Emilio Aguinaldo

Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964) led the Phillipines in three different wars: the Phillipine Revolution against Spain, the Spanish-American war, and the Phillipine-American war. Born to parents of mixed Chinese and Filipino descent, he grew up quite wealthy, his father being the community's municipal governor. At the age of 25, he joined the Katipunan, which was devoted to the expulsion of the Spanish through military force. When the rebellion began two years later, Aguinaldo refused to join, saying he didn't want to be a part of an unsuccesful revolution, and that the rebels were too lightly armed to be succesful. When he did join, he didn't even have to resort to guerilla warfare, and drove out the Spanish from his area in set piece battles. With the Spanish temporarily driven out of the Phillipines, Aguinaldo was elected president of the Phillipine Republic, however, it wouldn't be too long until the Spanish invaded again, and the president was sent to exile in Hong Kong. When America attacked the Phillipines and blockaded Manilla, they agreed to send Aguinaldo back, where he took control of all Filipino forces, and later declared the Phillipines independant. While at first it was a dictatorial government, he decided to end that, and made it a republic.

When America captured Manila and declared the Phillipines a part of the United States, tensions began to grow. After a Filipino was shot and killed by an American sentry, war began, and Aguinaldo once again led the Filipino army, however, this time, he found Guerilla warfare to be far more effective.

In 1901, Aguinaldo was captured and surrendered to the United States. When the Japanese conquered the Phillipines, he actually urged the country not to use violence, saying that he was tired of constantly fighting off the invaders, and saying they must cooperate for now and find a better way of dealing with the foreigners. He would die in 1964 at the age of 94.