Agustín Sumuroy ''(better known as Juan Sumuroy)'' was a Filipino hero and Waray leader of the Sumuroy Revolt, a rebellion of native

Filipinos Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...

against colonial Spanish forces that occurred in eastern

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...

in 1649–1650. Agustin Sumuroy is referred to by many as the Waray hero of the

Palapag Palapag, officially the Municipality of Palapag (; ), is a municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,034 people. It is located in the northernmost part of Samar Island. H ...

rebellion during the Spanish time around 1649 to 1650. There were several personalities in the said uprising: Don Juan Ponce, the leader of the group; Don Pedro Caamug, the second leader; Agustín Sumuroy. The name Juan Ponce Sumuroy is sometimes given to Agustín usually as the result of confusion between Juan Ponce and Agustín Sumuroy. LM_JUAN_SUMUROY_TITLE

Sumuroy's Revolt in Samar

In 1649, Governor-General Diego Fajardo ordered men to be sent to the Cavite shipyards. This caused resentment and, eventually, under the leadership of Sumuroy, the people of Palapag rose in arms. The curate of the town was killed on June 1 and hostilities ensued. The revolt then spread to

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate (Masbateño language, Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; ), is an island Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provi ...

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin (; ; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of mainland Mindanao. It is geographically part of Region ...

, and

Albay Albay (IPA: ), officially the Province of Albay (; ; Baybayin, ᜎᜎᜏᜒᜄᜈ᜔ ᜈᜅ᜔ ᜀᜎ᜔ᜊᜌ᜔), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Bicol Region of the Philippines, mostly on the southeastern part of the isla ...

; and Sumuroy won several victories over combined Filipino and Spanish forces. There was a story that when a Spanish commander offered a large sum of money to the rebels for Sumuroy's head, they only returned with a pig's instead. The revolt ended on July 1650 when government forces successfully staged an assault on the rebels' fort. In the ensuing battle, Sumuroy's mother perished and, after a while, the rebels themselves individually surrendered. The rebels then killed Sumuroy and brought his head to the governor-general.

Legacy

Sumuroy is commemorated in the scientific name of species of gecko, '' Cyrtodactylus sumuroi'', which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Samar. www.reptile-database.org.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumuroy, Juan Ponce category:People from the Spanish colonial Philippines category:Visayan people category:Waray people category:People from Northern Samar category:1650 deaths Rebels from the Spanish East Indies