The Propaganda Movement was a period of time when insulares (Filipinos) were calling for reforms, lasting approximately from 1868 to 1898^[1] with the most activity between 1880-1895.^[2]

The word "propaganda" in English and American usage has acquired a pejorative connotation which is absent from the original Latin. One can see its true meaning in the Roman institution called "Congregatio de propaganda fide" - the Secretariate for the Spread of the Faith (or, as the modern translation has it, For the Evangelization of Peoples). It was in this latter sense that the word was used by the Filipino group that sent Marcelo H. del Pilar to Spain to continue the "propaganda" on behalf of the Philippines. It was essentially a campaign of information, as well as a bid for sympathy. Dr. Domingo Abella, the learned Director of the National Archives, has made the suggestion that the so-called Propaganda Movement was misnamed. It should have been called the Counterpropaganda Movement, because their essential task was to counteract the campaign of misinformation that certain Spanish groups were disseminating in Spain, and later in Rome.^[3]

he Philippine Revolution (Filipino: Himagsikang Pilipino), also called the Tagalog War by the Spanish,^[2] was fought between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities.

The Philippine Revolution began in August 1896, when the Spanish authorities discovered Katipunan, an anti-colonial secret organization. The Katipunan, led by Andrés Bonifacio, was a liberationist movement whose goal was independence from Spain through armed revolt. The organization began to influence much of the Philippines. During a mass gathering in Caloocan, the leaders of Katipunan organized themselves into a revolutionary government, named the newly established government "Haring Bayang Katagalugan", and openly declared a nationwide armed revolution.^[3] Bonifacio called for an attack on the capital city of Manila. This attack failed; however, the surrounding provinces began to revolt. In particular, rebels in Cavite led by Mariano Alvarezand Emilio Aguinaldo (who were from two different factions of Katipunan) won early victories. A power struggle among the revolutionaries led to Bonifacio's death in 1897, with command shifting to Aguinaldo, who led his own revolutionary government. That year, the revolutionaries and the Spanish signed the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, which temporarily reduced hostilities. Aguinaldo self-exiled himself to Hong Kong. However, the hostilities never completely ceased.^[4]

On April 21, 1898, the United States launched a naval blockade of Cuba, which was the first military action of theSpanish–American War.^[5] On May 1, the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron, under Commodore George Deweydecisively defeated the Spanish navy in the Battle of Manila Bay, effectively seizing control of Manila. On May 19, Aguinaldo, unofficially allied with the United States, returned to the Philippines and resumed attacks against the Spaniards. By June, the rebels had gained control of nearly all of the Philippines, with the exception of Manila. On June 12, Aguinaldo issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence.^[6] Although this signified the end date of the revolution, neither Spain nor the United States recognized Philippine independence.^[7]

The Spanish rule of the Philippines officially ended with the Treaty of Paris of 1898, which also ended the Spanish–American War. In the treaty, Spain ceded control of the Philippines and other territories to the United States.^[4] There was an uneasy peace around Manila, with the American forces controlling the city and the weaker Philippines forces surrounding them.

On February 4, 1899, in the Battle of Manila, fighting broke out between the Filipino and American forces, beginning the Philippine–American War. Aguinaldo immediately ordered "[t]hat peace and friendly relations with the Americans be broken and that the latter be treated as enemies".^[8] In June 1899, the nascent First Philippine Republic formally declared war against the United States.^[9][10]