Tagalog Republic

Tagalog Republic (Filipino: Republika ng Katagalugan) is a term used to refer to two revolutionary governments involved in the Philippine Revolution against Spain and the Philippine–American War. Both were connected to the Katipunan revolutionary movement.

Etymology

The term Tagalog refers to both an ethno-linguistic group in the Philippines and their language. Katagalugan may refer to the historical Tagalog regions in the island of Luzon, part of the Philippine islands.

However, the Katipunan secret society extended the meaning of these terms to all natives in the Philippine islands. The society's primer explains its use of Tagalog in a footnote:

The revolutionary Carlos Ronquillo wrote in his memoirs:

In this respect, Katagalugan may be translated as the "Tagalog nation."

Andrés Bonifacio, a founding member of the Katipunan and later its supreme head (Supremo), promoted the use of Katagalugan for the Philippine nation. The term "Filipino" was then reserved for Spaniards born in the islands. By eschewing "Filipino" and "Filipinas" which had colonial roots, Bonifacio and his cohorts "sought to form a national identity."