NOT all the women of the Philippines bowed to Spanish rule during the colonial era. There were many of them who nurtured the idea of ending foreign rule and unchaining their suffering countrymen. One of them was Gabriela Silang.
Gabriela Silang was the first woman in Philippine history to lead an armed uprising against foreign rule in the country. She demonstrated that the Filipina is made up of strong moral fiber and is not afraid to sacrifice her life for the sake of her country and people.
Gabriela was born in Barrio Caniogan, Santa, Ilocos Sur, on March 19, 1731. Widowed early, she met and married Diego Silang y Andaya. The British occupation of Manila (1762-1764) shattered the myth of Spanish invincibility and Diego Silang seized the British occupation as a chance to overthrow the colonial yoke. He rallied the peoples of the Ilocos, Cagayan, and Pangasinan, and on December 14, 1762, he proclaimed the independence of the Ilocos. Silang’s successes were shortlived, however, he was treacherously slain on May 28, 1763.
Gabriela assumed leadership of the revolution and carried on the Ilocanos’ fight for independence. Ill-armed and numerically inferior, she and her forces suffered defeat in a series of encounters against the colonial forces in September, 1763. Gabriela was captured and hanged in September 1763. The rest of her followers were also hanged all along the coastline from Candon to Bantay.
Historians have called Gabriela Silang the "Joan of Arc of Ilocandia," a fitting tribute to a woman of courage and patriotism, an exemplary Filipina.
