The Southern Sun

This would be my first TL ever since joining the group. :) This would be a Philippine-centric TL with a bit ASBish... thing hehe :p

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HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES AND THE SPANISH EAST INDIES

From 1521 to 1821

The first European navigator to reach the archipelago was Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese who sailed for Spain, in 1521. The line drawn by the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1525 allocated the Philippines to Portugal, but because the Philippines had been named after Spanish crown prince Philipp (who went on to become King Philipp II. of Spain), an exception was made and the islands were allocated to Spain. From 1565 to 1571 the islands were conquered by a Spanish force, and became a dependency of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico), under the name of Spanish East Indies (with the Ladrones, Carolinas, Palau Islands and temporarily the Moluccas and the Spanish settlement on Taiwan as dependencies). The Captaincy General of the Philippines was established in 1573, the Real Audiencia of the Philippines in 1584. Communication with Spain went through Mexico, and took extremely long.

The outposts on Taiwan, in the Moluccas and on Celebes (Minahasa) were lost in the mid 17th century. A brief British occupation of Manila 1762-1764 caused the Spanish authorities to introduce changes, such as direct communication with the Philippines (since 1766). When Mexico became independent in 1821, the Philippines (with dependencies) became a Spanish colony of their own.

From 1821 and onwards

Until 1821, the Philippines were administrated as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain; in 1821 Mexico declared independence. The Philippines remained Spanish and now were administrated from Madrid.
The Philippines hitherto had been a remote sideland of Mexico, its main economic purpose having been to facilitate the Spanish-Mexican China trade; Manila was an important entrepot for Spanish ships sailing to Canton (China). Now a new administration had to be established for the Philippines, more elaborate than the previous one, and Spain was faced with the question of how to cover its costs.

The 57th and 60th Governor and Captain-General of the Philippines Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras under the direct control of Ministerio de Ultramar in 1821, gave policies that favored peninsulares from their creole and mestizo counterparts. This policies gave rise of "political discrimination" against Creoles and Mestizos alike.

In October 30, 1822 Folgueras gave the office to Juan Antonio Martinez and became the Lieutenant Governor once again. As days and months passed by several high ranking Creoles and Mestizos were stripped out of their ranks, replaced by their peninsulares counterpart and demoted to lower ranks even putting them as a soldado. Unbeknownst to the government, a force had been accumulating supports and power for the past 3 decades and as the year came to an end and embraced the first month of 1823. And so, an unknown chapter unfolds....
 
I don't know much about history of the Philippines but I'm really interested in where this TL goes. An independent Philippines that has knowledge of European technology has potential for a lot of butterflies. Good writing so far.
 
THE SOUTHERN SUN

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Wind of Change

Intramuros, Manila
February 22, 1823


Andres Novales was walking outside the prison cell but he was not alone; alongside him were Spanish soldiers accompanying him toward the fort's gate, with their rifles on their hands seemingly pointing its barrels up to his temple. As much as he wanted to punch their faces, he restrained himself.

He could hear murmurs. He could feel the animosity in the air as it touched his face. He could see the rage in the eyes of every men inside the Fort like a fiery torch who wanted to burn a plagued witch tied to a wooden pole. He just had one thing in mind that needs action.

It was the twenty-three-year-old's second humiliation in his life ever since he served the army. He was the youngest officer to be promoted Captain in the army ranks. He had participated in the Peninsular War at the age of fourteen even though his mother was against it. There he suffered his first humiliation as he was held captive by Napoleonic Spain and thrown in the depths of the infamous Chateau D'If. It was a horrible past for him. He had endured it until this day and too, he would endure today's shame. But deep inside his heart he still refused to believe what his beloved land had become.

How could he be? Andres Novales loved the Philippines as if it was his own mother. Growing up inside the famed walled city of Intramuros he had felt a strong connection with the colony. He was proud to be born there even he knew he wasn't native on the land. Nonetheless, he liked it. Beside from serving the King he “used” to praise and adore, it was this land the reason why he joined the military at the young age of nine.

The language of the natives of the Philippines had been a joy for Andres to learn and master. Although he had a hard time learning Tagalog, he pushed himself. He would kept a piece of paper with written Tagalog words and memorized it night by night. He'd sharpened it carefully for the past fourteen years even he was in prison. Upon his return to the Spanish colony in 1816, he can skillfully converse with the Indios without looking at his Spanish translations.

He had arrived at the gates and all of a sudden he was thrown outside Fort Santiago. The Peninsulares officers pushed him without warning and hastily sealed the gates. He was treated like a ragged rodent. He just shrug off what had happened and calmly straighten his uniform from its crimpy state.

"Brother!" a voice echoed. It was sweet yet troubled. Before Andres could recognize it, he was trapped in the arms of a beautiful lady embracing him.

"Thank goodness you're safe." the young woman said as she released Andres from her arms and put her smooth and gentle hands on the captain's face. "What did they do to you? Did they make you cough blood?"

Andres glanced at the young lady. Wearing a white and red Filipiniana, he recognized that face; Adelina, his younger sister and the youngest of them siblings. He shook his head and wiped the face of his teary eyed sibling. Something crossed his mind and his face became sour. Knowing that an unprecedented event will took place that would cost not only his life but also the lives and prestige of his loved-ones at stake.

"No." he replied. "They just kept me inside the cell for almost a day."

"As soon as we heard about Count Luis' and your arrest, I came rushing here since twelve noon."

"Who informed you?"

"Me... Capitan."

