The Life and Works of Jose Rizal - Novels PDF

ANNOTATIO OFANTO NIO MORGA’S Sucesos de las Islas 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal...

ANNOTATIO OFANTO NIO MORGA’S Sucesos de las Islas 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas  Filipinas LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to: 1. Analyze Rizal’s ideas on how to rewrite the Philippine History. 2. Explain the underlying purpose of Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. 3. Compare and contrast Rizal and Morga’s different views about Filipinos and Philippine culture. 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas 6 Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas In not more than five (5) sentences, write your own interpretation of Rizal’s statement on the left. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Through the centuries, Jose Rizal has been known to be an earnest seeker of truth – it is this characteristic that marked him as a great historian. When the Spaniards came to conquer the islands, he had been so passionate to know the true conditions of the Philippines. But imagine how difficult it was to search for information during those days – most of the available sources were either written by friars of the religious orders and zealous missionaries determined to wipe out native beliefs and cultural practices, which they considered idolatrous and savage. Despite the colonizers’ claim that they were solely responsible for refining the Philippine islands, Rizal’s beliefs say otherwise. For him, the native populations of the Filipinos were self-sustaining and customarily spirited - it was because of the Spanish colonization that the Philippine’s rich culture and tradition faded to a certain extent. In order to support this supposition, Rizal went to look for a reliable account of the Philippines in the early days and at the onset of Spanish Colonization. Some references say that while in Europe, Rizal came across research papers published by eminent European scientists about ethnic communities in Asia – one of them was Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt, author of “Versucheiner Ethnographie der Philippinen.” Rizal wrote to him and that was how their friendship began. It was Dr. Blumentritt, a knowledgeable Filipinologist, who recommended Dr. Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, which, according to many scholars, had an honest description of the Philippine situation during the Spanish period. Other sources, however, claim that Rizal learned about Antonio Morga from his uncle, Jose Alberto, This knowledge about an ancient Philippine history written by a Spaniard came from the English Governor of Hong Kong, Sir John Browning, who had once paid his uncle a visit. While in London, Rizal immediately acquainted himself with the British Museum where he found one of the few remaining copies of Morga’s Sucesos. At his own expense, Rizal had the work republished with annotations that showed that the Philippines was an advanced civilization prior to Spanish colonization. Austin Craig, an early biographer of Rizal, translated some of the more important annotations into English. In this lesson, you will learn the importance of analyzing other people’s works in the past in order to gain a deeper understanding of our nation, with anticipation 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas that you, too, may write a reliable historical fact of the Philippines. 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas Dr. Antonio de Morga and his Sucesos Antonio de Morga (1559-1636) was a Spanish conquistador, a lawyer and a government official for 43 years in the Philippines (1594-1604), New Spain and Peru. As Deputy Governor in the country, he reinstated the Audiencia, taking over the function of judge or oidor. He was also in command of the Spanish ships in a 1600 naval battle against Dutch corsairs, but suffered defeat and barely survived. He may have undergone important failures in both his military and political capacities but he is now remembered for his work as a historian. https://www.google.com/search?q=dr.+antonio+de +morgaand source=lnmsandtbm =ischandsa=Xandved=2ahUKEwiK_qvd_NTmAhWTMt4KHRpm A wsQ_AUoAXo He was also a historian. He authored the book, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Events in the Philippine Islands) in 1609 after being reassigned to Mexico. This book narrates observations about the Filipinos and the Philippines from the perspective of the Spaniards. In fact, this book is considered valuable in the sense that it reflects the first formal record of the earliest days of the Philippines as a Spanish colony. Morga’s work, which is based partly on documentary research, keen observation, and partly on his personal involvement and knowledge, is said to be the best account of Spanish colonialism in the country. With Morga’s position in the colonial government, he had access to many important documents that allowed him to write about the natives’ and their conquerors’ political, social and economic phases of life from the year 1493 to 1603. Rizal was greatly impressed by Morga’s work that he, himself, decided to annotate it and publish a new edition. He meticulously added footnotes on every chapter of the Sucesos that could be a misrepresentation of Filipino cultural practices. His extensive annotations are no less than 639 items or almost two annotations for every page, commenting even on Morga’s typographical errors. Rizal began his work in London and completed it in Paris in 1890. In his dedication to complete his new edition of the Sucesos, he explained among other things, a#/media/ that the purpose of his work is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_de_Morg File:Sucesos_de_las_Islas_Filipinas.jp g “If the book (Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas) succeeds to awaken your consciousness of our past, already effaced from your memory, and to rectify what has been falsified and slandered, then I have not worked in vain, and with this as a basis, however small it may be, we shall be able to study the future.” What, then, was Morga’s purpose for writing the Sucesos? Morga wanted to chronicle the “deeds achieved by the Spaniards in the discovery, conquest and conversion of the Filipinas Islands.” Given this claim, Rizal argued that “the conversion and conquest were not as widespread as portrayed because the missionaries were only successful in conquering apportion of the population of certain 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas islands.” 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas  Why, you may ask, would Rizal annotate Morga’s work? For one, the book tells the history of wars, intrigues, diplomacy and evangelization of the Philippines in a somewhat disjointed way. Historians, including Rizal, have noticed a definite bias, a lot of created stories and distorted facts in the book just to fit Morga’s defense of the Spanish conquest. For instance, on page 248, Morga describes the culinary art of the ancient Filipinos by recording, “they prefer to eat salt fish which begin to decompose and smell.” Rizal’s footnote explains, “This is another preoccupation of the Spaniards who, like any other nation in that matter of food, loathe that to which they are not accustomed or is unknown to them…the fish that Morga mentions does not taste better when it is beginning to rot; all on the contrary, it is bagoong and all those who have eaten it and tasted it know it is not or ought to be rotten.” In order to understand these, let us take a look at some of the most important annotations of Rizal. The Preface Written with” Jose Rizal, Europe 1889” as a signature, the following Preface was indicated in Rizal’s Annotation (From Annotations to Dr. Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, n.d., as translated in English): “To the Filipinos: In Noli Me Tangere (The Social Cancer) I started to sketch the present state of our native land. But the effect which my effort produced made me realize that, before attempting to unroll before your eyes the other pictures which were to follow, it was necessary first to post you on the past. So only can you fairly judge the present and estimate how much progress has been made during the three centuries (of Spanish rule). Like almost all of you, I was born and brought up in ignorance of our country’s past and so, without knowledge or authority to speak of what I neither saw nor have studied, I deem it necessary to quote the testimony of an illustrious Spaniard who in the beginning of the new era controlled the destinies of the Philippines and had personal knowledge of our ancient nationality in its last days. It is then the shade of our ancestor’s civilization which the au- thor will call before you. If the work serves to awaken in you a consciousness of our past, and to blot from your memory or to rectify what has been falsified or is calumny, then I shall not have labored in vain. With this preparation, slight though it may be, we can all pass to the study of the future.” Notable Annotations The English translation of some of the more important annotations of the Sucesos was done by an early biographer of Rizal, Austin Craig (1872-1949). The following are excerpts from Rizal's annotations to inspire young Filipinos of today (Taken from Craig, 1929 as translated by Derbyshire, https://www.google.com/search?q=antonio+de+morg a+sucesos+ de+las n.d. in kahimyang.com). +islas+filipinasandsource=lnmsandtbm=ischandsa=Xandve d=2ahUKEwi R15OMoNXmAhXK7WEKHVzqCp8Q_AUoAXoECBQQAw andbiw=1707 andbih=760#imgrc=BGbOfHaFshQPiM: 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas  Governor Antonio de Morga was not only the first to write but also the first to publish a Philippine history. This statement has regard to the concise and concrete form in which our author has treated the matter. Father Chirino's work, printed at Rome in 1604, is rather a chronicle of the Missions than a history of the Philippines; still it contains a great deal of valuable material on usages and customs. The worthy Jesuit in fact admits that he abandoned writing a political history because Morga had already done so, so one must infer that he had seen the work in manuscript before leaving the Islands. By the Christian religion, Doctor Morga appears to mean the Roman Catholic which by fire and sword he would preserve in its purity in the Philippines. Nevertheless in other lands, notably in Flanders, these means were ineffective to keep the church unchanged, or to maintain its supremacy, or even to hold its subjects. Great kingdoms were indeed discovered and conquered in the remote and unknown parts of the world by Spanish ships but to the Spaniards who sailed in them we may add Portuguese, Italians, French, Greeks, and even Africans and Polynesians. The expeditions captained by Columbus and Magellan, one a Genoese Italian and the other a Portuguese, as well as those that came after them, although Spanish fleets, still were manned by many nationalities