During the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines (1565–1898), dozens of revolts against the Spanish colonial government were made by Indios, Moros, Lumad, Chinese (Sangleys), and Insulares (Filipinos of full or near full Spanish descent), often with the goal of re-establishing the traditional rights and powers of their respective communities. Some revolts stemmed from land disputes, most of which transpired in the agricultural provinces of Batangas, Ilocos sur, Cavite, and Laguna. Natives also rebelled over unjust taxation and forced labor.
Most of these revolts failed because the majority of the local population sided up with the well-armed colonial government, and to fight with Spanish as foot soldiers to put down the revolts.
In Mindanao and Sulu, a continuous fight for sovereignty was sustained by the Moro people and their allies for the whole duration of Spanish conquest and rule.
16th century
Dagami Revolt (1565–1567)
The Dagami Revolt was a revolt led by Datu Dagami of Gabi (present day Palo), Leyte in 1567. It was accompanied by 16 other people and was short-lived, mainly involving the assassinations of Spanish soldiers. The first incident took place on May 23, 1565 in Cebu, where the group ambushed Pedro de Arana, the aide to Miguel López de Legazpi, the Spanish Governor of the Philippines. Dagami subsequently led a series of attacks, which baffled authorities for a time. By December 1566, Legazpi finally summoned the local datus and forced them to identify who the culprits were after two more Spaniards died of poisoning. Dagami was captured rigil.
Manila-Tondo Revolt, Mindoro Mutiny, & Lakandula-Sulayman Revolt (1574)
During the 1574 Battle of Manila against Chinese pirate king Limahong's forces, three revolts erupted in neighboring Tondo, the nearby island of Mindoro, and in response to these two, Butas (present-day Navotas), which was notably led by Lakandula, former Lakan of Tondo, and Sulayman, former Rajah of Manila.
In the Manila-Tondo revolt, the people of Manila robbed the houses of Spaniards in Intramuros and maltreated the slaves, while the people of Tondo massacred some newly Christianized locals in a convent. Meanwhile, several datus in Mindoro revolted abducted the local friars left behind to the mountains to be held hostage, waiting for the results of the battle and anticipating to kill them upon Limahong's victory.
Worried of taking blame for these events, Lakandula and Sulayman withdrew to Butas and established a war camp with their forces and allies from neighboring regions to revolt against legal injustices incurred by the reigning Governor-general Guido de Lazevaris, who revoked their tax exemptions and other special privelages previously granted by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.
Pampanga Revolt (1585)
The Pampanga Revolt was an uprising in 1585 by some native Kapampangan leaders who resented the Spanish landowners, or encomenderos, who had deprived them of their historical land inheritances as tribal chiefs or datus.
In 1583, Kapampangans were forced to work in the goldmines of Ilocos and not allowed to return in time for the planting season, causing a severe food shortage and eventual famine, leading to mass deaths throughout Pampanga in 1584.
In response, local leaders throughout Pampanga plotted a revolt which included a plot to storm Intramuros, but the conspiracy was foiled before it could even begin after a Filipino woman married to a Spanish soldier reported the plot to the Spanish authorities. Spanish and Filipino colonial troops were sent by Governor-General Santiago de Vera, and the leaders of the revolt were arrested and summarily executed by Christian Cruz-Herrera.
Tondo Conspiracy (1587–1588)
The Tondo Conspiracy, or the Conspiracy of the Maginoos, of 1587–1588, was a plot by the kin-related noblemen, or datus, of Manila and some towns of Bulacan and Pampanga. It was led by Agustin de Legazpi, nephew of Lakandula, and his first cousin, Martin Pangan. The datus swore to revolt. The uprising failed when they were denounced to the Spanish authorities by Antonio Surabao (Susabau) of Calamianes, in Palawan.
Revolts Against the Tribute (1589)
The Cagayan and Dingras Revolts Against the Tribute occurred on Luzon in the present-day provinces of Cagayan and Ilocos Norte in 1589. Ilocanos, Ibanags, and other Filipinos revolted against alleged abuses by the tax collectors, including the collection of high taxes. It began when six tax collectors who had arrived from Vigan were killed by the natives. Governor-General Santiago de Vera sent Spanish and Filipino colonial troops to pacify the rebels. The rebels were eventually pardoned and the Philippine tax system reformed.
Magalat Revolt (1596)
The Magalat Revolt was an uprising in 1596, led by Magalat, a rebel from Cagayan. He had been arrested in Manila for inciting rebellion against the Spanish. He was later released after some urging by some Dominican priests, and returned to Cagayan. Together with his brother, he urged the entire country to revolt. He was said to have committed atrocities against his fellow natives for refusing to rise up against the Spaniards. He soon controlled the countryside, and the Spanish eventually found themselves besieged. The Spanish Governor-General Francisco de Tello de Guzmán sent Pedro de Chaves from Manila with Spanish and Filipino colonial troops. They fought successfully against the rebels, and captured and executed several leaders under Magalat. Magalat himself was assassinated within his fortified headquarters by his own men.
17th century
Igorot Revolt (1601)
By order of the Governor-General Francisco de Tello de Guzmán an expedition was sent to the Cordillera region for religious conversion purposes with the aid of Padre Esteban Marin. Marin, the curate of Ilocos at that time, tried initially to convince the Igorots to convert peacefully to Catholicism. Marin allegedly even tried to create his own dictionary in the Igorot language to advance this cause. The Igorots, however, killed Marin and the Governor-General sent Lt. Mateo de Aranda with Spanish and Filipino foot soldiers. The combined force would be defeated although the Spanish would continue using harsher tactics (including slavery) to force the Igorots to submit. Nonetheless, the Igorots would continue to defy and defeat Spanish expeditions in the years 1608, 1635, and 1663.
