posted
After the Spanish American war in 1898 USA got hold of the Philippines that had belonged to Spain for about 400 years. The Filipinos wanted independence but USA would not grant it. This lead to a bloody colonial war which lasted from 1899 to 1902. The conflict resulted in hundred of thousands dead Filipinos, both soldiers and civilians.
Among the American soldiers who fought in the Philippines were also a number of African American soldiers. One of them was David Fagen. When he saw how cruel the Americans treated the Filipnos, he came to switch side in the conflict. His decision was most probably also a result of the American army´s racism against black soldiers. He defected and became a soldier on the Filipino side.
quote: David Fagen (born 1875, date of death unknown) was an African-American soldier who defected during the Philippine–American War. He acquired the rank of captain in the Philippine Revolutionary Army. --- Service A native of Tampa, Florida, Fagen served in the 24th Regiment of the U.S. Army, but on November 17, 1899, he defected to the Filipino army. He became a guerrilla leader. His defection was likely a reaction to racist treatment of African-American soldiers within the United States armed forces at the time, as well as racist sentiments expressed towards the Filipino resistance, who were frequently referred to by American soldiers as "niggers" and "gugus". After two other black deserters were captured and executed, President Theodore Roosevelt announced he would stop executing captured deserters --- As the war ended, the US gave amnesties to most of their opponents. A substantial reward was offered for Fagen, who was considered a traitor. There are two conflicting versions of his fate: one is that his was the partially decomposed head for which the reward was claimed, and the other is that he married a local woman and lived peacefully in the mountains
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic