24 JULY

Filipinos captured by American invaders

1898 - After having been led to believe through verbal promises by United States officials [the consuls in Singapore and Hong Kong, Admiral George Dewey and Gen. Thomas Anderson] that America is an ally, President Emilio F. Aguinaldo writes to Gen. Anderson of his people's expectations that while foreign powers have not yet acknowledged  the Philippine Republic, "the great North American nation, which  struggled first for its independence, and afterward for the  abolition of slavery and is now actually struggling for the  independence of Cuba, would look upon [Filipino assertion of  sovereignty] with greater benevolence than any other nation";  some three months back during the second phase of the Philippine Revolution against Spain, intersecting with the Spanish-American War, the Bald Eagle nation, through Admiral Dewey, forged an alliance with the Filipinos, deceptively promising Aguinaldo that the U.S. will honor the independence of the Southeast Asian archipelago; exactly a year later, on July 24, 1899, almost six months into the  bloody and protracted Philippine-American War (1899-1914), Foreign Minister Apolinario Mabini y Maranan will optimistically write about  how "favorable public opinion (on Philippine independence) in America is steadily gaining ground to the detriment of the imperialist party."


Photo credit: Filipiniana.net