<P> Being the traditional seat of education and liberal thinking in the Philippines, Manila was a rich field for anticlerical propaganda . The seeds of revolution germinated in 1886 with the publication of José Rizal's book Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), a novel critical of the way the Spanish friars were governing the Philippines . The Spanish government condemned the book, and Rizal was exiled to Dapitan . In 1892, he returned to Manila to found La Liga Filipina, a nationalistic organization . Later that year, in Tondo, Andrés Bonifacio founded the Katipunan, a secret organization with aim of overthrowing Spanish colonial rule . </P> <P> The Katipunan movement grew until open rebellion broke out in August 1896 after its discovery by the Spaniards . Bonifacio's attack on Manila was unsuccessful . Rizal became a martyr of the revolution when the Spaniards executed him by firing squad on December 30, 1896 in Bagumbayan . After several months of fighting, a revolutionary government was formed at the Tejeros Convention in Cavite province with Emilio Aguinaldo at its head . Aguinaldo's government was also unsuccessful in its fight for independence, and as part of the Pact of Biak - na - Bato peace treaty, Aguinaldo accepted exile in Hong Kong . </P> <P> U.S. Troops invaded Manila in 1898 and waged war with the Spaniards and Filipinos in the Spanish--American War and the Philippine--American War . Following the defeat of Spain, U.S. forces took control of the city and the islands in one of the most brutal and forgotten chapters of Philippine American history . </P> <P> The American Navy, under Admiral George Dewey, defeated the Spanish squadron in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898 . </P>

When did manila become the first international meeting destination in southeast asia