diced b Jos e S. Arc a, - non

We may suppose there was a special bond of fraternity between the Italianmissionaries in China who were themselves secular priests and the Filipinosecular priests fighting for the recognition of their right to own parishes.But of greater relevance is the information the documents provide of apossible foreign intervention in Cavite. Traditional histories accept' withoutanalysis the official version that the plotters were the Filipinos who had beenconvicted by the courts. Filipino historians, however, claim the rebellion wasthe work of a group of Spaniards manipulated or influenced by the friars, anopinion confirmed by the statement of the accused during their trials. A thirdposition is possible, in my opinion, that the weavers of the plot were neitherFilipinos nor Spaniards. There are enough indications to support thishypothesis, not sufficiently recognized till now. Perhaps it can explain theCavite mutiny and the trials connected with it.I admit this alleged foreign intervention was only one cause among manywhich set the conflict in motion. In the present case, we cannot throw awaypossible political rivalries, including those of the different parties which hadunited to dethrone Isabel II, and at this precise moment no longer looked onfavorably by King Amadeo who imposed the will of Prim; the socioeconomicmalaise because of certain labor decrees; the possible interventionby agents of the International clearly evident in the later strike at the arsenal;military discontent over government measures considered unjust; schemes ofCuban agents to create a second front in the Spanish army and dissipate itsforces." Not surprisingly, there would also be certain personal motives;disappointments of those who were tired of hearing the governmentspokesmen mouth declarations about democratic freedoms but saw that thelatler not only failed in their promises or trampled them down, but also thatwithin the established system their words could not be honored; desperationof the dismissed employees; the effects of administrative injustice; romanticadventurism and the fruit of an unquestioned patriotic idealism proper to theage.These and other causes existed or could have existed; but in this essay,my concern is with the possibility of foreign intervention which Rizal sawquite clearly but did not link with the mutiny. Had he suspected this, he wouldnot have attributed to the friars what I believe was a machination of theirenemies. Jose Ma. Jover Zamora tells us what was "characteristic ofinternational politics between 1870 and 1914 is the imperialism of a few bigpowers who desire to assure themselves of exclusive markets both to selltheir finished products and obtain raw materials for their industries.'16