4 AUGUST

Military flag of Spanish Empire from 16th to mid 18th century

1625 - Gov. Fernando de Silva, appointed successor to  Gov. Alonso Fajardo de Tenza in colonial Philippines,  notifies King Philip IV of Spain of his arrival in the  islands and reports the condition of affairs, including:  his recommendation for the restoration of the captive Ternatan king; his intent to very severely punish the  rebellion in Cagayan; abandonment of the attempt at  working the Igorrote gold mines; request for greater  authority to restrain the lawless religious who ignores  the civil authorities; and his hope to obtain the  needed ships to defend their Philippine possession  against the powerful Dutch fleet that has actually already reached Ternate.

1898 - Some nine days prior to the infamous Mock Battle of Manila that would falsely make it appear that the Americans, instead of the Filipino revolutionaries, defeated the Spanish colonial forces in the Southeast Asian archipelago and the capital, Manila, Consul Oscar F. Williams of the emerging imperialist United States cables American Secretary of State William R. Day to report that he has tried to convince Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy that American rule over the Philippines will supposedly bring greater honor, progress, and profit to the natives compared to any scheme the Filipino leader and his advisers can ever devise; Williams adds that he is on better terms with Aguinaldo than the United States military commanders are with Aguinaldo, the leader of the second phase of the Philippine Revolution who has stupidly forged an "alliance" with U.S. Admiral George Dewey and believed his and other American military and diplomatic officials' verbal deceptive promises that the Bald Eagle nation will honor Philippine independence; apparently realizing that the imperialist Americans have him duped, Aguinaldo--who weeks earlier even ridiculously instructed his men to allow the G.I.'s to freely enter the archipelago--will then try to 'negotiate' Filipinos' independence; the Mock Battle of Manila will form the prelude to the baseless December 1898 Treaty of Paris where by that time, the virtually expelled Spaniards will supposedly "cede" the Philippines to imperialist America, ultimately leading to the bloody and protracted Filipino-American War (1899-1914).