Lesson 5 part 2 of his life
Page 23-28
His First Homecoming (August 5, 1887-1888)
In his trip back to Manila: rode Djemnah, same boat he rode on 5 years earlier
Reasons why he returned to the Philippines:
To operate on his mother’s eyes
To serve his people who had long been oppressed by Spanish tyrants
To find out for himself how the Noli and his other writings were affecting Filipinos and
Spaniards in the Philippines.
To inquire why Leonor Rivera (his girlfriend) remained silent
Governor General Emilio Terrero sent him a letter, requesting him to come to Malacañang Palace.
Eight Pamphlets (Questions of Supreme Interest) to blast the Noli and other anti-Spanish
writings written by Fr. Rodriguez were sold daily in the churches after Mass.
Lt. Jose Taviel de Andrade, assigned body guard for Rizal by the generosity of Gov. Gen.
Terrero
Opened a gymnasium to introduce European sports, gymnastics, fencing, and shooting to
discourage cockfighting and gambling
One failure in his trip: He was not able to see Leonor Rivera
Upon advice of Terrero, Rizal had to leave the Phils to avoid danger
Second Trip outside the Country
Rizal’s Stay in Hong Kong and Macao
He left Calamba on February 3, 1888, at 27 years old; only stayed in the Philippines for 6
months
He was 27 years old when he left. He stayed at Victoria Hotel.
Jose Ma. Basa, welcomed Rizal in his house
Jose Sainz de Varanda – shadowed Rizal’s movement in Hong Kong.
Romantic Interlude In Japan (1888)
His stay in Japan lasted 45 days (11/2month)
Juan Perez Caballero, secretary of Spanish Legation, invited him to live at the Spanish
Legation
He agreed for 2 reasons: to economize and bec. he had nothing to hide from the Spanish
authorities
Met Seiko Usui (O Sei-San) – an ideal girl for Rizal
Negative impression: Rickshaws (carts pulled by men)
Visit to United States
He arrived on April 28,1888
Positive Impressions of America:
Material progress of the country as shown in the great cities, huge farms, flourishing
industries and busy factories;
Drive and energy of the American people;
Natural beauty of the land;
High standard of living;
Opportunities for better life offered to poor immigrants
Negative Impression of America:
lack of racial equality
“America is the land par excellence of freedom but only for the whites”
London (1888-1889)
On May 16, 1888, he left New York for Liverpool
On May 24, 1888 he arrived at Liverpool, England
On May 25, 1888 he went to London
Three Reasons why he chose to live in London:
To improve his knowledge of the English language
To study and annotate Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, a rare copy of which he heard to
be available in the British Museum.
Safe place for him to carry on his fight against Spanish tyranny.
Other activities in London:
completed annotating Morga’s book
wrote many articles of la Solidaridad
penned a famous letter to the young women of Malolos
carried on his voluminous correspondence with Blumentritt and relatives.
romance with Gertrude Beckett
He came to know Dr. Reinhold Rost, librarian of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; he called
Rizal, “a pearl of a man”
Bad news from home:
Persecution of the Filipino patriots who signed the “Anti- Friar Petition of 1888”
Persecution of the Calamba Tenants
Furious attacks on Rizal in Spanish newspapers
Manuel T. Hidalgo was excited by Gov. Gen. Weyler to Bohol w/out due process of law.
Laureano Viado was arrested and jailed in Bilibid Prison.
Good news:
Rev. Vicente Garcia’s defense of the Noli against the attacks of the friars.
On December 11, 1888, he went to Spain visiting Madrid & Barcelona and met Marcelo H.
del Pilar & Mariano Ponce for the first time
On February 15, 1888, Graciano Lopez Jaena founded La Solidaridad in Barcelona
On December 31, 1888, inauguration of Asociacion La Solidaridad; chosen as honorary
president
he wrote La Vision del Fray Rodriguez (The vision of Fray Rodriguez), a pamphlet in defense
against the attack on his Noli and used the pen name “Dimas Alang” in Barcelona
March 19, 1889, he bade goodbye to London
Paris
On March 19, 1889, he arrived in Paris;
He organized a society called Kidlat Club; its members pledged to excel in the intellectual &
physical prowess in order to win the admiration of the foreigners, particularly the Spaniards;
He published his annotated editions of Morga’s Sucesos;
Founded 3 Filipino societies, the Kidlat club, Indios Bravos, RDLM (RDLM Society –
founded by Rizal in Paris during the Universal Exposition. Dr. Leoncio Lopez-Rizal – the
grand nephew of the hero, the society has a symbol or countersign represented by the circle
divided into 3 parts by 2 semi-circles placed outside an upper, lower, left, & right sides of the
circle. RDLM is believed to be stand for Redecion de los Malayos (Redemption of the
Malays);
He wrote for Telefono, a satire against Fr. Salvador Font, a reply to another slander;
Belgium
On January 28, 1890- left Paris for Brussels, capital of Belgium;
Wrote his 2nd novel which was a continuation of his Noli;
Wrote articles for la Solidaridad and letters for his family & friends.
