<P> After it was annexed by the United States as a result of the Spanish--American War, the Philippines was perceived as a community of "barbarians" incapable of self - government . U.S. Representative Henry A. Cooper, lobbying for management of Philippine affairs, recited the poem before the United States Congress . Realising the nobility of the piece's author, his fellow congressmen enacted the Philippine Bill of 1902 enabling self - government (later known as the Philippine Organic Act of 1902), despite the fact that the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was still in effect and African Americans had yet to be granted equal rights as US citizens . It created the Philippine Assembly, appointed two Filipino delegates to the American Congress, extended the US Bill of Rights to Filipinos, and laid the foundation for an autonomous government . The colony was on its way to independence . although relatively complete autonomy would not be granted until 4 July 1946 by the Treaty of Manila . </P> <P> The poem was translated into Bahasa Indonesia by Rosihan Anwar and was recited by Indonesian soldiers before going into battle during their struggle for independence . </P> <P> Anwar recalled the circumstances of the translation: </P> <Dl> <Dd> "The situation was favorable to promote nationalism . (On 7 September 1944, Prime Minister Koiso of Japan declared that the' East Indies' would become independent soon, an announcement that was received enthusiastically throughout the islands, and got ecstatic treatment in Asia Raja the following day .) In that context, I thought it would be good that I could disseminate this story about Jose Rizal among our younger people at that time . It was quite natural; I thought it would be good to tell the story of Jose Rizal, this rebel against the Spanish . And of course the climax, when he was already sentenced to death and then hauled off to face firing squad, and he wrote that (poem)... ." </Dd> </Dl>

What is the message of mi ultimo adios