A young man steps forward from a crowd of officers. His hair was short and spiky. He was five years younger than him and about the same age as Adelina. The young man saluted the captain.

"I see..."

"Brother tell me. Why did they arrest you?"

"They thought I was conspiring with the people who wants to overthrow the current government. But they can't find any evidence that I was involved."

"So they let you go?"

"Of course! I'm not that foolish to conspired against His Majesty's government."

It was a lie. Saying those words made his inside turned upside-down, thinking that he betrayed his belief but it was necessary. The government knew he was one of the conspirators. Even though they haven't sufficient evidence, letting him go all of a sudden was a big bogus. Andres could smell something fishy about Governor-General Martinez' actions. He needs to be wary that there's someone watching him behind the shadows. Neither his parents nor his siblings knew what he and his mentor Count Luis Rodriguez Varela were planning. As a child and a brother, he must see to it that no one in the family must know his secret.

"Sarhento. See to it that my sister would be taken home."

"Yes, Capitan." the sergeant replied as he whistled a nearby calesa parked near the fort.

"Won't you come home with me brother?"

"I'm afraid not my dear sister. There is something I and Teniente Ruiz need to do before we leave this place." Andres replied with a husky voice. "My men will accompany you so that no harm befalls you."

After Adelina and a few of his men got inside the carriage, the coachman signaled the horses and the carriage went on its way , trekking the stone pavement. The birds were singing as the sky became tainted with indigo hue. The clouds were becoming more darker. The sun was setting. The captain together with his loyal lieutenant began walking down the stony pavement.

"Capitan..." said Ruiz. "Looks like that there's a snake among us."

"I know, Rafael." Andres gritted his teeth. "I know."

Andres' anger boiled. He knew that it would take time to find the traitor. But there was something he needs to do before his comrades would suffer a horrible fate. A gentle wind landed on his right cheek and in an instant like a blessing, a name of a person pops inside his head. He must speak with that person, a man that would give him an edge and ray of hope against this hurdling struggle.
 
The Great Escape


Port of Manila
February 23, 1823


It was still 7 o'clock in the morning yet the port was filled with people from different social standings. Ranging from the members of the clergy, the noble class of Principales, down to Indios. Though Sunday was a regular day for sabbath, that day was a special one for the conservatives especially for the friars. It was the day were creoles who called themselves "Hijos del Pais" would be deported from the Philippines to Spain.

They were a group of brilliant-minded Insulares who worked for economic, political, and social reforms in the colony. They called for equal rights for all residents of the islands (even if they were not Spanish by birth); improving the education system and even free primary education, dis-emphasizing foreign influence in business and promoting local economic development, representation in the Spanish Cortes, more participation in government, and secularization of parishes. These and other published literary works made the conservatives (corrupted officials and abusive friars) tremble knowing that it would lead to their demise once the Peninsula get a hold of the actual happenings in the colony. Luckily for them, liberal goals such as autonomy in the colony under the Spanish crown were deemed treacherous after majority of the New World colonies declared their independence.

Stood up in front of the crowd were seventeen leading suspects. Among them were Jose Ortega, a general manager of the Royal Crown company, Domingo Roxas, a leading businessman, Jose Bayot and his two brothers Marcelo and Mariano, Spanish Army captains, Regino Mijares, a sergeant-major in the King's regiment, Jose Maria Jugo, a barrister, Luis Rodriguez Varela, former mayor of Tondo, self-styled count of the Philippines and mentor of Andres Novales, and other nine Creoles who formerly served in the colonial government. Accompanying them were Governor-General Juan Antonio Martinez, Lieutenant-Governor Mariano Fernandez de Folgueras, and Navy Captain Eduardo Maximillano, captain of the full-brigged ship Rayo-class Trinidad.

As the exiles were escorted aboard Trinidad Juan Antonio Martinez gave some final orders to Eduardo Maximillano before leaving the scene. As the ship began to leave the port, the crowd began to disperse as each of them headed to the church where the celebrating friars would held a mass in honor of restoration of peace and prayers in banishing more 'evils' in the name of God. In reality it wasn't the case.

As the convoy of ships, mostly consisted of frigates and corvettes, exited the calm waters of Manila bay, an odd change began to escalate inside Trinidad. Under the orders of Capt. Maximillano, officers and sailors began to uncut the rope on the hands of the Hijos del Pais members. The soon-to-be-exiles were surprise albeit bewildered on this event.

"What's the meaning of this?" Jose Ortega questioned Maximillano.

"I'm just giving your freedom." Maximillano smirked.

"Are you setting a ploy of some kind?" Jose Bayot rebutted.

"You should be thankful to your student, Don Luis." the Capitan de Navio replied. "You just got a new member on your cause."

"Andres?" asked Varela.

"If not for him, all of you would be dead. He won me over yesterday by his words and actions, especially his spirit."

The seventeen people were stunned yet relieved. Who would thought a man like Maximillano who dedicated his entire life serving the Spanish crown would betray the government. Yet in the midst of it, doubts were began to rose in each and everyone's mind.

"Tell us, why are you doing this?" asked Roxas.

"I want to get even with that bastard Folgueras. He just sent my one and only son to Mindanao to fight the Moros." Maximillano sighed. "And now he's dead."

There was a moment of silence. The waves of the open seas came crashing against the wooden hull of the ship. The wind pushed against the sails with its mighty gust. The ropes tightened then loosened, back and forth.

"So where are we headed?" Mijares asked, breaking the silence.

"That's a good question with a good answer." Maximillano smiled. "To the island of gold, Mina de Oro."
 
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