Life of Rizal

Narration of Events:

Rizal chose the English City to be his new home for three reasons; the first one is to improve his
knowledge of the English language. Second, to study and annotate Morga’s Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas
and the last reason it that London was a safe place for him to carry on his fight against Spanish tyranny.
Rizal was on board of SS City of Rome. He entertained the American and Spanish passengers with his
skill of the Yoyo. He arrived at Liverpool in London on May 24, 1888 and stayed for one day. He
described the city as big and beautiful city and the entrance is magnificent and the customhouse is quite
good. He found a modest boarding place in the home of Beckett family. Rizal spent a lot of time in the
British museum where he read Morga’s Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas and the other historical works
concerning the Philippines. He described the book as excellent, written in a scholarly fashion. He then
went to Madrid and Barcelona to determine the political situation relevant to the agitations of reforms
in the Philippines. He met the two leaders in Propaganda Movement, Marcelo H. del Pilar and Mariano
Ponce and exchanged ideas and plans in their fight for reforms. After Rizal’s stay in Spain, he went back
to London and spent his Christmas and New Year there. On Christmas, he received a gift from his
landlady, a book entitled The Life and Adventures of Valentine Nox, The Ventriloquist. Rizal also made a
gift for his best friend, Bluementrit, a bust of Emperor Augustus, while to Dr. Carlos Czepelak, a bust of
Julius Ceasar. Then, he was chosen as the Honorary President of Filipino Patriotic Society in Barcelona
called Asociacion La Solidaridad which would cooperate in the crusade for reforms. This was
inaugurated on December 31, 1889. Rizal then wrote a letter of thanks addressed to the members of
Asociacion La Solidaridad on January 28, 1889. The letter content is a great deal of integrity and much
good will. Graciano Lopez Jaena founded the patriotic newspaper called “La Solidaridad” in Barcelona. It
was printed on February 15 – October 31, 1889 in Barcelona and in Madrid it is on November 15 1895.
He became an active contributor to the newspaper as “Laong Loan” and “Dimas Alang”. The objectives
of La Solidaridad was to work peacefully for political and social reforms, to oppose the evil forces of
reaction and medievalism, to advocate liberal ideas and progress and to champion the legitimate
aspirations of the Filipino people to life, democracy and happiness. Rizal’s first article in La Solidaridad
was entitled Los Agricultores Filipinos (The Filipino Farmers) it was published on March 25, 1889, six
days after he left London for Paris. Rizal received news on Fray Rodriguez through presenting a spirited
conversation between the Friar and St. Augustine. In London, Rizal wrote the famous “Letter to the
Young Women of Malolos” in Tagalog. He penned it upon the request of Marcelo del Pilar to praise the
young ladies of Malolos for their courage to establish a school where they could learn Spanish despite
the opposition of Father Felipe Garcia, Spanish parish priest of Malolos. The main points of the letter
were to teach the children love of God, Fatherland and mankind. Filipino woman should also know how
to preserve her dignity and honor. Lastly, he said that faith is not merely reciting long prayers and
wearing religious pictures, but rather, it is living the real Christian way with good morals and manners.