Public lecture tackles Aguinaldo's Hong Kong exile
Published Jun 28, 2018 02:15 pm
By Roy Mabasa
How General Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippines, agreed to an exile in Hong Kong on December 27, 1897 in exchange for 400,000 Mexican pesos from the Spanish government and how he organized a revolutionary government, later known as the ‘Hong Kong junta’ were the subjects of a recent public lecture.
Dr. Emmanuel F. Calairo, professor of history and President of the De La Salle University Dasmariñas, is given a certificate of recognition by Sir Pieter Nootenboom, Knight Grand Order of Rizal, for his commemorative lecture at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong on 3 June 2018 on the exile of the leaders of the Philippine revolution against Spain, led by General Emilio Aguinaldo, to Hong Kong. The other participants are (from left) Mr. Jonathan Balsamo, Dr. Arlene Abella, Vice President of the Cavite Historical Society, Lady Zeny Navarro, Sir KH Chan, KCR, Lady Lilibeth Cruz, Dr Nagar Lai, KCR, Sir Fidel Manuel, KCR, Sir Thomas Chan, KCR and Sir Ricky Sadiosa, KCR, Area Commander for the Order of the Knights of Rizal in China, Hong Kong and Macau. (Knights of Rizal, Hong Kong Chapter photo/ DFA/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Organized by the Hong Kong Chapter of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, the lecture was part of the commemoration of the nearly five-month exile of Aguinaldo and 25 other leaders of the Philippine revolution against Spain, at the former Crown Colony recently.
Philippine Deputy Consul General Roderico Atienza welcomed all the participants to the lecture that included Philippine Historical Association Secretary Jonathan Balsamo, Cavite Historical Society Vice President Arlene Abella, and Dr. Emmanuel Calairo, history professor of De La Salle University-Dasmariñas.
The Hong Kong lecture is part of a series of events leading up to the commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Aguinaldo in 2019.
Professor Calairo lengthily discussed the Hong Kong Junta composed of Aguinaldo and 25 other revolutionary leaders, who went on voluntary exile to Hong Kong from December 27, 1897 to May 16, 1898 after acceding to the Pact of Biak-na-Bato with the Spanish colonial government.
Through the pact, Spain was able to negotiate a short-lived truce with the better-organized revolutionary forces led by Aguinaldo, who exiled themselves in exchange for amnesty and indemnity. The general from Cavite instead used the 400,000 Mexican pesos to procure arms and eventually set up a government-in-exile in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Junta was formed by Aguinaldo to reassess and reorganize what historians call a decisive phase of the revolution against Spain, which became an extension of the Spanish-American War after the involvement of the United States starting in May 1898.
The Hong Kong Junta, which was eventually expanded into the “Supreme Council of the Nation,” met at a house on Morrison Hill Road in Wan Chai District, where the first Philippine flag was hand sewn, from designs inspired by the Masonic movement and the flags of Latin American countries that won independence from Spain in the early 19thcentury.
After the lecture, the Knights of Rizal in China, Hong Kong, and Macau led by Commander Ricky Sadiosa and ex-officio local chapter Pieter Nootenboom, offered wreaths at a historical marker at the Morrison Hill Park.
Dr. Emmanuel F. Calairo, professor of history and President of the De La Salle University Dasmariñas, is given a certificate of recognition by Sir Pieter Nootenboom, Knight Grand Order of Rizal, for his commemorative lecture at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong on 3 June 2018 on the exile of the leaders of the Philippine revolution against Spain, led by General Emilio Aguinaldo, to Hong Kong. The other participants are (from left) Mr. Jonathan Balsamo, Dr. Arlene Abella, Vice President of the Cavite Historical Society, Lady Zeny Navarro, Sir KH Chan, KCR, Lady Lilibeth Cruz, Dr Nagar Lai, KCR, Sir Fidel Manuel, KCR, Sir Thomas Chan, KCR and Sir Ricky Sadiosa, KCR, Area Commander for the Order of the Knights of Rizal in China, Hong Kong and Macau. (Knights of Rizal, Hong Kong Chapter photo/ DFA/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Organized by the Hong Kong Chapter of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, the lecture was part of the commemoration of the nearly five-month exile of Aguinaldo and 25 other leaders of the Philippine revolution against Spain, at the former Crown Colony recently.
Philippine Deputy Consul General Roderico Atienza welcomed all the participants to the lecture that included Philippine Historical Association Secretary Jonathan Balsamo, Cavite Historical Society Vice President Arlene Abella, and Dr. Emmanuel Calairo, history professor of De La Salle University-Dasmariñas.
The Hong Kong lecture is part of a series of events leading up to the commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Aguinaldo in 2019.
Professor Calairo lengthily discussed the Hong Kong Junta composed of Aguinaldo and 25 other revolutionary leaders, who went on voluntary exile to Hong Kong from December 27, 1897 to May 16, 1898 after acceding to the Pact of Biak-na-Bato with the Spanish colonial government.
Through the pact, Spain was able to negotiate a short-lived truce with the better-organized revolutionary forces led by Aguinaldo, who exiled themselves in exchange for amnesty and indemnity. The general from Cavite instead used the 400,000 Mexican pesos to procure arms and eventually set up a government-in-exile in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Junta was formed by Aguinaldo to reassess and reorganize what historians call a decisive phase of the revolution against Spain, which became an extension of the Spanish-American War after the involvement of the United States starting in May 1898.
The Hong Kong Junta, which was eventually expanded into the “Supreme Council of the Nation,” met at a house on Morrison Hill Road in Wan Chai District, where the first Philippine flag was hand sewn, from designs inspired by the Masonic movement and the flags of Latin American countries that won independence from Spain in the early 19thcentury.
After the lecture, the Knights of Rizal in China, Hong Kong, and Macau led by Commander Ricky Sadiosa and ex-officio local chapter Pieter Nootenboom, offered wreaths at a historical marker at the Morrison Hill Park.