ON BASI REVOLT AND AN ATTEMPT TO A COHERENT NARRATIVE OF ILOCOS MOVEMENTS (1)

 

 Looking for earliest available document that could possibly lead to the narrative of Basi Revolt, one could check this quote from the Montero y Vidal’s Historia de Filipinas (as included in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 51, 1801-1840) a Spanish historian:

“In the summer of 1807, there arose a rebellion in the mountains of Ilocos Norte, begun by certain Spanish deserters from Vigan in conjunction with some vagabond Indians; afterward it spread to many of the Ilocanos, who resented the government monopoly of wine and prohibition of native manufacture of basi (a liquor produced by the fermentation of the juice of sugar cane).”

Aside from this report, no other document would say the fighters and the leaders really use the term “Basi Revolt” to call their movement. And possibly it was just coined from a report of Spanish historian Montero y Vidal.

No wonder, Vigan-based historians like Benaventura Bello El Alzamiento de Ambaristo in his essay published in the Independent, a scholar journal in 1931. Vigan historian journalist, Isabelo de los Reyes, likewise called it, El Alzamiento de Ambaristo in his Historia de Ilocos book.

To begin with, there have been numerous instances of abusive implementation of monopolies in Ilocos, particularly with regards to tobacco and wine. This is not a new phenomenon, as historical records indicate that the colonial government utilized various means to generate revenue, including monopolies on coconut and nipa wine, areca nut, stamps, playing cards, cockfighting, and a plethora of taxes and fees. These indulgences could be purchased, and were already oppressive to the Filipino people at the time.

According to Isabel de Los Reyes' Historia de Ilocos, employees of the Renta de tobacco y vino in Laoag abused and mistreated the families of Ilokano workers. They forced them to work strenuously, but failed to pay them or provide them with food, instead resorting to physical abuse, as documented in an unpublished letter from Father Manuel Arnaiz.

What is even more concerning is that many of these individuals were not actually guards or commissaries of the Renta de tobacco y vino. They would take whatever they pleased from the poor kailianes, sometimes taking a piece of tobacco or half a jar of basi, a wine that Ilokano kept to turn into vinegar later. This underscores the importance of basic ingredients for making vinegar, which should be emphasized for their everyday use, such as in cooking or preserving meat, or for spiritual practices like warding off bad spirits by rubbing vinegar on the chest and arm pits, as per home-based healing traditions.

Isabelo de los Reyes cautiously proceeds to explore the underlying causes of the 1807 Insurgency. The Augustinian Provincial offered their opinion on the matter, stating that the Ilokano Indios had become as thieving as those in other provinces, stealing cows, horses, and caravans from their fellow Indians, and those engaged in this business were willing to do even worse. It is not surprising that many of these were dissenters who initiated the rebellion in the mountains of Piddig, a northern town of Ilocos.

However, this cannot be considered as the sole reason for the rebellion. De los Reyes draws our attention to the observation of Spanish historian, Montero Y Vidal, who identified the first batch of rebels seeking refuge in Piddig as Spanish dissenters from Vigan, in collusion with numerous vagabond Indios living as bandidos in the hills after the failed revolt of Diego and Gabriela Silang in 1762.

The suggestion being made is: the Basi Revolt, as we understand it, is a continuation of the Silang Revolt.

 ---to be continued.

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 51, 1801-1840: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/57304/57304-h/57304-h.htm#doc1801.1

Historia de Ilocos Volume 2: https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra/historia-de-ilocos-vol-2/