Patria: A Timeline

Red Horse

I really, really wanted to write this TL badly. So here it is. Hope you enjoy. Comments and constructive criticisms are very much welcome.

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Introduction

It all began in the late 18th century. After years of depending on the galleon trade (which was quickly becoming obsolete), Spain finally decided to open the Philippine Islands to international market. As a result, a massive influx of foreign goods began to flow into Manila: both good, and bad (as far as the Spaniards are concerned). The "bad" part were in the form of books, most of them containing liberal ideas from the Age of Enlightenment, which were deemed as dangerous materials in the eyes of the ruling colonial elite.

By the start of the 19th century, criollos and mestizos began to climb up the social hierarchy due to their newfound wealth in the blossoming Philippine economy. At the same, they began to embrace liberal ideas, which obliged them to demand reforms from the colonial authorities. This made the criollo intelligentsia a serious threat to the ruling regime, not to mention the conservative clergy.


The Calm Before the Storm

With the inevitable independence of the Spanish colonies in the Americas, Madrid became wary of the non-peninsular subjects. They have the right to be, since it was criollos and mestizos that started the wars of liberation in Mexico and South America. In the aftermath, many peninsular officials and administrators assigned in the New World suddenly found themselves jobless because of the aforementioned events. But not for long. Conveniently they were reassigned to Cuba, Africa and the Philippines, where they replaced the criollos/mestizos in governmental duties. This caused resentment among the insulars. The authorities doesn't give a damn though, since criollos were just second-class citizens in their eyes. The colonial military had a similar situation. But the difference is that the policy was a little bit harsher. Criollos were now restricted to a certain rank, and were always placed under the commands of peninsulars. However, the colonial government of Manila went a step too far when they decided to send all non-peninsular troops to Mindanao. Their reason was to reinforce the garrisons there to fight the Moro tribe. Though it wasn't too hard for the criollo soldiers to figure out that the government just wanted them as far away from the capital as possible. Most of them reluctantly accepted their fates. But one man would have none of it.
 
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Red Horse

Towards Independence: Part 1

The Spark

Andrés Novales was a criollo of Mexican descent. Born to a Spanish Army officer, his career was already set in the military. Already a lieutenant in the colonial army at the age fourteen, he requested to fight in Spain, during the final phases of the Peninsular War. Novales arrived there as a volunteer, but at the war's end he returned to Manila as a captain. He was said to be a very dedicated serviceman, causing others to envy him.

Novales grew discontented with how the peninsulars treated his fellow criollos. When the Spanish government began purging criollos from high government positions, he was among those who protested. The final straw for Novales is when his regiment was ordered to be sent to Mindanao. By then he had enough, and if the peninsulars doesn't treat them as fellow Spaniards, then they'll just have to cease being one. On the night of 1 June 1823, Novales refused to follow his orders. Instead of sailing south he brought 800 men back to Manila, to give their superiors a nasty surprise.


The Explosion

The attack by Novales caught the government with their pants down. Consequently, the Spaniards failed to put up a decent defense and were routed like a herd of deers. The townsfolk even cheered for Novales, who they proclaimed as emperor. But not all is going well. Amidst the chaos, Governor Juan Antonio Martínez and his deputy Mariano Fernández Folgueras managed to escape unscathed. They rode all the way to Pampanga, where a large Spanish garrison is located. Here they planned for a counterattack against the mutineers.

Another bad news was Fort Santiago, which was left intact. Novales then led his army there to force them into surrendering. Arriving at the gates, Andrés called for his brother Antonio who commands the fort to put down their arms. Antonio initially refused, not wanting to include himself into the Spanish shit-list if ever his brother's stunt failed. But seeing that Andrés had so many supporters, he slowly began to succumb to pressure. After some negotiations, Antonio submitted his forces to the mutineers, which were actually all too happy to join the fight against their colonial oppressors. Some narrative accounts even said that the Novales brothers had their own emotional moment, embracing each other just right after the gates of Fort Santiago were opened. With this Manila was secured. The battle had been won, but the war has just begun.


