The beginning
I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this, but heck, I may as well try to post one of the ideas I've so dearly wanted to write for so long. Also, IDK what the timeframe of a proper revolution would be, especially in a region so far from Spain.
So, the first part of the prologue, the Revolution proper:
So, our story roughly begins in the 1820s. Minor divergences may have occurred before this, but the 1820s are where the butterflies truly begin.
The Kingdom of Spain is weak. Its imperial authority in its colonies has slowly eroded over the decades, and its attempts at maintaining its empire have only continued to erode the central authority's power over it. This combined with the liberal ideals of the Enlightenment flowing in from France and America have made the region ripe for revolt.
The chaos of the Napoleonic Wars is the metaphorical straw that breaks the camel's back. The decade before, the 1810s, has seen the empire start to crumble, and the rest of it is also beginning to revolt.
One area that joins this trend is the Spanish East Indies. Having seen the rest of its empire fall, the Kingdom of Spain has decided to clamp down on those who remain, placing the Philippines, which had long been ruled from Mexico, under its direct control and putting down heavy-handed racial policies favoring Peninsulars over the native Criollos.
In our world, it did so relatively successfully. It suppressed both attempts at independence, and maintained control over the Spanish East Indies for three generations. ITTL, it is a deadly mistake. For these policies, all the Criollo officers and administrators being forcibly removed from the offices that they held loyally for decades, is too much to bear. IOTL they expressed their discontent too early and in too fragmented a fashion. ITTL, they are a bit more patient, and form a plan.
In 1825, the flame of revolution strikes after a couple years of preparation. The former Criollo officers select one of their own as a war leader for the revolution, the young war hero Andres Novales who had fought in the Napoleonic Wars as a mere soldier and returned as a captain, only to be stripped of that title by royal authority.
And so, in the June of that year, he and his fellow officers seized Intramuros with the help of allies within the walls, and declared the Empire of the Philippines, waving the banner of the silver merlion on a red field. They executed both Governor General Martinez and his predecessor de Folgueras, effectively beheading the Spanish government in the Philippines, and in letters written both in Castilian and Tagalog, the revolutionaries declared independence from the tyranny of Spain and incited the rest of the country to do likewise.
Some took up arms in the name of Spain, but more joined the rebellion. Former officers assembled local militias and overthrew the Spanish loyalist garrisons, and former administrators took up positions in government again, this time for the Philippines. Even some Indios and Mestizos and Sangleys joined the fight. Some crews of ships mutinied against their Peninsular captains and began waving the flag of the same flag as the revolutionaries.
By the end of July, the revolutionaries had mostly secured the Tagalog heartland, establishing the beginnings of an independent Philippine state, and began to spread the revolution across the archipelago. At the same time, a motley assembly of petty officers and administrators and even some native priests from all castes of the Philippines and all across Luzon prepared to write a constitution, for Andres Novales, though acclaimed emperor by his peers, saw that the authority of force was not enough to sustain a revolution. It would need a foundation, something that would sustain this revolution beyond a mere rebellion. And even as he served faithfully against the French in the Napoleonic Wars, he was inspired by their liberal ideals, which he stewed upon after he was stripped of command earlier in the decade. So began the long process of establishing a proper state.
But first, a war had to be won. Novales led a force north to Ilocos, while a fellow officer of his led another force east into Bicol. Only a couple decades before, the Ilocanos had rebelled against Spain in what was called the Basi revolt, or the Ambaristo revolt. Certainly they had no great love of Spain for what they did, and after another two months, Vigan and Laoag began waving both the red standard and the standard of the Basi revolt: a flag of red and yellow stripes.
In the meanwhile, the Revolutionary Fleet had been organized and sailed south, where they discovered the ongoing Dagohoy revolt against the Spaniards. With the aid of the fleet, and a renewed spirit of revolt, the Bohol Free State drove out the Spanish garrisons, and a few of its leaders sailed north to join the writing of the Filipino Constitution, while the Boholanos began to reorganize their Free State.
