CHAPTER 16

RIZAL AS A NATIONALIST
The Prime Mover of Asian Nationalism

Go to my country, go foreign flowers,

Planted by the traveler on his way,
And there beneath that sky of blue
That over my beloved towers,
Speak for this traveler to say
What faith in his homeland he breathes to you.1

The State of the Philippines: Background on Jose Rizal’s Nationalism

Jose Rizal is recognized as the most prestigious and dedicated nineteenth century Filipino
nationalist. Austin Coates, in his biography of Rizal, 2 suggests that Rizal was responsible for
awakening Asia to the concept of nationalism. “Rizal wrote poems and many articles – all
showing of his love of country, his patriotism, and his love of parents, his happiness, and his
sorrows.”3

During his youth Rizal wrote a letter to a close friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, in which he
discussed the need for the young Filipino patriots to promote local nationalism.

“Our youth should not devote themselves to love or to the static speculative sciences ast
do the the youth of fortunate nations. All of us have to sacrifice something on the altar of politics
though we might not wish to do so.”4

Rizal further wrote, “I have always loved my poor country, and I am sure that I shall love
her until death. I shall die blessing her and desiring the dawn of her redemption.”5
The meaning and importance of a man’s task can be best understood and appreciated
when viewed within a time frame and in its proper historical context. To better understand and
appreciate the role of Jose Rizal in the making of the Filipino nation, one has to know the
developments in the century when he lived, the period when he worked.

The nineteenth century was an era of challenges and responses. It was a period of major
changes which affected men and society.6

The six important changes of the century were (1) the struggle for nationalism, (2) the
gradual spread of democracy, (3) the modernization of living through the Industrial Revolution,
(4) the advance of science, (5) the march of imperialism, and (6) the new current in the
movement of thought and growing confidence in progress.

1
Excerpt from “To the Flowers of Heiden berg.”
2
Austin Coates.
3
Zaide.
4
Jose Rizal’s Letter to Blumentritt, April 13, 1887.
5
Ibid
6
Capino, pp. 1-9.
Nationalism and Democracy

Nationalism is the idea of oneness by a group of people who possess common traditions,
shared history, a set of goals, and belief in a specific future. There is a strong identification with
the values, the heroes, and the traits of a country.7

Democracy comes from the Greek word demos, which means people. It is a government
in which all the power is shared by citizens. Democracy is sometimes known as a representative
government. Under this form of government, the people have the right to sit in a chamber that
determines their future.8

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution is a scientific revolution, largely occurring in England between

1760 – 1830, which focused on the application of non-animal sources of power to labor tasks. It
went against the agricultural wave.

The Industrial Revolution brought about (1) improvement in transportation, (2) creation
of machines, (3) establishment of factories, (4) migration, (5) increase in population, (6)
stimulation of nationalism, (7) growth of liberalism, (8) victory of the middle class, and (9) birth
of laissez-faire.9 Science became the servant of man. The Industrial Revolution was the soul of
the nineteenth century.10

Imperialism

Imperialism is the policy of extending a nation’s control and authority beyond its
territorial boundaries through the acquisition of new territories.

Growing Confidence in Progress

“Look at the youth today, full of enthusiasm at the view of a wider horizon; they study
history, mathematics, geography, literature, physical sciences, languages – all subjects in our
times we heard mentioned with horror, as though they were heresies… Man has at last
comprehended that he is man… He comprehends that his heritage is the vast world, dominion
over which is within his reach; weary of his useless and presumptuous toil, he lowers his head
and examines what surrounds him.”11

7
De Witt, p. 23.
8
Ibid, p. 34.
9
Laissez-faire literally means “let well enough alone” or “hands off.” It is a policy that prevents the
government from interfering in private trade of industry. It allows only minimal governmental
restrictions over private tracks.
10
Noli Me Tangere, p.409.
11
Ibid, pp. 402-408.
In response to the growing social problems of the new century, new economic strategies and
social and political reforms took place which included:12