and in them went negroes, Moluccans, and even men from the Philippines and the Marianes Islands. Three centuries ago it was the custom to write as intolerantly as Morga does, but nowadays it would be called a bit presumptuous. No one has a monopoly of the true God nor is there any nation or religion that can claim, or at any rate prove, that to it has been given the exclusive right to the Creator of all things or sole knowledge of His real being. The conversions by the Spaniards were not as general as their historians claim. The missionaries only succeeded in converting a part of the people of the Philippines. Still there are Mahometans, the Moros, in thesouthern islands, and negritos, igorots and otherheathens yet occupy the greater part territorially of the archipelago. Then the islands which the Spaniards early held but soon lost are non-Christian-Formosa, Borneo, and the Moluccas. And if there are Christians in the Carolines, that is due to Protestants, whom neither the Roman Catholics of Morga's day nor many Catholics in our own day consider Christians. It is not the fact that the Filipinos were unprotected before the coming of the Spaniards. Morga himself says, further on in telling of the pirate raids from the south, that previous to the Spanish domination the islands had arms and defended themselves. But after the natives were disarmed the pirates pillaged them with impunity, coming at times when they were unprotected by the government, which was the reason for many of the insurrections. The civilization of the Pre-Spanish Filipinos in regard to the duties of life for that age was well advanced, as the Morga history shows in its eighth chapter. The islands came under Spanish sovereignty and control through compacts, treaties of friendship and alliances for reciprocity. By virtue of the last arrangement, according to some historians, Magellan lost his life on Mactan and the soldiers of Legaspi fought under the banner of King Tupas of Cebu. The term "conquest" is admissible but for a part of the islands and then only in its broadest sense. Cebu, Panay, Luzon Mindoro and some others cannot be said to have been conquered. The discovery, conquest and conversion cost Spanish blood but still more Filipino blood. It will be seen later on in Morga that with the Spaniards and on behalf of Spain 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas there were always more Filipinos fighting than Spaniards. Morga shows that the ancient Filipinos had army and navy with artillery and other implements of warfare. Their prized krises and kampilans for their magnificent temper are worthy of admiration and some of them are richly damascened. Their coats of mail and helmets, of which there are specimens in various European museums, attest their great ad- vancement in this industry. Morga's expression that the Spaniards "brought war to the gates of the Filipinos" is in marked contrast with the word used by subsequent historians whenever recording Spain's possessing herself of a province, that she pacified it. Perhaps "to make peace" then meant the same as "to stir up war." (This is a veiled allusion to the old Latin saying of Romans, often quoted by Spaniard's, that they made a desert, calling it making peace. (Austin Craig). Magellan's transferring from the service of his own king to employment under the King of Spain, according to historic documents, was because the Portuguese King had refused to grant him the raise in salary which he asked. Now it is known that Magellan was mistaken when he represented to the King of Spain that the Molucca Islands were within the limits assigned by the Pope to the Span- iards. But through this error and the inaccuracy of the nautical instruments of that time, the Philippines did not fall into the hands of the Portuguese. Cebu, which Morga calls "The City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus," was at first called "The village of San Miguel." The image of the Holy Child of Cebu, which many religious writers believed was brought to Cebu by the angels, was in fact given by the worthy Italian chronicler of Magellan's expedition, the Chevalier Pigafetta, to the Cebuano queen. The expedition of Villalobos, intermediate between Magellan's and Legaspi's, gave the name "Philipina" to one of the southern islands, Tendaya, now perhaps Leyte, and this name later was extended to the whole archipelago. Of the native Manila rulers at the coming of the Spaniards, Raja Soliman was called "Rahang mura", or young king, in distinction from the old king, "Rahang matanda". Historians have confused these personages. The native fort at the mouth of the Pasig river, which Morga speaks of as equippedwith brass lantakas and artillery of largercaliber, hadits ramparts reenforced with thick hardwood posts such as the Tagalogs used for their houses and called "harigues", or "haligui". Morga has evidently confused the pacific coming of Legaspi with the attack of Goiti and Salcedo, as to date. According to other historians it was in 1570 that Manila was burned, and with it a great plant for manufacturing artillery. Goiti did not take possession of the city but withdrew to Cavite and afterwards to Panay, which makes one suspicious of his alleged victory. As to the day of the date, the Spaniards then, having come following the course of the sun, were some sixteen hours later than Europe. This condition continued till the end of the year 1844, when the 31st of December was by special arrangement among the authorities dropped from the calendar for that year. Accordingly Legaspi did not arrive in Manila on the 19th but on the 20th of May and consequently it was not on the festival of Santa Potenciana but on San Baudelio's day. The same mistake was made with reference to the other early events still wrongly commemorated, like San Andres' day for the repulse of the Chinese corsair Li Ma-hong. Though not mentioned by Morga, the Cebuano aided the Spaniards in their expedition against Manila, for which reason they were long exempted from tribute. 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas  The southern islands, the Bisayas, were also called "The Land of the Painted People (or Pintados, in Spanish)" because the natives had their bodies decorated with tracings made with fire, somewhat like tattooing. The Spaniards retained the native name for the new capital of the archipelago, a little changed, however, for the Tagalogs had called their city "Maynila." When Morga says that the lands were"entrusted" (givenas encomiendas) to those who had "pacified" them, he means "divided up among." The word "en trust," like "pacify," later came to have a sort of ironical signification. To entrust a province was then as if it were said that it was turned over to sack, abandoned to the cruelty and covetousness of the encomendero, to judge from the way these gentry misbehaved. Legaspi's grandson, Salcedo, called the Hernando Cortez of the Philippines, was the "conqueror's" intelligent right arm and the hero of the "conquest." His honesty and fine qualities, talent and personal bravery, all won the admiration of the Filipinos. Because of him they yielded to their enemies, making peace and friendship with the Spaniards. He it was who saved Manila from Li Ma-hong. He died at the early age of twenty-seven and is the only encomendero recorded to have left the great part of his possessions to the Indians of his encomienda. Vigan was his encomienda and the Ilokanos there were his heirs. The expedition which followed the Chinese corsair Li Ma-hong, after his unsuccessful attack upon Manila, to Pangasinan province, with the Spaniards of whom Morga tells, had in it 1,500 friendly Indians from Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Panay, besides the many others serving as laborers and crews of the ships. Former Raja Lakandola, of Tondo, with his sons and his kinsmen went, too, with 200 more Bisayans and they were joined by other Filipinos in Pangasinan. If discovery and occupation justify annexation, then Borneo ought to belong to Spain. In the Spanish expedition to replace on its throne a Sirela or Malaela, as he is variously called, who had been driven out by his brother, more than fifteen hundred Filipino bowmen fromthe provinces of Pangasinan, Kagayan, and the Bisayasparticipated. It is notable how strictly the earlier Spanish governors were held to account. Some stayed in Manila as prisoners, one, Governor Corcuera, passing five years with Fort Santiago as his prison. In the fruitless expedition against the Portuguese in the island of Ternate, in the Molucca group, which was abandoned because of the prevalence of beriberi among the troops, there went 1,500 Filipino soldiers from the more warlike provinces, principally Kagayans and Pampangans. The "pacification" of Kagayan was accomplished by taking advantage of the jealousies among its people, particularly the rivalry between two brothers who were chiefs. An early historian asserts that without this fortunate circumstance, for the Spaniards, it would have been impossible to subjugate them. Captain Gabriel de Rivera, a Spanish commander who had gained fame in a raid on Borneo and the Malacca coast, was the first envoy from the Philippines to take up with the King of Spain the needs of the archipelago. The earlyconspiracy of the Manila and Pampangan former chiefs was revealed to the Spaniards by a Filipina, the wife of a soldier, and many concerned lost their lives. The artillery cast for the new stone fort in Manila, says Morga, was by the hand of an ancient Filipino. That is, he knew how to cast cannon even before the coming of the Spaniards, hence he was distinguished as 4"ancient." In this difficult art of ironworking, as in so many others, the modern or present-day Filipinos are not so far advanced as were 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas their ancestors. When the English freebooter Cavendish captured the Mexican galleon Santa Ana, with 122,000 gold pesos, a great quantity of rich textiles-silks, satins and damask, musk perfume, and stores of provisions, he took 150 prisoners. All these because of their brave defense were put ashore with ample supplies, except two Japanese lads, three Filipinos, a Portuguese and a skilled Spanish pilot whom he kept as guides in his further voyaging. From the earliest Spanish days ships were built in the islands, which might be considered evidence of native culture. Nowadays this industry is reduced to small craft, scows and coasters. The Jesuit, Father Alonso Sanchez, who visited the papal court at Rome and the Spanish King at Madrid, had a mission much like that of deputies now, but of even greater importance since he came to be a sort of counsellor or representative to the absolute monarch of that epoch. One wonders why the Philippines could have a representative then but may not have one now. In the time of Governor Gomez Perez Dasmariñas, Manila was guarded against further damage such as was suffered from Li Ma-hong by the construction of a massive stone wall around it. This was accomplished "without expense to the royal treasury." The same governor, in like manner, also fortified the point at the entrance to the river where had been the ancient native fort of wood, and he gave it the name Fort Santiago. The early cathedral of wood which was burned through carelessness at the time of the funeral of Governor Dasmariñas' predecessor, Governor Ronquillo, was made, according to the Jesuit historian Chirino, with hardwood pillars around which two men could not reach, and in harmony with this massiveness was all the woodwork above and below. It may be surmised from this how hard workers were the Filipinos of that time. A stone house for the bishop was built before starting on the governor-general's residence. This precedence is interesting for those who uphold the civil power. Morga's mention of the scant output of large artillery from the Manila cannon works because of lack of master foundry men shows that after the death of the Filipino Panday Pira there were not Spaniards skilled enough to take his place, nor were his sons as expert as he. It is worthy of note that China, Japan and Cambodia at this time maintained relations with the Philippines. But in our day it has been more than a century since the natives of the latter two countries have come here. The causes which ended the relationship may be found in the interference by the religious orders with the institutions of those lands. For Governor Dasmariñas' expedition to conquer Ternate, in the Moluccan group, two Jesuits there gave secret information. In his 200 ships, besides 900 Spaniards, there must have been Filipinos for one chronicler speaks of Indians, as the Spaniards called the natives of the Philippines, who lost their lives and others who were made captives when the Chinese rowers mutinied. It was the custom then always to have a thousand or more native bowmen and besides the crew were almost all Filipinos, for the most part Bisayans. The historian Argensola, in telling of four special galleys for Dasmariñas' expedition, says that they were manned by an expedient which was generally considered rather harsh. It was ordered that there be bought enough of the Indians who were slaves of the former Indian chiefs, or principales, to form these crews, and the price, that which had been customary in pre-Spanish times, was to be advanced by the encomenderos who later would be reimbursed from the royal treasury. In spite of this promised compensation, the measures still seemed severe since those Filipinos were not correct in calling their 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas dependents slaves 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas The masters treated these, and loved them, like sons rather, for they seated them at their own tables an gave them their own daughters in marriage. Morga says that the 250 Chinese oarsmen who manned Governor Dasmariñas' swift galley were under pay and had the special favor of not being chained to their benches. According to him it was covetousness of the wealth aboard that led them to revolt and kill the governor. But the historian Gaspar de San Agustin states that the reason for the revolt was the governor's abusive language and his threatening the rowers. Both these authors' allegations may have contributed, but more important was the fact that there was no law to compel these Chinamen to row in the galleys. They had come to Manila to engage in commerce or to work in trades or to follow professions. Still the incident contradicts the reputation for enduring everything which they have had. The Filipinos have been much more long-suffering than the Chinese since, in spite of having been obliged to row on more than one occasion, they never mutinied. It is difficult to excuse the missionaries' disregard of the laws of nations and the usages of honorable politics in their interference in Cambodia on the ground that it was to spread the Faith. Religion had a broad field awaiting it then in the Philippines where more than nine-tenths of the natives were infidels. That even now there are to be found here so many tribes and settlements of non-Christians takes away much of the prestige of that religious zeal which in the easy life in towns of wealth, liberal and fond of display, grows lethargic. Truth is that the ancient activity was scarcely for the Faith alone, because the missionaries had to go to islands rich in spices and gold though there were at hand Mohammedans and Jews in Spain and Africa, Indians by the million in the Americas, and more millions of protestants, schismatics and heretics peopled, and still people, over six- sevenths of Europe. All of these doubtless would have accepted the Light and the true religion if the friars, under pretext of preaching to them, had not abused their hospitality and if behind the name Religion had not lurked the unnamed Domination. In the attempt made by Rodriguez de Figueroa to conquer Mindanao according to his contract with the King of Spain, there was fighting along the Rio Grande with the people called the Buhahayenes. Their general, according to Argensola, was the celebrated Silonga, later distinguished for many deeds in raids on the Bisayas and adjacent islands. Chirino relates an anecdote of his coolness under fire once during a truce for a marriage among Mindanao "principalia." Young Spaniards out of bravado fired at his feet but he passed on as if unconscious of the bullets. Argensola has preserved the name of the Filipino who killed Rodriguez de Figueroa. It was Ubal. Two days previously he had given a banquet, slaying for it a beef animal of his own, and then made the promise which he kept, to do away with the leader of the Spanish invaders. A Jesuit writer calls him a traitor though the justification for that term of reproach is not apparent. The Buhahayen people were in their own country, and had neither offended nor declared war upon the Spaniards. They had to defend their homes against a powerful invader, with superior forces, many of whom were, by reason of their armor, invulnerable so far as rude Indians were concerned. Yet these same Indians were defenseless against the balls from their muskets. By the Jesuit's line of reasoning, the heroic Spanish peasantry in their war for independence would have been a people even more treacherous. It was not Ubal's fault that he was not seen and, as it was wartime, it would have been the height of folly, in view of the immense disparity of arms, to have first called out to this preoccupied opponent, and then been killed himself. The muskets used by the Buhahayens were probably some that had belonged to 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas Figueroa's soldiers who had died in battle. Though the Philippines had lantakas and other artillery, muskets were unknown till the Spaniards came. That the Spaniards used the word "discover" very carelessly may be seen from an admiral's turning in a report of his "discovery" of the Solomon islands though he noted that the islands had been discovered before. Death has always been the first sign of European civilization on its introduction in the Pacific Ocean. God grant that it may not be the last, though to judge by statistics the civilized islands are losing their populations at a terrible rate. Magellan himselfinaugurated his arrival in the Marianes islands by burning more than forty houses, many small craft and seven people because one of his boats had been stolen. Yet to the simple savages the act had nothing wrong in it but was done with the same naturalness that civilized people hunt, fish, and subjugate people that are weak or ill-armed. The Spanish historians of the Philippines never overlook any opportunity, be it suspicion or accident, that may be twisted into something unfavorable to the Filipinos. They seem to forget that in almost every case the reason for the rupture has been some act of those who were pretending to civilize helpless peoples by force of arms and at the cost of their native land. What would these same writers have said if the crimes committed by the Spaniards, the Portuguese and the Dutch in their colonies had been committed by the islanders? The Japanese were not in error when they suspected the Spanish and Portuguese religious propaganda to have political motives back of the missionary activities. Witness the Moluccas where Spanish missionaries served as spies; Cambodia, which it was sought to conquer under cloak of converting; and many other nations, among them the Filipinos, where the sacrament of baptism made of the inhabitants not only subjects of the King of Spain but also slaves of the encomenderos, and as well slaves of the churches and convents. What would Japan have been now had not its emperors uprooted Catholicism? A missionary record of 1625 sets forth that the King of Spain had arranged with certain members of Philippine religious orders that, under guise of preaching the faith and making Christians, they should win over the Japanese and oblige them to make themselves of the Spanish party, and finally it told of a plan whereby the King of Spain should become also King of Japan. In corroboration of this may be cited the claims that Japan fell within the Pope's demarcation lines for Spanish expansion and so there was complaint of missionaries other than Spanish there. Therefore it was not for religion that they were converting the infidels! The raid by Datus Sali and Silonga of Mindanao, in 1599 with 50 sailing vessels and 3,000 warriors, against the capital of Panay, is the first act of piracy by the inhabitants of the South which is recorded in Philippine history. I say "by the inhabitants of the South" because earlier there had been other acts of piracy, the earliest being that of Magellan's expedition when it seized the shipping of friendly islands and even of those whom they did not know, extorting for them heavy ransoms. It will be remembered that these Moro piracies continued for more than two centuries, during which the indomitable sons of the South made captives and carried fire and sword not only in neighboring islands but into Manila Bay to Malate, to the very gates of the capital, and not once a year merely but at times repeating their raids five and six times in a single season. Yet the government was unable to repel them or to defend the people whom it had disarmed and left without protection. Estimating that the cost to the islands was but 800 victims a year, still the total would be more than 200,000 persons sold into slavery or killed, all sacrificed together with 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas so many other things to the prestige of that empty title, Spanish sovereignty. Still the Spaniards say that the Filipinos have contributed nothing to Mother Spain, and that it is the islands which owe everything. It may be so, but what about the enormous sum of gold which was taken from the islands in the early years of Spanish rule, of the tributescollected bythe encomenderos, of theninemillion dollars yearlycollectedtopaythe military, expenses of the employees, diplomatic agents, corporations and the like, charged to the Philippines, with salaries paid out of the Philippine treasury not only for those who come to the Philippines but also for those who leave, to some who never have been and never will be in the islands, as well as to others who have nothing to do with them. Yet all of this is as nothing in comparison with so many captives gone, such a great number of soldiers killed in expeditions, islands depopulated, their inhabitants sold as slaves by the Spaniards themselves, the death of industry, the demoralization of the Filipinos, and so forth, and so forth. Enormous indeed would the benefits which that sacred civilization brought to the archipelago have to be in order to counterbalance so heavy a-cost. While Japan was preparing to invade the Philippines, these islands were sending expeditions to Tonquin and Cambodia, leaving the homeland helpless even against the undisciplined hordes from the South, so obsessed were the Spaniards with the idea of making conquests. In the alleged victory of Morga over the Dutch ships, the latter found upon the bodies of five Spaniards, who lost their lives in that combat, little silver boxes filled with prayers and invocations to the saints. Here would seem to be the origin of the anting- anting of the modern tulisanes, which are also of a religious character. In Morga's time, the Philippines exported silk to Japan whence now comes the best quality of that merchandise. Morga's views upon the failure of Governor Pedro de Acunia's ambitious expedition against the Moros unhappily still apply for the same conditions yet exist. For fear of upris- ings and loss of Spain's sovereigntyover the islands, the inhabitants were disarmed, leaving them exposed to the harassing of a powerful and dreaded enemy. Even now, though the use of steam vessels has put an end to piracy from outside, the same fatal system still is followed. The peaceful country folk are deprived of arms and thus made unable to defend themselves against the bandits, or tulisanes, which the government cannot restrain. It is an encouragement to banditry thus to make easy its getting booty. Hernando de los Rios blames these Moluccan wars for the fact that at first the Philippines were a source of expense to Spain instead of profitable in spite of the tremendous sacrifices of the Filipinos, their practically gratuitous labor in building and equipping the galleons, and despite, too, the tribute, tariffs and other imposts and monopolies. These wars to gain the Moluccas, which soon were lost forever with the little that had been so laboriously obtained, were a heavy drain upon the Philippines. They depopulated the country and bankrupted the treasury, with not the slightest compensating benefit. True also is it that it was to gain the Moluccas that Spain kept the Philippines, the desire for the rich spice islands being one of the most powerful arguments when, because of their expense to him, the King thought of withdrawing and abandoning them. Among the Filipinos who aided the government when the Manila Chinese revolted, Argensola says there were 4,000 Pampangans "armed after the way of their land, with bows and arrows, short lances, shields, and broad and long daggers." Some Spanish writers say that the Japanese volunteers and the Filipinos showed themselves cruel in slaughtering the Chinese refugees. This may very well have been so, considering the hatred and rancor then 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas existing, but those in command set the example. The loss of two Mexican galleons in 1603 called forth no comment from the religious chroniclers who were accustomed to see the avenging hand of God in the misfortunes and accidents of their enemies. Yet there were repeated shipwrecks of the vessels that carried from the Philippines wealth which encomenderos had extorted from the Filipinos, using force, or making their own laws, and, when not using these open means, cheating by the weights and measures. The Filipino chiefs who at their own expense went with the Spanish expedition against Ternate, in the Moluccas, in 1605, were Don Guillermo Palaot, Maestro de Campo, and Captains Francisco Palaot, Juan Lit, Luis Lont, and Agustin Lont. They had with them 400 Tagalogs and Pampangans. The leaders bore themselves bravely for Argensola writes that in the assault on Ternate, "No officer, Spaniard or Indian, went unscathed." The Cebuanos drew a pattern on the skin before starting in to tattoo. The Bisayan usage then was the same procedure that the Japanese today follow. Ancient traditions ascribe the origin of the Malay Filipinos to the island of Sumatra. These traditions were almost completely lost as well as the mythology and the genealogies of which the early historians tell, thanks to the zeal of the missionaries in eradicating all national remembrances as heathen or idolatrous. The study of ethnology is restoring this somewhat. The chiefs used to wear upper garments, usually of Indian fine gauze according to Colin, of red color, a shade for which they had the same fondness that the Romans had. The barbarous tribes in Mindanao still have the same taste. The "easy virtue" of the native women that historians note is not solely attributable to the simplicity with which they obeyed their natural instincts but much more due to a religious belief of which Father Chirino tells. It was that in the journey after death to "Kalualhatian," the abode of the spirit, there was a dangerous river to cross that had no bridge other than a very narrow strip of wood over which a woman could not pass unless she had a husband or lover to extend a hand to assist her. Furthermore, the religious annals of the early missions are filled with countless instances where native maidens chose death rather than sacrifice their chastity to the threats and violence of encomenderos and Spanish soldiers. As to the mercenary social evil, that is worldwide and there is no nation that can 'throw the first stone' at any other. For the rest, today the Philippines has no reason to blush in comparing its womankind with the women of the most chaste nation in the world. Morga's remark that the Filipinos like fish better when it is commencing to turn bad is another of those prejudices which Spaniards like all other nations, have. In matters of food, each is nauseated with what he is unaccustomed to or doesn't know is eatable. The English, for example, find their gorge rising when theysee a Spaniard eating snails, while in turn the Spanish find roast beef English-style repugnant and can't understand the relish of other Europeans for beefsteak a la Tartar which to them is simply raw meat. The Chinaman, who likes shark's meat, cannot bear Roquefort cheese, and these examples might be indefinitelyextended. The Filipinos' favorite fish dishis the bagoong and whoever has tried to eat it knows that it is not considered improved when tainted. It neither is, nor ought to be, decayed. Colin says the ancient Filipinos had minstrels who had memorized songs telling their genealogies and of the deeds ascribed to their deities. These were chanted on voyages in cadence with the rowing, or at festivals, or funerals, or wherever there happened to be any 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas considerable gatherings. It is regrettable that these chants have not been preserved as from them it would have been possible to learn much of the Filipinos' past and possibly of the history of neighboring islands. The cannon foundry mentioned by Morga as in the walled city was probably on the site of the Tagalog one which was destroyed by fire on the first coming of the Spaniards. That established in 1584 was in Lamayan, that is, Santa Ana now, and was transferred to the old site in 1590. It continued to work until 1805. According to Gaspar San Agustin, the cannon which the pre-Spanish Filipinos cast were "as great as those of Malaga," Spain's foundry. The Filipino plant was burned with all that was in it save a dozen large cannons and some smaller pieces which the Spanish invaders took back with them to Panay. The rest of their artillery equipment had been thrown by the Manilans, then Moros, into the sea when they recognized their defeat. Malate, better Maalat, was where the Tagalog aristocracy lived after they were dispossessed by the Spaniards of their old homes in what is now the walled city of Manila. Among the Malate residents were the families of Raja Matanda and Raja Soliman. The men had various positions in Manila and some were employed in government work near by. "They were very courteous and well-mannered," says San Agustin. "The women were very expert in lacemaking, so much so that they were not at all behind the women of Flanders." Morga's statement that there was not a province or town of the Filipinos that resisted conversion or did not want it may have been true of the civilized natives. But the contrary was the fact among the mountain tribes. We have the testimony of several Dominican and Augustinian missionaries that it was impossible to go anywhere to make conversions without other Filipinos along and a guard of soldiers. "Otherwise, says Gaspar de San Agustin, there would have been no fruit of the Evangelic Doctrine gathered, for the infidels wanted to kill the Friars who came to preach to them." An example of this method of conversion given by the same writer was a trip to the mountains by two Friars who had a numerous escort of Pampangans. The escort's leader was Don Agustin Sonson who had a reputation for daring and carried fire and sword into the country, killing many, including the chief, Kabadi. The Spaniards, says Morga, were accustomed to hold as slaves such natives as they bought and others that they took in the forays in the conquest or pacification of the islands.” Consequently, in this respect, the “pacifiers” introduced no moral improvement. We even do not know, if in their wars the Filipinos used to make slaves of each other, though that would not have been strange, for the chroniclers tell of captives returned to their own people. The practice of the southern pirates almost proves this, although in these piratical wars the Spaniards were the first aggressors and gave them their character. Rizal’s Arguments of Morga’s Sucesos Three main propositions were emphasized in Rizal’s New Edition of Morga’s Sucesos: 1) The people of the Philippines had a culture on their own, even before the coming of the Spaniards; 2) Filipinos were decimated, demoralized, exploited, and ruined by the Spanish colonization; and 3) The present state of the Philippines was not necessarily superior to its past. In Rizal’s historical essay, he correctly observed that as a colony of Spain, “The Philippines was depopulated, impoverished and retarded, astounded by metaphor sis, with no confidence in her past, still without faith in her present and without faltering hope in the future. 