Today in History by Indio Historian
This day in 1898, six days after Emilio Aguinaldo's return to the Philippines, the U.S. expeditionary force (Eighth Army Corps) led by Brig. Gen. Thomas McArthur Anderson left San Francisco, for Manila to engage the Spanish forces in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War.
More than three weeks prior, on May 1, U.S. Adm. George Dewey defeated the Spanish navy in the Battle of Manila Bay. The admiral was the one who initiated the return of Aguinaldo to the Philippines for Filipino revolutionary forces to engage the Spaniards on land.
Dewey promised Aguinaldo verbally that the U.S. had no desire to conquer the islands, and that it would respect the Filipino people’s will to independence. Mabini, upon learning of this on June 12, 1898, had foresight that since there's no signed agreement on this, it was not binding.
In San Francisco, California, U.S. troops boarded three ships—the SS Australia, SS City of Sydney, and the SS City of Peking. Upon reaching the Philippines, these were the first of the American forces to have landed. The uncertainty of the situation bought Americans some time to amass forces.
Even when Filipinos declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, and Filipino forces had Manila (Intramuros) surrounded, Americans secretly negotiated with the Spaniards to stage a battle on August 13, 1898, and transfer the city's control to the U.S.
Filipinos became suspicious as U.S. forces forbade Filipino troops to enter the city, while U.S. reinforcements kept on arriving. Aguinaldo transferred his capital to Malolos, safe from possible bombings coming from Manila Bay. It was a race against time as the nascent republic sought international recognition from other states, while pursuing a seat in the negotiations between Spain and the U.S., while a Revolutionary Congress was convened to show the people's support of the republic being established.
The Treaty of Paris between Spain and the U.S. was signed on December 10, 1898. The deal ceded Spanish control of the Philippines to the U.S., triggering a protest manifesto from Malolos. The tensions led to the outbreak of Philippine-American War on February 4, 1899, with the first gunshot fired by Pvt. W. Grayson.
Photo:
- SS Australia in San Francisco, May 25, 1898, from the U.S. Library of Congress, loc.gov/item/98501025/
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