Chapters (1 4) Rizal
Chapters (1 4) Rizal
Chapters (1 4) Rizal
Pagbabalik-tanaw
• Sa bisa ng R. A. 1425 (Batas Rizal), mahigit 55 taon nang kinukuha ng mga
mag-aaral sa kolehiyo ang kursong tumatalakay sa buhay at mga akda ni
Jose Rizal.
• Mahalagang balikan ang konteksto ng pagpapanukala at ang mga naging
kaakibat na isyu sa pagsusulong nito.
“We, too, can prosper, as other nations which have become free and have
known how to rely on themselves with dignity and self-respect have prospered.
Our people deserve a better fate, a destiny realized in happiness and freedom…”
- Claro M. Recto
“A vast majority of our people are at the same time Catholics and Filipino
citizens. As such, they have two great loves: their country and their faith. These
two loves are not conflicting loves. They are harmonious affections, like the love
of a child for his father and for his mother.
“This is the basis of my stand. Let us not create a conflict between
nationalism and religion; between the government and the church.”
- Senator Francisco Rodrigo
Rizal’s novels “belong to the past” and it would be “harmful” to read them
because they presented a “false picture” of conditions in the country at that time.
Noli Me Tangere is an “attack on the clergy” and its object was to “put to ridicule
the Catholic faith.”
The novel was not really patriotic because out of 333 pages, only 25
contained patriotic passages while 120 were devoted to anti-Catholic attack.
- Fr. Jesus Cavanna
(speaker on the symposium organized by CAM)
“Since some parts of the novels had been declared “objectionable matter”
by the hierarchy, Catholics had the right to refuse to read them so as not to
“endanger their salvation.”
- Jesus Paredes
Radio commentator
“The bill was Recto’s revenge against the Catholic voters who, together with
Magsaysay, were responsible for his poor showing in the 1955 senatorial
elections.”
- Narciso Pimentel Jr.
Radio commentator
Economic Condition
The country was opened to foreign trade in 1834, which resulted to rapid rise of
foreign firms in Manila.
The growing prosperity of the Philippines in the 19th century had significant
consequences:
✓ increased Filipino contacts with foreigners;
✓ able to send their sons for an education in Europe; and
✓ the awareness of a completely different type of society prevalent in Europe
made these European-educated Filipinos disenchanted with Spain.
Unfortunately, problems were really inevitable since Gov. Gen. Legazpi converted
the land of the indios (the unfortunate and discriminated class) into the encomienda. They
abolished the encomienda and convert the land into haciendas.
The word encomienda comes from the word Spanish encomendar which means
“to entrust”.
The encomienda is a grant of inhabitants living in a particular conquered territory
which Spain gave to Spanish colonizer as a reward for his services.
Encomiendero
- tax collector
- monitor peace and order
- govern the parcel of land given to him
3 Types of Encomienda
• Royal – the taxes will go to the King of Spain
• Ecclesiastical – the taxes will go to the church
• Privado – the encomienda given to the friend of the King who had contribution for
the colonization
Systems of Government:
➢ National Government
➢ Provincial Government
➢ Municipal Government
➢ Barrio Government
National Government
• Governor General
- appointed by the Spanish monarch
- head of the Spanish colonial government
- commander-in-chief of the military
- he is the Vice Royal Patron wherein he could nominate priests for
administration of parishes
- president of Royal Audiencia (the Supreme Court in the Philippines during
those times), he had legislative powers
- actos acordados refers to the law enacted by the Governor General
- had the power of cumplace; the power to decide which law or royal decree
should be implemented or disregarded
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi is the first Governor General and Diego de los Rios was
the last one.
Provincial Government
➢ Alcaldia - Alcalde Mayor
- provinces under Spanish control
➢ Corregimiento - Corregidor
- provinces not under Spanish control
Municipal Government
• Gobernadorcillo (Town Mayor)
- at first, he was elected by all married males.
- in the 19th century, he was voted by 13 electors, chaired by the outgoing
gobernadorcillo.
- tax collector
- required to mortgage his properties to the government at the beginning of
his term of office.
Barrio Government
• Cabeza de Barangay (Barangay Captain)
- he is the head of the barangay
- the Filipino was allowed to assume the position of Gobernadorcillo and
Cabeza de Barangay only and only given to a Filipino male, 23 years old, educated
and had a property of 500 pesos.
- maintain of peace and order
- collect of taxes and tributes in barangay
Investigators
King of Spain assigned the Residencia and Visitador to observe and check the
administration of Governor General, Alcalde Mayor, Gobernadorcillo, and Cabeza de
Barangay.
The Supremacy of the Friars and Guardia Civil over the Colonial Government
Friars
Member of any of certain religious orders of men like Augustinians, Carmelites,
Dominicans, and Franciscans.
They were the supervising representative of the Spanish government for all local
affairs. Their approval was necessary on almost all acts of the local officials.
Eventually, the friars became more powerful and influential that even civil
authorities feared them - this situation was what Lopez Jaena termed as Frailocracia (the
Spanish political philosophy of union of church and state).
Guardia Civil
- national police officer of Spain
Socio-Cultural Condition
The Spaniards imposed new social stratification which discriminate the natives in
their own land.
• Peninsulares – the highest class, Spanish born in Spain and live in the Philippines
• Insulares – the second class, Spanish born in the Philippines
• Creoles – the third class, they are the mix blood combination of Spanish and
Filipino
Illustrado – the well-educated Filipino
Principalia – the land owners
• Indios – the last class, the unfortunate and discriminated class in the society
Educational System During the Spanish Regime
Up to the middle of the 19th century, schools were under the control of friars.
Primary education was not given attention despite the establishment of parochial
schools in many towns.
Religion is still the center of the educational system imposed by the Spaniards.
Children in schools were taught that they were of inferior intelligence and were
suited only for manual work.
Filipino children were not able to develop self-confidence in their ability to learning.
By the end of 19th century, only the University of Santo Tomas (UST) was the
existing higher education institution in the Philippines.
UST, founded by the Dominicans in 1611, was the only university which offered
courses in medicine, pharmacy. theology, philosophy, as well as canon and civil law.
Girls and boys have separate schools and they also have different curriculum.
During 19th century, the public education for the natives begun.
The Educational Decree of 1863 was implemented in December 20, 1863 - it
required that each major town in the Philippines should establish at least one primary
schools for boys and another for girls, and the medium of instruction is Spanish.
The same decree provided provide trainings for teachers to master Spanish
language (medium of instruction).
The friars resisted the teaching of Spanish language to the Filipinos; keep the
Filipinos from being ignorant.
They believed that having the knowledge of Spanish language would lead to the
development of political and social awareness among the natives - could trigger in them
the desire to work for freedom and independence.
Although the Spanish government exerted efforts to educate the Filipinos in the
19th century, the educational system implemented in the country had serious
weaknesses:
o over-emphasis on religion;
o limited and irrelevant curriculum;
o obsolete classroom facilities;
o inadequate instructional materials;
o absence of academic freedom; and
o racial prejudice against Filipinos in school.
The Different Socio-Economic Policies Imposed by the Spaniards
1. Reduccion - this policy was implemented so that the government and parish priest
could easily monitor the natives and for the easy conversion to Catholicism.
2. Bandala - the natives are obliged to sell their products to the Spaniards.
3. Polo y Sevicio - the forced labor of all Filipino males from 16 to 60 years old for
40-day periods.
- the word polo refers to community work, and the laborer was called polista.
- the only way to avoid being forced to do polo y servicio was to pay the
falla.
- in 1884, the forty days of forced labor was reduced to 15 days.
Effects:
- decrease in production of agriculture
- decrease in population
- rebellion of natives
4. Taxation
➢ Cedula – male and female 18 years old and above will pay every year for
the cedula.
➢ Sanctorum - tax for the church.
➢ Donativo de Zamboanga – a tax specifically used for the conquest of Jolo.
➢ Tribute - it may be paid in cash or in kind.
5. The Tribute (Buwis) or Tributo
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi was first to order the payment of tribute. His
successors followed this practice.
The tribute or buwis was collected from the natives both in cash (gold or
money) and in kind (e.g. rice, cloth, chicken, coconut oil, abaca, etc.).
The King of Spain preferred the payment of gold, but the natives paid largely
in kind.
6. Galleon Trade
This trading policy changed the system of free trading in the Philippines
where in the other nationalities like the Chinese are free to exchange their goods
with the Filipinos who had extra goods.
Boletas - the ticket for the Galleon trade.
Effects:
- decrease in the production of the native industry
- loss of profit of the local industry
- intercultural exchange
CHAPTER 3. Rizal’s Life
Chapter 1.
Advent of A National Hero
The Birth of a Hero – Jose Rizal was born on Wednesday, June 19, 1861, in the
lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna Province, Philippines. He was baptized in the
Catholic Church on June 22, aged three days old by the parish priest Father Rufino
Collantes. His name “Jose” was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the Christian
saint San Jose (St. Joseph).
Noted: at the time Rizal was born, the governor general of the Philippines was Lieutenant-
General Jose Lemery, former senator of Spain. He governed the Philippines from
February 2, 1861 – July 7, 1862. Incidentally, on the same date of Rizal’s birth, he sent
an official dispatch to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Ultramar in Madrid,
denouncing Sultan Pulalun of Sulu and several powerful Morodatus for fraternizing with
a British consul. Among his achievements as governor general were (1) fostering the
cultivation of cotton in the provinces and (2) establishing the politico-military governments
in the Visayas and in Mindanao.
Rizal’s Parents – Jose Rizal was the seventh of the eleven children of Francisco
Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso Reolanda. Francisco (1818 – 1898) was born in
Biñan, Laguna, on May 11, 1818. He died in Manila on January 5, 1898, at the age of 80.
In his student memoirs, Rizal affectionately called him “a model of fathers”. Doña Teodora
(1826 – 1911), was born in Manila on November 8, 1826 and was educated at the College
of Santa Rosa, a well-known college for girls in the city. Rizal lovingly said of her: “My
mother is a woman of more than ordinary culture; she knows literature and speaks
Spanish better than I. she corrected my poems and gave me good advice when I was
studying rhetoric. She is mathematician and has read many books.” Doña Teodora died
in Manila on August 16, 1911, at the age of 85.
The Rizal Children – God blessed the marriage of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora
Alonso Realonda with eleven children – two boys and nine girls. The children were as
follows:
1. Saturnina (1850 – 1913) – Oldest of the Rizal children, nicknamed Neneng; she
married Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanawan, Batangas.
2. Paciano (1851 – 1930) – Older brother and confidant of Jose Rizal; after his
younger brother’s execution, he joined the Philippine Revolution and become a
combat general; after the Revolution, he retired to his farm in Los Baños, where
he lived as a gentleman farmer and died on April 13, 1930, an old bachelor aged
79.
3. Narcisa (1852 – 1939) – Her pet name was Sisa and she married Antonio Lopez.
4. Olimpia (1855 – 1887) – Ypia was her pet name; she married Silvestre Ubaldo, a
telegraph operator from Manila.
5. Lucia (1857 – 1919) – She married Mariano Herbosa of Calamba, who was a
nephew of Father Casanas.
6. Maria (1859 – 1945) – Biang was her nickname; she married Daniel Faustino Cruz
of Biñan, Laguna.
7. Jose (1861 – 1896) – The greatest Filipino hero and peerless genius; his nickname
was Pepe; during his exile in Dapitan he lived with Josephine Bracken, Irish girl
from Hong Kong; he had a son by her, but this baby-boy died a few hours after
birth; Rizal named him ‘Francisco” after his father and him in Dapitan.
8. Concepcion (1862 – 1865) – her pet name was Concha; she died of sickness at
the age of 3; her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in life.