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas  He went to say: “…little by little, they (Filipinos) lost their old traditions, the mementoes of their past; they gave up their writing, their songs, their poems, their laws, in order to learn other doctrines which they did not understand, another morality, another aesthetics, different from those inspired by their climate and their manner of thinking. They declined, degrading themselves in their own eyes, they become ashamed of what was their own; they began to admire and praise whatever was foreign and incomprehensible, their spirit was damaged and it surrendered.” Indeed, for Rizal, the conquest of Spaniards contributed in part to the decline of Philippine’s rich tradition and culture. 71The Life and Works of JoseRizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas Name Score Course and Section Date WORKSHEET 1 COMPARE AND CONTRAST. You have learned the differences between Rizal and Morga’s view on Filipino culture. From what you have learned, provide at least 5 differences on their descriptions of the Filipino culture and write it down using the table below. RIZAL’s VIEW MORGA’s VIEW 83 8 TheThe Life Life andand Works Works of of Jose Jose Rizal Rizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Introduction: Filipinas Republic Act NOLIMETANG ERE LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to: 1. Assess the important characters in the novel and what they represent. 2. Examine the present Philippine situation through the examples mentioned in the novel, Noli Me Tangere. 84 89 8TThe The he Life Life Life and and and Works Works Works ofof of Jose Jose Jose Rizal Rizal Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos NoliIslas de las Introduction: Me Filipinas Republic Act 7 Noli Me Tangere If you are to draw a symbol that would best represent one current problem of the Philippines (be it political, social, economic, etc.), what would it be? Identify this problem and illustrate a symbol for it in the box below. Then, write a brief explanation about your symbol on the space provided. “A hero is he who best understands the society in which he lives, who knows the problems and aspirations of his people, who by his teachings and his labors, concretizes these problems and aspirations so that the vague discontent and the hazy strivings towards something better in the people's minds are crystallized into a clear pattern of action with definite goals. Rizal is still very much our hero be- cause he crystallized for his generation as well as for ours most of the great prob- lems of Philippine society.” - Renato Constantino 2011 Greatly influenced by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Rizal wanted to publish a book that would play a crucial role in the political history of the country. He planned on revealing the kind of society that the Philippines had under the Spanish colonial rule. Thus, a meeting of Filipinos was held at the Paterno residence in January 1884 wherein Rizal suggested the creation of the book. At first, Rizal’s companions (Pedro Paterno, Maximino Paterno, Antonio Paterno, 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me Graciano Lopez Jaena, Valentin Ventura, Eduardo de Lete, Evaristo Aguirre and Julio Llorente) unanimously approved that they would all contribute papers on the various facets of life in the Philippines for the proposed novel. However, in a letter dated January 2, 1884, Rizal explained that this plan did not materialize. There were objections that the gentlemen refused to discuss any further and he noticed comrades were more interested in writing about women instead. They also preferred to spend time gambling or flirting with Spanish women. Suspecting that he cannot count on the support of his companions, Rizal decided to write the novel in Madrid alone towards the latter part of the same year and finished about half of it in the city. When he left For France in 1885, he had written 3/4 of the novel in Paris and from April to June 1886, he had penned the last few chapters of Noli. It was completed in Berlin, Germany at the end of 1886 and at the onset of 1887, the final draft was ready for publication. Of course, it was not a walk in the park for Rizal. While he was conscientiously finishing the final draft of the Noli, he had apprehensions that it might not be published. For one, he had insufficient money to have it printed. Obviously, he would not ask his companions in Europe for financial help — after all, he did not get the support that he needed from them in writing the Noli. Fortunately, Rizal’s friend from a rich family of San Miguel, Bulacan arrived in Berlin to invite him on a Europe Tour. Dr. Maximo Viola wanted Rizal to accompany him on his tour but upon learning Rizal’s dilemma, he was kind enough to delay the tour and insisted on lending Rizal P300 to publish the Noli. Rizal even made some adjustments in the novel to save on the printing costs and deleted Chapter 25 e n t i t l e d “Elias and Salome”. The money that Viola lent to Rizal was then used to print the first 2,000 copies of the Noli. Some attests say that the novel was officially off the press on March 29, 1887 but there were also accounts that showed that Rizal was already sending a copy of the novel to Blumentritt on Dr. Maximo March 21. Because of Viola’s generosity, he was dubbed in the Philippine history as the “Savior of the Noli”. Rizal then gave him, not only the gallery of proofs of the novel rolled around the pen used in writing the Noli, but also the very first copy of the novel with Rizal’s dedication which described Viola as the “first to read and appreciate [Rizal’s] work. THE NOVEL’S DESCRIPTION Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere was written in Spanish and published in 1887. Basing it from experience, the conventions of the 19th century novel and the ideals of European liberalism, Rizal was able to expose the real-life scenario under the Spanish colonial rule — the abuses and inequalities of many Spanish Catholic friars and government officials during his time. With 63 chapters and an epilogue, Rizal was only 26 years old when the Noli was published. He was studying medicine that time at the Universidad Central de Madrid. The Noli was dedicated to the country whose miseries and sorrows were brought to light in an attempt to awaken its people to the truths concerning the ills of the society during that time. 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me  Noli Me Tangere, which means “touch me not” in Latin is the first in a trilogy about the history of the Philippines, which is followed by El Filibusterismo and ends with Makamisa, though it was never finished. “Noli me tangere” is a known Latin phrase that has a biblical connection meaning, “touch me not.” This phrase was spoken by Jesus to Mary Magdalene after he was resurrected, and was in fact recorded in John 20:17: “Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father.” NOLI IN BRIEF The main character of the Noli Me Tangere, the young and wealthy Filipino Crisostomo Ibarra returned to his country after some years of studying in Europe. In his honor, Capitan Tiago (Santiago de los Santos) threw a party at his house in Manila. The gathering was attended by renowned local personalities like Padre Damaso, a https://www.google.com/search? q=noli+me+tangereandrlz=1C1CHBD_enPH767PH767andsour ce=lnmsandtbm=ischandsa=Xandved=2ahUKEwi3ltGWo97mAhUdxYsBHU fat Franciscan priest who had b e e n 8gA_cQ_AUoAX 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me assigned for many years in Ibarra’s native town (San Diego); Fray Sybila, the young Dominican curate of Binondo; Lieutenant Guevarra of the Guardia Civil; and Doña Victorina, wife of a fake Spanish physician Tiburcio de Espadaña. Crisosto- mo’s father, Don Rafael Ibarra, was Capitan Tiago’s friend. Capitan Tiago’s sup- posed daughter, Maria Clara, was Crisostomo’s fiancée. During the party, Padre Damaso belittled Ibarra and rudely tried to harm his reputation. But the gentleman Ibarra simply ignored the friar’s affront. When Ibarra left Capitan Tiago’s house, Lieutenant Guevara talked to him and related the miserable fate of his deceased father in San Diego. Guevara explained that Don Rafael was unfairly accused by San Diego curate of being a heretic and filibuster because of his non-participation in mass and confession. One day, Don Rafael saw a Spanish tax collector and a weak boy fighting. In an attempt to defend the powerless boy, he had accidentally pushed and killed the brutal Spaniard. Don Rafael was thus imprisoned and died in his cell miserably. Initially buried in consecrated ground, his body was removed from the Catholic cemetery under the order of his enemies. The next day, Crisostomo visited his sweetheart, Maria Clara. After the lovely visit to his girlfriend, Ibarra went to San Diego to look for his father’s grave. He had known through the grave-digger that his father’s corpse was dug up by order of the curate to be transferred in the Chinese cemetery. But since it was raining and the corpse was heavy, the grave-digger just threw Don Rafael’s corpse into the river. Angered by what he learned; Ibarra suddenly attacked Padre Salvi when he saw this San Diego parish priest. But Salvi explained to him that it was Damaso who was the town’s parish priest at the time of Don Rafael’s death. When Maria Clara and her family arrived in San Diego, Ibarra gave picnic at the lake. During the picnic, Ibarra had saved the life of Elias—the boatman who was almost killed by a crocodile trapped in the fish cage. Later in the picnic, some members of the Guardia Civil also came, pursuing Elias who had previously assaulted Padre Damaso and the alferez. But Elias had escaped even before the Guardia Civil arrived. Later on, Ibarra received a notice that his donation of aschool in San Diego had been approved by the Spanish government. On the day of San Diego town fiesta, Ibarra and Maria Clara attended the morning mass officiated by Padre Salvi and Padre Damaso. During the mass, Elias silently went near Ibarra and notified him of the plot to kill him on the ceremony of the laying of the school’s cornerstone. So during the inauguration, when Ibarra was about to cement the foundation of the schoolhouse, the platform collapsed. Fortunately, the quick Elias had rescued Ibarra and the man who was paid to harm Ibarra was the one killed in the incident. Ibarra hosted a banquet later that day. Padre Damaso who attended the feast publicly attacked the dignity of Ibarra’s dead father. The angered host lunged at the ill-mannered friar and had almost killed Damaso with a knife were it not for Maria Clara who interfered just in time. Ibarra was consequently excommunicated and his engagement with Maria Clara was broken as Damaso persuaded Capitan Tiago to prohibit the lady to marry Ibarra. One day, Ibarra’s enemies engineered a helpless attack on the station of the Guardia Civil, making the attackers believe that Ibarra was the brain of the uprising. After the attack failed, Ibarra was incriminated and arrested. Elias helped Ibarra escape from prison. Before leaving, they discreetly stopped at Capitan Tiago’s house. Maria Clara explained that she was 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me blackmailed by Padre Salvi to surrender Ibarra’s letter (which was used to incriminate him) in exchange for the letters written by her dead mother. From these, she learned that her real father was Padre Damaso. Ibarra and Elias then took off by boat. Instructing Ibarra to lie down, Elias covered him with grass to conceal his presence. As luck would have it, they were spotted by their enemies. Elias, thinking he could outsmart them, jumped into the water. The guards rained shots on him, all the while not knowing that they were aiming at the wrong man. Badly injured, Elias reached the forest where he found the altar boy Basilio who was sobbing over the body of his dead mother, Sisa. His mother had previously lost her mind upon learning that her two sons, altar boys Crispin and Basilio, were missing from the convent. Falsely accused of stealing from the convent, Crispin had been tortured and killed by the wicked and crooked sacristan mayor. Basilio had escaped and the death of his brother had been covered-up by Salvi. Knowing that he would eventually die, Elias instructed Basilio to make a funeral pyre and burn his and Sisa’s bodies to ashes. In his dying breath, Elias mumbled the following hopeful patriotic words:“I shall die without seeing the dawn break upon my homeland. You, who shall see it, salute it! Do not forget those who have fallen during the night.” The novel’s epilogue narrates that Capitan Tiago became addicted to opium. Padre Damaso was assigned to a far province and was found dead in his bedroom one morning. The sorrowful Maria Clara, believing that Ibarra had been shot dead in the river, entered the nunnery. Padre Salvi left the San Diego parish and became a chaplain of the nunnery. Some infer that Salvi, who had been portrayed as having a hidden desire for Maria Clara, regularly molested her in the nunnery. Consequently, a pretty crazy woman was seen one rainy night at the top of the convent bitterly weeping and cursing the heavens for the fate it has bestowed upon her. The woman was not named but it was assumed that she was none less than Maria Clara. 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me THE CHARACTERS OF NOLI Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin (Ibarra) A wealthy young mestizo who has just returned to the Philippines after seven years of studying in Europe, Ibarra is sophisticated, highly esteemed, and very idealistic. The priests of San Diego all view him with great wariness on account of his highly liberal education and connections. He is shocked upon learning of his beloved father’s demise. His father, the equally idealistic Don Rafael, was labeled a subversive and a heretic by the corrupt priesthood and incarcerated, ultimately leading to his death. He seeks to fulfill his father’s wishes of putting up a school in San Diego---one that will not be influenced by the friars. María Clara A woman of high social standing, she is the adoptive daughter of Capitan Tiago and goddaughter to the vile Fr. Damaso. The truth however is that she is actually the biological daughter of Fr. Damaso, the product of a scandalous relationship between the old priest and Capitan Tiago’s wife, Pia Alba. Maria Clara had grown up alongside the younger Ibarra and planned to marry but Fr. Damaso disapproved of the union. Her interfering guardians set her up to be wed to Linares, a wealthy young man of Spanish descent. She keeps mum about her arranged marriage to keep from angering her father, the weak-willed Capitan Tiago. When Ibarra is put on trial for sedition she is coerced into surrendering the letters Ibarra has sent her as evidence of his guilt. Father Damaso An old, power-hungry, and shamelessly corrupt Spanish priest who has lived among the native Filipinos for nearly two decades; in spite of having spent all that time among them the years have done nothing to endear him or develop any sympathy for his “flock.” Petty and vindictive, he thinks nothing of using his considerable influence to ruin the lives of those who have slighted him, regardless of how small the offense is. He masterminded the death of Don Rafael Ibarra then brazenly taunted the younger Ibarra, alluding to having a hand in his father’s death. The insult is too much for Crisostomo Ibarra to let slide; he attacks the old friar prompting his excommunication and the dissolution of their would-be wedding. Elías A mysterious character, Elias is a man on the run from the law---a wandering insurgent---resentful of both the Spanish colonial government and the Catholic Church, he crosses paths with the more temperate Crisostomo Ibarra when he bravely saves his life from a marauding crocodile. He pledges his life to the young man, promising to protect him from his manifold enemies. He takes on the identity of a laborer to gather intelligence for his new friend, uncovering a plot against Sr. Ibarra’s life. He and Ibarra have several long conversations regarding the ethics of politics and governance with Elias taking a more definite revolutionary stand. Don Rafael Ibarra Crisostomo Ibarra’s father is posthumously mentioned in the novel. A great supporter of liberal education for all and a vocal critic of the corrupt practices of the Spanish friars, he earns the ire of the vitriolic Fray Damaso who accuses him of sedition and heresy. He dies in prison having contracted pneumonia. His remains are buried 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me in the catholic cemetery in the town of San Diego but the hateful Fr. Damaso hires a gravedigger to disinter his body to have him buried at the Chinese cemetery because of his status as a heretic. The gravedigger, unwilling to make the long journey he instead throws the body into the lake, deciding that it would make a more honorable final resting place than the Chinese cemetery Crispín A young lad studying to be a church caretaker, he together with his brother Basilio, ceaselessly work to send support money for their beleaguered mother, Sisa. Crispín is blamed for stealing money from the church coffers by the head sexton and is kept a virtual prisoner until the debt is paid. On the night that he and his sibling were to visit their mother the head sexton forbids them, keeping them until the curfew, effectively barring the brothers from travelling. Crispín reasons out to the head sexton, it infuriates him and he proceeds to drag the young boy away to beat him. He is never seen again afterwards, and one can assume that he has died at the hands of the cruel head sexton. Basilio Eldest of Sisa’ brood, he, like his younger brother are sextons in training. Basilio makes a desperate run for their home the night Crispín is dragged away. He attempts to locate his younger brother the day after but his search efforts come up fruitless. The following day the Civil Guard comes looking for him and his brother. Fearing for his life he makes a mad dash for the forest where he goes into hiding, living with kind family until Christmas Eve where he planned to return to his mother. When he finally locates Sisa, but learns that the poor woman has gone mad from grief and is thusly unable to identify her son. He follows her to the forest where she regains her wits temporarily recognizing her son, and then dies from the shock. Father Salví A younger, more cunning Spanish priest who assumes control over Fr. Damaso’s post as friar curate of San Diego; he is in many regards more dangerous that his precursor as he is a more canny strategist who knows how to leverage the multiple dirty little secrets each of the members of San Diego’s high society circle has. Captain Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos) Capitan Tiago is a rarity in that he is a wealthy native-born Filipino socialite; he keeps close ties with high-ranking members of the Catholic Church, despite actually having no love for them. His primary concern is to marry off his daughter, the lovely Maria Clara, to an affluent man from an influential family. This is one of the main reasons that he is quick to toss aside his loyalties to Crisostomo Ibarra when he is labeled a subversive. His predilection for advantageous social pairings makes him quick to assent to Linares as a potential new match for his daughter. The Ensign The nameless head of the Civil Guard of the township of San Diego; a man of Spanish descent he is in a constant bitter feud with Fr. Salví as he has come to hate the sly priest’s manipulations. In retaliation the ensign imposes curfews that make it all but impossible for the citizens of San Diego to attend mass at the proper schedule. A drunkard and a braggart, he is actually a cuckolded man married to a 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me fiery, feisty, and foul-mouthed Filipina, Doña Consolación. Doña Consolación The pugnacious wife of The Ensign, Doña Consolación is an older, cantankerous Filipina woman who constantly lectures her husband. Their fights are the stuff of legend and it is an open secret that it is she, not her husband who makes he decisions for the organization. She is described as an exceptionally vulgar woman and exceedingly ugly almost bordering on caricature prompting the less charitable members of the Civil Guard to facetiously call her “The Muse of Civil Guard.” Doña Consolación sees herself to be a person of great standing in society, even if she is the only one who holds this opinion, and even if she is wholly Filipino she feigns inability to speak Tagalog, her native dialect insisting instead on speaking very poor, nearly pidgin Spanish. Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña A fraud and a hustler, the Spaniard who calls himself Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña was actually a customs officer who was dismissed from his post shortly after arriving in the Philippines. Despite having no medical experience or money he travels to the countryside to posing as a doctor, charging extortionate fees for his so-called services. His patients eventually catch wind of his schemes and he is forced to relocate to another area where he is all but unknown. He finds his was to San Diego and as luck would have it the unfortunate Maria Clara falls ill and he is once again called to resume his duplicitous medical practice. La Doctora Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaña A brazen and determined Filipina social climber Doña Victorina is the spouse of the counterfeit doctor, Tiburcio de Espadaña. She well past her prime and relies on garish make-up to carry on a façade of youth. Her tastes in fashion are mercurial as are her patterns of speech, mimicking the speech and manner of dress of members of high society. An accomplished hustler herself it is she that devises that Dr. Tiburcio treat Maria Clara as well as matching her up with his nephew Linares. Lt. Guevara A morally upright man of Spanish descent who holds both Crisostomo Ibarra and the late Don Rafael in high esteem, he is also the lieutenant of the Civil Guard. He is one of the few who openly supported the Ibarra’s and was vocal about his dislike of Fray Damaso’s control. He was the one who informed Crisostomo Ibarra of the fate of his father and how Fr. Damaso was involved in his death. Linares Dr. de Espadaña’s nephew, a respectable young Spanish man, quite gifted and possesses a law degree; a near polar opposite of his uncle, a matter that endears him to his uncle’s social-climbing wife. The Schoolmaster A teacher that Don Rafael housed thus allowing him to suitably attend to the task of instructing students; he informs Crisostomo Ibarra of the sorry state of education of San Diego since the passing of his father. The friars closely watch the 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me material being taught in the school, forbidding him from teaching Spanish, even if there was an edict stating that Spanish must be taught. The Schoolmaster is grateful to the Ibarra family but he expresses no optimism that he’d make headway in getting any lasting educational reforms happen. Don Filipo (Filipo Lino) Don Filipo Lino is a representative of the younger, less religiously shackled generation of movers and shakers in San Diego, he also serves as the vice mayor of the town. He despises the idea of spending lavish amounts of money on the numerous feast days that mark the religious calendar seeing it as both wasteful and burdensome to the citizens as it often puts them under great financial stress, may even going under debt just to be able to celebrate. His words however fall on deaf ears as he is only deputy mayor---the Mayor, his commanding officer---is a dedicated follower of the Catholic church and the de facto mouthpiece of the friars. Sisa The long-suffering mother of sextons in training Crispin and Basilio, she goes mad upon the loss of her sons. Impoverished and married to a violent drunkard her sons were the only ray of sunshine in her life. She wanders the town, clothes tattered and hair disheveled, calling out for her sons. When she actually does meet Basilio she cannot recognize him but when her wits do return she dies from surprise and sudden joy. Fr. Sibyla A priest serving in the Binondo district in the city of Manila, Fr. Sibyla serves as a foil to the otherwise largely corrupt Fray Dámaso and the perverse Fray Salví as he is rational and calm. Fr. Sibyla is an adept and shrewd orator who takes obvious delight in antagonizing the pompous Fr. Dámaso at Ibarra’s return party. The Gravedigger A cemetery worker who exhumes Don Rafael’s remains upon the insistence of Fr. Damaso; moved by pity and laziness he dumps Don Rafael’s body in the lake seeing it as a more fitting resting place for such a respected man. Ibarra grills him, anxious for information about his father. SYMBOLISMS IN THE NOLI Noli Me Tangere intends to depict the real conditions of the Filipino life under the Spanish rule. Mainly because of the rampant corrupt acts of the Spanish officials and friars, the way of living of the Filipinos during that time had been backward, anti-intellectual and anti-progressive, up to the point that the country was not in any way catching up on the developments of the so-called Age of Enlightenment. As Rizal introduced the novel to his friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, he wrote, “The novel is the first impartial and bold account of the life of the Tagalogs. The Filipinos will find in it the history of the last ten years” (Noli Me Tangere, n.d.). The Schoolhouse More than just an edifice for learning the schoolhouse has become a symbol 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me of empowerment and freedom. Having received an education abroad, Ibarra does not bow down to the priests and is all but immune to the threat of excommunication. Crispin and Basilio These characters represent the opposite end of the spectrum of not having received education. The suffering they are subjected is due largely to their ignorant over dependence on the church. They are open to abuses because they have been conditioned to unquestioningly follow the church leaders. Tinola and betel nut parcels served at a fancy, formal gathering Tinola is a thin, rustic soup-like dish made with boiled chicken, ginger, and unripe papayas served in the Philippines--common, everyday fare. Betel Nut parcels are made of pepper leaves, sliced betel nuts, and an acrid paste of lime, typically chewed by rural workers in the Philippines and other countries in South-East Asia. These items are typically associated with rural austerity and bucolic sensibilities that aren't befitting of such a high society gathering. These food items are symbolic of the wide variety of party-goers that have made their way into Crisostomo Ibarra's welcoming party: social climbers and sycophants, hustlers, and the intellectuals of the day all under one roof. Capitan Tiago Capitan Tiago is the in-novel embodiment of the Philippine government during the Spanish colonial era. There were native Filipino participating in civil government in those days, however, many of them tended to be mere figureheads, serving more as a mouthpiece for the Spanish Cortés. Capitan Tiago, like the Philippine government, also shares this unflattering characteristics: powerless and silently enduring of the indignities he suffers at the hands of the Catholic priests that eat at his table and rape his wife. Capitan Tiago also represents the rich Filipinos who opted to be allies (as in ‘tuta’) of Spanish officials and friars just to preserve their wealth and political position. Elias and Ibarra The two characters Elias and Ibarra symbolize the two contrasting means by which political reforms are to be achieved. Elias, the mysterious insurgent, who represents political reforms achieved through bloody revolution and his polar opposite, Ibarra, who represents political reforms achieved through civil discussions. Through these two characters the ethics of governance are discussed at length and as the novel progresses the circumstances that happen to them continue to shape their political outlook--so much so in fact that by the end of the novel the two have all but traded their political stance on revolution and social reform. Maria Clara Maria Clara symbolizes the nation of the Philippines under Spanish rule. She is also the culture caricature and in-novel criticism of the novelist of the typical Filipino woman of the age. Maria Clara is the product of the exploitation of a Spanish priest and the failure of her Filipino father to defend his wife's honor. These conditions parallel the Philippines: like Maria Clara the Philippines is a nation born 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me from the exploitations of the Spanish colonial government and the inability of the Filipino people to defend it's sovereignty. She also embodies everything that the author finds wrong about the typical Filipino woman of the time--timid, no strong convictions, focused solely on domestic and church concerns, and blindly devoted to her parents and guardians. As Ibarra's fiancée, she also stands for the powerless Filipina then. Patterned after Leonor Rivera, Rizal's ‘true love,’ Maria Clara’s character also personifies some ideal Filipina—loving and unwavering in their loyalty to their respective spouses. Crisostomo Ibarra He represents the small group of Filipinos who had a chance to study abroad and dreamt of improving the country. Like Jose Rizal, Ibarra wanted education for Filipino children, hence his plan to construct a public school in San Diego. Father Damaso This Spanish friar corresponds to wicked but ironically respected priests. His character is a reflection of the then rampant covert fathering of illegitimate children by friars. In the novel, he is revealed to be the biological father of Maria Clara. Pilosopo Tasio This character symbolizes those whose ideas were advanced and wise but are perceived by the uneducated as weird or lunatic. that It is said that Tasio’s character was patterned after Paciano, Jose’s intelligent brother who also sought reforms. Sisa and her sons Crispin and Basilio They epitomize a Filipino family oppressed by the Spanish authorities. Through Sisa, Rizal illustrated a lack of concern in facing and resolving the problems that confront the Filipino family - this was evident when Sisa lost her mental balance upon learning what happened to her sons. She also symbolizes a typical Filipino mother, fully-aware of her child’s attributes and willing to defend him/her no matter what. Doña Victorina She represents some ambitious Filipinas who wanted to be classified as Spanish, hence the putting on of heavy make-up. She despised everything Filipino and imitated what was Spanish — an embodiment of a social climber and colonial mentality. Don Tiburcio Doña Victorina’s husband stands for incompetent and unqualified Spaniards who illegally practiced their supposed profession in the Philippines. Padre Salvi The curate who secretly harbors lust for Maria Clara, represents the seemingly kind but in fact wicked Spanish friars. Don Rafael Ibarra, Ibarra’s father, epitomizes the rich and at the same time virtuous and generous Filipinos during the Spanish era. 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me The School Master of San Diego He symbolized intellectual disappointment during Rizal’s time. He wanted to change the teaching methods so that more people will learn. Don Rafael Ibarra As Ibarra’s father, he symbolized a rich landlord with a social conscience. He was sent to jail after helping a boy from an abusive Spanish tax collector. Indeed, the novel’s characters represent the various kinds of people inhabiting the country during the period of Rizal’s life. Do you still see these characters in the present time? REACTIONS TO NOLI As expected, the Spanish officials and friars, especially the sensitive ones, were furious by the contents of the Noli. Rizal’s friends and compatriots, on the other hand, praised and defended the novel. Non-Filipino defenders of the Noli include Rizal’s Austrian friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, and Dr. Miguel Morayta, statesman and history professor in Central University of Madrid. Federico Faura, Rizal’s Jesuit professor, told the Noli’s author that “everything in it was the truth,” but also foretold, “You may lose your head for it.” Today, there are streets in Manila which were named after Morayta, Blumentritt, and Faura. (The road ‘Morayta’ was already renamed, but is still more known to many by its old name). Even before Rizal went home after the publication of the Noli, his family had been feeling the backlash produced by the novel. Using coded words, Paciano wrote Rizal that a “storm” was “threatening Makiling.” “It is only waiting for time,” he added, “It should not surprise those who know that this is time for typhoons” (Bantug, p. 71). Later in history, Paciano would proudly translate the Noli into Tagalog. During Rizal’s first homecoming in 1887, Governor General Emilio Terrero summoned him to the Malacañang Palace a few