Brother Apolinario leaves Manila in the autumn…

Brother Apolinario leaves Manila in the autumn of 1841 and gathers his followers, now numbering several thousands armed with rifles and bolos (heavy, single-bladed knives), at bases in the villages around the town of Tayabas; as a spiritual leader, he preaches that God will deliver the Tagalog people from slavery.

Although the rebel force, aided by Negrito hill tribesmen, is able to defeat a detachment led by the provincial governor in late October, a much larger Spanish force composed of soldiers from Pampanga Province—the elite of the Philippine military establishment and traditional enemies of the Tagalogs—take the cofradia camp at Alitao after a great slaughter on November 1, 1841.