7 h 24 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 24 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a secret brotherhood can no longer stay hidden?
In Manila under Spanish rule, Andres Bonifacio helps build a society in the shadows. A working man with little formal schooling who reads widely, he founds the Katipunan in July 1892. Francis St. Clair follows this brotherhood as it draws ordinary Filipinos toward revolt against colonial power.
By the summer of 1896, Spanish authorities suspect a spreading conspiracy. A member’s disclosure brings arrests in Manila, and waiting becomes dangerous. Published in 1902, The Katipunan; Or, The Rise and Fall of the Filipino Commune offers an outside writer’s account of a movement whose recent history remains disputed.
What you’ll discover
- A world of unequal power Explore colonial Manila, where government authority and the landholding religious orders shape the setting for resistance.
- Bonifacio in the shadows Meet the widely read working man at the heart of the secret society’s beginnings.
- Secrecy under growing pressure Follow the mounting danger as suspicion, disclosure, and arrests push the brotherhood toward open revolt.
- From brotherhood to rebellion Consider what changes when a hidden society must become a government and an army.
- An outside perspective Read St. Clair’s interpretation with an eye to its place in the early years of American rule.
Who will love it
Readers drawn to primary sources, colonial history, secret societies and the Philippine Revolution will enjoy this book. It shows how one side portrayed its revolutionary enemies while events were fresh.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The official account takes a side
- Meeting places do not prove causes
- The exiles ask Spain for rights
- The Liga struggles to hold together
- The Katipunan reaches ordinary workers
- A private quarrel exposes the society
- Anger shapes the account of violence
- Documents need questions about their origins
- Separate documentary evidence from belief
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The Katipunan; Or, The Rise and Fall of the Filipino Commune
by Francis St. Clair · 1902
A Spanish police captain's report follows a secret Manila society as it plans a revolt in 1896.
Challenging2–5 hours to read16 languages
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In short
What does a government do when it learns that a secret society may count a quarter of a people among its members? In August 1896, a printing worker in Manila quarrels with fellow members over dues and takes a beating.
The Katipunan; Or, The Rise and Fall of the Filipino Commune at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 55 min3 h 10 min fast, 4 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 56,400 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1902by Francis St. Clair
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The author writes as a defender of Spanish rule
The book does not pretend to stand outside the conflict. The preface calls the Katipunan the unfaithful child of Filipino freemasonry and treats the rising as a crime against Spain.
It opens with a telegram. On August 21, 1896, General Blanco wires the Minister of the Colonies that a vast organization of secret societies has been found and twenty-two people are detained.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1902
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
St. Clair, Francis. The Katipunan; Or, The Rise and Fall of the Filipino Commune. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-katipunan-or-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-filipino-commune.
St. Clair, F. (2026). The Katipunan; or, the rise and fall of the Filipino commune. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-katipunan-or-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-filipino-commune (Original work published 1902)
St. Clair, Francis. The Katipunan; Or, The Rise and Fall of the Filipino Commune. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-katipunan-or-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-filipino-commune.
@book{stclair2026katipunan,
author = {St. Clair, Francis},
title = {The Katipunan; Or, The Rise and Fall of the Filipino Commune},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-katipunan-or-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-filipino-commune},
note = {First published 1902}
}
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What is The Katipunan; Or, The Rise and Fall of the Filipino Commune about?
It follows the secret society that began the 1896 Philippine Revolution, from the masonic lodges and the Liga Filipina to the Katipunan under Andrés Bonifacio, using a Spanish police report and the author's notes.
Who was Andrés Bonifacio in this book?
He is shown as the secretary who becomes president of the Katipunan's Supreme Council, a bold organizer with great influence who calls for armed revolt at Balintauac in August 1896. The author describes him with hostility.
Who was Teodoro Patiño and why does he matter?
Patiño works in printing and belongs to the Katipunan, which he tells his sister about after a quarrel. His account reaches Father Mariano Gil and the police, and it leads to the arrests of August 1896.
The author
Francis St. Clair
1892–1929 · Writer
Francis St. Clair is the name on the title page, and little is known of the writer behind it. The book shows a man of the early American period in the Philippines who sides with Spanish rule and with the friars, and who writes with strong feeling about religion, order and loyalty. The core of the work is the report of Captain Olegario Diaz of the Guardia Civil Veterana.
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