Gabriela Silang

Gabriela Silang
Born María Josefa Gabriela Cariño
19 March 1731
Santa, Ilocos Sur, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died 20 September 1763 (aged 32)
Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Other names Gabriela Silang
la Generala
Joan of Arc of Ilocandia
Juana Azurduy of the Far East
Spouse(s) Tomás Millan (1751–54)
Diego Silang (1757–63)

María Josefa Gabriela Cariño Silang (19 March 1731 – 20 September 1763) was a Filipino revolutionary leader best known as the first female leader of a Filipino movement for independence from Spain.[1] She took over the reins of her husband Diego Silang's revolutionary movement after his assassination in 1763, leading the Ilocano rebel movement for four months before she was captured and executed by the colonial government of the Spanish East Indies.

Early life

Gabriela Silang (March 19, 1731 – September 20, 1763), born Maria Josefa Gabriela Cariño, was born in Barangay Caniogan, Santa, Ilocos Sur to a [[Spanish people Ilocano father Anselmo Cariño, a trader who ferried his wares from Vigan to Abra along the Abra River and a descendant of Ignacio Cariño, the first Galician from Spain to arrive in Candon, Ilocos Sur in late 17th century. Her mother was a Tinguian mother who was from a Tinguian Barrio in San Quintin Abra (now Pidigan).[2]

She received a Christian upbringing from the town's parish priest, and attained elementary level education at the town’s convent school. After being separated from her parents early in her childhood, she was raised by a priest, who eventually arranged a marriage between her and the wealthy businessman. They married in 1751, and he died three years later.[3]

Revolutionary involvement

Relationship with Diego Silang

After being widowed by her first husband, Gabriela met insurgent leader Diego Silang and married him in 1757. In 1762, as part of what would later be known as the Seven Years' War, Britain declared war on Spain, which caused the British occupation of the Philippines. After British naval forces captured Manila in October 1762, an emboldened Diego sought to initiate an armed struggle to overthrow the Spanish functionaries in Ilocos and replace them with native-born officials. He collaborated with the British occupiers, who appointed him governor of the Ilocos region on their behalf and promised military reinforcement to help in the fight against the Spanish. This reinforcement was, however, never delivered. During this revolt, Gabriela became one of Diego's closest advisors and his unofficial aide-de-camp during skirmishes with Spanish troops. She was also a major figure in her husband's collaboration with the British occupiers. Spanish authorities retaliated by offering a reward for Diego’s assassination. Consequently, his two former allies Miguel Vicos and Pedro Becbec killed him in Vigan on May 28, 1763.[4]

Revolutionary leadership in Abra

After Diego’s assassination, Gabriela fled to Tayum, Abra to seek refuge in the house of her paternal uncle, Nicolas Cariño. There, she appointed her first two generals, Miguel Flores and Tagabuen Infiel.[5] She later assumed her husband's role as commander of the rebel troops and achieved a “priestess” status amongst her community and followers. Her popular image as the bolo-wielding la Generala on horseback stems from this period.

Assault on Vigan and Execution

On September 10, 1763, Silang tried to besiege Vigan but the Spanish retaliated, forcing her into hiding. She retreated once more to Abra, where the Spanish later captured her. On September 20, 1763, Silang and her troops were executed by hanging in Vigan's central plaza.[6]

Descendants

A list of the closest-living relatives of Gabriela Cariño Silang through her paternal uncle, Nicolas Cariño:

Some of Silang's living relations still reside in the ancestral house at the Cariño family seat of Tayum. The house, now a museum and art gallery called the Casa Museo Cariño, is maintained by H. E. Ambassador Rosario Cariño . Among the rooms on display is the bedroom of Gabriela Cariño Silang while she used the house of her Uncle Nicolas Cariño as her headquarters when she fled after Diego's murder in 1763.[7]

Memorials and legacy

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.vigan.ph/history/diego-silang-and-maria-josefa-gabriela-silang.html
  2. ↑ Rosarito A. Cariño 7th generation great-grandson and Museum Curator of Gabriela Cariño- Silang Gallery of Fine Arts and Museo Nicolas Cariño
  3. ↑ Smith, Bonnie G. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
  4. ↑ Commire, Anne, and Deborah Klezmer. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Waterford, CT: Yorkin Publications, 2002. Print.
  5. ↑ Rosarito A. Cariño 7th generation great-grandson and Museum Curator of Gabriela Cariño- Silang Gallery of Fine Arts and Museo Nicolas Cariño
  6. ↑ Commire, Anne, and Deborah Klezmer. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Waterford, CT: Yorkin Publications, 2002. Print.
  7. ↑ Rosarito A. Cariño 7th generation great-grandson and Museum Curator of Gabriela Cariño- Silang Gallery of Fine Arts and Museo Nicolas Cariño and Gloman Merritt 8th generation great-grandson.
  8. ↑ http://www.ayalatriangle.com/attractions/gabriela-silang-monument
  9. ↑ Gloman Merritt 8th generation great-grandson
  10. ↑ Gloman Merritt 8th generation great-grandson

11. Jasper De Jesus -8th Generation Grandson

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