Philippine–American War
The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, was fought between the First Philippine Republic and the United States from February 4, 1899, until July 2, 1902. Tensions arose after the United States annexed the Philippines under the Treaty of Paris at the conclusion of the Spanish–American War rather than acknowledging the Philippines' declaration of independence. The war can be seen as a continuation of the Philippine struggle for independence that began in 1896 with the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule.
| Philippine–American War | |||||||||
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| Part of the decolonisation of Asia | |||||||||
| Clockwise from top left: U.S. troops in Manila, Gregorio del Pilar and his troops around 1898, Americans guarding the Pasig River bridge in 1898, the Battle of Santa Cruz, Filipino soldiers at Malolos, the Battle of Quingua | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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1899–1902: |
1899–1902: Japanese Empire German Empire | ||||||||
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1902–1913: |
1902–1913: Tagalog Republic (until 1906) Maguindanao Sultanate (until 1905) Sulu Sultanate | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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1899–1902:
1902–1913 Irreconcilables Babaylanes Pulajanes Moro people | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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≈80,000–100,000 regular and irregular | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 4,200 killed, 2,818 wounded, several succumbed to disease |
About 10,000 killed (Emilio Aguinaldo estimate), 16,000–20,000 killed (American estimate) | ||||||||
| Filipino civilians: 200,000–250,000 died, most because of famine and disease | |||||||||
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Fighting between the forces of the United States and the forces of the Philippine Republic broke out on February 4, 1899, in what became known as the Battle of Manila. On February 4, 1899, The Philippine Council of Government issued a proclamation urging the people to continue the war. Philippine President Emilio Aguinaldo was captured on March 23, 1901, and the war was officially declared ended by the US on July 2, 1902. However, some Philippine groups—some led by veterans of the Katipunan, a Philippine revolutionary society that had launched the revolution against Spain—continued to fight for several more years. Other groups, including the Muslim Moro peoples of the southern Philippines and quasi-Catholic Pulahan religious movements, continued hostilities in remote areas. The resistance in the Moro-dominated provinces in the south, called the Moro Rebellion by the Americans, ended with their final defeat at the Battle of Bud Bagsak on June 15, 1913.
The war resulted in at least 200,000 Filipino civilian deaths, mostly from famine and diseases such as cholera. Some estimates for civilian dead reach up to a million. Atrocities were committed during the conflict by both sides, including torture, mutilation, and executions. In retaliation for Filipino guerrilla warfare tactics, the U.S. carried out reprisals and scorched earth campaigns and forcibly relocated many civilians to concentration camps, where thousands died. The war and subsequent occupation by the U.S. changed the culture of the islands, leading to the rise of Protestantism, disestablishment of the Catholic Church, and the rise of English to the islands as the primary language of government, education, business, and industry. The U.S. annexation and war sparked political backlash from anti-imperialists in the U.S. Senate, who argued that the war was a definite example of U.S. imperialism, and that it was an inherent contradiction of the founding principles of the United States contained in the Declaration of Independence.
In 1902, the United States Congress passed the Philippine Organic Act, which provided for the creation of the Philippine Assembly, with members to be elected by Filipino males (women did not have the right to vote until a 1937 plebiscite). This act was superseded by the 1916 Jones Act (Philippine Autonomy Act), which contained the first formal and official declaration of the United States government's commitment to eventually grant independence to the Philippines. The 1934 Tydings–McDuffie Act (Philippine Independence Act) created the Commonwealth of the Philippines the following year, increasing self-governance, and established a process towards full independence (originally scheduled for 1944, but delayed by World War II and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines). The United States eventually granted full Philippine independence in 1946 through the Treaty of Manila.