Red Horse
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Background
Spain was reduced to a second-rate power by the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Its army and economy was a shadow of its former self. Its once prestigious colonial empire was now crumbling, as New Spain, New Granada, Peru and Rio de la Plata severed its connection to the crown and proclaimed independence. The restored king Fernando VII thought that the only way to save his decaying kingdom was to restore the Way of the Bourbons: absolute rule. So he abolished the 1812 Constitution and launched a crackdown agains liberal elements.
Unfortunately, the Felon King was dead wrong.
In 1820, Colonel Rafael del Riego staged an uprising against Fernando. His movement quickly spread throughout Spain and by March, Madrid was seized and the king reluctantly reinstated the constitution. But this didn't alleviate Spain's dire situation. Despite the restoration of the Cortes, constant bickering and violence between the Liberals and Conservatives promoted instability and made the new government ineffective. On the sidelines, Fernando saw an opportunity to regain his power, and asked for help from Spain's neighbors.
After the loss of Latin America, the peninsular government started to mistrust the criollos and mestizos. And in order to prevent any more secession, they attempted to reassert control of colonial governments by placing peninsular officials to positions of importance. This new policy was unanimously implemented in Spain's remaining possessions. This includes the Philippine Islands. The Philippines was just beginning to experience economic progress after Manila was opened to global trade. The rising middle class becamed influenced by the ideas of Enlightenment, and started to demand reforms from the colonial administration. And such was the outrage when the local criollos found out the new policy, which they labeled as a form of discrimination. They tried to appeal it, but to no avail. There were also some dissenters from the colonial army, led by a captain named Andrés Novales. The government, as expected, refused the demands and enacted precautionary measures by sending the criollo soldiers to Mindanao, to pacify the Moro tribes. When Novales discovered the order, he decided to do something about it.
The next chain of events marked the beginning of a new chapter in Philippine history.
"Victory is the child
of struggle...
...and redemption is
a product of
sacrifice."
of struggle...
...and redemption is
a product of
sacrifice."
Background
Spain was reduced to a second-rate power by the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Its army and economy was a shadow of its former self. Its once prestigious colonial empire was now crumbling, as New Spain, New Granada, Peru and Rio de la Plata severed its connection to the crown and proclaimed independence. The restored king Fernando VII thought that the only way to save his decaying kingdom was to restore the Way of the Bourbons: absolute rule. So he abolished the 1812 Constitution and launched a crackdown agains liberal elements.
Unfortunately, the Felon King was dead wrong.
In 1820, Colonel Rafael del Riego staged an uprising against Fernando. His movement quickly spread throughout Spain and by March, Madrid was seized and the king reluctantly reinstated the constitution. But this didn't alleviate Spain's dire situation. Despite the restoration of the Cortes, constant bickering and violence between the Liberals and Conservatives promoted instability and made the new government ineffective. On the sidelines, Fernando saw an opportunity to regain his power, and asked for help from Spain's neighbors.
After the loss of Latin America, the peninsular government started to mistrust the criollos and mestizos. And in order to prevent any more secession, they attempted to reassert control of colonial governments by placing peninsular officials to positions of importance. This new policy was unanimously implemented in Spain's remaining possessions. This includes the Philippine Islands. The Philippines was just beginning to experience economic progress after Manila was opened to global trade. The rising middle class becamed influenced by the ideas of Enlightenment, and started to demand reforms from the colonial administration. And such was the outrage when the local criollos found out the new policy, which they labeled as a form of discrimination. They tried to appeal it, but to no avail. There were also some dissenters from the colonial army, led by a captain named Andrés Novales. The government, as expected, refused the demands and enacted precautionary measures by sending the criollo soldiers to Mindanao, to pacify the Moro tribes. When Novales discovered the order, he decided to do something about it.
The next chain of events marked the beginning of a new chapter in Philippine history.
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