9. Josefa (1865 – 1945) – Her pet name was Panggoy; she died an old maid at the
age of 80.
10. Trinidad (1868 – 1951) – Trining was her pet name’ she died also an old maid in
1951 aged 83.
11. Soledad (1870 – 1929) – Youngest of the Rizal children; her pet name was
Choleng; she married Panteleon Quintero of Calamba.
Rizal’s Ancestry – Rizal was a product of the mixture of races. Predominantly, he was a
Malayan and was a magnificent specimen of Asian manhood. Rizal’s great-great-
grandfather on his father’s side was Domingo Lameo, a Chinese immigrant from the
Fukien city of Changchow, who arrived in Manila about 1690. He became a Christian,
married a well-to-do Chinese Christian girl of Manila named Ines de la Rosa, and
assumed in 1731 the surname Mercado which was appropriate for him because he was
a merchant. The Spanish term Mercado means “market” in English. Domingo Mercado
and Ines de la Rosa had a son, Francisco Mercado, married a Chinese-Filipino mestiza,
Cirila Bernacha and was elected gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor) of the town. One of
their sons, Juan Mercado (Rizal’s grandfather), married Cirila Alejandro, a Chinese-
Filipino Mestiza. Capitan Juan and Capitana Cirila had thirteen children, the youngest
being Francisco Mercardo, Rizal’s father. Doña Teodora’s family descended from Lakan-
Dula, the last native king of Tondo. Her great-grandfather (Rizal’s maternal great-great-
grandfather) was Eugonio Ursua (of Japanese ancestry), who married a Filipina named
Benigna (surname unknown). Their daughter, Regina, married Manuel de Quintos, a
Filipino-Chinese lawyer.
The Surname Rizal – The real surname of the Rizal family was Mercado, which was
adopted in 1731 by Domingo Lamco (the paternal great-great-grandfather). Rizal’s family
acquired a second surname – Rizal – which was given by a Spanish alcalde mayor of
Laguna. Dr. Rizal, in his letter to Blumentritt (without date or place)
The Rizal Home – The house of the Rizal family, where the hero was born, was one of
the distinguished stone houses in Calamba during Spanish times. It is described by Dr.
Rafael Palma. One of Rizal’s prestigious biographers:
A good and Middle-Class Family – The Rizal family belonged to the principalia, a town
aristocracy in Spanish Philippines. It was one of the distinguished families in Calamba.
Home Life of the Rizals – The Rizal family had a simple, contented, and happy life. In
consonance with Filipino custom, family ties among the Rizals were intimately close. Don
Francisco and Doña Teodora love their children, but they never spoiled them.
Chapter 2
Childhood Years in Calamba
Jose Rizal grew up in a happy home, ruled by good parents, bubbling with joy, and
sanctified by God’s blessings. His native town is Calamba. Its scenic beauties and
industrious, hospitable, and friendly folks impressed him during his childhood years and
profoundly affected his mind and character.
Calamba, the Hero’s Town – Calamba was a hacienda town which belonged to the
Dominican Order, which also owned all the lands around it. Rizal loved Calamba with all
his heart and soul. In 1876, when he was 15 years old and was a student in the Ateneo
de Manila, he remembered his beloved town. Accordingly, he wrote a poem Un
Recuerdo A mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town).
Earliest Childhood Memories – The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy
days in the family garden when he was three years old. Because he was a sick child, he
was given the tenderest care by his parents. His father built a little nipa cottage in the
garden for him to play in the day time. Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus
prayer. By nightfall, his mother gathered all the children at the house to pray the Angelus.
Another memory of his infancy was the nocturnal walk in the town. The maid took him for
a walk in the moonlight by the river.
