Rizal: Higher Education and Life Abroad

Rizal's Life: Higher Education and Life Abroad

• GomBurZa refers to Jacinto Zamora, Mariano Gomes, and Jose Burgos.
• Sol H. Gwekoh wrote a book about the three martyrs.
• Gomes changed his name from Z to S and signed a last will and testament: "Mar Gomes de los Angeles."
• Xiao Chua believes errors in history offer a chance for improvement.
• GomBurza's death in 1872 influenced independence and Rizal's life, marking a pivotal point in Philippine history.
• Teodoro Agoncillo contends there is no Philippine history before 1872.
• On January 20, 1872, Filipino workers at Fort San Felipe arsenal in Cavite were upset by wage deductions.
• Tax exemptions and forced labor were removed.
• Rights granted since 1740 were revoked by Rafael de Izquierdo, leading to the Cavite Mutiny, which lasted only two days.
• O.D. Corpuz described this period as "Terror of 1872."
• The revolt led to imprisonment, execution, or exile.
• The garrote execution of the three priests took place on February 17, 1872.
• They were accused of masterminding the revolt.
• Spanish authorities killed innocent people to maintain power, disregarding Filipino dignity and rights.
• Paciano, Rizal's friend, teacher, and housemate of Fr. Jose Burgos, shared the story of the execution of his friend with Jose Rizal, inspiring him to advocate for social justice.
• Consequently, Rizal dedicated "El Filibusterismo" to GomBurZa.

Ateneo Days (June 1872)

• Rizal took an exam at the College of San Juan de Letran on June 10.
• Don Kiko decided Rizal should study at Ateneo.
• Fr. Magin Ferrand, the college registrar, initially refused Rizal's admission.
• Rizal was a late registrant, pale, thin, and undersized for an 11-year-old.
• With Manuel Burgos's help, he was accepted into the "Bachiller en Artes" program, which offered 5 subjects: Christian doctrine, Languages of Spanish, Latin, Greek and French, History and Geography (World History and Geography and History of Spain and the Philippines, Mathematics and Sciences geometry, trigonometry, mineralogy, chemistry, physics, botany, and zoology, and Classic disciplines poetry, rhetoric, and philosophy.
• The class was divided into two groups (empires) Roman Empire (boarding students), and Carthaginian Empire (non-boarding students) to promote competition.
• Dignitaries in these groups included Emperor, Tribune, Decurion, Centurion, and Standard-bearer.
• On his first day in First Year (1872-1873), he attended mass.
• His class comprised Spaniards, mestizos, and Filipinos, and he was initially placed at the bottom of the class as a standard-bearer: promoted to centurion in a week, then emperor in a month, and received a religious picture.
• Rizal took private lessons at Santa Isabel College to improve his Spanish.
• Halfway through his first year, he was second in class (Tribune) because of the teacher's negative remarks.

Summer Vacation (1873)

• His mother was still in jail which motivated him to visit his mother in Santa Cruz
• During his Second Year (1873-1874), he regained his position as emperor and won a gold medal.
• During Summer Vacation (1874), he visited his mother and discussed his achievements
• Donya Teodora shared her dream, which Rizal interpreted as her release from prison in three months.
• He indulged in romantic novels and was fond of "The Count of Monte Cristo."
• The novel is about a man unjustly incarcerated who escapes to seek revenge.
• Rizal thought of his mother and the struggles of his motherland while reading the book
• Rizal was impressed by "Travels in the Philippines" by Dr. Feodor Jagor because of it's careful observations about the problems caused by Spanish colonization.
• Jagor predicted Spain would lose control of the Philippines to America, which would become the next colonizer.
• He continued to grapple with Spanish during Third Year (1874-1875) but got one medal in Latin.
• Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez, his favorite teacher during Fourth Year (1875-1876), taught him rhetoric, Greek, and geometry, recognizing and encouraging his talent as a poet
• Wrote the poems, Y es Espanol: Elcano, el Primero en dar la Vuelta al Mundao, and El Embarque: Himno a la Flota de Magallanes, and El Combate: Urbiztondo, Terror de Jolo.
• Ang Unang Nakaligid sa Daigdig at Kastilang si Elcano is about Juan Sebastian Elcano.
• Ang Pagsakay: Imno sa Hukbo ng mga Pandigmang-dagat ni Magallanes, pays tribute to Ferdinand Magellan and Spain.
• Ang Paghahamok: Urbiztondo, ang Kilabot ng Jolo, was written to hail Urbiztondo for the successful battle against Muslims.
• Rizal was not anti-Spain, but anti-Spanish friars and officials engaged in oppression and corruption.
• His poems were impressionistic and amateurish, but it contain the seeds of his future nationalism
• He was awarded 5 medals by the end of his fourth year: 2 for conduct, 1 for rhetoric and poetry, 1 for French, 1 drawing
• During the Summer Vacation (1876), he returned to Calamba and was tasked by Fr. Sanchez with translating a Spanish prose version of an Italian versified drama called St. Eustachius, Martyr.
• He was also commissioned to write a poem about Calamba.

