The Katipunan

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, April 9, 2014

The Katipunan is a shortened version of Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang Na Katipunan Nang Manga Anak Nang Bayan, which means “Supreme Worshipful Association of the Sons of the People.” The organization formed in the Philippines in 1892 to oppose Spanish rule.

The founders were all freemasons, and the rituals, coded passwords, and male-only membership criteria were inherited from that tradition.The Katipunan added an extra element, however—they signed everything in their own blood, starting with their founding document on July 7, 1892. Today, original copies of oath letters declaring “I have signed this document in my own blood that runs through my veins” sell on eBay for a couple hundred dollars.

The society managed to gain tens of thousands of members while keeping their existence entirely unknown to the ruling Spaniards. However, in 1896, a worker at a printing factory producing Katipunan documents confided in his sister. They were overheard by a nun, who told a priest, who told the Spanish authorities. The printing shop was raided, and the secret was out.On March 22 of the following year, members decided to abandon secrecy altogether.
The Katipunan

They’d managed to organize enough people under the Spaniards’ noses to start all-out rebellion. The Philippine Revolutionary Army defeated the Spanish and declared independence on June 12, 1898.The Spanish denied the new state and told the United States that the Philippines were all theirs.

The US, having won its independence from imperialist colonizers through a revolutionary war, apparently thought no one else should get the chance to do the same. They moved troops into the Philippines and ruled for 50 years. Nevertheless, June 12 is still celebrated today as Philippine Independence Day.

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