The Hero’s First Sorrow – Jose loved most the little Concha (Concepcion). He was a
year older than Concha. He played with her and from her he learned the sweetness of a
sisterly love. Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in 1865 when she was three years
old. Jose, who was very fond of her, cried bitterly at losing her. “When I was four years
old, I lost my little sister Concha, and then for the first time I shed tears caused by love
and grief…”
Devoted Son of the Church – At the age of three, he began to take part in the family
prayers. His mother was a devout Catholic, taught him the Catholic prayers, when he was
five years old, he was able to read haltingly the Spanish family Bible. Father Leoncio
Lopez- he is the town priest. Jose Rizal used to visit him and listen to his stimulating
opinions on current events and sound philosophy of life.
Pilgrimage to Antipolo – On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a
pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to fulfill his mother’s vow which was made when Jose was
born. It was the first trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay. After praying at the shrine of the
Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his father went to Manila. It was the first time Jose saw Manila.
They visited Saturnina, who was then a boarding student at La Concordia College in Sta.
Ana.
Artistic talents
• Since early childhood Rizal revealed his God-given talent for art. At the age of 5
he began to make sketches with his pencil and to mold in a clay and wax objects
which attracted his fancy.
• Upon the request of the town mayor, he painted in oil colors a new banner that
delighted the town folks because it was better than the original one.
• Jose had a soul of a genuine artist
• Introvert
• One interesting anecdote about Rizal was the incident about his clay and wax
images.
• This poem reveals Rizal’s earliest nationalist sentiments “the bird which soars
freer space above”
First drama by rizal
• Rizal who was eight years old, wrote his first dramatic work which was a Tagalog
comedy. It is said that it was staged in calamba festival and was delightfully
applauded by the audience.
• A gobernadorcillo from Paete, a town in Laguna famous for lanzones and
woodcarvings happed to witness the comedy and liked it so much that he
purchased the manuscript for two pesos and brought it to his home town. It was
staged in Paete during its town fiesta.
Lakeshore Reveries
• During the twilight hours of summertime Rizal, accompanied by his pet dog, used
to meditate at the shore of Laguna de bay on the sad conditions of his oppressed
people, years later he related.
• When he became a man, many years later he wrote to his friend Mariano Ponce.
Influences on the Hero’s Boyhood
• Father Leoncio Lopez, fostered Rizal’s love for scholarship and intellectual
honesty. The death of his sister Concha and the imprisonment of his mother,
contributed to strengthen his character, enabling him to resist blows of adversity in
later years. The Spanish cruelties and abuses awakened his spirit of patriotism
and inspired him to consecrate his life and talents to redeem his oppressed people.
Hereditary Influence – From his Malayan ancestors, Rizal inherited his love for
freedom, his innate desire to travel, and his indomitable courage. From his Chinese
ancestors, he derived his serious nature, frugality, patience, and love for children.
From his Spanish ancestors, he got his elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult,
and gallantry to ladies. From his father, he inherited a profound sense of self-
respect, the love for work, and the habit of independent thinking. And from his
mother, he inherited his religious nature, the spirit of self-sacrifice, and the passion
for arts and literature.
Aid of Divine Providence – Rizal was providentially destined to be the pride and
glory of his nation. God had endowed him with the versatile gifts of a genius, the
vibrant spirit of a nationalist, and the valiant heart to sacrifice for a noble cause.
Chapter 3
Early Education
In Calamba and Biñan
• Rizal had his early education in Calamba and Biñan. It was a typical schooling that
a son of an ilustrado family received during his time, characterized by the four R’s
– reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion.
• Instruction was rigid and strict. Knowledge was forced into the minds of the pupils
by means of the tedious memory method aided by the teacher’s whip. Despite the
defect of the Spanish system of elementary education, Rizal was able to acquire
the necessary Instruction preparatory for college work in Manila and abroad. It may
be said that Rizal, who was born a physical weakling, rose to become an
intellectual giant not because of, but rather in spite of, the outmoded and backward
system of instruction obtaining in the Philippines during the last decades of
Spanish regime.
• The boys in the class, especially Pedro, the teacher’s son, laughed at Jose’s
answers.
The teacher sharply stopped all noise and began the lessons of the day.
First School Brawl
• In the afternoon of his day in school, when the teacher was having his siesta, Jose
met the bully, Pedro. He was angry at this bully making fun of him during his
conversation with the teacher in the morning. Jose challenged Pedro to a fight.
The latter readily accepted, thinking that he could easily beat the Calamba boy
who was smaller and younger. The two boys wrestled furiously in the classroom,
much to the glee of their classmates.
• Jose, having learned the art of wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel, defeated the
bigger boy. For this feat, he became popular among his classmates.
• After the class in the afternoon, a classmate named Andres Salandanan challenge
him to arm-wrestling match. They went to a sidewalk of a house and wrestled with
their arms, Jose, having the weaker arm, lost and nearly cracked his head on the
sidewalk. In succeeding days he had other fights with the boys of Biñan. He was
not quarrelsome by nature, but he never ran away from a fight.
ATENEO
• Rizal took the entrance examination at Colegio de San Juan de Letran on June 10,
1872.
• After passing the qualifying examination, Rizal sought admission at the Ateneo
Municipal.
ENROLLMENT AT ATENEO
• Father Magin Fernando, the college registrar, was at first very firm in denying Rizal
admission.
• Rizal was refused to be admitted in this institution for two reasons: late registrant
and frail and undersized for his age.
• Due to the intervention of Manuel Burgos, the college registrar finally admitted the
young Jose.
• Jose adopted the surname Rizal at the Ateneo because their family name Mercado
had come under suspicion of the Spain authorities.
• Ateneo was located in Intramuros, Manila. He boarded in a house on Caraballo
Street, 25 minutes’ walk from campus. The boarding house was owned by Titay,
who owed Rizal family P300. Jose boarded there to collect part of the debt.
THE ATENEAN SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
• Jesuits trained the character of every student through rigid discipline and religious
instruction. Students were required to hear masses in the morning before the start
of the classes. Classes were usually began and ended with prayers.
• Atenean teachers enforced a program of dividing class into two competing
empires: the Romans and the Carthaginians.
• Roman Empire were the boarding students at Ateneo and the Carthaginian
Empire were the non-boarding students.
• Both empires had their ranks and dignities
1. Emperor
2. Tribune
3. Decurion
4. Centurion
5. Standard bearer
• Rizal understood the seriousness and severity of his studies. In order to excel he
made himself follow a daily timetable, which he rigidly observed
• Rizal lagged behind his classmates. But in a month’s time, he emerged as the
emperor in his class.
DECISION TO GO TO EUROPE
• After completing his fourth year in the medical course, Rizal decided to leave the
country for Europe. While obviously, Rizal was to leave the country to complete
his medical course in Barcelona, Spain. This was not the real reason for his
sudden departure.
• There was a hidden purposes for his voyage to a new world. It can be inferred
from Paciano’s letter to Rizal that the following were real purposes of Rizal’s
voyage to Europe:
1. To make a name for himself in the realm of journalism;
2. To observe and study European society; and
3. To prepare himself for the task of liberating the Filipinos from Spanish
tyranny.
• After finishing the 4th year of the medical course in the University of Santo Tomas,
Jose Rizal decided to complete his studies in Spain.
• Rizal has his “secret mission”—was to observe keenly the life and culture,
languages and customs, industries and commerce, and government and laws of
the European nations in order to prepare himself in the mighty task of liberating his
oppressed people from Spanish tyranny.
• This Rizalian secret mission was likewise disclosed by Paciano in his letter to his
younger brother dated Manila, May 20, 1892
• Rizal’s departure for Spain was kept secret to avoid detection by the Spanish
authorities and the friars.
May 1, 1882 – Rizal began writing farewell letters to his friends and family
• Paciano gave him money for his allowance
• Saturnina gave him a diamond ring
May 3, 1882 – Rizal left the Philippines for the first time to spend bordered on the SS
Salvadora bound for using a passport and name of Jose Mercado.
