Rizal’s Second

Sojourn in Paris and

the Universal
Exposition of 1889
Difficulty of Finding Quarters
The approaching Universal Exposition of 1889
which was scheduled to open on May 6, 1889
attracted thousands of tourist so that all hotel
accommodations were taken.
For a short time, Rizal lived in the house of
his friend Valentin Ventura, at No. 45 Rue
Maubeuge, where he polished his annotated
edition of Morga’s book.
Finally, he lived in a little room, together
with the two other Filipinos - Capitan Justo
Trinidad former gobernadorcillo of Santa Ana,
Manila, and a refugee from Spanish tyranny, and
Jose Albert, a young student from Manila.
 Life in Paris
Rizal used most of his time in the reading room
of the Bibliotheque Nationale (National Library)
checking up his historical annotations on Morga’s
book, in his living quarters writing letters to his
family and friends, in the gymnasium for his daily
physical exercises, and visiting his friends.
In his spare hours, Rizal used to dine at the
homes of his friends, such as the Pardo de
Taveras, the Venturas, the Bousteads, the Lunas,
etc.
On June 24, 1889, a baby girl was born to Juan
Luna and Paz Pardo de Tavera. She was their
second child, the first was a boy named Andres.
Her baptismal godfather (ninong) was Rizal.
Rizal and Paris Exposition of 1889
The greatest attraction of this exposition
was the Eiffel Tower.
Rizal and his friends attended the opening
ceremonies and saw the cutting of the ribbon by
Pres. Sadi Carnot of the Third French Republic.
Daily the Exposition drew a vast crowd of
200,000 persons or more.
One of the features of the Exposition was the
international art competition. Hidalgo’s
painting was awarded second prize, the
paintings of Juan Luna and F. Pardo de Tavera
each obtained the third prize, while Rizal’s
entry, a bust which he modeled got no prize.
 Kidlat Club
On March 19, 1889, Rizal organized his
paisanos(compatriots) into a society called
Kidlat Club. Among the members were Antonio
and Juan Luna, Gregorio Aguilera, Fernando
Canon, Lauro Dimayuga, Julio Llorente,
Guillermo Puatu, and Baldomero Roxas.
The Kidlat Club was purely a social society
of a temporary nature. It was founded by Rizal
simply to bring together the young Filipinos in
the French capital so that they could enjoy
their sojourn in the city during the duration of
the Universal Exposition.
 Indios Bravos
Rizal was enchanted by the dignified and
proud bearing of the American Indians. He told
his friends: “Why should we resent being called
Indios by the Spaniards? Look at those Indios
from North America - they are not ashamed of
their names. Let us be like them. Let us be
proud of the name Indio and make our Spanish
enemies revise their conception of the term.
We shall be Indios Bravos!”
Thus was born a new society of Filipino
patriots in Paris – the Indios Bravos (Brave
Indians).it replaced the ephemeral Kidlat Club.
 R.D.L.M Society
According to Dr. Leoncio Lopez-Rizal,
grandnephew of the hero, the society has a symbol
or countersign represented by a circle divided into
three parts by two semi-circles having the center
the interlocked letters I and B meaning Indios
Bravos, and the letters R.D.L.M. placed outside an
upper, lower, left and right sides of the circle. The
letters R.D.L.M are believed to be the initials of
the society’s secret name Redencion de los
Malayos (Redemption of the Malays).
The aim of the secret society, as stated by Rizal
was “the propagation of all useful knowledge –
scientific, artistic, literary, etc. – in the
Philippines.” Evidently, there was another aim that
is, the redemption of the Malay race.
Annotated Edition of Morga Published
Rizal’s publication in 1890 of his annotated
edition of Morga’s Sucesos, was printed by Garnier
Freres. The prologue was written by Prof.
Blumentritt.
In his Prologue, Blumentritt commended Rizal for
his fine historical scholarship. However, he frankly
censured Rizal for two things which revealed Rizal’s
errors:1)Rizal commits the error of many historians
in appraising the events of the past in the light of
present standards and 2) Rizal’s attacks on the
Church were unfair and unjustified because the
abuses of the friars should not be construed to mean
that Catholicism is bad.
Rizal dedicated his new edition of Morga to the
Filipino people so that they would know of their
glorious past.
Comment on Morga’s Publication Date
The title page of Rizal’s annotated edition of Morga
reads: “Paris,Libreria de Garnier Hermanos, 1890.”
However, there is documentary evidence to show
that Rizal’s edition Morga must have come off the
press in 1889-not 1890.
On October 12, 1889, Blumentritt wrote to Rizal
from Leitmeritz, saying: “I have just received your
magnificent edition of Morga. This edition with your
erudite notes will glorify your name.”
From Barcelona, Marinao Ponce, wrote to Rizal on
December 31, 1889, saying: “I received the book
Sucesos. Many thanks I have read only Blumentritt’s
prologue. Truly excellent. Please send me immediately
about ten copies that I can send to the Philippines by
the first mail that is going there.”
 Rizal as Historian
Rizal wrote other works which qualify him to be a
real historian. Ma-yi (December 6, 1888)and Tawalisi of
Ibn Batuta (January 7, 1889); Filipinas dentro de Cien
Años(The Philippines Within a Century), published in La
Solidaridad in four issues on Sept. 30, Oct. 31, Dec. 15,
1889 and Feb. 15, 1890; Sobre la Indolencia de los
Filipinos (the Indolence of the Filipinos), published in La
Solidaridad in five successive issues on July 15, July 31,
Aug. 1, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, 1890; La Politica Colonial
on Filipinas (Colonial Policy in the Philippines); Manila
en el mes de Diciembre,1872 (Manila in the Month of
December, 1872); Historia de la Familia Rizal de
Calamba(History of the Rizal family of Calamba); and
Los Pueblos del Archipielago Indico (The Peoples of the
Indian Archipelago)
 The Philippines Within a Century
Rizal expressed his views on the Spanish
colonization in the Philippines and predicted with
amazing accuracy the tragic end of Spain’s
sovereignty in Asia. He portrayed at the beginning
o his article the glorious past of the Filipino
people, then described their economic stagnation
and unhappiness under the harsh and bungling
Spanish rule. Toward the last paragraphs of the
article, he peered into the future and warned
Spain of what would happen to her colonial
empire in Asia if she would not adopt a more
liberal and enlightened policy toward the
Philippines.
 The Indolence of the Filipinos

This other essay of Rizal is also

prestigious work of historical scholarship.
It is an able defense of the alleged
indolence of the Filipinos. In the spirit of a
real scholar, Rizal made a critical study of
the causes why his people did not work
hard during the Spanish regime. His main
thesis was that the Filipinos are not by
nature indolent.
 International Association of
Filipinologists
Rizal proposed to establish an “International
Association of Filipinologist” and have its inaugural
convention in the French capital. He first submitted this
idea to Blumentritt in a letter dated January 14, 1889.
According to his prospectus, the aim of the association is
“to study the Philippines from the scientific and
historical point of view.” The officers were as follows:

President: Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt (Austrian)

Vice-President: Mr. Edmund Plauchut (French)
Counsellor: Dr. Reinhold Rost (Anglo-German)
Counsellor: Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor (Filipino-Spanish)
Secretary: Dr. Jose Rizal (Filipino)
 Project for Filipino College in
Hong Kong
According to Rizal, this college aims “to train
and educate men of good family and financial
means in accordance with the demands of
modern times and circumstances”. A rich
Filipino resident in Paris, Mr. Mariano Cunanan,
from Mexico, Pampanga, promised to help him
raiseP40,000 as initial capital for the college.
Unfortunately, this project of Rizal to
establish a modern college in Hong Kong did not
materialize.
 “Por Telefono”
In the fall of 1889 he wrote another satirical
work entitled Por Telefono as a reply to another
slanderer, Fr. Salvador Font, who masterminded
the banning of his Noli.
Por Telefono was published in booklet form in
Barcelona, 1889.
This satirical pamphlet under the authorship of
“Dimas Alang” (one of Rizal’s pen-names) is a witty
satire which ridicules Father Font. It describes in
comical vein a telephone conversation between
Father Font who was in Madrid and the father
provincial of the San Agustin Convent in Manila.
Incidentally, Por Telefono demonstrates not only
Rizal’s sparkling wit, but also his prophetic insight.
 Christmas in Paris
December 25, 1889 was a wintry day in Paris.
They prepared a Christmas dinner with fried
chicken, rice and vegetables. This dinner
proved to be Rizal’s last Christmas dinner in
Paris.
Rizal made a brief visit to London.
Biographers do not know the purpose of this
visit. It may be due to two reasons: 1) to check
up his annotated edition of Morga’s Sucesos
with the original copy in the British Museum and
2) to see Gertrude Beckett for the last time.