1. Adoption of the laissez-faire policy

2. Socialist proposal that governmental should own and manage the means of production,
e.g., land, labor, and capital
3. Advocation of the abolition of private property as espoused by Karl Marx
4. Implementation by the Church, through Pope Leo XIII, of “Rerum Novarum”13
a. Respect for human rights
b. Promotion of special consideration of the duty of public authority to prevent and
punish injury
c. Special consideration of the poor and the helpless whenever there is a question of
protecting the rights of the individuals
d. The right of the State to regulate the use of private property and protect it
e. Preservation of life as the duty of each and all members of society, e.g., the worker is
entitled to a just and decent living wage which will enable him to live in reasonable
comfort as a human being, to develop his faculties, and to attain his ultimate goal in
life
f. The duty of the state to provide favorable working conditions
g. The right of workers to form unions

Rizal’s Concept of Filipino Nationalism

Nationalism as a concept was still vague from its humble beginnings in 1872, particularly
for the poor people in the Philippines. Jose Rizal and other reformers at the time had but a scant
idea of what it is all about, Rizal said:

“The reasons that originate in the lack of national sentiment are still more lamentable and
more transcendental… The lack of national sentiment brings another evil, moreover, which is the
absence of all opposition to measures prejudicial to the people and the absence of any initiative
in whatever in whatever may redound to its good. A man in the Philippines is only an individual;
he is not a member of a nation. He is forbidden and denied the right of association, and is,
therefore, weak and sluggish.14

Rizal specifically mentioned the phrase “national sentiment” which connotes a sort of
feeling of affinity or oneness towards the nation. According to Rizal, the lack of it means the
absence of all opposition that could harm the interest of the people and the lack of interest to do
whatever is good for its welfare. He also emphasized that a man in the Philippines only existed
for his own as an individual and not as a member of a nation.

12
Capino.
13
Rerim Novarum or The Conditions of Labor.
14
Excerpt from “The Indolence of the Filipino”.
 Rizal’s concept of nationalism is parallel with that of Hans Kohn, who said that
nationalism is first and foremost a state of mind, an act of consciousness. It is a group
consciousness that strives towards achieving homogeneity within the group, conformity and like-
mindedness which will lead to and facilitate common action. The important words in his idea are
conformity, like-mindedness, consciousness, and common action which connote unity, meeting
of minds, and sharing of common action which connote unity, meeting of minds, and sharing of
common feeling which is almost similar with Rizal’s “national sentiment.”

On the other hand, John Schumacher shares that a revolution presupposes a people with
consciousness of its own identity and unity as a nation. The creation of that sense of national
self-identity was the work of the propaganda movement. The words identity and unity can mean
a cause-and-effect reaction: looking for a common identity as the rallying point of the people
towards unification that could affect the desired and necessary action, a collective action which
can either be reform or revolution.

The Family Encyclopedia states that nationalism is the desire of the members of a nation
to govern themselves and to protect their interests – even at the expense of outsiders. 16 It has been
an explosively powerful political force.

George Orwell concurs that nationalism is the habit of identifying oneself with a single
nation… and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests and those of people
who find themselves having major commonalities on their own initiatives resulting to their
identification of themselves to a single nation.

Rizal showed this national sentiment throughout his career even as a youth through his
poem “A la Juventud Filipina,” which was dedicated to the youth. He admonished the Filipino
youth to strive hard because they are considered the fair hope of the motherland. He nurtured the
same ideals during his manhood as manifested in all his writings like the Noli and Fili. Even in
his personal letters, when he called to all women of the Philippines to continue their battle
against the abuses of the friars and against poverty, illiteracy, and ignorance. All his efforts were
concentrated on achieving his goal. He said: “I must wake from its slumber the spirit of my
country… I must first propose to my countrymen an example with which they can struggle
against their bad qualities, and afterwards, when they reform, many writers will rise up and
present my country to proud Europe.”16

That conquering oneself is greater than conquering vast territories and multitudes of
people is Rizal’s message to the Filipinos. He believed in a type of nationalism that would free
his people from the friars and Spanish government control. To do this Rizal urged an intensified
study of the Philippines’ past and a renewed debate over its future. 17 So he emphasized freedom
of speech, education, economic rights, open competition in the marketplace, and freedom of the
press. However the strongest aspect of his nationalism was his concept of local history.