SINGAPORE
• During the voyage to Singapore, he carefully observed the people and things on board
the steamer. There were sixteen passengers including himself. He played chess with
his fellow passengers who were much older than him. Also, the ship captain - Donato
Lecha from Asturias, Spain befriended Rizal
• On May 8, 1882, while the steamer was approaching Singapore, Rizal saw a beautiful
island. Fascinated by its scenic beauty, he remembered ―Talim Island with the
Susong Dalaga”.
• May 9, 1882 – SS Salvadora docked in Singapore and he stay in Hotel dela Paz for
two days. In Singapore Rizal transfer to another ship Djemnah a French streamer
which left for Singapore for Europe on May 11, 1882.
ITALY
• June 11, 1882 – Rizal disembark and accompanied by a guide went around the City
of Naples for one hour this was the first European ground he set foot on. Rizal was
please on this Italian City because of its business activity, it’s lively people and its
panoramic beauty.
• June 12, 1882 – At 10:00 o’clock in the evening the boat anchored at Marseilles. He
slept in board. Rizal visited the famous Chateau d'if, where Dantes hero of the count
of Monte Cristo was imprisoned. Rizal stayed two and half days in Marsielles.
SPAIN
• June 16 1882 – At 12 noon, Rizal arrived at Barcelona and boarded in the Fonda De
España. Rizal first impression of Barcelona the greatest city of Cataluña and in Spain
second largest city was unfavorable.
LIFE IN BARCELONA
• He wrote an essay entitled “Amor Patrio” (Love of Country)
• His next article was entitled “Los Viajes” (Travels) and followed by Revista de
Madrid (Review of Madrid) but the letter was returned because the publication was
ceased because of lack of funds.
• August 20, 1882 – His article “Amor Patrio” was published in the Diaryong
Tagalog, a Manila newspaper edited by Basillo Teodoro. This was the first article
he wrote abroad.
• Amor Patrio (Love of Country) – Nationalistic essay, Rizal’s first article written on
Spain’s soil. Under his pen-name Laong Laan. It was published in two texts –
Spanish and Tagalog. The Spanish text was the one originally written by Rizal in
Barcelona, the Tagalog text was a Tagalog translation made by Marcelo H. del
Pilar.
• September 2, 1882 – Rizal move heading to Madrid in order to continue his medical
studies.
• November 3, 1882 – Rizal enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid in two
courses – Medicine and Philosophy and Letters.
LIFE IN MADRID
• Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernardo – Rizal studied painting and sculpture.
• He took lessons in French, German and English under private instructors.
• He practiced fencing and shooting at the Hall of Arms in Sanz y Carbonell.
• March 1883 – He joined the Masonic Lodge called Acacia. His reason for was to
secure Freemasonry’s aid in his fight for the Philippines.
• November 1883 – He transferred to Lodge Solidaridad where he become a Master
Mason
• June 1884 – Rizal finishes medical education. He has conferred the degree of
Licentiate in Medicine. The next year he passed all his subject leading to the
Doctors of Medicine but was only able to get his Doctor’s Diploma in 1887 for he
wasn’t able to pay corresponding fees.
• June 1885 – Rizal was awarded the degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters
by Universidad Central de Madrid with the rating of Excellent (Sobresaliente)
PARIS TO BERLIN
• Rizal went to Paris and Germany in order to specialize in ophthalmologists. Rizal
choose this branch of medicine because she wanted to cure his mother.
• Dr. Louis De Wecker – He is the leading French Ophthalmologist during this
period. He is the leading authority among the oculist of France who found Rizal
such a competent student and make him as his clinical assistant.
• During his free time, he visited his fellow countrymen – Pardo de Taveras
(Trinidad, Felix and Paz) and Juan Luna. Rizal posted in Luna’s canvas like, “The
Blood Compact” in which he posed as Sikatuna and Trinidad as Legazpi. He also
posed for a group picture called “The Death of Cleopatra” wherein the dressed as
an Egyptian.
GERMANY
February 1, 1886 – He left Paris to Germany and arrived on February 3, 1886 in
Heidelberg – a historic city in Germany, famous for its old university and romantic
surroundings.
