Gabriela Silang

Statue representing Gabriele Silang

Filipino postage stamp from 1974

María Josefa Gabriela Cariño Silang (born March 19, 1731 in Santa , Ilocos Sur province , † September 20, 1763 in Vigan ) was the first Filipino woman to lead a revolt during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines . As an active member of the rebels under Diego Silang , her husband, she took over the leadership of the group for four months after his death, until she was captured and executed.

Early stage of life

Gabriela Silang was born in 1731 in the Barangay Caniogan in Santa , a town in the province of Ilocos Sur . She was of both mestizo and Spanish origins, and she was also descended from the Ilocano ethnic group. At a young age she was adopted by the wealthy businessman Don Tomas Millan, who became her custodian and later married her at the age of 20. After 3 years of marriage, her husband died without the two of them having fathered a child.

In 1757 she married again, this time to 27-year-old Ilocano Diego Silang.

Life as a revolutionary

During the British invasion in 1762, British troops successfully captured the capital Manila. The defeat of the Spanish troops brought many Filipinos to the realization that the Spanish armed forces were not invincible. Under the influence of this event, Diego Silang led a small rebel group in a revolt against the Spanish colonial government. The aim of their union was the liberation of the province of Ilocos from Spanish tyranny. His wife Gabriela supported the group's actions and accompanied him and his men during their struggles. She quickly became one of his closest advisers and a key figure in her husband's collaboration with the UK . The group succeeded in briefly expelling Spanish officials from the village of Vigan in Ilocos Sur .

On May 28, 1763, her husband was shot dead in his own home. The assassin Miguel Vico, a friend of the victim, was hired by royal and ecclesiastical authorities to clean up the rioter. After the death of her husband, Gabriela fled on horseback to the mountains of the Abra province . There she gathered her husband's troops, set up a headquarters and vowed the collective to continue their common struggle.

On September 10, 1763, they descended from the high village of Vigan to carry out a raid on a Spanish army camp. The attack met fierce resistance, however, as the garrison was prepared for the attack and had previously assembled Spanish troops, as well as support units from the Tagalog and Kapampangan areas, including some collaborators from Ilocano. The rebels ran straight into the Spanish ambush when they attacked and were crushed. Many died in this fight, while Gabriela Silang escaped and found shelter with her uncle Nicolas together with seven other men. On September 20, 1763, however, she and her companions were caught by Spanish soldiers and hanged on the same day in Vigan.

National importance

Her bold ferocity and death are seen in the Philippines as a symbol of the strength of Filipino women. Gabriela Silang stands for the pre-colonial importance of women in Filipino society and their efforts to stand up for a liberation of the country from Spanish colonization and to fight for it. The Northern Luzon Heroes Hill National Park was established in her honor .

Web links

Commons : Gabriela Silang  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Information about Gabriela Silang
• Birthplace of Gabriela Silang - Santa Municipality, Ilocos Sur ( Memento of July 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
• Globalpinoy
• Gabriela Silang ( Memento from October 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
• Detailed biography of Gabriela Silang

credentials

• Zaide, Gregorio F .: Philippine History and Government . National Bookstore Printing Press, 1984.