Fifth Year (1876-1877)

• He gave the priest the works he requested and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Ateneo.
• He learned the immense value of education.
• Education is like a 'guiding lighthouse' to illuminate individual behavior and actions
• Education is a catalyst for societal progress, an essential component in nation-building.

UST Years

• He enrolled in the University of Santo Tomas (UST), a Dominican school established in 1611, but his mother forbade him because she thought more knowledge would lead to danger.
• He took Philosophy and Letter in April 1877 because his father wanted him to study metaphysics and surveying in Ateneo
• After a year, he shifted to medicine because his mother was going blind from a cataract
• He was not happy during his time in UST, so his grades were not good compared to Ateneo

Explaining His Grades

• According to Gregorio Zaide, he was not happy in UST as Dominican professors were hostile, Filipino students suffered discrimination, and the method of instruction was obsolete and repressive
• Leon Ma. Guerrero cited dissatisfaction with the education system, distractions, and medicine not being his true vocation
• He made a name for himself in other activities and won first place in a literary contest for his poem “A La Juventud Filipina" in Eng. (to the Philippine youth)
• Filipino students were often called 'indio' or 'chongo', so Rizal was active in protesting this discrimination
• In retaliation, they called the 'kastila' or 'bangus'
• He founded a secret society called “Companerismo”, as the president, and his cousin Galicano Apacible, was the secretary

In Defense of UST

• A Nostalgic Thomasian clarified misconceptions about Rizal's experience in UST, such as Rizal was favored,Filipinos got the best grades and Rizal received excellent grades
• (Rizal ranked 2nd in his 4th year at UST with Cornelio Mapa placing first rank)
• Most biographers have a negative view of Rizal's stay at UST, according to UST archivist Regalado Trota Jose
• Fr. Fidel Villarroel, in "Jose Rizal and the University of Santo Tomas,” argues Rizal's grades in UST were similar to those in Madrid.
• Lito Zulueta says the 5 years he spent in UST is misunderstood in his essay, "Rizal at the University of Santo Tomas: The Misunderstood Years."

The scholar's journey

• Rizal secretly left the Philippines on May 3, 1882, aboard the S.S. Salvadora, only Paciano, 2 sisters, and a few close friends knew of this to avoid disapproval from his parents who feared is safety
• Rizal's primary goal in leaving for Europe in 1882 was to complete his education
• He also had a secret mission of learning about other nations in order to to liberate the Philippines from Spain's tyrannical rule.
• Traveled to Singapore, Sri Lanka, Italy, and France.
• He arrived in Barcelona on June 16, 1882, after 1 ½ months of travel.
• in 1882 he went to Madrid because of it's central role in Spain and for his education
• He started writing for the Diariong Tagalog under the pseudonym Laon Laan.
• His essay “El Amor Patrio" about love of country was published on August 20,1882
• He stopped writing articles about the country to appease his mother's opposition and it alerted Spanish officials
• He studied Medicine and Philosophy and Letters at the Universidad Central de Madrid and learned Painting and Sculpture at the Academy of San Carlos
• He also studied other languages; French, German, at English
• During his first year in Madrid, he joined the Circulo Hispano-Filipino to discusses political issues and to voice out concerns of Filipinos
• The Newspaper Revista del Circulo Hispano-Filipino, aimed to express thoughts about the abusive Spanish government, but dissolved due to lack of funds and conflicting political issues with Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Juan Luna, and Graciano Lopez Jaena as part of the organization
• Rizal had financial difficulties in Madrid due to the declining family status and increased rentals of the Dominican hacienda, so his allowance was often delayed or not enough.
• Attended banquet in celebration of Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, at the Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes
• Luna's painting "Spoliarium” won a gold medal and Hidalgo’s painting "Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho" won a silver medal
• He gave a speech that would make history, it was published in the magazine “Los Dos Mundos” which made Rizal famous.
• He completed the coursework but was but was not granted the doctor's diploma, he was not able to submit the thesis required nor pay the corresponding fees.
• However, a licentiate was enough to practice medicine
• finished his licentiate in Philosophy and letters in 1885 and moved to Paris in Nov. 1885 due to specialize in ophthalmology
• He became an assistant of opthalmologist Dr. Louis de Wecker, known for using scissors in surgeries
• His skills improved, learning; How to conduct eye operation, Diagnose eye ailments, Use different techniques of eye surgery
• He met with friends, including Juan Luna and Maximo Viola and he became a model and posed for two historical paintings.
• At this time the Noli Me Tangere, was half-finished

