Aguinaldo, Emilio

Aguinaldo, Emilio extract from Britannica Online.

(born March 23, 1869, near Cavite, Luzon, Phil.—died Feb. 6, 1964, Manila) Philippine independence leader. He was born of Chinese and Tagalog parentage and was educated at the University of Santo Tomás, Manila. He became a leader of the Katipunan, a revolutionary society that fought the Spanish. Philippine independence was declared in 1898, and Aguinaldo became president, but within months Spain signed a treaty ceding the islands to the U.S. Aguinaldo fought U.S. forces until he was captured in 1901. After taking an oath of allegiance to the U.S., he was induced to retire from public life. He collaborated with the Japanese during World War II. After the war he was briefly imprisoned; released by presidential amnesty, he was vindicated by his appointment to the Council of State in 1950. In his later years he promoted nationalism, democracy, and improvement of relations between the U.S. and the Philippines.

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