Silang, Diego (1730?-1763), a Filipino patriot, became the hero of the people of Ilocos province on the northern Philippine island of Luzon, when he led a revolt against Spanish rule in 1762. The British had captured Manila from the Spanish in that year. Silang allied himself with the British and began organizing the people of Ilocos to declare their freedom from Spain. The British commander made Silang governor of Ilocos and promised to send weapons. But the British aid never arrived. Silang held the territory against the Spaniards for three months. In May 1763, he was killed by a Spanish assassin. Silang’s widow, Gabriela, continued the uprising. Her soldiers were defeated in a battle near the town of Vigan. She and 100 of her followers were hanged.
Silang was born in Aringay in the province of Pangasinan. In his early twenties, he became a mail carrier.
