Antonio Luna

9.6: ANTONIO LUNA

Victorious over the Spanish Empire, at the end of the 19th century the United States decided to extend its “manifest destiny” across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippine Islands. A young Filipino radical named Antonio Luna helped lead the struggle to defend his country against Yankee imperialism, dealing highly effective blows against the superior forces of the American invaders. Luna’s assassination at the hands of his fellow Filipinos dealt a mortal blow to the freedom struggle, and it would be another half century before the Philippines would achieve—a form—of independence from Washington’s control.