Germany

• Feb 1886 – Rizal went to Germany, due to high cost of living in Paris
• He worked as an assistant to ophthalmologist Dr. Otto Becker at the University Eye Hospital.
• He learned diagnosis techniques from Becker, who he first learned from Dr. Louis de Wecker
• He met Blumentritt during this time, Rizal heard of an Austrian scholar who was interested in the Philippines.
• They exchanged photographs.
• According to Ambeth Ocampo, they are just friends.

Rizal's Sexual Orientation

• Dr. Isagani Cruz wrote a book about Was Is Rizal Gay, which disagrees with Isagani Cruz; Cruz made negative assumptions about "bakla," believing they cannot be revolutionary, fail in relationships with women, cannot have sex with women, and are impotent
• Rizal arrived in Leipzig on August 14, 1886, and attended lectures conducted by a German historian and anthropologist
• He translated William Tell and translated several fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen.

Berlin

• Moved to Berlin in Nov 1886 to learn more about ophthalmology, German culture and government, and to meet with scientists and worked as an assistant in the clinic of Dr. Schweigger, in the morning
• Attended classes at the University of Berlin, in the evening
• He intended to publish his novel, Noli Me Tangere, but faced challenges due to illness, sadness, and poverty
• Paciano was unable to send him his monthly allowance due to crop failures in Calamba
• Rizal had to pawn his diamond ring sell books in order to eat.
• Maximo Viola loaned him allowance money and 300 pesos for the printing of Noli Me Tangere due to his poor nutrition due to tuberculosis
• Of Noli Me Tangere 2000 copies were produced and distributed to Filipinos in Europe, including Dr. Blumentritt
• Bound copies were boxed and sent to his friends in Barcelona and Madrid, and disguised as merchandise to get them inside the Philippines
• Took a ship from Marseilles, and started home on July 5, 1887, and he was ready to operates on his mother's cataracts.

The Propagandist's Journey

• Propaganda movement – reform and national consciousness movement among young Filipino Ilustrados
• Published its newspaper, La Solidaridad, bi-weekly.
• Graciano Lopez Jaena served as the first editor
• Marcelo H. del Pilar took over in 1889, that folded because lack of funds.

Philippines

• August 1887 – returned to the Philippines after 5 years abroad.
• Greeted by controversy as the Jesuits at the Ateneo attempted to convert him to their old faith.
• Padre Faura, who taught Rizal to carve the Sacred Heart of Jesus, told him that he had made mistakes in his novel.
• The friars were determined to silence Rizal, so they preached sermons against him and wrote pamphlets denouncing him.
• Rumors spread that he was a German spy, a mason, and other dangerous things
• Rizal received death threats daily.
• He established a medical clinic with his first patient as his mother and became known as an eye specialist and surgeon.
• He was called Dr. Uliman and mistaken for a German.
• On August 30, 1887, he left Calamba to meet with Governor-General Emilio Terrero, a liberal official, to discuss his novel
• Terrero stated that he read the novel and found nothing wrong with it

Oppositions

• Archbishop Bernardo Nozaleda of Manila did not like what he said in his book and recommended it to be stopped
• Terrero, concerned for Rizal's safety, assigned Lieutenant Jose Taviel de Andrade to protect him, and requested that Rizal should leave the country but Rizal refused
• The friars were exploiting the tenants and taking advantage of their poverty.

