The Republic of Negros ( hil, Republika sang Negros; ceb, Republika sa Negros; es, República de Negros) was a short-lived revolutionary entity which had existed on the island of Negros first as a canton of the

First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic ( es, República Filipina), now officially known as the First Philippine Republic, also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against ...

and later as a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Nomenclature

The entity had gone by multiple names throughout its short existence: the Negros Canton ( hil, Kanton sg Negros; ceb, Kanton sa Negros; es, Cantón de Negros) of the

,Aguilar, F. V. (2000)
The Republic of Negros
''Philippine Studies, 48''(1), 26–52. and the Federal Republic of Negros ( hil, Republikang Federal sg Negros; ceb, Republikang Federal sa Negros; es, República Federal de Negros) or Federal State of Negros ( hil, Estadong Federal sg Negros; ceb, Estadong Federal sa Negros; es, Estado Federal de Negros) under US protection.Rodríguez, C. A. (1986)
Don Diego de la Viña and the Philippine Revolution in Negros Oriental
''Philippine Studies, 34''(1), 61–76.Gonzaga, V. L. (1990)
Negros in Transition: 1899–1905
''Philippine Studies, 38''(1), 103–114. According to

Gregorio Zaide Gregorio F. Zaide (May 25, 1907 – October 31, 1986) was a Philippines, Filipino historian, author and Politics of the Philippines, politician from the town of Pagsanjan, Laguna (province), Laguna in the Philippines. A multi-awarded author, Zaide ...

, the protectorate had been annexed to the

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

as simply the Republic of Negros.

History

From November 3 to 6, 1898, the

Negrenses The Negrenses (; ) are the native cultural group of the Philippine provinces of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor. Overview Negrense (English: ''Negrese''; Hiligaynon and Cebuano: ''Negrosanon'' or ''Buglasnon'') identity is clos ...

rose in revolt against the Imperial Spanish authorities headed by the politico-military governor, colonel Isidro de Castro. The Spaniards decided to surrender upon seeing armed troops marching in a pincer movement towards Bacólod, the main city of the island. The revolutionaries, led by generals

Juan Araneta Juan Anacleto Araneta y Torres (July 13, 1852 – October 3, 1924), was a pioneer sugar farmer and revolutionary leader during the Negros Revolution. Early life Juan was born to Romualdo Araneta y Cabunsol and Agüeda Torres y Villanueva ...

, from

Bago Bago may refer to: Places Myanmar * Bago, Myanmar, a city and the capital of the Bago Region * Bago District, a district of the Bago Region * Bago Region an administrative region * Bago River, a river * Bago Yoma or Pegu Range, a mountain rang ...

and

Aniceto Lacson Aniceto Lacson y Ledesma (April 17, 1857 – February 3, 1931) was the first and only president of the Negros Republic from 1898 to 1901. He is notable for leading the Negros Revolution along with Juan Araneta, and was a sugar baron.Foreman, ...

, from Talisay, were actually carrying fake arms consisting of rifles carved out of palm fronds and

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s of rolled bamboo mats painted black. On 5 November, Spanish officials surrendered themselves to native leaders. A provisional government was then established with

as President, and a notice of this was sent by Melecio Severino to Emilio Aguinaldo on

Luzón Luzón is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Guadalajara, autonomous communityy of Castile-La Mancha. According to the 2012 census of the INE, the municipality has a population of only 79 inhabitants, having undergone a severe po ...

. On November 27, 1898, the unicameral Congress of Deputies ( es, Congreso de Diputados) met in Bacólod and declared the establishment of the Republican Canton of Negros ( es, Cantón Republicano de Negros). The Congress of Deputies acted as a

constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

to draft a constitution. Motivated by either economic interests or sheer ''

realpolitik ''Realpolitik'' (; ) refers to enacting or engaging in diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly binding itself to explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical ...

'', the ''

hacendero An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

''-led cantonal government surrendered to U.S. forces on March 4, 1899, following the outbreak of hostilities between the nascent

and the U.S. military government which had been established during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, and came under U.S.

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

on April 30, 1899 as a territory separate from the Philippine Islands.Two-article series: * * A constitution for a Federal Republic of Negros, which proposed two governors, a U.S. military governor and a civil governor elected by the voters of Negros, was framed by a committee sitting in Bacólod and sent to General Otis in Manila and was proclaimed to take effect on October 2, 1899. The Negros government operated smoothly under this constitution until the province of

Occidental Negros Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Bacolod. It occupies the nort ...

was established on April 20, 1901, and annexed to the

by the United States as the "Republic of Negros".

Leaders

The leaders of the short-lived republic were: :

Commemoration

November 5, popularly referred to by the Negrenses as ''Cinco de Noviembre'', has been officially observed since 1989 as a special non-working holiday in Negros Occidental. The republic itself has been commemorated in a historical marker in the main

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

, on which is inscribed:

References

*(Note: 1. The book cover incorrectly lists author as "Maximo M Lalaw", 2. Originally published in 1921 by The McCullough Printing Co., Manila) {{DEFAULTSORT:Negros, Republic of

Republic of Negros The Republic of Negros ( hil, Republika sang Negros; ceb, Republika sa Negros; es, República de Negros) was a short-lived revolutionary entity which had existed on the island of Negros first as a canton of the First Philippine Republic and l ...

Politics of Siquijor Former subdivisions of the Philippines Former subdivisions of the United States States and territories established in 1898 States and territories disestablished in 1901