18
Ibid, p. 36.
19
Guerrero.
Factors in the Early Development of Rizal’s Nationality

By June 1872 Rizal was on his way to school in Manila. Looking back upon young
Rizal’s life, there were some important turning points in the Calamba years. Not only was he a
precious student, he had developed a complex intellectual outlook. To understand Rizal’s
influence on Philippine nationalism, it is necessary to understand the forces that popularized his
nationalist ideas.

Rizal’s concept of local nationalism was influenced by 300 years of Spain as an

imperialistic conqueror. The Spanish system of government was characterized by greed, racism,
and condescending attitudes towards the local population. It was a “geographical jewel” of the
Spanish Empire that the Philippines faced the pressure and stereotypes that created the
movement towards nationalism and independence. The Spanish government created many of the
problems which allowed the Philippine independence and nationalism to surface.

There were five determining factors in the early development of Rizal’s nationalism.
1. He emphasized the importance of the Tagalog language and its impact upon the
Philippines. He realized that a national culture was needed to develop a sense of
nationalism. As a result, Rizal often wrote in Tagalog and talked about his
writings as a means of educating the Filipino. He created a sense of Philippine
history and defined the role of Tagalog in the direction of local history.
2. He was openly critical of the friars. The injustice in the Cavite incident, the
haughty attitude of many of the Spanish friars, and the increasing liberalism of
Filipino friars prompted Rizal to hammer away on the inequities of the church.
Also he was openly critical of the hacienda land lease system, and he called for its
abolition.
3. He defended Filipino civil rights. When his mother was jailed for her role in a
family dispute, Rizal systematically the double standard of justice that Filipinos
had faced since Magellan. Not even the well-to-do Indios were safe from the
capricious whims of the friars or Spanish government officials. These concerns
were important to Rizal, but it was the execution of the three friars in Cavite
which outraged him.
4. He discovered the power of the pen. Not only did Rizal consider pamphleteering
important, he was also an active literary critic. His writings provided the
foundation for Filipino nationalism. Eventually his two novels, speeches, and
other miscellaneous writings helped to form the nationalist historical tradition that
Filipinos embraced.
5. He conceived a form of gradual nationalism. What Rizal demanded was an
education, a commitment to Filipino culture, and a vision of a bright future. He
was a person who believed in nonviolent resistance to Spanish religious, military,
and government ideas.

18
Ibid, p. 36.
19
Guerrero.
Reasons for Modern Philippine Nationalism

There were four separate reasons for the emergence of modern Philippine nationalism.
They were force in Philippine history that had simmered for a long time. With Rizal’s execution,
they came together to create modern Philippine nationalism. De Witt enumerates the following:18
1. The city of Manila and its relationship to the Spanish and the church helped to
foment the revolution. As the administrative and clerical center of the Spanish
Philippines, Manila produced tensions which created Filipino nationalism. It was
also the center of secularization. The process of Christianizing the indios through
secularization was a failure. By examining Manila’s impact upon Philippine
nationalism, the city gave rise to new attitudes of independence. In many respects
Manila was the focal point for a new Philippine nationalism.
2. The relationship between the friars and Spanish government was tenuous and
often fragile one. The end result was that they took turns manipulating each other,
and the controversies they created with the Indios produce a revolutionary class.
3. The Chinese mestizo, who came in as a merchant and emerged as a nationalist,
was one of the many forces that hastened the drive towards defined Filipino
nationalism. After achieving some degree of economic success, the Chinese
traders produced an offspring known as mestizos who became an unseen political
force in the Philippines.
4. “Backwater” nationalism implies a highly developed form of government that
took place in the Philippines. It describes Rizal’s Calamba nationalism or
Bonifacio’s Katipunan vision for the Philippines. “Backwater” nationalism
suggests the extensive development of local government. The earliest Filipino
patriotic utterings began in the 1860s and continued to flourish until the
Revolution of 1896.
As Rizal was executed, these four forces combined to help create a permanent sense of a
new Philippines. Leon Ma. Guerrero stresses that that Rizal was not only the “First Filipino” but
the prime mover in Asian nationalism.19

18
Ibid, p. 36.
19
Guerrero.