Dr. Otto Baker – distinguished German Ophthalmologist where Rizal worked in University
Eye Hospital.
November 1886 – Rizal arrived in Berlin. He was enchanted by the scientific atmosphere
and the absence of racial prejudice in Berlin. Rizal met Dr. Feodor Jagor, great
scientists and author of “Travels in the Philippines”, one of the books Rizal admired
during his study student days. He also met Dr. Rudolph Virchow known to be a Father
of Modern Pathology.
Rizal’s reason in staying in Berlin:
1. to gain further knowledge in Ophthalmology;
2. to improve further his study of science and languages;
3. to observe the economic and political condition of the German nation;
4. to associate with famous German scientists and scholars; and
5. to publish his novel, Noli Me Tangere.
November 1886 – One’s Rizal important letters written while he was in Germany that
addressed his sister, Trinidad. In his letter, Rizal express his high regard and
admiration for German womanhood. The German woman, said the Rizal to his sister,
is serious, diligent, educated and friendly. She is not gossipy, frivolous and quarrelsome.
Uncle Toms Cabin ‘Harriet Beecher Stowe’ – It inspired Dr. Rizal to prepare a noble that
would depict the miseries of his people under the lash of Spanish tyrant.
Maximo Viola – Rizal friend from Bulacan, arrived in Berlin at the height of Rizal
despondency and loaned him the needed funds to publish the novel; savior of Noli
February 21, 1887 – The Noli was finally finished and ready for printing. Berliner
Buchdruckrei- Action-Gesellschaft is a printing shop which charged the
lowest rate, that is 300 pesos for 2000 copies of the novel.
March 21, 1887 – The Noli Me Tangere came off the press. The title Noli Me Tangere is
the Latin praise which means “Touch Me Not”. It is not originally conceived by Rizal
for he admitted taking it from the Bible.
RHEINFALL
• The Cathedral of Uim, the largest and tallest Cathedral in Germany. From Uim,
they went to Sluttgart, Baden and then Rheinfall.
• At Rheinfall, they saw the waterfall, “the most beautiful waterfall of Europe”
GENEVA
• The Swiss City in one of the most beautiful city in Europe, visited by world tourists
every year
• June 19, 1887 – Rizal treated Viola to a blow-out. It was his 26th birthday, Rizal
and Viola spent fifteen delightful days in Geneva.
• June 23 1887 – Viola and Rizal parted ways. Viola returned to Barcelona while
Rizal continued the tour to Italy.
• Exposition of the Philippines in Madrid, Spain – Rizal was outraged by this
degradation of his fellow countrymen, the Igorots of Northern Luzon.
RESULT IN ITALY
• June 27, 1887 – Rizal reach Rome, the internal city and also called the City of
Caesar. Rizal was thrilled by the sights and memories of the internal city.
Describing to Blumentritt, the grandeur that was Rome he wrote on June 27, 1887.
• June 29, 1887 – The Feast Day of Saint Peter and St. Paul. Rizal for the first time
the Vatican, the City of Popes and the capital of Christendom.
• Every night after sightseeing the whole day, Rizal returned to his hotel very tired.
“I am tired as dog”, he wrote to Blumetritt, “but I will sleep as a God”.
• Rizal prepared to return to the Philippines. He had already written to his father that
he was coming home. Rizal wrote to his father, announcing his homecoming, “on
the 15th of July, I shall embark for our country, so that from the 15th to the 30th
of August, we shall see each other”.
• On August 3, 1887, the calm sea, illuminated by the silvery moonlight, was a
magnificent sight to him. The moon was full and Rizal slept soundly the whole
night. Near midnight of August 5, 1887, the Haiphong arrived in Manila.
• He stayed in the Philippines for a long period of time. But then he after some time
hounded by powerful enemies, Rizal was forced to leave his country for a second
time in February 1888. He was then a full-grown man of 27 years of age, a
practicing physician, and a recognized man-of-letters.