Philippine–American War
Armed conflict (1899–1902) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Philippine–American War,[13] known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War,[lower-alpha 2] or Tagalog Insurgency,[14][15][16] emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed the Philippine Islands under the Treaty of Paris. Philippine nationalists constituted the First Philippine Republic in January 1899, seven months after signing the Philippine Declaration of Independence. The United States did not recognize either event as legitimate, and tensions escalated until fighting commenced on February 4, 1899 in the Battle of Manila.
Philippine–American War | |||||||||
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Clockwise from top left: U.S. troops in Manila, Gregorio del Pilar and his troops around 1898, Americans guarding the Pasig River bridge in 1898, the Battle of Santa Cruz, Filipino soldiers at Malolos, the Battle of Quingua | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
1899–1902: |
1899–1902:[lower-alpha 1] Empire of Japan[1] German Empire[2][3] | ||||||||
1902–1913: |
1902–1913: Tagalog Republic (until 1906) Maguindanao Sultanate (until 1905) Sulu Sultanate | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
1902–1913 Irreconcilables Babaylanes Pulajanes Moro people | |||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
≈80,000–100,000 regular and irregular[6] | |||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
4,200 killed,[7] 2,818 wounded, several succumbed to disease [8] |
About 10,000 killed[9] (Emilio Aguinaldo estimate), 16,000–20,000 killed[10] (American estimate) | ||||||||
Filipino civilians: 200,000–250,000 died, most because of famine and disease[lower-roman 2] | |||||||||
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Shortly after being denied a request for armistice, the Philippine Council of Government issued a proclamation on June 2, 1899 urging the people to continue the war.[17] Philippine forces initially attempted to engage U.S. forces conventionally but transitioned to guerrilla tactics by November 1899. Philippine President Emilio Aguinaldo was captured on March 23, 1901, and the war was officially declared over by the US on July 4, 1902.[18] However, some Philippine groups—some led by veterans of the Katipunan[which?], a Philippine revolutionary society that had launched the revolution against Spain—continued to fight for several more years. Other groups, including the Muslim Moro peoples of the southern Philippines and quasi-Catholic Pulahan religious movements, continued hostilities in remote areas. The resistance in the Moro-dominated provinces in the south, called the Moro Rebellion by the Americans, ended with their final defeat at the Battle of Bud Bagsak on June 15, 1913.[19]
The war resulted in at least 200,000 Filipino civilian deaths, mostly from famine and diseases such as cholera.[20][21][22] Some estimates for civilian deaths reach up to a million.[10] War crimes were committed during the conflict by both sides,[23] including torture, mutilation, and summary executions of civilians and prisoners. In retaliation for Filipino guerrilla warfare tactics, the U.S. carried out reprisals and scorched earth campaigns and forcibly relocated many civilians to concentration camps, where thousands died.[24][25][26] The war and subsequent occupation by the U.S. changed the culture of the islands, leading to the rise of Protestantism, disestablishment of the Catholic Church, and the adoption of English by the islands as the primary language of government, education, business, and industry.[27] The U.S. annexation and war sparked political backlash from anti-imperialists in the U.S. Senate, who argued that the war was a definite example of U.S. imperialism, and that it was an inherent contradiction of the founding principles of the United States contained in the Declaration of Independence.[28][29][30]
In 1902, the United States Congress passed the Philippine Organic Act, which provided for the creation of the Philippine Assembly, with members to be elected by Filipino men (females did not yet have the right to vote). This act was superseded by the 1916 Jones Act (Philippine Autonomy Act), which contained the first formal and official declaration of the United States government's commitment to eventually grant independence to the Philippines.[31] The 1934 Tydings–McDuffie Act (Philippine Independence Act) created the Commonwealth of the Philippines the following year. The act increased self-governance and established a process towards full independence (originally scheduled for 1944, but delayed by World War II and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines). The United States eventually granted full Philippine independence in 1946 through the Treaty of Manila.[32]