Have you ever wondered what is the story of a person on your banknote? I collect many banknote with people faces on them who is a prominent figure in their society. This week, i will try to post some story about Philippine prominent figure that been displayed on their old pesos banknotes. If any of my story in here isn't correct, please feel free to comment and I will try to add that in this post. Today we will be talking about Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro which has been featured on a Philippine limang piso banknote.
Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (November 30, 1863 – May 10, 1897), was a Filipino revolutionary leader and the founder of the Philippine Revolution. Bonifacio was born to Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro of Zambales in Tondo, Manila. His father was a Cabeza de Barrio (Leader of the Municipality) of his town. His mother died of tuberculosis in 1881 and his father died a year later.
Bonifacio worked as a freemason for a British and German trading firm in Manila. He married twice, his first wife was a woman named Monica, who died of leprosy, and Gregoria de Jesús a daughter of a wealthy family in Binondo.
He joined José Rizal's La Liga Filipina (The Philippine League), an organization that called for political reforms in the Spanish Cortes. La Liga Filipina was abolished after Rizal was arrested and deported to the town of Dapitan in Mindanao. After the La Liga Filipina was abolished by the Spanish colonial authorities. Bonifacio founded the Katipunan organization, which aimed to gained independence from Spain.
In 1896, Bonifacio founded the Katipunan. It insinuated itself into the community by setting up mutual aid societies and education for the poor. The Katipunan had recruited 30,000 members and functioned at the national, provincial and municipal levels. Following the execution of Rizal in 1896, Bonifacio proclaimed Philippine independence on August 23, 1896. In pursuit by the Spanish Army, Bonifacio's soldiers fled to the Marikina mountains, while the other rebel army lead by Emilio Aguinaldo were more successful in their campaign and gained control in some towns.
Bonifacio engaged into conflict with Aguinaldo, and he was arrested and charged with treason. The trial of the Bonifacio brothers began on April 29, and ended in conviction on May 4. They were executed on May 10, 1897. Bonifacio's birthday on November 30 is celebrated as Bonifacio Day (Filipino: Araw ni Bonifacio) and is a public holiday in the Philippines.
Source: Wikipedia
