Ashok de Lima

Abandonment after the war: a new look at the fate of millions of poor Filipinos

Nelson Marcelino

When did the Philippines turn against the United States?

Robert M. Eisner – The Philippines: Empire or Rebellion?: A Historiography

In the war-torn Philippines, America has been called a bloodthirsty empire, and many Filipinos resented this claim. The most famous of these individuals was Lito Punon, a member of the Manila Bay militia who led the Filipino-American soldiers, led them on a series of counterinsurgency raids (including one in which he shot down an American F-4 jet fighter), and, later, turned against the U.S.

Saul Varela

A young Filipino student, Varela, and his friends, are taken into the American army and become soldiers under the command of Sgt. John H. Bannister. During their six-week training course, American soldiers show little respect for the Filipinos, often shooting them with machine guns, while sometimes even beating them with their rubber batons.

David M. K. Chivers

In 1843, American troops move in to take over the city of Manila and the Filipinos, fearing a mass rebellion, refuse to hand over arms. On the morning of January 18, the “Indians” march onto the island to face the Americans. But on that same day the soldiers are shocked to find two people—a young man, who survived on a tree, and a woman, who was apparently the girl who had run away earlier—shaking in fear. Although the men immediately fire a shot to kill the girl, as well as the man, they also leave their rifles at the scene.

Saul Varela and his friends, the soldiers call them, are treated as suspected rebels. Bannister and his soldiers are furious to find that their guns are gone and the rifles, when brought out, have been emptied of their cartridges… but it all seems to be too little too late.

The Philippine Rebellion: Fighting for Democracy

Daniel A. Martinez

The war in the Philippines lasted just more than four years and the war’s casualties were staggering. Tens of thousands were killed or wounded, about 10% of the colonial population of 16 million died in the war (the most deaths in a single