The most prominent
ilustrados were
Graciano López Jaena,
Marcelo H. del Pilar,
Mariano Ponce,
Antonio Luna and
José Rizal, the Philippine
national hero. Rizal's novels
Noli Me Tangere ("Touch Me Not") and
El Filibusterismo ("The Subversive") "exposed to the world the injustices imposed on Filipinos under the Spanish colonial regime". In the beginning, Rizal and his fellow
ilustrados preferred not to win
independence from
Spain, instead they wanted legal equality for both
peninsulares and natives—
indios,
insulares, and
mestizos, among others—in the economic reforms demanded by the
ilustrados were that "the Philippines be represented in the
Cortes and be considered a
province of Spain" and "the
secularization of the parishes." However, in 1872, nationalist sentiment grew strongest, when three Filipino
priests,
José Burgos,
Mariano Gomez and
friar Jacinto Zamora, who had been charged with leading a military
mutiny at an
arsenal in
Cavite, near
Manila, were executed by the Spanish authorities. The event and "other repressive acts and activities, Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896. His execution propelled the
ilustrados. This also prompted unity among the
ilustrados and
Andrés Bonifacio's radical
Katipunan. Philippine policies by the
United States reinforced the dominant position of the
ilustrados within Filipino society.
Friar estates were sold to the
ilustrados and most government positions were offered to them. File:Antonio Luna, Eduardo de Lete and Marcelo H. del Pilar.jpg|
Ilocano Antonio Luna,
Insular Criollo Eduardo de Lete (center) and
Tagalog Marcelo H. del Pilar (seated, right), in
Spain, 1890 File:Filipino Ilustrados Jose Rizal Marcelo del Pilar Mariano Ponce.jpg|Three prominent
ilustrados in Spain: Dr.
José Rizal,
Marcelo H. del Pilar and
Mariano Ponce(from left to right). Photo was taken in Spain in 1890. File:Filipino Ilustrados in front.jpg|The four Filipino Ilustrados in front of the three peninsula Spaniard artists are; (left to right)
Juan Luna,
Pedro Paterno,
Félix Hidalgo and
Miguel Zaragoza File:Apolinario Mabini.jpg|
Apolinario Mabini File:Governor Julio Llorente y Aballe.jpg|
Julio A. Llorente, a
Spanish-
Cebuano Mestizo - Ilustrado who would become the first Philippine governor of
Cebu and
Samar. File:Pedro Alejandro Paterno.jpg|Sangley-Tagalog mestizo from Manila -
Pedro Paterno,
poet and a
novelist who would become the
Prime Minister of the
First Philippine Republic. File:Honorable Rafael C. Martinez (Delegates from the Philippines).jpg|
Rafael Martinez of
Bohol. File:Jaime Carlos de Veyra y Díaz.jpg|
Jaime de Veyra File:Jacobo Zobel - Filipino nationalist.png|
Jacobo Zóbel pharmacist and businessman. ==See also==