Filipinoamerican War
Research papers on the Filipino-American War are written by history experts and discuss the involvement of the Philippines in the Spanish-American War at the turn of the 20th Century.
The United States acquired the Philippines as a result of the Spanish-American War in 1898. However, many Filipino people objected to the terms outlined by the Treaty of Paris and began a struggle for independence, known as the Filipino-American War, that lasted from 1899 to 1902. While the war was officially a victory for the United States, many believe that heavy-handed tactics altered Filipino society.
The Filipino people had been in revolt against their Spanish colonial overseers when war broke out in 1898 between the United States and Spain. After the United States took possession of the Philippines, fighting broke out between Filipino forces and Americans. In March 1900, future President William H. Taft was sent to oversee American administration in the Philippines, by which time fighting had seriously broken out.
Estimates claim that between 80,000 and 100,000 Filipino people took place in the Filipino-American War, often armed with nothing more than knives. Their goal was the establishment of an independent nation, the First Philippine Republic. Much of the conflict was guerilla warfare, but relentless campaigning by American forces led to an official surrender of Filipino fighters in April 1902. It was not until the Treaty of Manila in 1946 that the Philippines finally gained independence, more than four decades after fighting in the Filipino-American War.
The Philippines were beginning the same struggle to resist the Spanish government which was in place.
- Jose Rival, a member of a wealthy mestizo (half native/half Spanish descent) family, became angry with the limited mobility placed on him and in 1892 he founded the Liga Filipina, a political organization which wanted to end Spanish rule peacefully.
- Andres Bonifacio replaced Rival's peaceful solutions with a more violent overthrow.
This coup continued for several years.