The Escalation

With Manila occupied by rebels, the people became emboldened to resist the Spanish oppressors. They formed numerous militia units, and began attacking Spanish troops. Several days later, the rebellion spilled over to the countryside. The provinces fell rather quickly, as the Spanish troops there were fewer in numbers than in Manila. Even Cavite, a military district, didn't stand a chance against the huge wave of insurgents, which had shown how weak the Spanish presence had became in the islands. Shortly, local juntas began to form across the rebel territories, replacing the old colonial administrations. Four days after the occupation of Manila, Novales declared the creation of a provisionary government to assume the responsibilities of the Captaincy General, and to act as the leader over the provincial juntas.

Knowing that the Spaniards would soon fight back, Novales began to strenthen his forces, in preparation for the inevitable battle that would decide the fate of the archipelago.


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Note: The POD is that Antonio joined the rebels, instead of resisting them.
 
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Red Horse

Towards Independence: Part 2

Consolidation of Gains

The Supreme Junta of the East Indies, more popularly known as the Seven-Day Junta, was established on 5 June 1823 to replace the (de-facto) dictatorial government of Andrés Novales (which in turn was created in the aftermath of the mutiny in Manila). Mainly dominated by liberal criollos, the Junta's first assignment was to implement the reforms under the 1812 Constitution. Later, they invited the provinces to send their representatives, in preparation for creating a more permanent regime.

The Junta, at first, never entertained the notion of independence, but instead reaffirmed its allegiance to the constitutional government in Madrid. In an attempt to avoid further violence, the Junta even made an effort to reach a settlement with Governor Martínez, despite reservations on the part of Novales. However, Martínez rejected any proposals, and swore to punish all the perpetrators and supporters of the rebellion. This, coupled with the news about a counter-revolution in Spain to restore Fernando VII's absolute rule, finally steeled the Junta's resolve to cut all its ties to the Spanish Crown. On 12 June the Junta declared the independence of the Philippines, and styled themselves as the National Assembly.


First Challenges

Shortly after its reorganization, the Assembly immediately faced challenges. The religious orders vehemently opposed the new regime, since they saw it as a serious threat to their interests. Thus, they conspired with the conservatives and ultraroyalists to restore the old order. On 15 June, they launched a counter-rebellion in Cavite Nuevo by storming Fort San Felipe. They hoped to stir up religious sentiments among the indios to recruit more supporters.

Too bad for them, the indios had enough of their bullshit. Instead of joining the reactionaries, the common people went against them. The Assembly, were all too happy to get rid of the last vestige of the old era, and send troops to crush the reactionaries, which they did. On 21 June the last of the royalists surrendered. Most of them were sentenced to death, while the friars had a more lenient punishment, if you consider imprisonment as one. This incident solidified the Assembly's hold over the capital, and ensured the survival of the young republic.


Further Battles

Novales knew that the war isn't over yet. So he spent weeks of consolidating his troops and the militias into a unified fighting force. Now christened as the Philippine Revolutionary Army, Novales sets out to the north to face the remaining Royalist troops. From late June onwards, several battles occured over the plains of central Luzon. The Royalists initially held the advantage, due to the superiority in organization and tactics. But as the Independentists became more experienced, the balance began to shift, when Independentists started to win several victories as they advance to the banks of the Pampanga River.

On 7 July, a bloody battle occured when Novales assaulted San Fernando, Martínez' headquarters. The Royalists there prepared a well-organized defense, which inflicted serious losses upon the Independentists. But then came that decisive moment. Novales, on the brink of defeat, personally led a charge against the Spanish center, using almost all of his reserve forces. It was said that the rebels were almost annhilated on the field until that last moment, when some Royalist troops began to falter in the face of such ferocious charge. The sudden breakthrough came as surprise to Martínez, so he failed to regroup his forces. Soon the Royalist army was in disarray as they retreated. The Independentists won a decisive victory.

The fall of San Fernando sent ripples across northern Luzon. Upon learning of Novales' victory the northern province began its own revolt. By the end of July, the Royalists were then confined to the Cagayan Valley.
 

Namayan

Ben Zayb said:
Thanks. I thought nobody's interested in this timeline. That's what motivates me to write this.
Click to expand...

A lot of philippine timelines here but very few actually made it to the modern era. Writing ATL requires time, research and passion.
 

Alferiz

Republican route, eh?

From what I've read so far, it seems you're having the Philippine immediately taking the republican route. Stability is going to be a problem here.
 

Red Horse

Namayan said:
A lot of philippine timelines here but very few actually made it to the modern era. Writing ATL requires time, research and passion.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. Good thing is, Philippine history isn't as complicated as American and European ones.
 
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