This portion discusses Rizal’s pursuit for higher education and his life abroad,

specifically his journey in Europe, his secret departure to Spain, and his secret
mission.

At the end of this section, the students are expected to:

1. discuss the plan of Jose Rizal to study abroad

2. identify the reasons of Rizal in studying abroad
3. know the secret mission of Rizal
4. Know the purpose of Rizal’s voyage

Let’s Start!

Education in the Philippines

A. Read on Rizal’s educational background.
< Link: https://joserizalproject.weebly.com/jose-rizalrsquos-educational-
background.html >
B. Read about Rizal’s secret mission.
< Link:
https://www.mantlemagazine.com/index.php/category/stories/culture/page/12/ >]
C. Watch a video on the Life of Jose Rizal.
< Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=IvzlbAd2SUc&ab_channel=CessaDavid >

Let’s do it! Based from what you have read and watched, answer the following:

1. What is education according to Rizal?

For Rizal, the mission of education is to elevate the country to the

highest seat of glory and to develop the people’s mentality. Since education is
the foundation of society and a prerequisite for social progress, Rizal claimed
that only through education could the country be saved from domination. 
2. What kind of education did Jose Rizal receive at Ateneo?

Ateneo had a Jesuit System of Education which was considered more

advanced than that of other colleges in that epoch. Its discipline was rigid and
its methods less mechanical. It introduced physical culture as part of its
program as well as the cultivation of the arts, such as music, drawing, and
painting.
Rizal belonged to the class composed of Spaniards, mestizos and
Filipinos. His teacher was Fr. Jose Bech.
During his 4th year in Ateneo he received 5 medals and graduated as
sobresaliente. In the fifth years Jose had other professors: Frs. Vilaclara and
Mineves. He studied philosophy, physics, chemistry, and natural history, and
poetry.
He studied painting under the famous Spanish Painter, Agustin Saez.
He improved his sculpture talents under the supervision of Romualdo de Jesus.
And he engaged in gymnastics and fencing and continued the physical training
under his sports-minded Tio Manuel.
He graduated on March 23, 1877(16 years old) and received the degree
of bachelor of arts, with highest honors not a valedictorian.

3. Why did he study there?

When Jose Rizal returned first to his town to celebrate the fiesta of its
patron saint, his father changed his mind and decided to send him to the
Ateneo instead of enrolling him to San Juan de Letran.

4. How do you differentiate an externo from an emperor? Did Jose Rizal pass
these stages in his studies?

Externos are non-boarder students that composed the Carthaginian

Empire group in school, as opposed to the Roman Empire that are composed
of internos or boarders. Within every empire, there are rankings. The Emperor
is the best student in the empire.
When he first arrived, he was an externo and joined the Carthaginians
occupying the end of the line. At the end of the month he became an emperor
(was given a prize of a religious picture)

5. Compare and contrast the education of Rizal in Ateneo and UST.

It is in Ateneo that Rizal got his Bachelor of Arts Degree which is

equivalent in this day as a High School Diploma. He continued to his college
education at University of Sto. Tomas.
Both schools were managed by different systems, Ateneo was under
Jesuital System of education which, as said earlier, was more advanced than
that of other colleges in that period. The students attended mass first in the
 morning before class. There was also, as mentioned earlier, groups and
rankings.
While for the UST, it was under Dominicans, which is the total rival
of the Jesuits in education. Unlike in Ateneo, Rizal struggled studying in UST.
Some reasons are because Medicine was not Rizal's true vocation, there were
plenty of things to distract the young man in the peak of his youth, and Rizal
was not satisfied with the system of education at the university. Dominican
professors show racial discrimination against Filipino students, and they were
hostile towards him. He also believed that the method of instruction in UST
was archaic, obsolete, and repressive.

6. How did he show his talent in literary works?

In Ateneo, Rizal was a member of the Academy of Spanish Literature.

He wrote literary pieces such as “To the Filipino Youth”. In his poem, he
enlightened the readers about the truth – which Filipinos must be standing and
being proud of what they are, and not just be slaves of somebody else. He also
mentioned the famous quote that the youth is the hope of our nation. he also
wrote, “The Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Education”.
During his time in UST, he wrote A La Juventud Filipina, a poem for
his fellow Filipino youth. He expressed here his views that Filipinos are not
inferior to any race especially to the Spaniards, and that they should hone their
skills and talents, for God, for the Philippines and for Spain.
As a Thomasian he won more literary laurels. Rizal joined contests in
UST and showed his excellence in writing poems. He won first prize in two
different major contests.  His works were the “To the Filipino Youth” and
“The Council of the Gods”. His winning piece showed the Dominican priests
that an indio could equal the Spaniards, or even better than them.

7. Why did Rizal decide to study in Spain when he had finished his fourth year
of medicine?

Rizal was going to Spain not just to complete his medical studies there,
but to accomplish his hidden purposes. He wanted to make a name for himself
in the realm of journalism; to observe and study European society; & to
prepare himself for the task of liberating the Filipinos from Spanish tyranny.

8. Would you consider his planned departure a secret?

Yes, his departure for Spain was kept secret from Spanish Authorities,
friars and even his parents especially his mother because she would not allow
him to go.
Rizal’s First Trip to Europe

A. Read on Rizal’s first trip. < Link: https://angbuhaynijprizal.wordpress.com/rizal

%E2%80%99s%C2%A0first%C2%A0trip/ >
B. Watch the following videos.
< Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMfnHpux2lo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfK2NLlWcpE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBSCQmJ8qr8 >
Let’s do it! Based from what you have learned, answer the following questions:

I. Rizal in Barcelona

1. What was Rizal’s first impression of Barcelona? Why?

His first impression of Barcelona was unfavorable. He thought of it as

an ugly, dirty and its residents are inhospitable. Later, he changed his
impression and liked the city. He found it as a great city, with an atmosphere
of freedom and liberalism.

2. What did he write in Barcelona? Can you tell something about the essay?

He wrote an essay with the title Amor Patrio or Love of Country under

the pen name, Laong Laan which means ever prepared. Rizal was able to
explain his views through this essay indicating that the Philippines is the
country for Filipinos not for Spain. In this essay of his, he was able to show
his love for his country. It was even sent to the Philippines and was translated
to Tagalog by Marcelo H. Del Pilar to be published the local newsapaper of
Manila called Diariong Tagalog.

3. After finishing his degrees in Licentiate in Medicine and Philosophy and

letters, would you consider that Rizal had fully completed all his intellectual
pursuits? Why?

No, because Rizal still traveled to other countries like Paris and
Germany to add more to his knowledge and he was still very interested to
learn further, especially in ophthalmology to cure his mother’s failing
eyesight.

II. Rizal in Madrid

1. Why did Rizal move to Madrid?

Rizal moved to Madrid to enroll at the University of Madrid and study

both in Medicine and in Philosophy and Letters.
2. How did he spend his time in Madrid?

On June 21, 1884, he conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine.

The following academic year, he studied and passed all subjects leading to the
degree of doctor of medicine. Unfortunately, he was not able to submit the
thesis required for graduation nor paid the corresponding fees. With that, he
was not awarded his Doctor’s Diploma.
Jose Rizal also finished his studies in Philosophy and Letters with
higher grades. He was awarded the Degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and
Letters by the Universidad Central de Madrid June 19, 1885 with the rating of
excellent.
It was in Madrid that he began writing Noli Me Tangere.

3. What organization did Rizal join there?

He became active in Filipino and Spanish organizations focused in

improving the Philippine situation like the Circulo Hispano Filipino.

III. Rizal in Paris

1. Why was Rizal attracted to Paris?

Rizal moved to Paris to acquire more knowledge about ophthalmology.

To complete his training, he had to learn from a renowned professional, Dr.
Louis de Wecker. He also took the time to meet up with friends: painter Juan
Luna and fellow writer and medical student Maximo Viola, who would aid
him later in his journey.

2. How did he become an ophthalmologist?

Jose Rizal learned and worked under the assistance of Dr. Louis de
Wecker, who was well known for using a pair of scissors in performing
surgeries. Rizal’s skill in the field vastly improved as a result. He learned from
him the actual performance by operation, the recent studies on eye ailments,
and various techniques in eye operation.

IV. Rizal in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy

1. Why was Germany called a historic city?

Germany, specifically Heidelberg, was considered a historic city for it

was like a living Christmas card, with its castle, its university, the red-tiled
roofs of its houses, which, in the distance, blended with the vegetation that
covered the gentle hills around the frozen Neckar.
And the oldest University of Germany was founded in 1386.
2. What did Rizal do when he got homesick?

While in Germany, longing for his mother country, he wrote the poem
"To the flowers of Heidelberg", looking for flowers at the edge of the Neckar.
Filled with love of country, it is a romantic composition which expresses the
sentiments of Rizal aroused by feeling of isolation in which he found himself,
especially because the German culture was very different to his.

3. Who was Rizal’s companion in Switzerland?

Jose Rizal’s companion was, a fellow Filipino, Dr. Maximo Viola.

4. Describe Rizal’s visit to Italy.

Rizal’s visit to Italy was very deep-seated, for Rizal was an enthusiast
of history and art. Thus, he found in the Italian peninsula a means of satisfying
his thirst for knowledge and for his inclinations: Turin, Milan, Florence,
Venice and Rome. In the style of Baedeker, he left nothing unexplored. Rome
fascinated him with the old stones, the ruins, and the monuments, buildings
and museums, with their mute messages of the glories of the past empire. With
this knowledge of history sharply etched in his mind, he relived all that past
grandeur. He visited the forum two successive afternoons. There he stayed for
hours, creating poetry in his mind, harmonizing the scene, the old ruins and
the little wild flowers, one of which he sent Blumentritt as a souvenir.

V. The First Return to the Philippines and Other Travels

1. What were Rizal’s reasons for wanting to return to the Philippines?

His reasons for returning are to know the effectiveness of Noli Me

Tangere in the Philippines and Spanish, to know the reason why Leonor
Rivera was not writing back anymore, and to also help his countrymen to
retake their land which were taken by the friars in Biñan, Laguna.
And having much knowledge about ophthalmology, he performed a
surgery for his mother’s eyes.

2. Why did Governor Terrero request Rizal to go to Malacañan? Discuss the

happenings thereafter.

Governor Terrero was pressured and forced by the Spanish community

to send a note to Rizal, ordering him to come to Malacañang palace on the
29th of August. He heard of Rizal’s novels and wished to read it. Terrero, in
view of the anti-Rizal actions, decided to have him the guardia civil. Given
Rizal's antagonism toward the guardia civil as consequences of his and his
 mother's painful experiences with it, he did not take Terrero's decision as a
friendly act.
But still, assigned to guard him was Jose Taviel de Andrande, who
belonged to a noble family. He spoke English and French. He was a cultured
man who knew how to paint. They eventually became friends thanks to their
common intellectual qualities, and the susceptibility of Rizal to affection. Lies
then spread that they had ascended the summit of Makiling and planted there
the German flag, proclaiming German sovereignty over the Philippines. They
did climb Mt. Makiling, but the part about the flag and German sovereignty
was not true.
Terrero read the Noli and apparently did not find anything excessive in
it. He sent a copy to the rector of the University of Sto. Tomas in order for a
commission to make a report on the novel. They stated that "the whole
narration was against the dogmas of the Church, against the religious orders
and against the institutions that Spain had implanted in these islands." Finally,
there was a report of the rector based on the mandate of the commission,
which read thus: "The Noli Me tangere, if circulated throughout the
Philippines, will cause great detriment to faith and morality. It will diminish
and extinguish the love of all the natives for Spain and, perturbing the heart
and the passions, may bring very sad days for the mother country."
Gregorio Echavarria, who signed the report, probably thought that in
view of such hard terms, Terrero would decree deportation or trial, or some
other grave measure against Rizal. But Terrero read the report without
adopting any resolution, awaiting the verdict of the permanent Commission on
Censorship.
Father Font committed the error of giving a copy of this lengthy report
to the press in the form of a pamphlet which, curiosity and interest in the
Spanish-Philippine policy and the establishment of relations with the
metropolis took shape and gained significance in the souls of the
Filipinos. This was precisely what Rizal wanted.
As the days passed, the atmosphere became more and more unbearable
for Rizal. Even the Jesuits were not fond of him anymore. Rizal then, decided
to go back to Europe.

3. Describe Rizal’s stay in Hong Kong.

Rizal met several Filipinos in Hong Kong who also had the same
ideologies as his, who have fled the Philippines from the implication in the
Cavity Mutiny.
One of them was Jose Ma. Basa, on old lawyer and at the time engaged
in business. Two of his compatriots went to the port to meet Rizal: Iriarte and
Mitjans. The latter had previous contact with him in Madrid. As always, he
was well treated by his friends. Basa invited him to dinner at his house, where
they served him Filipino food. A few days later, he accompanied Rizal to the
Portuguese colony of Macao.
 They also visited the Oceanic, which was already docked at the bay.
He received a visit from a certain Laurel, an attorney for the Dominicans.

4. How did Rizal admire Japan?

Rizal experienced the sweet polychrome of the Japanese atmosphere,

with its tranquility, the delicacy of the people's manner, the art of selection and
arrangement of flowers, all enriched by the backdrop of Japanese silken
screens depicting a kaleidoscope of cherry blossoms and the snow of the
Fujiyama.

5. Describe his relationship with O Sei San.

O Sei San, a Japanese samurai’s daughter taught Rizal the Japanese art
of painting known as su-mie. She also helped Rizal improve his knowledge of
Japanese language. If Rizal was a man without a patriotic mission, he would
have married this lovely and intelligent woman and lived a stable and happy
life with her in Japan because Spanish legation there offered him a well-paid
job.
6. Discuss Rizal’s travel to the United States.

He arrived at San Francisco on 28th of April 1888, but the health

authorities did not allow him to disembark until they had completed the
quarantine on the 4th of May. He stayed there for two days and then left for
Oakland. He then reached New York on the 13th, where he stayed three days in
this city, which he called the “big town.”
Rizal had good and bad impressions of the United States. The good
impressions were (1) the material progress of the country as shown in the great
cities, huge farms, flourishing industries and busy factories (2) the drive and
energy of the American people (3) the natural beauty of the land (4) the high
standard of living (5) the opportunities for better life offered to poor
immigrants.
One bad impression Rizal had of America was the lack of racial
equality: “America is the land par excellence of freedom but only for the
whites”
In Rizal’s letters he writes that the United States does not offer its
citizens through civil liberties. He has something to say on radical
discrimination, describing how, in San Francisco, only the first-class
passengers were allowed to disembark, while the second- and third-class
passengers, mostly Chinese and Japanese, were not permitted to land.

7. What did Rizal do in London?

Rizal lived in London from May, 1888 to March, 1889 with the
following tasks and thought in mind: (1) improve his knowledge of the
English language and to study a new country, its customs, its history, and
 above all its politics, a field relatively new to him; (2) 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; (3) London was a safe place for him to carry
on his fight against Spanish tyranny.

8. When Rizal returned to Paris, what was his life like?

The life of Rizal in Paris remained to his work, being mindful, perhaps,
of his previous bout with tuberculosis, and the fact that on the same month that
he arrived in Paris he fell ill, although just for a short spell.
Four hours of library work; one or two of gymnastics or fencing, to be
prepared for possible duels; some time for the study of Dutch – the rest of the
time was consumed by visits of his friends. Two nights a week he played
chess in a café, and once in a while was invited to dinner at the house of the
painter Luna; on Friday's tea at the house of the Bousteads. This completed his
activities.

9. Why did Rizal move to Brussels? What news did he receive there regarding
the Filipinos?

Rizal left Paris, and moved to Brussels, due to the high cost of living
because of an existing Universal Exposition, and because the joyful life in the
city hampered his literary works.
Furthermore, he needed to be alone in order to concentrate on his new
novel, El Filubusterismo. He worked on the Filibusterismo, assisted in a
clinic, attended to his correspondence, and wrote articles for La Solidaridad.
Letters from home which Rizal received in Brussels worried him. (1)
the Calamba agrarian trouble was getting worse (2) the Dominican Order filed
a suit in court to dispossess the Rizal family of their lands in Calamba.
Rizal feared that he would not live long. He was not afraid to die, but
he wanted to finish his second novel before he went to his grave. In the face of
the sufferings which afflicted his family, Rizal planned to go home. He could
not stay in Brussels writing a book while his parents, relatives, and friends in
the distant Philippines were persecuted.

10. On his return to Madrid, was he disappointed? Why or why not?

Rizal’s return to Madrid was not very fortunate as for the following
reasons:
1. Jose Ma. Panganiban, his talented co-worker in the Propaganda
Movement, died in Barcelona on August 19, 1890, after a lingering illness
2. Aborted Duel with Antonio Luna—Luna was bitter because of his
frustrated romance with Nellie Boustead. Luna uttered certain unsavory
remarks about Nellie, Rizal heard him and angered by the slanderous
remarks, he challenged Luna, his friend, to a duel. Fortunately, Luna
realized that he had made a fool of himself during his drunken state, he
 apologized for his bad remarks about the girl and Rizal accepted his
apology and they became good friends again.
3. Rizal challenges Retana to Due l—Wenceslao E. Retana, his bitter enemy
of the pen, a talented Spanish scholar, was then a press agent of the friars
in Spain. He used to attack the Filipinos in various newspapers in Madrid
and other cities in Spain. Retana wrote an article in La Epoca, asserting
that the family and friends of Rizal had not paid their rents so they were
ejected from their lands in Calamba by the Dominicans. Such as insult
stirred Rizal to action, immediately he sent his seconds to Retana with his
challenge to a duel.
4. Infidelity of Leonor Rivera —Rizal received a letter from Leonor,
announcing her coming marriage to an Englishman (the choice of her
mother) and asking his forgiveness.
5. Rizal-Del Pilar Rivalry —toward the closing days of 1890 there arose an
unfortunate rivalry between Rizal and M.H. del Pilar for supremacy.
Because of this, the Filipinos were divided into two hostile camps—the
Rizalistas and the Pilaristas. The situation was becoming explosive and
critical. Despite of winning the votes, Rizal graciously declined the
coveted position

11. Why was Rizal’s stay in Hong Kong different from the other countries he
visited?

Rizal’s stay in Hong Kong was different beacuse some of his family
member came over and lived with him. The family was very happy. The over-
all situation was felicitous. They were all together; they enjoyed liberty; Jose
earned good money, and Paciano, his brother, found a little house for them
from which they could enjoy a panoramic view of the bay.