Thread by @indiohistorian

#TodayinHistory in 1878, President Manuel L. Quezon, second #PH #president (in official roster), & first president of the 10-year-transitional gov, the Commonwealth of the Philippines, is born in Baler, Tayabas (now, part of Aurora). (THREAD) tmblr.co/ZtGCUx1Oeup3W #QuezonDay

Quezon was half Spanish (His father Lucio Quezon was a Spanish sergeant). He joined Emilio Aguinaldo in the #PH Revolution vs. Spain and #PH-US War, w/ rank of Major. He was commanded to surrender to the Americans, to confirm Aguinaldo's capture in 1901.

But like other revolutionaries that never gave up on #PH independence, Quezon brought this aspiration from the battlefield to politics. Under the American regime, he finished law in @UST1611official (1903), became a Councilor, then Governor of Tayabas (now Quezon Province) (1906)

Quezon became one of the 2 #PH Resident Commissioners, representing #PH in US @Congressgov (although w/out voting powers), in 1909. This was where he learned the ropes of American politics. He was instrumental in securing Jones Law (1916) that set the path to #PH independence.

With the Filipinization of high positions in gov under the American colonial state in full swing, Quezon (as Senate President) ran into serious conflicts w/ American high officials, always in the defense of Filipinos.

With the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act in the U.S. Congress, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was formed, setting a 10-year schedule to ultimate #PH independence from the United States. Quezon was elected (1935) & reelected (1941) as President.

With his eye on the security of this hard-fought independence before its culmination in 1946, Quezon signed Commonwealth Act No. 1 in 1935, forming a nascent #PH military & reserve force to defend #PH, as the Japanese threat loomed over East & Southeast Asia.

In 1941, Japan commenced the invasion of #PH & the rest of Southeast Asia. W/ the beleaguered Filipino & American troops holding the line vs. Japanese in Bataan, Quezon, his family & select members of the Cabinet were transported to safety in the U.S.

Quezon stayed in Washington, D.C., establishing the Commonwealth gov-in-exile. Despite his worsening condition (Tuberculosis), he never stopped campaigning for the Filipino cause, & redirect American attention from Europe to the Japanese-occupied #PH.

Never seeing his country liberated, Quezon passed away at a "cure cottage" in Saranac Lake, New York, 18 days short of his birthday in 1944, & 2 months short of the reestablishment of Commonwealth on #PH soil.

Credits:
*All photos are from the Presidential Museum & Library.
*Manuel Quezon wearing suit, hat, & shades, while carrying a cane (24 June 1937, at Havana, Cuba), colorized by artist Derrick Macutay in 2015.

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