Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence in 1898 and fought two empires for it in four years. Born in 1869 in Cavite to a landowning Chinese-Filipino family, he was the mayor of his town and a member of the Katipunan, the secret society that rose against Spain in 1896. He proved to be the movement's most effective commander and used that to displace its founder. Andrés Bonifacio was tried by an Aguinaldo-controlled council in 1897 and shot, which is the part of his record Filipinos still argue about. He accepted exile in Hong Kong that December in exchange for money and a promise of reforms. The Spanish-American War brought him back. An American squadron destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay in May 1898 and carried Aguinaldo home; he raised the countryside, besieged Manila, and declared independence on 12 June with the flag and anthem the country still uses. Spain then surrendered the city to the Americans in a staged battle with the Filipinos kept out, and sold the archipelago to the United States for twenty million dollars at Paris. McKinley announced a policy of benevolent assimilation. The Philippine-American War began in February 1899, went conventional and then guerrilla, and killed some 20,000 combatants and something between 200,000 and a million civilians. Aguinaldo was captured in 1901 by a column disguised as prisoners, swore allegiance, and lived until 1964. He ran for president in 1935 against Quezon and lost badly, and was accused of collaborating with the Japanese occupation, though he was amnestied without trial. Independence came in 1946, granted on the anniversary of the American holiday rather than his own; the date was moved to 12 June in 1962, which was an official verdict on whose republic had come first.
- Lived: 1869 CE – 1964 CE
- Nationality: Filipino
- Roles: President of the First Philippine Republic (1899-1901), leader_of_filipino_resistance_forces_in_the_philippine_revolution_and_philippine_american_war
