The Republic of Negros (; ; ) was a short-lived revolutionary entity which had existed on the island of Negros first as a canton of the

First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic (), now officially remembered as the First Philippine Republic and also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was a state established in Malolos, Bulacan, during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish ...

and later as a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), 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 ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Nomenclature

The entity had gone by multiple names throughout its short existence: the Negros Canton (; ; ) of the

,Aguilar, F. V. (2000)
The Republic of Negros
''Philippine Studies, 48''(1), 26–52. and the Federal Republic of Negros (; ; ) or Federal State of Negros (; ; ) under U.S.

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...

.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, the protectorate had been annexed to the

Philippine Islands 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 ...

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, 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 gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

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 during th ...

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 became the first List of presidents of the Philippines, president of the Philippines (1899–1901), and the first pre ...

on Luzón. On November 27, 1898, the unicameral Congress of Deputies () met in Bacólod and declared the establishment of the Republican Canton of 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'' ( ; ) is the approach of conducting diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly following ideological, moral, or ethical premises. In this respect, ...

'', the ''

hacendero A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards) ...

''-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 The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, and came under U.S.

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 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 geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

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 The Republic of Negros (; ; ) was a short-lived Revolutionary government in the Philippines, revolutionary entity which had existed on the Negros Island, island of Negros first as a Canton (country subdivision), canton of the First Philippine Rep ...

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