Week 3

Rizal's
National
Consciousness
GED 103 LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL
A.Y. 2019-2020, MIDTERM
MISS ALYSSA E. DE TORRES, LPT
 SECTION 1
Higher Education of Rizal

SECTION 2
Week 3 Rizal's Life Abroad

RIZAL'S NATIONAL SECTION 3

CONSCIOUSNESS the Propaganda Movement and
La Solidaridad

SECTION 4
In the eyes of Noli Me Tangere
Higher Education of Rizal
SECTION 1
 The execution of the three martyr
priests, Mariano Gomez, Jacinto
Zamora, and Jose Burgos
(Gomburza) on February 17, 1872, left
Paciano, Jose's brother, deeply
moved and angered by the brutality
of the Spanish colonial government.
He expressed his frustrations to the
younger Jose, making him, even at a
very young age, aware of the
atrocities of the Spanish colonizers.
The execution of Gomburza stirred the nationalist sensibilities
in Rizal. He even dedicated his second novel, El Filibusterismo,
to the three priests. This also opened Rizal's eyes to the true
conditions of Philippine society under the Spaniards.

Originally, Francisco Mercado wanted Jose to study at

Colegio de San Juan de Letran but Paciano convinced him
to let Jose study instead at Ateneo Municipal de Manila.
With the help of Manuel Xerez Burgos, the nephew of the
priest Jose Burgos, Rizal was admitted to Ateneo despite
objections from some school administrators.
In the first two terms at Ateneo, classes were divided
into groups of interns and externs. The interns
constituted the Roman Empire while the externs
constituted the Carthaginian Empire. In each group,
there were five dignitaries: the Standard-bearer,
Centurion, Decurion, Tribune, and the Emperor
who was considered to be the best student in class.
Rizal, grouped in the Carthaginian Empire, was ranked
at the bottom of the class at the start of the term.
He kept on getting promoted so that by the end of his
first month, he had already attained the rank of
Emperor.
 Rizal continuously exemplified scholastic
excellence such that he was the pride of
the Jesuits as he received the highest
grades in almost all his classes. On
March 23, 1877, he obtained the degree
Bachiller en Artes and was awarded
sobresaliente (outstanding). During his
stay in Ateneo, he wrote poems and
crafted sculptures. One of these
sculptures was the Sagrado Corazon de
Sacred Heart Jesus (Sacred Heart of Jesus) upon the
of Jesus request of his  teacher.
 After finishing his studies at Ateneo,
Rizal pursued further studies. This
was strongly opposed by his mother
for she believed that gaining more
knowledge would only endanger his
life. However, with the support of his
father and brother,

 Rizal went on to attend the University of Santo

Tomas (UST) to study Philosophy. After a year, he
shifted to study medicine, where he was allowed to
take up preparatory medical courses and regular
first  year medical courses at the same time.
Rizal's academic life in UST was full of controversies and hardships
compared to his time in Ateneo. It was reported on various occasions
that Rizal had "unhappy days" at UST for three reasons. One reason is
that the Dominican professors were hostile to him. Another reason
was the fact that Filipinos were vulnerable to racial discrimination
and lastly, the method of instruction was repressive and dated.
In 1882, Jose Rizal finished his fourth year in UST and left
the Philippines bound for Spain where he continued his
study of medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid. He
obtained multiple degrees in philosophy, letters, and
medicine in 1884
 Rizal's sudden decision to leave the Philippines was
compounded with speculations. According to some accounts,
Rizal left the country as part of a secret mission co-
orchestrated by his brother to observe life abroad and initiate a
campaign for reforms in the Philippines.
section 2

RIZAL'S LIFE IN
ABROAD
In 1882, after finishing his fourth year at the University of Santo
Tomas, Rizal left for Spain to continue his studies there.
According to some accounts, Rizal left the Philippines as part
of a secret pact with his brother Paciano. With only a few
people aware of his departure, not even his parents now his
lover Leonor Rivera, Rizal left the Philippines bound for Spain to
observe life abroad and to write a book displaying Filipino
nationalism. In his journey, he was able to establish
connections that facilitated the campaign for reforms in the
Philippines while trying to conceptualize his book
Rizal's trip was primarily funded by Paciano, who regularly
sent him money for his upkeep. When the agrarian crisis in
Calamba took place, Rizal's allowance was delayed and he
had to pawn the diamond ring his sister Saturnina gave him
before he left for Spain.

He even had to cut his living costs, which meant skipping

meals and eating tuyo (dried fish). Rizal also had problems
in paying rent which forced him to move from one place to
another.
Nevertheless, Rizal never lost focus on his mission.
On his first visit to a foreign country, he witnessed how
people in Singapore displayed a carefree attitude in
whatever the did. This was because their rights as
citizens were respected and their authorities were not
abusive.
He also travelled to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Egypt, Italy,
and France before finally arriving in Barcelona, Spain.
In Spain, Rizal regularly met with
some of his former schoolmates
from Ateneo Municipal and this
partially relieved his homesickness.
He also wrote articles for a
newspaper based  in  Manila,  one
 of  which was his first published
essay El Amor Patrio (Love of
Country). He also spent his time
growing his personal library that
included books on the lives of the
presidents of the United States and
the history of the English civil war.
 In his collection of books, Rizal had
two favorites- Uncle Tom's Cabin
(1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe
and The Wandering Jew (1844) by
Eugene Sue. These two books
made Rizal empathetic towards
the less fortunate and reminded
him of the unjust relationship
between Filipinos and Spaniards.
This became Rizal's motivation to
start drafting his own book.
Aside from reading and writing, Rizal was also overwhelmed by the courage and
camaraderie displayed by the Freemasonry. It did not take long before Rizal
joined their ranks. Through the influence of his uncle Jose Alberto, Rizal was given
access to the Acacia Lodge of the Masonic Fraternity.
The biggest contributor to Rizal's
venture in writing was Dr. Maximo
Viola. He financed the publication
of Rizal's first book, Noli Me Tangere,
in 1887 with 2,000 initial copies.
Copies were given to Viola and to
Rizal's friends in Spain, while others
were shipped to the Philippines that
then reached the hands of the
Governor General of the Philippines
and the Archbishop of Manila.
 Rizal  also met  Don  Pablo  Ortiga  y Rey,  a former
 alcalde  of  Manila,  whose  house commonly
served as meeting place for Filipino students in
Madrid. He soon joined the group, Circulo Hispano-
Filipino, led by Juan Atayde. He also regularly
convened with his Filipino friends from the Los
TIDYING UP

Indios Bravos that included renowned painters

Juan Luna and Felix Resureccion Hidalgo.
 Rizal also busied himself with learning different
languages such as English, German, and French.
Despite his many engagements,
Rizal still found time to continue drafting his book.
One of his greatest influence was Dr. Feodor Jagor,
a German scientist and traveler, whom he met in
Berlin. Dr. Jagor's book inspired Rizal to do
something to emphasize that education is the
answer to the Philippines' current social condition.
 After the publication of Noli Me
Tangere, Viola accompanied
Rizal to Austria to finally meet
Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt, with
whom Rizal exchanged letters
and books for several years and
whom he considered as one of
his advisers. After a few trips to
Roma and other parts of Italy,
Rizal returned to the Philippines
to personally witness the impact
of his novel.
Section 3

THE PROPAGANDA
AND LA SOLIDARIDAD
Prior to the arrival of Rizal in Spain, many Filipino students were already
studying there like Pedro Paterno and Gregorio Sanciano who were both
active Filipino nationalists. When Rizal arrived in Spain in 1882, there was
an atmosphere of activism led mostly by students. Around this time,
Spain's government was in disarray because the newly adopted 1876
constitution created a power vacuum. As political parties tried to
consolidate their power and politicians tried to secure their personal
agendas, shifting from one political bloc to another became common.
Corruption was prevalent in the Spanish government. Furthermore, a
series of government and cabinet reorganizations followed shortly after
every change of party alignment.
In addition, many people in Spain were illiterate because of the
lack of primary and secondary schools. Most importantly, the
Church was still a formidable force in almost every aspect of the
Spanish society.
This was the situation in Spain that Rizal witnessed when he
arrived. He was also welcomed in an atmosphere of liberalism
which exposed him to ideas formally foreign to him. This was
when he became aware of the concept of assimilation wherein
the Philippines can be considered as a province of Spain and
not just a tributary colony. For Rizal, this meant that Filipinos
could be equal with the Spaniards.
Shortly after arriving in Barcelona, Rizal started contributing
to the short-lived bilingual newspaper, Diariong Tagalog, together
with Marcelo H. del Pilar. Most of Rizal's contributions were focused
on the idea of national regeneration through education.

Likewise, Rizal also contributed to other

publications led by Graciano Lopez Jaena.
Jaena was the first to lead a series of
protests in writing against the injustices of
the Spaniards in the Philippines in the
newspaper Los Dos Mundos. Later on, Rizal
found himself writing side-by-side with
Jaena's criticisms against the Spanish
colonial regime.

In 1883, Rizal's resentment
against the Spaniards
intensified when he received a
letter from his brother Paciano.
The letter informed him about
the new Calamba priest, Father
Villafranca, who was
threatening their father and
demanding for advance rental
payments.
In 1884, Jaena and Rizal delivered
speeches at the Expocision de Bellas
Artes in Madrid where two Filipino
painters were given recognition. Juan
Luna received an award for his
Spoliarium and Felix Resureccion
Hidalgo for his Virgenes Christianas
Expuestas al Populacho. In their
speeches, Jaena, condemned the
abuses of the friars and the Spanish
colonial government in the Philippines,
whereas Rizal encouraged the Filipino
youth to follow in the footsteps of Luna
and Hidalgo.
Rizal's speech received various
interpretations both from Spain and the
Philippines. In
the Philippines, Rizal's speech was
considered seditious. Many believed that
Rizal could never return to the Philippines
again as long as it was a colony of Spain.
 Spoliarium (left)
and Virgenes Christianas
Expuestas al Populacho (right)
 Galicano Apacible,
It was in 1885 that Rizal
Rizal's cousin, issued a
became more active in
newspaper of the same
contributing to various to
name. It was published in
various newspapers. In 1888,
Barcelona. Jaena and later
Rizal joined an organization
on, del Pilar edited the
composed of Filipino liberals
newspaper while Rizal was an
exiled in Spain, the La
active and significant
Solidaridad. The organization
contributor. It served as the
aimed to raise the  awareness
principal organ of the reform
of Spain on the needs of its
movement.
colony, the Philippines.
Most of the articles
featured in La Solidaridad
talked about the possibility
of the Philippines
becoming a province of
Spain with equal rights.
before the law, and
recognition of the freedom
of speech and assembly.

