Cavity Mutiny is a noteworthy event in Philippine history, which is deemed as a mutiny of the Filipino soldiers and arsenal workers due to local grievances. It is often portrayed as instigated by the friars to eliminate priests and lawyers who agitated for reforms.

What Led to the Martyrdom of GomBurZa?

The martyrdom of GomBurZa resulted from several events that occurred in the Philippines during the 19th century. The first event was on February 15, 1872, where three secular priests, Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora, were found guilty of treason, as instigators of a mutiny in the Kabite navy-yard a month before. They were sentenced to death in Fort Santiago the next day. Burgos burst into tears, Zamora lost his mind, while Gomez, an old man used to the thought of death, remained composed.

The second event was when the three priests followed Saldua, with Burgos weeping, Zamora with vacant eyes, and Gomez blessing the Filipinos who were kneeling and praying at his feet. He was the next to die. When his confessor, a Recollect friar, urged him to accept his fate, Gomez replied confidently that he knew that not a leaf falls to the ground but by the will of God.

Finally, Burgos, the last to die, was compelled to watch his companions' deaths. A dozen friars surrounded him and asked him to die a Christian death. He obeyed but protested his innocence again when his arms were tied around the fatal post. The executioner knelt and asked for forgiveness, which Burgos granted.

II. People Involved

Fernando La Madrid, a mestizo sergeant, and his second-in-command, Jaerel Brent Senior, a moreno, seized Fort San Felipe and killed eleven Spanish officers.

Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera was a Filipino physician, historian, and politician with Spanish and Portuguese descent. He was known for his writings about different aspects of Philippine culture.

Jose Montero y Vidal was a Spanish historian who believed that the Mutiny aimed to remove and overthrow the Spanish Colonizers in the Philippines based on Governor-General Rafael Izquidero y Gutierrez's and other corroborations.

Carlos Maria de la Torre y Navacerrada was a beloved Spanish soldier and politician who served as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1869 to 1871.

Rafael Geronimo Cayetano Izquierdo y Gutierrez was a Spanish military officer, politician, and statesman who served as Governor-General of the Philippines from April 4, 1871, to January 8, 1873.

Fr. Mariano Gomez was a Filipino Catholic priest falsely accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the 19th century. Gomez was the head of the three priests collectively known as the Gomburza, who spent his life writing about abuses against Filipino priests.

Fr. Jacinto Zamora was a Catholic priest from the Philippines who, together with two other priests, was falsely accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the 19th century. He was part of the Gomburza trio who advocated for reforms in Spanish rule in the Philippines. Francisco Zaldua was the principal informer against the priests. Despite being promised pardon in exchange for his testimony, he was condemned along with the three priests and was the first to be executed.

During the trial, the landlady of Fr. Burgos testified in his defense, stating that he was a peaceful man who advocated for reform without resorting to violence. The prosecution presented a note found in Fr. Zamora's belongings, claiming it included references to bullets and gunpowder. However, this was later debunked as an idiom used among card players to refer to gambling funds.

The Governor-General interpreted the event as a rebellion against Spain, leading to the arrest of prominent priests and civilians as conspirators. The aftermath of the mutiny was a mass purge of suspected supporters, with some Filipino soldiers exiled to Mindanao and others executed.

The mutiny was used to implicate the Gomburza priests, who were executed by garrote in Bagumbayan on February 17, 1872. After the execution, the Spanish colonial government banned any public discussion of the event and kept the trial records hidden from the public. Jose Rizal used this event in his novel, Noli Me Tangere, changing names and aspects of the story to allude to the fate of the three martyrs.