Francisco Dagohoy, (born Francisco Sendrijas) was a Bohol

Bohol

Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of and a coastline long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines...

ano who holds the distinction of having led the longest revolt in Philippine history, the Dagohoy Rebellion

Dagohoy Rebellion

The famous Dagohoy Rebellion, also known as Dagohoy Revolution or Dagohoy Revolt, is considered as the longest rebellion in Philippine history...

. This rebellion against the Spanish colonial government took place in the island of Bohol

Bohol

Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of and a coastline long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines...

 from 1744 to 1829, roughly 85 years.

About Dagohoy

Little is known of Francisco Dagohoy's parentage, or his early life. The only information known is that his real name was Francisco Sendrijas and that he was a native of Inabanga, Bohol

Inabanga, Bohol

Inabanga is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 43,331 people.-Barangays:Inabanga is politically subdivided into 50 barangays.* Anonang* Bahan* Badiang* Baguhan* Banahao...

. He was also a cabeza de barangay, or one of the barangay

Barangay

A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...

captains of the town.

The name Dagohoy is a concatenation of the Bisayan phrase, Dagon sa huyuhoy or talisman of the breeze in English.

The Dagohoy Rebellion (1744–1829)

The Dagohoy Rebellion

Dagohoy Rebellion

The famous Dagohoy Rebellion, also known as Dagohoy Revolution or Dagohoy Revolt, is considered as the longest rebellion in Philippine history...

 was one of two significant revolts that occurred in Bohol

Bohol

Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of and a coastline long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines...

, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 during the Spanish Era. The other one was the Tamblot Uprising

Tamblot Uprising

The Tamblot Uprising of 1621, also known as the Tamblot Revolution or Tamblot Revolt, was led by Tamblot, a babaylan or native priest from the island of Bohol in the Philippines. It was basically a religious conflict...

 in 1621 led by Tamblot

Tamblot

Tamblot was a babaylan or native priest from Bohol, Philippines who led the Tamblot Uprising in 1621 to 1622 during the Spanish era. He opposed the new religion spread by the Spaniards and fought against the subsequent conversion of the Boholanos to the Catholic faith. According to Legend, he...

, a babaylan or native priest from Bohol which was basically a religious conflict.

Unlike the Tamblot revolt, the Dagohoy rebellion was not a religious conflict. Rather, it was like most of the early revolts which were ignited by forced labor (polo y servicios), Spanish oppression, vandala, excessive tax collection and payment of tributes. On top of these injustices of the Jesuit priests, what triggered Dagohoy most was the refusal of the Jesuit priest to give a Christian burial to his brother who died in a duel. This caused Dagohoy to call upon his fellow Boholanos to raise arms against the oppressors. The rebellion outlasted several Spanish Governors-General and several missions.

In 1744, Gaspar Morales, the Jesuit curate of Inabanga, ordered Francisco's brother, Sagarino, who was a constable, to capture an apostate fugitive. Sagarino pursued the fugitive, but the latter resisted and killed him. Morales refused to give him a Christian burial because he had died in a duel, a practice banned by the Church.

Infuriated, Francisco instigated the people to rise in arms. The signal of the uprising was the killing of Giuseppe Lamberti, Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

 Jesuit curate of Jagna on January 24, 1744. The rebellion rolled over the whole island like a typhoon; Morales was slain by Dagohoy afterwards. Bishop Miguel Lino de Espeleta of Cebu

Cebu

Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...

, who exercised ecclesiastical authority over Bohol

Bohol

Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of and a coastline long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines...

, tried vainly to mollify the rebellious Boholanos.

Dagohoy defeated the Spanish forces sent against him. He established a free government in the mountains, and had 3,000 followers, which subsequently increased to 20,000. His followers remained unsubdued in their mountains stronghold and, even after Dagohoy's death, continued to defy Spanish power.

The Francisco Dagohoy Cave in Danao was the headquarters of Dagohoy. One of the many crystal-studded passages within Dagohoy's cave has an underwater route leading to dry land, and it is said that every time Spaniards would search the cave, Dagohoy would swim underwater through this passage to hide in the breathing space.
Twenty Spanish governors-general, from Gasper de la Torre (1739–45) to Juan Antonio Martinez (1822–25), tried to quell the rebellion and failed. In 1825, General Mariano Ricafort (1825–30), a kind and able administrator, became governor-general of the Philippines. Upon his order, Alcalde-mayor Jose Lazaro Cairo, at the head of 2,200 Filipino-Spanish troops and several batteries, invaded Bohol on May 7, 1827. The Boholanos resisted fiercely. Cairo won several engagements, but failed to crush the rebellion. In April 1828, another Spanish expedition under Captain Manuel Sanz landed in Bohol. After more than a year of hard campaign, he finally subdued the patriots. By August 31, 1829, the rebellion had ceased. In a chivalric move, Governor Ricafort pardoned 19,420 survivors and permitted them to live in new villages at the lowlands. These villages are now the towns of Batuan, Cabulao, Catigbian, and Bilar.

Legacy

Dagohoy is acknowledged in the pages of Philippine history as the leader of the longest insurrection on record. His revolt lasted 85 years(1744–1829).

The town of Dagohoy, Bohol

Dagohoy, Bohol

Dagohoy is a 5th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 18,311 people.-History:...

 is named in his honor. It was the former President Carlos P. Garcia

Carlos P. Garcia

Carlos Polistico García was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist and guerrilla leader...

, then the Vice President, a Boholano, who proposed the name "Dagohoy" in his honor.

A historical marker on Dagohoy's grave in the mountains of Danao, Bohol

Danao, Bohol

Danao is a 5th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 17,716 people.-Barangays:Danao is politically subdivided into 17 barangays.* Cabatuan* Cantubod* Carbon* Concepcion* Dagohoy...

has been installed in his honor. The Dagohoy Marker in Magtangtang, Danao, Bohol, 92 km. from the Tagbilaran City was installed by the Philippine Historical Commission to honor the heroic deeds of Dagohoy. Magtangtang was Dagohoy's headquarters or hideout during the revolt. Hundreds of Dagohoy's followers preferred death inside the cave than surrender. Their skeletons still remain in the site.

The Dagohoy Memorial National High School in Dagohoy, Bohol is named in his honor.

External links

• Chris Antonette P. Pugay The Revolts before the Revolution
• Abeto, Isidro Escare. The Longest Fight for Reform: The Hero of Bohol in The United States and its Territories 1870–1925: The Age of Imperialism Chapter XXXIV, pp 167–169.
• Abeto, Isidro Escare. Roster of Chieftains and Warriors in The United States and its Territories 1870–1925: The Age of Imperialism Chapter XVIII
• Blair, Emma Helen, ed. Events in Filipinas 17-39-62 in The United States and its Territories 1870–1925: The Age of Imperialism, page 147–148.
• Artigas y Cuerva, Manuel. Historia de Filipinas para uso de los alumnos del Instituto Burgos y de otros colegios particulares: pro Manuel Artigas y Cuerva in The United States and its Territories 1870–1925: The Age of Imperialism, p. 192
• Dagohoy Marker, Bohol