The Cry of Santa Barbara was a call for revolution held in Santa Barbara,

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

, against Spanish rule in the Philippines on November 17, 1898. It was led by Martin Delgado.

Prior events

Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who became the first List of presidents of the Philippines, president of the Philippines (1899–1901), and the first pre ...

declared independence for the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

from

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on June 12, 1898. Months after the independence proclamation, Manila fell to the Americans on August 13. The Spanish government fled Manila and established their new capital for the country in

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

with Diego de los Rios as governor-general.

The cry

On November 17, 1898, revolutionaries coming from various parts of Iloilo, including Martin Delgado, attended a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

mass in the town's church. After the mass, they proceeded to the house of Vicente Bermejo, where the Philippine flag on a bamboo pole was hoisted. The crowd broke into a cheer. Delgado led in proclaiming Philippine independence, saying: "Viva Filipinas! Fuera España! Viva independencia!" (Long live the Philippines! Down with Spain! Long live independence!). That became known as the cry of Santa Barbara. The event led to the first hoisting of the

Philippine flag The national flag of the Philippines () is a horizontal List of flags by design#Bicolour, bicolor flag with equal bands of royal blue and Crimson, crimson red, with a white, equilateral chevron at the Glossary of vexillology#Flag elements, hois ...

outside

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

. The flag was produced in Jaro, Iloilo City, and a replica of the one flown by Aguinaldo during the proclamation of Philippine independence in

Kawit Kawit, officially the Municipality of Kawit (), is an urban municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 107,535. It is one of ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

Following events

Santa Barbara became the headquarters of Delgado's revolutionary forces against Spain and from there, he launched campaigns to liberate

. The town's church and convent served as military garrison and hospital. Under Delgado, the revolutionaries were able to take control most municipalities in Iloilo. On December 2, 1898, the

Federal State of the Visayas The Federal State of the Visayas (, , ) was a revolutionary state in the Philippine archipelago during the revolutionary period. It was a proposed administrative unit of a Philippines under a federal form of government. History Panay revolt A re ...

was formed, with Roque Lopez as president. With the defeat of the Spanish forces against the revolutionaries, de los Rios surrendered Iloilo City on December 24. On October 5, 1899, the federal government was dissolved by virtue of a decree from Aguinaldo.

References

{{Reflist Battles of the Philippine Revolution History of Iloilo 1898 in the Philippines November 1898 in Asia