One of Rizal's most important
contributions was the Letter to the
Young Women of Malolos
published on February 22, 1889. It
recognized the efforts and
bravery of 20 women
from Malolos who wrote a
petition letter to Governor
General Valeriano Weyler to
allow them to put up a night
school where they could study
the Spanish language under the
tutelage of Teodoro Sandiko.
Though the petition was initially
denied because of the pressures
and influence of the friars, the
perseverance of the women of
Malolos prevailed.
 as a response to the accusations
Jose Rizal also made a
of the Spaniards that the Filipinos
fearless forecast on the future of
were indolent. Rizal argued that
the Philippines within a hundred
several factors can be identified
years in his work, The Philippines
for such and most can be rooted
a Century Hence. It analyzes the
in the abuses commited by the
various causes of the miseries
Spaniards directed to the
suffered by the Filipino people
Filipinos. Jose Rizal's outstanding
under the Spanish colonizers. In
talent and passion for writing, as
connection to this, Rizal wrote
evidenced by his numerous
another essay published in La
works, greatly antagonized the
Solidaridad in Madrid in 1890
friars who were the usual target
entitled The Indolence of the
of his criticisms.
Filipino,
After Jaena quit writing for the
group, del Pilar assumed leadership.
There were stories that Rizal was
offered the position of editor but
rejected it as he thought it might
create a rift between the two
propagandistas. Soon, Rizal stopped
writing for the newspaper to
dedicate his time in addressing the
Calamba agrarian dispute that was
further fueled by the eviction of the
Mercado family from the Dominican
lands.
 Design Principles

IN THE EYES OF NOLI

ME TANGERE

Section 4
In 1876, Jose Rizal initially took up Philosophy at the University of Santo
Tomas, but heeding the advice of his Jesuit friends, Rizal opted to take
medicine instead in 1878 which he was not able to complete.

In 1882, Rizal left the Philippines to go to Spain because of a secret

mission attested by a deal between him and his older brother Paciano
Mercado. The high light of the deal between the two brothers was that
on one hand, the young Rizal would have to observe life overseas and
prepare himself to liberate the Filipino people from the tyrannical
abuse of the Spaniards. On the other hand, Paciano Mercado would
take the responsibility of looking after the family in the Philippines and
finance Rizal's studies overseas. The mission was even kept from his
parents.
 After finishing his medical studies in 1885 at the Universidad
Central de Madrid, Rizal was able to finish the manuscript of Noli
Me Tangere in 1887. To keep up with the very expensive
publication cost, Rizal had to remove some chapters of the novel
to reduce the number of pages. With the help of some friends in
Madrid, the loan offer of Maximo Viola, and portions of his
allowance sent by his brother Paciano, Rizal was able to print
2000 copies of the novel in Berlin. He sent some of the copies to
his friends in Madrid, to Ferdinand Blumentritt, and to the
Philippines wherein the Archbishop of Manila immediately
denounced it as heretical, impious, and scandalous.
The story of how Noli Me Tangere was distributed
in the Philippines, amidst the strict censorship
implemented by the Spaniards, can be attributed
to the efforts of Jose Ma. Basa, the hero-smuggler
of the Propaganda Movement. Through his
connections and thriving business, he was able to
arrange Hongkong-Manila trips for Filipinos which
became the way for subversive and anti-friar
pamphlets to reach the hands of the Filipinos.
One of them was Noli Me Tangere. According to reports, the Filipino
travelers who served as couriers were instructed to disembark the
ships without the books which were usually hidden in the coal bin of
the ships. They would then hire a carretela and the books, usually
placed inside buri sacks in the carretela.

Afterwards, they would pretend to forget something in the ship.

After sometime, the cochero would inspect the buri sacks and find
the books. He would either dispose or leave them and another
arranged carretela would pick up the sacks for people to freely get
copies, thus disseminating them to Filipinos.
 The role of the Noli Me Tangere in the development of
Filipino consciousness can never be discounted. However,
its significance in the 21st Century has greatly diminished
considering that the Philippines is no longer a colony and
has long been an independent nation. Nevertheless, many
of the points raised by Rizal in Noli Me Tangere remain
relevant today especially with the current threats to
Philippine sovereignty.