Bad news from home:
The Calamba agrarian trouble was getting worse;
Dominican order filed a suit in court to dispose the Rizal family of their lands in
Calamba;
Paciano, Antonio Lopez & Silvestre Ubaldo were deported to Mindoro.
He planned to go home but something happened that made him change his mind (They lost
the case against the Dominicans in Manila, but they appealed it to the Supreme Court in
Spain.);
Romance with petite Susanne Jacoby, pretty niece of his land lady.;
Left toward the end of July, 1890 for Madrid.
Madrid (1890-1891)
Leonor Rivera (his long time girlfriend) married a British engineer;
Failure to get justice for family;
Unfortunate deportees were arrested in Calamba and shipped out in manila in September
6, 1890;
Towards the end of August 1890, Rizal attended a social reunion of the Filipinos in
Madrid;
After drinking so many glasses of wine, the guests became more loquacious and the
conversations flow freely. One of them, Antonio Luna, became drunk. At that time, Luna
was bitter because of his frustrated romance with Nellie Boustead. Rizal heard him and
they had a duel. And then Luna realized that he made a fool of himself and apologized for
his bad remark which was accepted by Rizal and they became good friends again;
Del Pilar, the fearless lawyer and journalist, was gaining prestige in Madrid for his
vigorous editorials in La Solidaridad, which he came to own.
Aims of La Solidaridad:
o Portray vividly the deplorable conditions of the Philippines;
o Work peacefully for political and social reforms;
o Combat the evil forces of medievalism and reaction;
o Advocate liberal ideas and progress;
o Champion the legitimate aspirations of then Filipino people for democracy and
happiness.
Contributors and their pen names:
Rizal: Dimas Alang
Del Pilar: Plaridel
Lopez Jaena: Diego Laura (Del Pilar’s editor)
Jose Ma. Panganiban: Jomapa
Antonio Luna: Taga Ilog
Mariano Ponce: Naning Tigbalang, Kalipulako
The editorial policy of la Solidaridad under Del Pilar’s management enhanced the
cleavage between Rizal and Del Pilar.
January 1, 1891, New Years day- It was decided a meeting for a leader to be called
RESPONSIBLE – be chosen to direct the affairs of the Filipino community and to
determine the editorial policy of La Solidaridad;
It was agreed that responsible should be elected by a 2/3 vote of the Filipino community.
Rizal was elected to become the Responsible. Rizal wrote a brief note thanking his
compatriots for electing him as Responsible. But sadly, he was leaving for Biarritz .
Biarritz Vacation and Romance with Nelly Boustead (1891)
It was in Biarritz where he had a romance with Nellie and finished the last chapter of his
second novel, El Filibusterismo.
As a family guest, he was treated with friendliness and hospitability
February 4, 1891 – Del Pilar learned him about changing the “o” in Noli to “e”, which
turns Noli to Nelly!
Antonio Luna – who had previously loved and lost Nelly, encouraged Rizal to woo and
marry her.
Rizal’s marriage proposal failed for two reasons:
1. He refused to give up his catholic faith and be converted to protestant, as Nelly
demanded. Nelly Boustead, being a good protestant, wanted Rizal to espouse
Protestantism before their marriage
2. Nelly’s mother did not like Rizal as a son-in-law.
On March 29, 1891, the eve of his departure from Biarritz to Paris, he finished the manuscript
of El Filibusterismo.
By the middle of April, 1891, Rizal was back in Brussels, where he was happily received by
Marie and Suzanne Jacoby (his landladies) and above all by Petite Suzanne (the Belgian girl
who loved him)
Rizal retired from the Propaganda Movement or reform crusades.
Rizal ceased writing articles for La Solidaridad; M.H. Del Pilar himself realized the need for
Rizal’s collaboration in both propaganda movement and in the La Solidaridad newspaper
because the enthusiasm for the reform crusades in Spain was declining.