Rizal Findings

• the hacienda of the Dominican order comprised the whole town of Calamba
• increased profit due as arbitrary increase of the rentals paid by the tenants
• the hacienda owner never contributed for the celebration of the town fiesta
• Tenants who spent more labor in clearing the lands were dispossessed
• High rates of interest were charged to the tenants
• Work animals, tools, and farm implements were confiscated for unpaid rentals
• The friars were furious with Rizal's findings and demanded that Terrero order Rizal to leave the country
• After six months in the Philippines, Rizal left for Hong Kong and met Filipino exiles: Jose Maria Basa, Balbino Mauricio, and Manuel Yriarte
• He studied Chinese language, drama, and theater, and Chinese culture and values and visited the botanical garden, casino, cathedral and churches, pagodas, and bazaar

Japan

• Arrived in Yokohama, Japan and stayed at the Tokyo hotel
• He was then invited by Juan Perez Caballero to live at the Spanish legation
• He studied Japanese language, culture, theater, and martial arts and visited Japanese provinces
• He met O-Sei-San, whom he became friends and eventually fell in love with
• After one month he left Japan

USA

• His ship was quarantined in San Francisco on April 28,1888
• The ship was suspected of carrying cholera, but Rizal said it was carrying Chinese and Japanese laborers
• He traveled to different cities including Reno, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Chicago, Albany, and New York and was critical of the lack of racial equality in the US

London

• He arrived in London on May 24,1888 to improved his English, study the “Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas" par Antonio Morga, research Philippine history, and continue writing La Solidaridad
• Rizal met Dr. Reinhold Rost, librarian of the ministry of foreign affairs in England and received good and bad news from the Philippines.
• Good: priest Vicente Garcia, defended his novel
• Bad: supporters of the Anti-friar petition of 1888 were persecuted, including tenants of Calamba; Rizal's family and relatives, Rizal's brother-in-law, Manuel T. Hidalgo was exiled to Bohol; his friend Laureano Vida, was arrested for keeping copies of Noli Me Tangere.
• In March 1889 he left to Paris to continue working on El Filibusterismo and sequel of Noli, where he researched about history of the Philippines,
• He also polished the annotated version of Antonio Morga’s “Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas”
• In January 1890, he moved to Brussels, Belgium, to escape the high cost of living in Paris and was troubled by by reports that Filipinos on Spain were gambling too much
• He writes to Marcelo H. del Pilar, to ask other Filipinos in Europe to work of freedom
• His family and relatives had been evicted from their land in Calamba because Dominican friars raised the rents, and they can't afford to pay,
• The friars filed a case to strip the Rizals of their ownership of the land.
• Wrote the poem, "A Mi Musa”, to express disappointment and to call justice, which made him more determined to find
• He spent close to a year in Brussels to complete the first draft of El Filibusterismo

Politics and Hong Kong

• In August 1890, he attended a gathering of Filipinos, where he and and Antonio Luna fought over Nellie Boustead
• He went to Hong Kong after publishing El Filibusterismo in Europe, became upset with the political situation in Madrid and disagreements with del Pilar and other Filipino expatriates
• Rivalry between Rizal and del Pilar arose on 1890, after del Pilar took over La Solidaridad
• 90 Filipinos met to elect a leader named Responsible
• division resulted between the from the Rizalista and the Pilaristas
• Ponce wanted Pilaristas to support Rizal
• He declined the position as he was disliked
• Rizal and left group and no longer contributed to La Solidaridad, arrived in HK on nov 20,1891
• He became a licensed medical and wrote the constitution of La Liga Filipina, with Jose Maria Basa, that's goal was to unite the archipelago into one body provide
• mutual protection in times of nee
• protection against all forms of violence and justic
• promote education, agriculture, and commerce
• study and implement reforms
• During his time in HK, he wrote two articles.

1. To The Spanish Nation
2. To My Countrymen the own a alaysis in Calamba

North Borneo

• During his journey to HK from Marseilles, he met William Pryer, this company had to see over Noth Borneo
• Rizal suggested creating Filipino colony and Pryer liked the idea
• and Rizal met with the governor of north Borneo leasing least 5 acres with option even more
• Calamba tenants could not leave the Philippines the
• Eulogio Despujol was asking permission for citizens to change nationality and allow safe travels Despujol asked him the consul invite back manila to discuss the matter , but His family declined, to consider this a trap
• June Rizal told his countrymen to return to manil