At the cusps of a Spanish-American conflict, Philip is faced with the prospect of war between his colonizer, the Spanish Empire, and the rising super power of the century, the United States of America. As he's forced to help Spain's futile attempts...
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"The Battleship Maine Blown Up In Havana Harbor "・"Lying at Anchor Under the Guns of Moro Castle the Splendid Ship Sent to Protect Americans Is Torn to Pieces by a Terrific Explosion" [1]
"Is he pleased to revel in a sick lie such as this? Biting the hands that had once upon a time supplied arms to his revolution — once a time when he was just a frail and weak colony themselves. Did he not think twice when gladly sending a ship into the heart of Cuba to protecthis so-called interests? Thinking that playing classic liberator amongst my colonies makes him such a hero yet he has harmed a good Spaniard such as myself. Does he dare threaten the very foundations of my imperial life and its territories? What cruelty does this man possess to dream up such claims of a Spanish plotted sabotage against the USS Maine when it was merely a pitiful accident?"
Such a flowery monologue to announce to two sweaty, ragged Indios that are being baked under the blaring sun. España rambles on and on, clutching the now crumpled American newspaper. Oh how cruel the Americans were! Though not even a few decades prior, Viceroyalty of New Spain, his damned puppet, and his cursed friars, had forced me into intensive, slave-like labour, as if I were something to be tamed — no more than a singular step in a long flight of stairs.
España spits his words as much as he spits down on me. He spits at my indigeneous people — whose skin was anything but "gloriously" white, he spits on the native culture of this archipelago, and he spits at anything deemed sinful of his religion. Oh what a good Spaniard he was!
'Twas the year 1898 and just days before, America declared, "Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain!" [2]. España of course was not in the slightest pleased by America's mantra. Today he had gathered my older brother and representation of this city, Manila, and I to stiffly stand at attention in the centre of my capital [3].
"¿Por qué? ¡Por qué! First it was Cuba's insurrection and the Biak-na-Bato Republic, now this?" He faltered as he whipped towards me, "Oh dios mío [4]."
Suddenly he pushed me to the ground and grabbed the collar of my Barong Tagalog [5]. España kneeled and whispered into my ear, "If you dare to even tease the thought of starting another revolutionary group like your brother Cuba, consider you, Las Islas Filipinas, and your siblings, dead."
The heaviness of his words rang daring and clear throughout the quiet, cobble streets leaving my brother and I shaken. Satisfied by his lasting impression on us, he elegantly rose back onto his feet as if nothing happened — head tilted up whilst one hand gently pressed into his front, the other to his back.
For these last few seconds laying on the ground, the Earth felt still. The silence in the atmosphere was deafening, as if it taunted me to murmur an utterance. Not even España, still staring down at me, spoke of his vexations against America. It seemed every being and thing was suddenly holding their breath, and for what?
What the Spaniard uttered next made everything infinitely clearer. With one simple message — foreboding and apprehensive — I knew he realised his fate the moment he read about the explosion of the USS Maine on that newspaper; one filled with ridicule and blame against the Spaniard for this incident. His aggression, panic, and hypocrisy a few seconds ago only painted his sudden cowardice in a more humorous image. Today, the United States caught España unaware. Bathing in glory and stuck with the notion of being the one above all, America would be the one to crush him back down.
"From start to finish, by the powers of God, if everything must be stripped from me, then let my honour stay." The mighty Spaniard weakly declared.
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Footnotes
[1] An example of yellow journalism by an American newspaper. Source: The San Francisco Examiner. February 16, 1898
[2] "Remember the Maine" refers to the USS Maine, which was destroyed in Havana Harbour in 1898. The phrase "remember the Maine" refers to the explosion of the battleship Maine in Havana harbour in Spanish-controlled Cuba. This phrase was used to create enthusiasm in America for a war with Spain. Source: Gregory Hanson. What Does "Remember the Maine" Mean?. https://www.unitedstatesnow.org
[3] In my headcanons, Manila is the older brother of the Philippines since technically he is older than him (I'm dating him back to when he was the Kingdom of Maynila. In fact most capitals are older than the countryhumans themselves. This might be changed in the future, but he will always remain the older brother.)
[4] To give an incredibly general backstory if you aren't quite familiar with this part of history, through 1868 to 1898 Cuban and Filipino revolutionaries had been creating independence movements against Spanish rule. Specifically 1868 through 1878, the ten years' war in Cuba would be the first Cuban insurrection following the 1895 Cuban Insurrection. For the Philippines, in 1892 an independence group called the Katipunan was formed, and by 1896 the Philippine Revolution had officially begun. On November 1, 1897, the Biak-na-Bato Republic was created, but quickly was ended by the Spanish with the Pact of Biak-na-Bato. This pact, made in December of that year, paid revolutionists 800,000 pesos, gave amnesty to them, and allowed Aguinaldo and his men to be voluntarily exiled in Hong Kong. Source: Hispanic Division Library of Congress. The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War (Chronology). https://www.loc.gov
[5] The Barong Tagalog was a collarless shirt originating from an ethnic cloth called a canga. Underneath these barongs was a Camisa de Chino. During 1565-1815, specifically during the Manila-Acapulco trade, barongs were even worn by the more poorer citizens due to 'a wide variety of quality imported affordable material' These cultural shirts of the Spanish colonial era are still used to this day. Source: Stéphanie Marie R. Coo. Clothing and the colonial culture of appearances in nineteenth century Spanish Philippines (1820-1896). https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01126974/document
