CHAPTER 23

Last Trip Abroad

(1896)
Rizal had a
pleasant trip
from Dapitan to
Manila, with
delightful
stopovers in
Dumaguete
Cebu
Iloilo
Capiz
Romblon

He missed the
regular steamer
Isla de Luzon.



While waiting for
the next ship for
Spain, he was
kept as a guest
on board the
Spanish cruiser
Castilla.
Meanwhile, on August 26, 1896, Andres
Bonifacio and the Katipunan raised the cry of
revolution in the hills of Balintawak, a few miles
north of Manila.
Rizal worried about the raging hostilities, left for
Spain on the steamer Isla de Panay on
September 3, 1896.
FROM DAPITAN TO MANILA
Leaving Dapitan at midnight, July 31,1896,
the Espaa, with Rizal and party on board
sailed northward.
At dawn the next day (Saturday, August 1) it
anchored at Dumaguete Capital of Negros
Oriental.
In Dumaguete Rizal
visited a friend and
former classmate,
Herrero Regidor, who
was the judge of the
province.

He also visited other
friends, including the
Periquet and Rufina
families.


In the afternoon he
operated on a
Spanish Captain of
the Guardia Civil.
The Espaa left dumaguete about 1:00pm
and reached Cebu the following morning.
Rizal was fascinated by the entrance to
cebu which he considered "beautiful".

At the house of Attorney Mateos he met an
old couple whom he had known in Madrid.

In the morning of Monday August 3,
Rizal left Cebu going to Iloilo.

Arrived at iloilo he went shopping in
the city, and visited Molo.

Molo was a church, he commented: The
church is pretty outside and the interior is not
bad, considering that it had been painted by a
lad.


The Paintings are mostly
copies of biblical scenes by
Gustave Dore.

From iloilo ship sailed to capiz.
After a brief stopover it proceeded
toward Manila.

RIZAL MISSES SHIP GOING TO SPAIN
The Espaa arrived in Manila Bay early
morning of Thursday, August 6, 1896.
Unfortunately rizal
was not able to
catch the mail ship
Isla de Luzon
because it had
departed the
previous day
5:00pm.

He was greatly
disappointed, but
he took this unlucky
incidence with
abiding resignation.

Writting to Blumentritt later, "Unfortunately
I didn't catch the mail ship for spain and
fearing that my stay for a month in manila
would bring me troubled i made known to
governor general, while remaining on
board the ship (Espaa) of my wish to be
isolated from everybody, except my
family."
Near midnight of the
same day, August 6,
Rizal was transferred
to a spanish cruiser
Castilla by order of
Governor General
Ramos Blanco.
He was given good
accommodation by the
gallant captain, Enrique
Santalo, who told him that
he was not a prisoner, but
a guest detained on board
in order to avoid difficulties
from friends and enemies.
Rizal stayed on the
cruiser for about a month,
from August 6 to
September 2, 1896
pending the availability of a
Spain-bound steamer.
OUTBREAK OF THE PHILIPPINE
REVOLUTION
While Rizal was patiently waiting on the
cruiser Castilla for the next steamer to take
him to Spain, portentous events occurred,
presaging the downfall of Spanish power in
Asia.
On the fateful evening
of August 19, 1896 the
Katipunan plot to
overthrow Spanish
rule by means of
revolution was
discovered by Fray
Mariano Gil,
Augustinian cura of
Tondo.
This startling incident struck terror into the
hearts of the Spanish officials and residents,
producing a hysteria of vindictive relation
against Filipino patriots.

The tumult
produced by the
discovery of the
Katipunan plot was
aggravated by the
Cry of Balintawak
which was raised by
Bonifacio and his
valiant Katipuneros
on August 26, 1896.
At sunrise of August
30, the revolutionists
led by Bonifacio and
Jacinto attacked San
Juan, near the city of
Manila, but they were
repulsed with heavy
losses.
In the afternoon, after the Battle of San Juan,
Governor General Blanco proclaimed a state
of war in the first eight provinces for rising in
arms against Spain.
1. Manila (as a province)
2. Bulacan
3. Cavite
4. Batangas
5. Laguna
6. Pampanga
7. Nueva Ecija
8. Tarlac



Rizal learned of the eruption of the revolution
and the raging battles around Manila through
the newspapers he read on the Castilla.
He was worried for two reasons:
1. The violent revolution which he sincerely
believed to be premature and would only
cause much suffering and terrible loss of
human lives and property, had started.
2. It would arouse Spanish vengeance against all
Filipino patriots.