The Chinese Revolt of 1603
In 1603, at least 30,000 Chinese merchants were slaughtered and in Luzon, Chinese officials and civilians were killed without authority by what The Ming Shi-lu (明實錄, Míng shílù) describes as the barbarian Spanish chieftain of Luzon during that time. The surviving Chinese fled to Wawa, or what is now known as Guagua, this atrocity is known in Chinese history as the Luzon Tragedy (吕宋惨案, Lǚ sòng cǎn àn). The Chinese inhabitants of Manila set fire to Legarda and Binondo and for a time threatened to capture the Moro stronghold in Intramuros.
Caquenga's Revolt (1607)
In 1607, with the coming of the Dominicans into the Cagayan Valley, a priest began proselyting to the Malaueg people of Nalfotan, now Rizal, Cagayan. An animist priestess named Caquenga rebelled against the coming of the Catholic Church. She gathered people from her village and fled to the mountains to unite with another village and prepared for war. A Dominican friar and loyal Malaueg men successfully quelled the forthcoming rebellion, and Caquenga was given over to the other village as a slave. However, many of her followers rebelled, burned down a Catholic church, and started other rebellions throughout the Cagayan Valley. One rebel, who desecrated an image of the Virgin Mary, was executed for his offense.
Tamblot uprising (1621–1622)
The Tamblot uprising, was a religious uprising in the island of Bohol, led by Tamblot in 1621. The Jesuits first came to Bohol in 1596 and eventually governed the island and converted the Boholanos to the Catholic faith. Tamblot, a babaylan or native priest, urged his fellow Boholanos to return to the old belief of their forefathers. The revolt began on the day when the Jesuits were in Cebu, celebrating the feast day of St. Francis Xavier. It was finally crushed on New Year's Day, in 1622. Tamblot was executed and his head was set on a pike and displayed to serve as a warning to the populace.
Bankaw (Bancao) Revolt (1621–1622)
The Bankaw Revolt was a religious uprising against Spanish colonial rule led by Bancao, the datu of Carigara, in the present-day Carigara in Leyte. Bankaw had warmly received Miguel López de Legazpi as his guest, when he first arrived in the Philippines in 1565. Although baptized as a Catholic in his youth, he abandoned this faith in later years. With a babaylan, or religious leader named Pagali, he built a temple for a diwata or local goddess, and pressed six towns to rise up in revolt. Similar to the Tamblot Uprising, Pagali used magic to attract followers, and claimed that they could turn the Spaniards into clay by hurling bits of earth at them.
Governor-General Alonso Fajardo de Entenza sent the alcalde mayor of Cebu, Juan de Alcarazo, with Spanish and foot soldier colonial troops, to suppress the rebellion. Bankaw's severed head was impaled on a bamboo stake and displayed to the public as a stern warning. One of his sons was also beheaded, and one of the babaylans was burned at the stake. Three other followers were executed by firing squad. Other historical sources/accounts reports The Bankaw Revolt as the first recorded uprising against foreign colonization. The (1621–1622) dates may be inaccurate. Carigara was known only a decade after Magellan landed in "Mazaua" (believed to be Limasawa) in 1521. The uprising may well have taken place towards the end of the 16th century.
Itneg Revolt (1625–1627)
The Itneg Revolt, or the Mandaya Revolt, was a religious uprising led by Miguel Lanab and Alababan. The two were previously baptized as Catholics against their will and were from the Itneg or Mandaya tribe of Capinatan, in northwestern Cagayan, in the Philippines. The region is now part of the landlocked province of Apayao. Miguel Lanab and Alababan killed, beheaded, and mutilated two Dominican missionaries, Father Alonzo Garcia and Brother Onofre Palao, who were sent by the Spanish colonial government to convert the Itneg people to Christianity. After cutting Father Garcia's body into pieces, they fed his flesh to a herd of pigs. Afterwards, they compelled their fellow Itnegs to loot, desecrate Catholic images, set fire to the local churches, and escape with them to the mountains.
In 1626, Governor-General Fernándo de Silva sent Spanish and foot soldier colonial troops to suppress the rebellion. They destroyed farms and other sources of food to starve the Itnegs, and forced them to surrender in 1627.
Ladia Revolt (1643)
Pedro Ladia was a Moro Bornean and a self-claimed descendant of Lakandula who came to Malolos in 1643. At that time, his land was confiscated by the Spanish and he thought that it was about time that they stage an uprising and put himself as King of the Tagalogs. This was despite the fact that a parish priest tried to convince him not to pursue his plans. Upon his capture, he was brought to Manila where he was executed.
Sumuroy Revolt (1649–1650)
In the town of Palapag, today in Northern Samar, Agustin Sumuroy, a Waray, and some of his followers rose in arms on June 1, 1649, over the polo y servicio or forced labor system being undertaken in Samar. This is known as the Sumuroy Revolt, named after Agustin Sumuroy.
The government in Manila directed that all natives subject to the polo are not to be sent to places distant from their hometowns to do their forced labor. However, under orders of the various town alcaldes, or mayors, the Waray were being sent to the shipyards of Cavite to do their polo, which sparked the revolt. The local parish priest of Palapag was murdered and the revolt eventually spread to Mindanao, Bicol, and the rest of the Visayas, especially in places such as Cebu, Masbate, Camiguin, Zamboanga, Albay, Camarines, and parts of northern Mindanao, such as Surigao. A rebel government was successfully established in the mountains of Samar. Eventually, continuous defeats caused the rebels to mutiny against Sumuroy and eventually beheaded him. His head was sent to the Spanish authorities. This incident led to the downfall of the revolt and fellow leaders Don Juan Ponce and Don Pedro Caamug also surrendered shortly thereafter.