Apolinario de la Cruz, better known as Hermano Pule, was a Filipino religious leader who founded and led the Cofradía de San José. The cofradía was established in 1832 in response to the racially discriminatory practices of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. During the Spanish colonial period, Catholic religious orders refused to admit native Filipinos as members. In retaliation, Pule established his own religious order that was exclusive for native Filipinos. During its peak, the cofradía had 4,500 to 5,000 members from the provinces of Tayabas, Batangas, and Laguna. Fearing an armed rebellion, the Spanish colonial government sent military forces to suppress the cofradía, an attack that was resisted by Hermano Pule and his followers on October 23, 1841. However, more troops were sent and the cofradía was finally quelled by the colonial military forces on November 1, 1841. Pule was then captured, tried, and executed.

Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon, is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of the province upon its creation in 1591. Around the middle of the 18th century, it was changed to Tayabas. In recognition of the second president of the Philippines, Manuel L. Quezon, the name of Tayabas Province is changed to Quezon. Lucena, the provincial capital, the seat of the provincial government, and the most populous city of the province, is governed independently from the province as a highly urbanized city. To distinguish the province from Quezon City, it is sometimes called Quezon Province, a variation of the province's official name.