August 7, 1891, he wrote to Rizal begging forgiveness for any resentment and requesting him
(Rizal) to resume writing for the La Solidaridad.
In Brussels, Rizal worked day after day revising the finished manuscript of El Filibusterismo
and readied it for printing; the revision was completed on May 30, 1891.
Two Reasons why he left Europe
Political differences with Del Pilar and other Filipinos;
To be nearer the Philippines and his family
Hong Kong (1891-1892)
He worked as an ophthalmic surgeon in Hong Kong
On October 3, 1891, Rizal left Europe for Hong Kong
On November 20, 1891, Rizal arrived in Hong Kong
Family Reunion in Hong Kong; before Christmas in 1891
Dr. Lorenzo P. Marquez, a Portuguese physician, helped in build a wide clientele for
Rizal
Borneo Colonization; Borneo was willing to give 100 acres of land, a beautiful harbor,
and a government for 999 years, free of charge. He visited the place and by April 20 he
was back in Hong Kong
May, 1892 – made up his mind to return to Manila for the following purposes: confer
with Gov. Despujol about the Borneo colonization; establish La Liga Filipina; to disprove
Eduardo de Lete’s accusation that he was comfortable in Hong Kong and abandoned the
country’s cause.
Last Hong Kong Letters: 1. Addressed: To my Parents, Brethren and Friends; 2. To The
Filipinos. They were kept by a friend for safekeeping “to be opened after his death”.
Arrival with in Manila (with sister Lucia): June 26, 1892; Gov. Eulogio Despujol set a
trap for him and ordered his exile to Dapitan
On July 3, 1892 he formed La Liga Filipina
On July 6, 1892, he went to Malacañang and was arrested. He was charged for the
following:
o Bringing anti friar pamphlets;
o For dedicating his 2nd novel to the 3 priests who had been proven traitors but
were extolled as martyrs
On July 14, 1892, he sailed into exile in Dapitan
On July 17, 1892, Sunday, he reached Dapitan
Women in Rizal’s Life
Segunda Katigbak: First crush; referred to as “K”
Leonor Rivera: immortalized as Maria Clara; code name: “Taimis”, “The Little Landlady”;
she could have been Mrs. Rizal
Leonor Valenzuela: “The winsome Orang”
Consuelo Ortigas y Perez: wrote her a poem entitled “A La Señorita C.O.y P.”; Rival:
Eduardo de Lete
Suzanne Jacoby: the girl from Brussels, Belgium; “Petite Suzanne”
Seiko Usui/O Sei San: the girl from the “Land of Cherry blossoms”
Nelly Bousted: the girl from London; He had a rival, Antonio Luna; he found her to be “A
real Filipina”
Gertrude Beckett: affectionately called “Gettie”; he did not pursue this relationship since he
had to finish his 2nd novel
Josephine Bracken: Rizal’s mistress
The Propaganda Movement Objectives:
Equality of Filipinos and Spaniards before the laws
Assimilation of the Philippines as a regular province of Spain
Restoration of Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes
Filipinization of the Philippine parishes and expulsion of the friars
Human rights for Filipinos such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to meet
and petition for grievances. The propaganda movement itself was a peaceful campaign that
promoted reforms. The movement itself began in 1872 when Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose
Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora were executed. The movement ended on December 30, 1896, the
day Jose Rizal was executed.
The La Liga Filipina Objectives:
Unite the whole archipelago
Have mutual protection in every want and necessity
Have defense against all violence and injustice
Encourage infrastructure, agriculture, and commerce
To study and appreciate reforms
Rizal’s Reaction to the Revolution
The Filipinos are not yet ready
It would be a veritable suicide due to the lack of arms
He suggested that if the revolution ever breaks out they should make Antonio Luna the
military leader
Ask the support of the rich in Manila
Trial and Execution
Testimonial and documentary evidences were presented against him
Gov. Gen. Blanco approved his request to serve as a military doctor in Cuba
Gov. Gen. Polavieja signed his execution
Rizal was charged with sedition, rebellion, and insurrection
Readings:
pp. 17-28, Seeds of Revolution
pp. 40-62, Rizal and the Development of national Consciousness, Romero
Activity: A film-showing on the life of Dr. Jose Rizal
Points to ponder:
1. What conditions and events influenced Dr. Rizal’s life?
2. Defend or refute: “Leaders are not born, they are made.”
“ Heroes make history or history creates heroes.”
3. Are the present conditions in our country conducive to the making of modern-day heroes?
1.What are these conditions and how could these conditions contribute to the making of a hero?
