Apolinario Mabini free essay sample

Realizing the need for international recognition to support the legitimacy of his government, Aguinaldo assigned Mabini the difficult task of establishing diplomatic relations with friendly countries. Members of the  Hong Kong  Junta, a group of Filipino exiles in Hong Kong, served as the country’s envoys for this purpose. Apolinario Lumpo Mabini y Maranan  (July 23, 1864 — May 13, 1903) was a  Filipino  political philosopher  and revolutionary who wrote a  constitutional plan  for the  first Philippine republic  of 1899-1901, and served as its firstprime minister  in 1899. In Philippine history texts, he is often referred to as the Sublime Paralytic, and as the Brains of the Revolution.   To his enemies and detractors, he is referred to as the Dark Chamber of the President. Early life of Apolinario Mabini Mabini was born on July 23, 1864 in  Barangay Talaga  in  Tanauan,  Batangas. [   He was the second of eight children of Dionisia Maranan, a vendor in the Tanauan market, and Inocencio Mabini, an unlettered peasant. We will write a custom essay sample on Apolinario Mabini or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Mabini began informal studies under his maternal grandfather, who was the village teacher. Because he demonstrated uncommon intelligence, he was transferred to a regular school owned by Simplicio Avelino, where he worked as a houseboy, and also took odd jobs from a local tailor all in exchange for free board and lodging. He later transferred to a school conducted by the Fray Valerio Malabanan, whose fame as an educator merited a mention in  Jose Rizals novel  El Filibusterismo. In 1881 Mabini received a scholarship to go to the  Colegio de San Juan de Letran  in  Manila. An anecdote about his stay there says that a professor there decided to pick on him because his shabby clothing clearly showed he was poor. Mabini amazed the professor by answering a series of very difficult questions with ease. His studies at Letran were periodically interrupted by a chronic lack of funds, and he earned money for his board and lodging by teaching children. Mabinis mother had wanted him to take up the priesthood, but his desire to defend the poor made him decide to take up Law instead. A year after receiving his  Bachilles en Artes  with highest honors and the title Professor of  Latin  from Letran, he moved on to the  University of Santo Tomas, where he received his law degree in 1894. The 1896 Revolution Believing that the Reform Movement still had a chance to achieve success, Mabini did not immediately support the revolution of 1896. When Jose Rizal was executed in December that year, however, he changed his mind and gave the revolution his wholehearted support. [2] In 1898, while vacationing in  Los Banos, Laguna,  Emilio Aguinaldo  sent for him. It took hundreds of men taking turns carrying his hammock to portage Mabini to Kawit. Aguinaldo, upon seeing Mabinis physical condition, must have entertained second thoughts in calling for his help. Mabini was most active in the  revolution in 1898, when he served as the chief adviser for General Aguinaldo. He drafted decrees and crafted the first ever constitution in Asia for the First Philippine Republic, including the framework of the revolutionary government which was implemented in  Malolos  in 1899. Prime minister Apolinario Mabini was appointed  prime minister  and was also  foreign minister  of the newly independent dictatorial government of  Emilio Aguinaldo  on January 2, 1899. Eventually, the government declared the first Philippine republic in appropriate ceremonies on January 23, 1899. Mabini then led the first  cabinet  of the republic. Mabini found himself in the center of the most critical period in the new countrys history, grappling with problems until then unimagined. Most notable of these were his negotiations with Americans, which began on March 6, 1899. The  United States  and the new Philippine Republic were embroiled in extremely contentious and eventually violent confrontations. During the negotiations or peace, Americans proffered Mabini autonomy for Aguinaldos new government, but the talks failed because Mabini’s conditions included a  ceasefire, which was rejected. Mabini negotiated once again, seeking for an  armistice  instead, but the talks failed yet again. Eventually, feeling that the Americans were not negotiating bona fide, he forswore the Americans, rallied the people, and supported war. He resigned from govern ment on May 7, 1899. Later life and death He also joined the fraternity of Freemasonry. On December 10, 1899, he was captured by Americans at  Cuyapo,  Nueva Ecija, but was later set free. In 1901, he was exiled to  Guam, along with scores of revolutionists Americans referred to as insurrectos and who refused to swear fealty to imperialist America. When Brig. Gen. Arthur C. MacArthur, Jr. was asked to explain by the US Senate why Mabini had to be explained, the following was cabled: |â€Å" |Mabini deported: a most active agitator; persistently and defiantly refusing amnesty, and maintaining correspondence with insurgents |† | | |in the field while living in Manila, Luzon [3] | |