RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS
CHAPTER 5: RIZAL IN EUROPE • La Solidaridad, established in 1889 with the help of
Pablo Rianzares, became the newspaper of the
reformists, with contributors like Rizal, Del Pilar, and
STUDENT ACTIVITIES IN SPAIN
Antonio Luna using pseudonyms to publish their works.
• In the 1880s, education in Europe was poor, and
schools used old and ineffective ways of teaching
According to Agoncillo (1990), the following were among the
focused only on memorizing.
main demands of the reformists:
• Many university professors were more interested in
o Fairness among Filipinos before the law;
politics than in teaching, and universities were
o Assimilation of the Philippines as a regular
outdated, making it hard for people to afford school.
province of Spain;
• Churches controlled education and removed anything o Restoration of the Philippine representation in
that went against their beliefs, limiting students' the Cortes;
knowledge. o Filipinization of the Philippine churches; and
• By the late 1880s, schools in Spain started to improve, o Granting of individual liberties, such as freedom
and Filipino students began studying there. of speech, of the press, and of association and
• These Filipino students learned more about Spain's redress of grievances.
laws and policies and realized the wrongdoings of the
church and government in the Philippines. THE LA SOLIDARIDAD
• This awareness made them want independence and • La Solidaridad was founded on December 31, 1888, by
freedom for the Philippines. Galicano Apacible and Graciano Lopez Jaena. Jose
• Filipino students rejected church teachings and Rizal, who was in England at the time, served as the
became more vocal about their hopes for Philippine honorary president.
freedom. • The organization was supported by Dr. Miguel Morayta,
a former Spanish minister, and Ferdinand Blumentritt,
LUNA AND HIDALGO'S ACHIEVEMENT an Austrian ethnologist and professor.
✓ In 1884, Filipino artists Juan Luna and Felix • La Solidaridad was the official newspaper of the
Resurreccion Hidalgo became famous. organization, serving as a platform for Filipino
✓ Juan Luna won a first-class gold medal for his painting expatriates in Barcelona to express their views.
Spolarium at the Exposicion de Bellas Artes in Madrid. The newspaper's goals were:
✓ Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo received a second-class o To work peacefully for political and social
medal for his painting Christian Virgin to the Populace. reforms.
✓ Their achievements made their fellow Filipinos proud. o To highlight the poor conditions in the
✓ Pedro Paterno organized a banquet to celebrate their Philippines and urge Spain to fix them.
success. o To fight against backward thinking and medieval
✓ The event was widely covered by the media, including practices.
the liberal newspaper El Imparcial in Madrid. o To promote liberal ideas and progress.
✓ Their success drew attention to the Filipino movement o To advocate for the Filipino people's rights to
and its causes. democracy, happiness, and a better life.
• Jose Rizal's novels Noli Me Tangere and El
THE PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT Filibusterismo were written to awaken Filipino
• The Propaganda Movement began as a response to nationalism and expose the abuses of the Spanish
the abuses of the Spanish government, with the goal of friars.
seeking independence for the Philippines. • In response, the friars banned the novels, preventing
• The execution of the GOMBURZA priests in 1872 their importation and distribution.
sparked the movement, which called for political, • Rizal also annotated the book Sucesos de las Islas
social, and economic reforms. Filipinas by Dr. Antonio Morga, to reveal the true history
• Marcelo H. Del Pilar was a key leader of the movement, of the Philippines.
advocating for Filipino rights and dignity. He was forced
to flee to Spain and took over the editorship of La FAILURE OF THE PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT
Solidaridad. The Propaganda Movement failed for several reasons, as
• Graciano Lopez Jaena, another leader, criticized the noted by Bernard (1974):
corrupt friars through his work Fray Botod, leading to o Spain was facing internal problems and ignored
his arrest. the reformists' demands published in La
• The movement gained support from many Filipino Solidaridad.
reformists, including Jose Rizal, Mariano Ponce, o Friars used their newspaper La Politica de
Antonio and Juan Luna, and others who joined from España en Filipinas to block reformist ideas.
Spain.
o Disunity among the reformists, with quarrels • Some see the Blood Compact as a symbol of betrayal,
over leadership and differing ideas, weakened highlighting the unequal power between the Spanish
the movement. and Filipinos.
o Lack of funds also limited the movement’s ability • Others view it as an important cultural and political
to continue its activities in Europe. event in Philippine history.
Despite its failure, the movement succeeded in raising
awareness: B. THE ENKANTOS: CONQUISTA ESPIRITUAL
o It gave a voice to the many Filipinos suffering 1. Spiritual Basis of Colonial Control
under Spanish rule. • The Spanish friars took control in the Philippines by
o Reformists expressed the deep emotions of combining their Catholic beliefs with the local belief in
Filipinos through their writings, advocating for spirits, known as engkantos.
rights long denied by colonizers. • They used Catholic rituals and symbols, such as holy
o The movement inspired both men and women water and sacraments, to demonstrate their power over
to rise and defend themselves against abuses, both the physical and spiritual realms.
fostering some unity among Filipinos. • This blending of beliefs made it easier for the native
Over time, the desire for reform grew into a call for revolution, people to accept Spanish rule because it connected
with leaders like Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, with their own traditions.
Apolinario Mabini, and Emilio Jacinto turning towards revolts
to overthrow Spanish rule. 2. Friar Power and Resistance
• The friars gained power by leading religious practices
THE NOLI ME TANGERE and charging fees for sacraments, taking control of
• Noli Me Tangere, meaning "touch me not," brought spiritual matters in the Philippines.
Jose Rizal both fame and opposition when it was • Some native leaders and shamans resisted this
published in 1887. influence to protect their own beliefs.
• The novel had a strong influence on reformists and • Although they couldn’t fully overthrow the Spanish,
revolutionaries, promoting patriotism and the fight for their resistance weakened the friars’ control over the
liberty. people.
• It was a direct criticism of the political and religious
systems in the Philippines under Spanish rule. C. CULTURAL ENTRAPMENT AND THE COLONIAL
• Noli Me Tangere was a declaration of Filipino COCKPIT
nationalism, encouraging Filipinos to join the 1. Cultural Ambivalence and Resistance through
movement for reform and independence. Gambling
• In the book's dedication, "Mi Patria" (My Country), Rizal • During the Spanish colonial period, Filipinos felt
revealed the corruption and decay within Philippine trapped between their native beliefs and the new
society, calling it a disease that needed to be cured. Christian values from the colonizers.
• Rizal believed that the cure for this societal disease • Many people practiced both indigenous and Christian
was Filipino nationalism and education. beliefs, forming a dual religious identity.
• Gambling, especially cockfighting, became a way for
CHAPTER 6: RIZAL’S SEARCH FOR them to deal with these mixed influences.
• It allowed them to engage with the colonial system
ORIGIN while still holding on to parts of their own culture.
• As a result, gambling served as both a form of cultural
A. DE PACTO DE SANGRE expression and a subtle act of resistance against
1. Divergent Interpretations of the Blood Compact Spanish rule.
• The Blood Compact between Sikatuna and Legazpi in
1565 has been understood in different ways. 2. Cockfighting as a Symbolic Power Struggle
• Marcelo H. Del Pilar saw it as a symbol of friendship • Cockfighting represented the ongoing struggle for
and the start of Spanish colonization, thinking it showed power between Filipinos and Spanish colonizers.
a long-term bond between Spain and the Philippines. • The red cocks symbolized the indigenous people, while
• Andres Bonifacio, however, believed the Blood the white cocks represented the colonial authorities.
Compact was not valid and used it as a reason to • Even though the Spanish regulated cockfighting, locals
support the revolution against Spanish rule. used it as a subtle way to resist their rule.
• These different views show how people had varied • This symbolic resistance allowed Filipinos to assert
opinions about Spain's control over the Philippines. their identity and autonomy while living under colonial
control.
2. Representation in Historiography and Art • Through cockfighting, they expressed their
• The Blood Compact has been shown in Philippine complicated relationship with Spanish power.
history and art, such as Juan Luna's painting El Pacto
de Sangre. D. THE IDEOLOGY OF SUBMISSION
• Interpretations of the painting express mixed feelings • Spanish colonialism changed the religious landscape
about Spanish colonization. in the Philippines by imposing Catholicism on the local
people and trying to eliminate traditional beliefs and • During this time, many historical accounts were
practices. dominated by religious narratives that often focused on
• This included banning customs like cremation, which the friars' misconduct rather than the broader history of
clashed with Catholic teachings about resurrection, the Philippines and its people. Rizal’s annotations
leading to cultural conflicts. offered clear historical corrections and reflected his
• Many Filipinos were concerned that not following strong anti-clerical views.
proper death rituals could harm their loved ones. • He found Morga's work to be a civil account,
• Despite these efforts, some aspects of Spanish contrasting it with the religious histories written during
Catholicism mixed with indigenous beliefs, creating a colonial times. For over two centuries, Morga’s book
unique form of folk Catholicism. stood out as the only non-religious general history of
• Churches became central to community life and the Philippines available in print.
governance, connecting social status with religious
identity. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ANNOTATIONS
• This blending allowed Filipinos to navigate their cultural • Rizal’s notes on Morga’s book helped Filipinos feel a
identity while dealing with colonial oppression. stronger sense of national identity. His work was an
important step in telling the history of the Philippines
from a Filipino point of view.