And so it continued, the revolution's flames spreading across the Philippine islands, all calling for independence against Spain...
So, the first part of the prologue, the Revolution proper:
So, our story roughly begins in the 1820s. Minor divergences may have occurred before this, but the 1820s are where the butterflies truly begin.
The Kingdom of Spain is weak. Its imperial authority in its colonies has slowly eroded over the decades, and its attempts at maintaining its empire have only continued to erode the central authority's power over it. This combined with the liberal ideals of the Enlightenment flowing in from France and America have made the region ripe for revolt.
The chaos of the Napoleonic Wars is the metaphorical straw that breaks the camel's back. The decade before, the 1810s, has seen the empire start to crumble, and the rest of it is also beginning to revolt.
One area that joins this trend is the Spanish East Indies. Having seen the rest of its empire fall, the Kingdom of Spain has decided to clamp down on those who remain, placing the Philippines, which had long been ruled from Mexico, under its direct control and putting down heavy-handed racial policies favoring Peninsulars over the native Criollos.
In our world, it did so relatively successfully. It suppressed both attempts at independence, and maintained control over the Spanish East Indies for three generations. ITTL, it is a deadly mistake. For these policies, all the Criollo officers and administrators being forcibly removed from the offices that they held loyally for decades, is too much to bear. IOTL they expressed their discontent too early and in too fragmented a fashion. ITTL, they are a bit more patient, and form a plan.
In 1825, the flame of revolution strikes after a couple years of preparation. The former Criollo officers select one of their own as a war leader for the revolution, the young war hero Andres Novales who had fought in the Napoleonic Wars as a mere soldier and returned as a captain, only to be stripped of that title by royal authority.
And so, in the June of that year, he and his fellow officers seized Intramuros with the help of allies within the walls, and declared the Empire of the Philippines, waving the banner of the silver merlion on a red field. They executed both Governor General Martinez and his predecessor de Folgueras, effectively beheading the Spanish government in the Philippines, and in letters written both in Castilian and Tagalog, the revolutionaries declared independence from the tyranny of Spain and incited the rest of the country to do likewise.
Some took up arms in the name of Spain, but more joined the rebellion. Former officers assembled local militias and overthrew the Spanish loyalist garrisons, and former administrators took up positions in government again, this time for the Philippines. Even some Indios and Mestizos and Sangleys joined the fight. Some crews of ships mutinied against their Peninsular captains and began waving the flag of the same flag as the revolutionaries.
By the end of July, the revolutionaries had mostly secured the Tagalog heartland, establishing the beginnings of an independent Philippine state, and began to spread the revolution across the archipelago. At the same time, a motley assembly of petty officers and administrators and even some native priests from all castes of the Philippines and all across Luzon prepared to write a constitution, for Andres Novales, though acclaimed emperor by his peers, saw that the authority of force was not enough to sustain a revolution. It would need a foundation, something that would sustain this revolution beyond a mere rebellion. And even as he served faithfully against the French in the Napoleonic Wars, he was inspired by their liberal ideals, which he stewed upon after he was stripped of command earlier in the decade. So began the long process of establishing a proper state.
But first, a war had to be won. Novales led a force north to Ilocos, while a fellow officer of his led another force east into Bicol. Only a couple decades before, the Ilocanos had rebelled against Spain in what was called the Basi revolt, or the Ambaristo revolt. Certainly they had no great love of Spain for what they did, and after another two months, Vigan and Laoag began waving both the red standard and the standard of the Basi revolt: a flag of red and yellow stripes.
In the meanwhile, the Revolutionary Fleet had been organized and sailed south, where they discovered the ongoing Dagohoy revolt against the Spaniards. With the aid of the fleet, and a renewed spirit of revolt, the Bohol Free State drove out the Spanish garrisons, and a few of its leaders sailed north to join the writing of the Filipino Constitution, while the Boholanos began to reorganize their Free State.
And so it continued, the revolution's flames spreading across the Philippine islands, all calling for independence against Spain...
