First Philippine Republic

Philippine Revolution and the Spanish-American War

The creation of the republic was the culmination of the Philippine revolution and the outbreak of the Spanish-American War . On June 12, 1898, in Cavite , the province of Emilio Aguinaldo , the Philippine revolutionaries published in Spanish the text of the Philippines Declaration of Independence, which proclaimed the creation of an independent Philippine state. ^[1] On September 15, revolutionaries convened a constituent assembly in Malolos , which adopted the draft of the so-called "Malolos Constitution . " The constitution was formally adopted in January 1899, Emilio Aguinaldo was declared the first president of the republic ^{[2] [3]} . The Constituent Assembly replaced the provisional revolutionary government previously proclaimed by Emilio Aguinaldo ^{[4] [5] [6]} .

According to decrees of May 20 and June 18, 1898 in the Philippines, it was prescribed to reorganize the systems of provincial and municipal authorities in a short time ^[7] . The Malolos Constituent Assembly also passed an important law to provide loans to the government in order to balance the high costs of the Philippine Republic ^[7] .

After the Philippines Declaration of Independence was published on June 12, 1898, the Philippine Revolutionary Army was renamed the Philippine Army. Subsequently, on September 28, 1898, Aguinaldo appointed Antonio Luna as Minister of War. Around the same time, the Philippine Military Academy was founded in Mallos ^[8] .

US-Philippine War

On December 10, 1898, the Spanish-American War ended with the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty , which provided for the transfer of the Spanish colonies to the United States, which was the solution to the territorial dispute between these states ^[9] . The United States immediately sent additional troops to the Philippines, with the goal of occupying Manila ; the Philippine army confronted them ^[10] . On the same day, President Emilio Aguinaldo stated: “The friendly relations between the Philippines and the United States have ceased, Americans are now regarded as enemies” ^[11] . The conflict escalated quite quickly, and as a result of the second battle for Manila, the Philippine army was eventually forced to leave the city ^[12] . On March 31, the Americans occupied Malolos, the original capital of the Philippine Republic, although this city was already actually intentionally burned by the retreating Philippine army ^[13] . Aginaldo and members of the government of the republic moved to San Isidro ^[14] .

After unsuccessful negotiations with the Americans from April to May 1899, and the capture by the US army of San Isidro, the government of the Philippine Republic fled first to Bamban, then to Tarlac . In addition, on May 7, many representatives of the “party of war” in the government were dismissed and replaced by ministers who were more anxious for peace ^{[14] [15] [16]} . On November 13, the Americans stormed Tarlac, into which Aginaldo fled ^[17] . On the same day, at a meeting with his supporters in Bayambang, Aguinaldo, who managed to escape there, ordered the reorganization of the army and the beginning of a guerrilla war ^[17] . Since that time, the influence of Aguinaldo and his army began to weaken, since he could no longer undertake large-scale military operations. Realizing that the possibility of moving east for his forces was blocked by the Americans, Aguinaldo, along with his supporters, moved on the north and west on November 15, intending to cross the mountains ^{[18] [19]} .

On March 20, 1901, Aguinaldo was captured by US forces in Cervantes. On April 1, he took the oath of allegiance to the United States, announced the liquidation of the Philippine Republic and the recognition of American sovereignty over the Philippines ^[20] . Soon, American troops occupied - in accordance with the Paris Treaty - the entire territory of the Philippine Islands, finally putting an end to the existence of the First Philippine Republic ^{[9] [21]} . The rule of the Americans in the Philippines continued until 1946, when they became an independent republic as a result of the Manila Treaty ^[22] .