of Mactan and the Indigenous Discourse on War.” Philippine Studies, vol. 55, no. 1, 2007. Entries for Emilio Aguinaldo, El Cid, and King Chulalongkorn in The Encyclopedia of War, Martel, Gordon, ed. Chichester, West Sussex; Malden, MA: Wiley- Blackwell, 2012. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Mary, with whom I made this very long journey. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single doctoral student in the process of writing a dissertation, must be in want of a good, gainfully employed, copy-editing, and grammar- wise, wife.” I would like to thank my parents, who taught me to read, to learn, and to write. Without them, I would be nothing. I would also like to thank Franco, who put up with much. “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” But I would especially like to thank Prof. Glenn May, without whom this thesis would never have been written. The good professor provided support, motivation, guidance, and inspiration. He was not just a teacher, but an awakener. I hope he will forgive me with burdening him with my everlasting utang na loob. vii Mind must be the harder, spirit must be bolder And heart the greater, as our might grows less. The Battle of Maldon viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 The Existing Literature .................................................................................. 2 The Documentation........................................................................................ 5 Chapter Summaries........................................................................................ 8 II. PHILIPPINE MILITARY HISTORY: FROM CONTACT TO THE 18TH CENTURY............................................................................................................... 13 Prehispanic Warfare..................................................................................... 14 The Spanish Conquest.................................................................................. 26 Remontado ................................................................................................... 42 Collaboration and Syncretism...................................................................... 49 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 52 III. COLONIAL TRANSFORMATION ....................................................................... 54 Opportunities for Some: Elite Filipinos in the 19th Century........................ 55 Elite Forms of Resistance ............................................................................ 67 Difficulties for Many: Poverty and Discontent in the 19th Century............. 74 Bandits and Messiahs................................................................................... 81 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 96 IV. THE 1896 REVOLUTION...................................................................................... 98 The Katipunan.............................................................................................. 98 The Fighting in Manila .............................................................................. 106 The Rise of Aguinaldo and the Rural Elites .............................................. 118 The Fighting in Cavite ............................................................................... 123 Defeat in Cavite ......................................................................................... 128 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 136 V. THE STRATEGY AND POLITICS OF THE PHILIPPINES .............................. 138 The Aguinaldo Government ...................................................................... 140 The Idea of Independence.......................................................................... 147 The Aguinaldo Government’s Strategy ..................................................... 157 The Quest for Recognition......................................................................... 160 The Organization of the Interior ................................................................ 167 The Consequences of Politics and Strategy............................................... 174 VI. THE PHILIPPINE ARMY AND “GUERRA MODERNA”................................. 178 The Battle of Manila .................................................................................. 208 The Order of Battle .................................................................................... 209 The Combat................................................................................................ 218 The Consequences ..................................................................................... 224 ix Chapter Page The Continuation ....................................................................................... 229 VII. THE PHILIPPINE DEFEAT ................................................................................. 240 The General Staff....................................................................................... 240 Denouement ............................................................................................... 249 The Conventional Phase: In Conclusion.................................................... 253 The Guerrilla War...................................................................................... 258 VIII. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................... 276 REFERENCES CITED................................................................................................... 281 Primary Sources......................................................................................... 281 Secondary Sources..................................................................................... 289 x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION I began this study with the intention of writing about the Filipino side of the Philippine-American War (1899-1902). The most popular and important book on the conflict, Brian Linn’s The Philippine War, offers a thorough account of the American side of the conflict. But, its lack of attention to the Filipino