DEPARTURE FOR SPAIN

On August 30, 1896 the day when the state
of war was proclaimed in the eight
provinces, Rizal received from the Governor
General Blanco two letters of introduction
for the Minister of War and the Minister of
Colonies, with a covering letter which
absolved him from all blame for the raging
revolution, as follows: pp. 245
At 6:00pm, September 2,
Rizal was transferred to the
steamer Isla de Panay which
was sailing for Barcelona,
Spain.
The next morning, September
3, this steamer left Manila
Bay.
At last, Rizals last trip to
Spain began. Among his
fellow passengers on board
were Don Pedro Roxas (rich
Manila creole industrialist and
his friend) and his son named
Periquin.
RIZAL
IN
SINGAPORE
Sept. 7 Isla de Panay arrived at Singapore in the
evening

The following morning Rizal and the passengers went
ashore or sightseeing and to shop souvenirs.

Rizal wrote in his travel diary I have observed some
changes: more Chinese merchants than Indian.
Singapore has changed much since I saw it for first time
in 1882.
Don Pedro advised Rizal to stay
behind too and take advantage
of the protection of the British
law. But Rizal did not
heed his advised.

Rizal ignore their appeal
because he had given his
word of honor to Governor
General Blanco and
he didnt like to break it
VICTIM OF
SPANISH
DUPLICITY
Rizal sealed his own doom

Gov. Gen. Blanco was secretly conspiring with the Ministers
of War and the Colonies (ultramar) for his destruction

Rizal proved to be as gullible as Sultan Zaide, another victim
of Spanish intrigue.
One of the greatest mistakes of Rizal was to:
believe that Gov. Gen. Blanco was a man of honor and a
friend because he allowed him to go as a free man to Spain
to become a physician-surgeon of the Spanish army Cuba,
where a bloody revolution was raging
and gave him 2 nice letters of introduction addressed to
Spanish Ministers of War and the Colonies

The truth of the manner was substantiated by the
declassified documents in Minister of War and Colonies:
that Blanco was implacable foe, regarded him as
dangerous Filipino.

Rizal was unaware that Blanco and the Ministers of War
and Colonies were exchanging coded telegrams and
confidential messages for his arrest upon reaching
Barcelona and that he was deportee and was being
secretly kept under surveillance
RIZAL
ARRESTED
BEFORE
REACHING
BARCELONA
Sept. 8 Isla de Panay left Singapore at 1pm

Unaware of the Spanish duplicity, particularly Gov. Gen.
Blanco happily continued the voyage towards Barcelona

Sept.25- he saw Islas de Luzon, leaving the Suez Canal,
crammed with Spanish troops.

Sept. 27 he heard from the passengers that a telegram
arrived from Manila reporting execution of Francisco
Roxas, Genato and Osorio.
On September 28, a day after the steamer had left Port
Said, a passenger told Rizal the bad news that he would
be arrested by order of Governor General Blanco and
would be sent to prison in Ceuta (Spanish Morocco),
opposite Gibraltar.

On September 29, Rizal wrote in his diary: There are
people on board who do nothing but slander me and
invent fanciful stories about me. I'm going to become a
legendary personage.
September 30 at 4pm, he was officially notified by
Captain Alemany that he should stay in his cabin
until further orders in Manila.
ARRIVAL IN BARELONA AS A PRISONER
About 6:25pm September 30, the steamer anchored at
Malta. Being confined to his cabin, Rizal was not able to
visit the famous island-fortress of the Christian
crusaders.
On October 3 at 10am, the Isla de Panay arrived in
Barcelona, with Rizal on board. The trip from Manila to
Barcelona lasted exactly 30 days.
His jailor was no longer the ship
captain but the Military
Commander of Barcelona, who
happened to be General Eulogio
Despujol.

On his second day in Barcelona,
Rizal, noticed the city celebration
of the feast of St. Francis of
Assisi.

At 3:00am on October 6, Rizal was awakened by the
guards and escorted to the infamous prison-fortress
named Monjuich.

About 2:00 in the afternoon, he was taken out of the
prison by the guards and brought to the headquarters of
General Despujol.

In the interview, which lasted a quarter of an hour, the
brusque general told Rizal that he would be shipped
back to Manila on board to transport ship Colon which
was leaving that evening.

After the interview, Rizal was taken aboard the Colon,
which was full of soldiers and officers and their
families.

At 8pm, October 6, the ship left Barcelona, with Rizal on
board.