History
The most prominent Ilustrados were Graciano López Jaena, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Antonio Luna and José Rizal, the Philippine national hero. Rizal’s novels Noli Me Tangere ("Touch Me Not") and El filibusterismo ("The Subversive") “exposed to the world the injustices imposed on Filipinos under the Spanish colonial regime”.
In the beginning, Rizal and his fellow Ilustrados preferred not to win independence from Spain, instead they yearned legal equality for both Peninsulares and natives—Indios, Insulares, and mestizos, among others—in the
However, in 1872, nationalist sentiment grew strongest, when three Filipino priests, “charged with leading a military mutiny at an arsenal in Cavite, near Manila”, were executed by the Spanish authorities. The event and “other repressive acts outraitings and activities, Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896. His execution propelled the Ilustrados . This also prompted unity among the Ilustrados and Andrés Bonifacio’s radical Katipunan. Philippine policies by the United States reinforced the dominant position of the Ilustrados within Filipino society. Friar estates were sold to the Ilustrados and most government positions were offered to them.
Read more about this topic: Ilustrado
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