Spain ruled the Philippine Islands since the 1570s under a fairly relaxed occupation. Very few Spaniards were actual residents, missionaries and merchants. In 1872, in the province of Cavite, around 200 indigenous soldiers revolted against colonial rule, killing the Spanish officers. Spain responded by increasing its troops to around 28,000 men and quickly dampened the revolt within a few months. The Spanish retaliation ended and unrest among the population continued to spread across the country, making Filipinos more rebellious. Local Filipino leaders such as José Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Emilio Aguinaldo and Marcello del Pilar emerged and were known as "Ilustrados" meaning "The Enlightened Ones". Rizal, who at the time was still leading the rebellion from his exile in Hong Kong and Barcelona, ​​was extradited, unjustly tried and executed by the Spanish. This incident led to the birth of the Katipunan meaning "Society of the Sons of the People", a secret brotherhood determined to separate the Philippines from its colonial master and uplift the Filipino people. The group was led by a nationalist named Andres Bonifacio. The Katipunan's membership grew to as many as 30,000, and in August 1896 they called on the Filipino population to rebel against the Spanish colonial government. Meanwhile, Bonifacio's leadership was challenged by Aguinaldo accusing him of treason and had him executed on May 10, 1897. Fighting between the Filipinos and the Spanish only intensified and continued throughout the year , forcing Spain to negotiate. On December 15, 1897, the Spanish government, already facing a costly war in Cuba, agreed to grant amnesty to the revolutionaries, paying them and allowing them to go into exile in Hong Kong. The whole middle of paper ......at was known as the "Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation". In the proclamation, the president declared American sovereignty over the Philippines and pledged his goodwill to Filipinos who would cooperate with their new overseers. On January 1, 1899, Aguinaldo was sworn in as the first president of the Republic of the Philippines, a decision the United States refused to recognize. After McKinley's proclamation was issued, Aguinaldo issued his own proclamation condemning McKinley's words as "violent and aggressive" and threatened to start a war against the Americans. On the night of February 4, 1899, the Filipinos surrounding Manila attacked the Americans. However, they were defeated within 24 hours. Two days later, the US Senate ratified the Treaty of Paris and additional troops were sent to the Philippines, increasing their numbers from 12,000 troops to a few 35,000