First Philippine Republic

Philippines, 1899–1901. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Philippine Republic, retroactively known as the First Philippine Republic or the Malolos Republic, was an unrecognized state established in Malolos, Bulacan, during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire. Emilio Aguinaldo was its inaugural president. It was not recognized by any foreign power, but remained a de facto government. Aguinaldo was captured by the American forces on March 23, 1901, in Palanan, Isabela, and he declared allegiance to the U.S. on April 19, 1901, effectively ending the Philippine Republic.

Seat of power: Malolos

Rulers

Emilio Aguinaldo

President of the Philippines, 1899–1901

He led Philippine forces first against Spain in the Philippine Revolution, then in the Spanish-American War, and later against the United States during the Philippine-American War. He is regarded in the Philippines as the country's first president during the period of the First Philippine Republic, although his presidency was not widely recognized outside of the revolutionary Philippines. However, he was also involved in the deaths of the revolutionary leader Andrés Bonifacio and general Antonio Luna.

Portrait of Emilio Aguinaldo: Harris & Ewing Photo Studio, Public domain, file

Culture

The Malolos Constitution was drafted and approved by a partially elected congress and called for a true representative democracy.
After the American victory at the Battle of Manila Bay, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines and issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence on June 12, 1898.
The First Philippine Republic is sometimes characterized as the first proper constitutional republic in Asia, although there were several Asian republics predating it.

Picture

Barásoain Church, a Roman Catholic church built in 1888 in Malolos, Bulacán, was the site of the First Philippine Republic.

Image: Tagaaplaya, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.