CHAPTER 15: RIZALS SECOND SOJOURN IN PARIS AND THE UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION OF 1889

I. DIFFICULTY OF FINDING QUARTERS

a. The Universal Exposition of 1889 attracted thousands of tourists; thus, all hotel accommodations were
taken
II. RIZAL AND PARIS EXPOSITION OF 1889
a. The greatest attraction of this exposition was the Eiffel Tower
b. International Art Competition in the Exposition
i. Felix Hidalgo = 2nd prize
ii. Juan Luna & Felix Pardo de Tavera = 3rd prize
iii. Rizals bust = no prize
III. KIDLAT CLUB
a. Purely a social society of a temporary nature
b. It was founded by Rizal to bring together young Filipinos in the French capital so that they could enjoy their
sojourn in the city during the duration of the Universal Exposition.
c. It will disappear like lightning
IV. INDIOS BRAVOS
a. Rizal and the members of the Kidlat Club were amazed to see the Buffalo Bull show which featured the
American Indians
b. These Red skinned Indians were proudly riding their sturdy ponies, elegantly dressed in their native attire
and wearing their war feathers and paints.
c. Rizal told his friends:
i. Let us be proud of the name Indio and make our Spanish enemies revise their conception of the
term
ii. We shall be Indios Bravos
iii. The Indios Bravos (brave Indians) replaced the ephemeral Kidlat Club.
d. Members pledged to excel in intellectual and physical prowess in order to win the admiration of the
foreigners, particularly the Spaniards.
i. They practiced with great enthusiasm the use of the sword and the pistol.
ii. Rizal taught them judo, an Asian art of self-defense that he learned in Japan.
V. R.D.L.M. SOCIETY
a. The letters R.D.L.M. are believed to be the initials of the societys secret name Redencion de los Malayos
(Redemption of the the Malays).
b. It was patterned after Freemasonry
c. The aim of the secret society, as stated by Rizal was the propagation of all useful knowledge scientific,
artistic, literary, etc. in the Phil.
d. Rizal was inspired by a famous book entitled Max Havelaar written by Multatuli
i. This book exposed the miserable conditions of the oppressed Malay inhabitants of the
Netherlands East Indies under Dutch Rules
e. Letter to Blumentritt:
i. Revealed his intentions to be a leader of freedom, if not in the Philippines, then in Borneo.
ii. If it is impossible for me to give freedom to my country, at least I should like to give it to these
noble compatriots in other lands.
VI. ANNOTATED EDITION OF MORGA PUBLISHED
a. Blumentritt censured Rizal for two things which revealed Rizals errors, namely:
i. Rizal commits the error of many historians in appraising the events of the past in the light of
present standards
ii. Rizals attack on the Church were unfair and unjustified because the abuses of the friars should
not be construed to mean the Catholicism is bad.
b. Rizal dedicated his new edition of Morga to the Filipino people so that they would know of their glorious
past. His dedication is as follows:
i. Born and reared in ignorance of our past like almost all of you: without voice nor authority to
speak of what we have not seen nor studied I deemed it necessary to invoke the testimony of an
 Illustrious Spaniard who controlled the destinies of the Philippines at the beginning of its new era
and personally witnessed the last days of our ancient nationality.
c. Rizal proved that the Filipinos were already civilized before the advent of Spain
i. They had clothes, government, laws, writing, literature, religion, arts, sciences, and commerce
with neighboring Asian nations.
ii. Rizal blasted the historical heresies of the Spanish writers who claimed that the early Filipinos
were savages and were of low mentality.
VII. THE PHILIPPINES WITHIN A CENTURY
a. In this article, Rizal predicted with amazing accuracy the tragic end of Spains sovereignty in Asia.
b. Colonies established to subserve the policy and commerce of the sovereign country, all eventually become
independent
VIII. THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINOS
a. It is an able defense of the alleged indolence of the Filipinos.
b. Rizal made a critical study of the causes why his people did not work hard during the Spanish regime.
c. His main thesis: Filipinos are not by nature indolent
d. The Spanish conquest of the country brought about a decline in economic activities because the Filipinos
had abandoned their pre-Spanish industries and worked less than their ancestors
e. Such decline in economic life was due to certain causes:
i. Native revolts and other internal disorders which followed the establishment of Spanish rule
ii. The wars which the Filipinos fought for Spains enemies
iii. The frightful raids on the coastal towns and village of Christian Philippines by the Muslim pirates
of Mindanao and Sulu
iv. The forced labor which compelled thousands of Filipino laborers to work in public works resulting
in the abandonment of their personal works
v. Lack of stimulus to work harder because the people could not enjoy the fruits of their labor
vi. Government neglect and indifference to agriculture, industry, and commerce
vii. The bad example shown by the Spaniards in despising manual labor
viii. The teaching of Spanish missionaries that it is easier for a poor man to enter heaven than for a
rich man, hence the Filipinos prefer not to work and be poor so that they could easily enter
heaven after they die
ix. Encouragement and propagation of gambling by the Spanish authorities
x. System of Spanish education did not promote economic enterprise and activity
f. Filipinos are easy going and do not work so hard because they are wise enough to adjust themselves to their
warm, tropical climate.
i. They do not have to kill themselves working hard in order to live because nature gives them
abundant harvests by working less than those in temperate and arid countries.
IX. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FILIPINOLOGISTS
a. The aim of the association is to study the Philippines from the scientific and historical point of view
b. Their inaugural convention did not materialize because the French government discouraged the holding of
conferences by private organizations during the period of the international exposition.
X. PROJECT FOR FILIPINO COLLEGE IN HONGKONG
a. This College aims to train and educate men of good family and financial means in accordance with the
demands of modern times and circumstances
b. A rich Filipino resident in Paris, Mr. Mariano Cunanan, from Mexico, Pampanga, promised to help him raise
P40,000 as initial capital for the college.
c. This project of Rizal to establish a modern college in Hong Kong did not materialize
XI. POR TELEFONO
a. This satirical pamphlet under the authorship of Dimas Alang is a witty satire which ridicules Fr. Font.
i. It describes in comical vein a telephone conversation between Fr. Font who was in Madrid and the
father provincial of the San Agustin Convent in Manila.
b. Rizal predicted much ahead of his times that people could carry on overseas telephonic conversations --- 12
years after the publication of Rizals Por Telefono.