CHAPTER 7: THE ANNOTATION • His first try at writing a history book about the
OF MORGA’S BOOK Philippines faced strong opposition from the Spanish,
which made him aware that his notes on Morga's work
THE SUCESOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS could also face backlash. Morga had been banned from
• The Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas was written by Dr. the Philippines for his honest writing.
Antonio Morga and details events in the Philippines • Rizal was frustrated with the racist views of Spanish
from 1493 to 1603, including a thorough history of the historians, who often called the indigenous people
islands starting from 1565. "Indios" and labeled them as "primitive" or "uncivilized."
• This book is significant as the first published account of To counter this, he aimed to show the history of the
the Philippines, covering the country's political, social, Philippines through the eyes of the Indios, giving them
and economic systems, and showcasing how the a more respectful portrayal.
islands were managed under Spanish rule. • His notes were meant to help Filipinos understand their
• Morga's writing explores trade policies, communication rights and the true situation they faced under colonial
with other countries like Japan and China, and the rule. By sharing a narrative of the Philippines before
threats from Portuguese interests, giving readers a Spanish rule, Rizal wanted to inspire pride in the native
vivid picture of the challenges faced by the islands. people.
• The appeal of Morga's work and its detailed • Rizal hoped that if his work could help people
examination of Philippine institutions led to many remember their past, which had been forgotten or
annotations from various contributors, including Lord misrepresented, then his efforts would be worthwhile.
Stanley's translation and Rizal’s reprints. He believed that this understanding would encourage
• Morga’s role in the government provided him access to future generations to learn about their history and work
important documents, making his book rich in toward a better future:
information and engaging to read. • “If the book helps you remember our past, which has
been erased from memory, and corrects what has been
• Jose Rizal, impressed by Morga's work, decided to misrepresented, then I will not have worked in vain.
annotate and publish new editions of it. Dr. Ferdinand With this small base, we can all dedicate ourselves to
Blumentritt wrote the foreword for Rizal's annotations. studying the future.” (Rizal, 1890).
Rizal first encountered Morga’s book on May 24, 1888,
and quickly obtained a card to access the British CONTENTS OF MORGA'S BOOKS
Museum Library. Dr. Antonio de Morga wrote Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas
• Morga's account was based on thorough research and partly to address the defeat against the Dutch invaders in
his personal experiences, which Rizal considered the Manila in 1600. His work provides a historical account of the
best representation of Spanish colonization in the events in the Philippines during that time.
Philippines.
The book consists of eight chapters:
Rizal chose to reprint Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas for several 1. Of the First Discoveries of the Eastern Islands
reasons: 2. Of the Government of Dr. Francisco de Sande
o The original was rare. 3. Of the Government of Don Gonzalo Ronquillo de
o Morga was a layman, not a religious chronicler. Peñalosa
o Rizal appreciated Morga's objective writing 4. Of the Government of Dr. Santiago de Vera
style, which was more sympathetic to the 5. Of the Government of Gomes Pérez Dasmariñas
indigenous people. 6. Of the Government of Don Francisco Tello
o Morga was not just a historian but an 7. Of the Government of Don Pedro de Acuña
eyewitness to the events he described. 8. An Account of the Philippine Islands
• The first seven chapters discuss the political actions of
the first eleven governor-generals of the Philippines,
starting with Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565 and
ending with Pedro de Acuña, who died in June 1606.
• The eighth chapter describes the pre-Hispanic
Filipinos, known as Indios, at the time of Spanish
contact. This was useful for Rizal, as he aimed to
reconstruct the history of pre-Hispanic Philippines and
share it with his fellow countrymen.
• In his preface to Morga’s book, Rizal emphasized that
he made no significant changes to the original text, only
correcting spelling and punctuation to match modern
Spanish orthography.
• Rizal's annotations of Morga's book were published in
1889. After reading it, Ponce referred to the book as a
"slap on our enemies' face," highlighting how it showed
the world that Filipinos could produce wise and
knowledgeable individuals. Rizal believed that
education was crucial, stating, “Our whole aspiration is
to educate our nation; education and more education!”
CHAPTER 8:
