The Republic of Negros ( hil, Republika sang Negros; ceb, Republika sa Negros; es, República de Negros) was a short-lived revolutionary entity which had existed on the island of Negros first as a

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

of the

First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic ( es, República Filipina), now officially known as the First Philippine Republic, also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against ...

and later as a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its in ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Nomenclature

The entity had gone by multiple names throughout its short existence: the Negros Canton ( hil, Kanton sg Negros; ceb, Kanton sa Negros; es, Cantón de Negros) of the

,Aguilar, F. V. (2000)
The Republic of Negros
''Philippine Studies, 48''(1), 26–52. and the Federal Republic of Negros ( hil, Republikang Federal sg Negros; ceb, Republikang Federal sa Negros; es, República Federal de Negros) or Federal State of Negros ( hil, Estadong Federal sg Negros; ceb, Estadong Federal sa Negros; es, Estado Federal de Negros) under US protection.Rodríguez, C. A. (1986)
Don Diego de la Viña and the Philippine Revolution in Negros Oriental
''Philippine Studies, 34''(1), 61–76.Gonzaga, V. L. (1990)
Negros in Transition: 1899–1905
''Philippine Studies, 38''(1), 103–114. According to

Gregorio Zaide Gregorio F. Zaide (May 25, 1907 – October 31, 1986) was a Filipino historian, author and politician from the town of Pagsanjan, Laguna in the Philippines. A multi-awarded author, Zaide wrote 67 books and more than 500 articles about history, ...

, the protectorate had been annexed to the

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

as simply the Republic of Negros.

History

From November 3 to 6, 1898, the Negrenses rose in revolt against the Imperial Spanish authorities headed by the politico-military governor, colonel Isidro de Castro. The Spaniards decided to surrender upon seeing armed troops marching in a pincer movement towards

Bacólod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occiden ...

, the main city of the island. The revolutionaries, led by generals Juan Araneta, from Bago and Aniceto Lacson, from Talisay, were actually carrying fake arms consisting of

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

s carved out of palm fronds and

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s of rolled bamboo mats painted black. On 5 November, Spanish officials surrendered themselves to native leaders. A provisional government was then established with Aniceto Lacson as President, and a notice of this was sent by Melecio Severino to

Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...

on Luzón. On November 27, 1898, the unicameral Congress of Deputies ( es, Congreso de Diputados) met in Bacólod and declared the establishment of the Republican

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

of Negros ( es, Cantón Republicano de Negros). The Congress of Deputies acted as a

constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

to draft a constitution. Motivated by either economic interests or sheer ''

realpolitik ''Realpolitik'' (; ) refers to enacting or engaging in diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly binding itself to explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical ...

'', the '' hacendero''-led cantonal government surrendered to U.S. forces on March 4, 1899, following the outbreak of hostilities between the nascent

and the U.S. military government which had been established during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, and came under U.S. protection on April 30, 1899 as a territory separate from the Philippine Islands.Two-article series: * * A constitution for a Federal Republic of Negros, which proposed two governors, a U.S. military governor and a civil governor elected by the voters of Negros, was framed by a committee sitting in Bacólod and sent to General Otis in Manila and was proclaimed to take effect on October 2, 1899. The Negros government operated smoothly under this constitution until the province of

Occidental Negros Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Bacolod. It occupies the north ...

was established on April 20, 1901, and annexed to the

by the United States as the "Republic of Negros".

Leaders

The leaders of the short-lived republic were: :

Commemoration

November 5, popularly referred to by the Negrenses as ''Cinco de Noviembre'', has been officially observed since 1989 as a special non-working holiday in Negros Occidental. The republic itself has been commemorated in a historical marker in the main

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

of Bago, on which is inscribed:

References

*(Note: 1. The book cover incorrectly lists author as "Maximo M Lalaw", 2. Originally published in 1921 by The McCullough Printing Co., Manila) {{DEFAULTSORT:Negros, Republic of Republic of Negros Republic of Negros Republic of Negros Politics of Siquijor Former subdivisions of the Philippines Former subdivisions of the United States States and territories established in 1898 States and territories disestablished in 1901 Republic of Negros Republic of Negros Republic of Negros Republic of Negros