Two Wild Men
Wildman is a name you may find in footnotes of books and articles on the first decade of the United States annexation of the Philippines (1898-1908). It may be confusing at first, because there are two Wildmans: Rounsevelle Wildman (1864-1901), US consul general in Hong Kong and Edwin Wildman (1867-1932), vice consul. Both had personal knowledge of the Spanish-American War as it played out in the Philippines. In addition, Edwin was special war correspondent in Manila, whose privileged access resulted in the book “Aguinaldo: A Narrative of Philippine Ambitions” (1901).
Aguinaldo Table Diplomacy
I was once asked, informally, to comment on a long table of Philippine hardwood that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas wants to believe was used at the inauguration of the Malolos Congress in September 1898. Save for the provenance provided by the seller, it is difficult to tell since the archival photograph of the event at Barasoain has Emilio Aguinaldo seated in the middle of a long table covered by a tablecloth.
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Treachery in Tejeros
Compared to Jose Rizal’s works, only a few of Andres Bonifacio’s writings have survived. Among these are the Acta de Tejeros and the Acta de Naic, which were sold in a much-hyped auction in December 2018.
Bonifacio’s Death: An Eyewitness Account
Lazaro Makapagal, no relation to Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, would be a forgotten footnote in Philippine history, except that he led the pack that executed Andres Bonifacio, on orders of the Council of War that imposed the death sentence on the brothers Andres and Procopio Bonifacio. The brothers were found guilty of treason against the newly formed Revolutionary Government that had replaced the Katipunan.
Aguinaldo’s Controversial Interview
A large and important painting by National Artist Jose Joya sold at auction last Saturday for a record-breaking P100 million, or about $2 million, thus stealing the limelight from the sale of three original letters by Andres Bonifacio that sold for P8.3 million together with a very, very expensive envelope that contained one of the Bonifacio letters to Emilio Jacinto, that sold for P2.8 million.
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