days after his (Rizal’s) arrival. Terrero told Rizal that Bernardino Nozaleda, the Archbishop of Manila, petitioned to ban the Noli. The governor general asked Rizal for a copy of the Noli and found noting ‘criminal’ in the book. He nonetheless assigned Lt. Jose Taviel de Andrade of the Gurdia Civil to be Rizal’s bodyguard, fearing that Noli attackers would harm the author. Meanwhile, an ad hoc committee of the faculty of the University of Santo Tomas formed at the request of Manila Archbishop Pedro Payo, found and denounced Noli as ecclesiastically heretical, impious, and scandalous and politically unpatriotic, subversive of public order, and harmful to the Spanish government and its administration in the Philippines. The Permanent Commission of Censorship led by Tondo cura Salvador Font similarly found the Noli to contain subversive ideas against the Catholic Church and Spain and thus recommended the absolute prohibition on the importation, reproduction, and circulation of the book. In Madrid, a newspaper article written by a Vicente Barrantes resentfully attacked the Noli. Similarly, some members of the Spanish Cortes belabored the novel through formal speeches labeling it as “anti-Catholic, Protestant, socialistic.” Another attacker of Noli happened to be Rizal’s namesake, Jose Rodriguez, an Augustinian priest who even took great pains to write eight anti-Noli pamphlets, 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me which were forcibly sold to church-goers. The arguments outlined in the pamphlets were nonetheless logically addressed by an unexpected defender of the novel, the Filipino theologian and priest, Vicente Garcia. Writing under the penname Justo Desiderio Magalang, the priest countered the claim that Noli’s author was an “ignorant man” by saying that Rizal was a graduate of universities in Spain and was a recipient of scholastic honors. By sound inference, Garcia also answered Rodriguez’ claim that those who read the Noli commit a mortal sin by concluding that he (Rodriguez) therefore committed a mortal sin since he had read the novel. Describing the effects of Noli, Rizal himself wrote, “My book made a lot of noise; everywhere, I am asked about it. They wanted to anathematize me [‘to excommunicate me’] because of it... I am considered a German spy … a Protestant, a freemason, a sorcerer, a damned soul and evil.” (Rizal was indeed a freemason but, of course, not the rest of the allegations.) In a letter to his friend Pastor Ullmer, Rizal narrated, “… enemies burned my books, friends bought them for as much as fifty pesos. Bookstores profited, but I got nothing.” Noli therefore is a classic case of a black market profiting much from an ‘illegal’ product. Rizal once received a letter dated February 15, 1888 which was comparable to a death threat. The sender wrote in part, “If you… think you have a grievance, then challenge us and we shall pick up the gauntlet, for we are not cowards like you, which is not to say that a hidden hand will not put an end to your life.” Ironically, the sender did not indicate his real name and just cowardly signed the letter “A Friar”. 89 T he Life and Works of Jose Noli Me ELFILIBUSTER ISMO LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to: 1. Describe the important characters in the novel and what they represent. 2. Compare and contrast the characters, plot, and the theme of the Noli and El Fili. 3. Evaluate the role of the youth in the development and future of society. 10 The Life and Works of JoseRizal El 8 El Filibusterismo This lesson will discuss Rizal’s second novel as the sequel to his Noli Me Tangere. The alternative title of this sequel is The Reign of Greed. Paste a picture (cut-out or print-out) in the box that would best describe how you define ‘greed.’ Write a brief explanation below to describe your symbol. EL FILI’s DESCRIPTION Rizal began writing El Filibusterismo in October 1887 while he was in Calamba, Laguna. In 1888, he revised the plot and some chapters in London. Rizal continued to work on his manuscripts in Paris. Then, he moved to Brussels, Belgium where, the cost was cheaper and there were less distractions so he could focus on finishing the book. He finally completed the book on March 29, 1891 in https://www.google.com/search?q=el+filibusterismoandsxsrf=ACYBGNQU0Pc_fLr- Biarritz, France and was published in Oy6B62UPFrVPy1Mvug:1577932995600andsou rce=lnmsandtbm=ischandsa=Xandved=2ahUKEwjCjrq98uPmAhVzwosBHU8fB6kQ_AUoAXoECBUQA wandbiw=1707andbih= September of that year in Ghent. The novel is said to have been written 10 The Life and Works of JoseRizal El against the background of threats and oppressions that Rizal and his family suffered because of the Noli and the so-called Calamba agrarian trouble. According to history, (Ocampo, 2012) it was Rizal’s roommate in Belgium, Jose Alejandrino, who canvassed the printing press for El Fili. He delivered the proofs and revisions to F. Meyer Van Loo in Ghent, which is why, for his assistance, Rizal gave him the El Fili’s corrected proofs and the pen used in doing the corrections. Unluckily, these historical souvenirs were either lost or destroyed during the revolution. Alejandrino, who later became a general in the Philippine revolution, may have been the first person to read the novel aside from the author but the honor of being called ‘the savior of the Fili’ had been given to Valentin Ventura — Rizal’s friend who partially financed the publication of the novel. Clearly, Ventura’s steal of the title is another classic interpretation of the expression, “That’s what money can do.” At first, Rizal financed El Fili’s printing by placing his properties as collateral. In a letter to Jose Basa dated July 9, 1891, he related: “For the past three months I have not received a single centavo, so I have pawned all that I have in order to publish this book. I will continue publishing it as long as I can; and when there is nothing to pawn I will stop …” However, Rizal’s next letter to Basa carried the sad news that the printing had to be suspended due to lack of funds, and it was at this point that Valentin Ventura came into the picture. If you can still recall, Ventura was one of the Filipinos who promised to co-author Rizal’s Noli but ended up contributing nothing? In retrospection, it can be assumed that Ventura was bothered by his conscience— having known Rizal’s predicament, he offered his generous monetary assistance for Rizal’s El Fili. On the contrary, even with Ventura’s help, Rizal found it necessary to fundamentally shorten the novel, erasing 47 whole pages from the 279-page manuscript to save expenses. Thus, the printed El Fili, which came off the press by mid-September 1891, turned out comprising only 38 chapters compared to the 64 of the Noli — contrary to his original plan to make a longer sequel. For Ventura’s saving act, Rizal gave him the novel’s original manuscript, a pen, and an autographed printed copy. In 1925, the Philippine government bought the El Fili manuscript from Ventura for a large sum of 10, 000 pesos (Zaide,1984). At present, it is now being kept in the National Library. FILIBUSTERO DEFINED Rizal had to define the word filibuster to his German friend Ferdinand Blumentritt who did not understand his use of word in Noli Me Tangere. In a letter, Rizal explained: “The word filibuster is little known in the Philippines. The masses do not know it yet. I heard it for the first time in 1872 when the tragic executions (of Gomburza) took place. I still remember the panic that this word created. Our father forbade us to utter it, as well as the words Cavite, Burgos (one of the executed priests), etc. The Manila newspapers and the Spaniards apply this word to one whom they want to make a revolutionary suspect. The Filipinos belonging to the educated class fear the reach of the word. It does not have the meaning of freebooters; it rather means a dangerous patriot who will soon be hanged or well, a presumptuous man.” 1 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal El  By the end of the 19th century, the word filibuster had acquired the meaning “subversive” in the Philippines, hence the book is about subversion. 1 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal El  Note that the ‘Filibusterismo’ in the novel’s title is derived from the simpler term ‘filibustero’, which contextually means subversive, dissident, revolutionary, seditious, insurrectionary, and treasonous. Fittingly, Rizal dedicated the book to the memory of the Gomburza, the three Filipino patriotic priests who were accused of being ‘filibustero’ and thus executed. In his dedication, Rizal fearlessly declared his conviction that the Spanish officials’ treatment of the priests’ case was unjust “as [their] complicity in the Cavite Mutiny is not clearly proved”. The dedication partly reads: “To the memory of the priests, Don Mariano Gomez (85 years old), Don Jose Burgos (30 years old), and Don Jacinto Zamora (35 years old). Executed in the Bagumbayan Field on the 28th of February, 1872 … I have the right to dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil which I undertake to combat…” Rizal however made mistakes in indicating the ages of the priests and the date of their execution. During their martyrdom on the 17th (not 28th) of February, 1872, Gomez was then 73 (not 85), Burgos was 35 (not 30) and Zamora was 37 (not 35). Like many other students today (especially men), Rizal was perhaps not that good in memorizing historical details like dates and ages. The foreword of the Fili indicated: “To The Filipino People and Their Government”. The original manuscript also includes a “warning” and an “inscription” on the title page written by the author’s friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt. Given the reaction to his first book, Rizal tried to avoid allowing the second one to fall into the hands of the Spaniards. He had after all written El Filibusterismo not for the Spaniards but for the Filipino people to read. After distributing the copies of the first edition to his friends in Europe, Rizal designated most of the remainder to be sent to the Philippines. The books were first sent to his residence in Hong Kong, to be smuggled to the Philippines by his friends. Upon shipment, the copies were immediately seized by the authorities, making it a rare book overnight. EL FILI IN BRIEF The story in El Filibusterismo revolves around its main character Simoun who is an affluent jeweler. Simoun is actually Crisostomo Ibarra of the Noli whom everyone thought had been killed by the Guardia Civil at Laguna de Bay. He had in fact escaped, fled to Cuba, become wealthy, and made connections with influential Spanish officials. Upon his return to the Philippines after many years, he becomes very influential as the governor general, who owes so much to him, consults him in making decisions. In reality however, everything Simoun does is just part of his grand plan to take revenge against the Spanish officials and rescue Maria Clara from the convent. Planning to stage a revolution, he smuggles arms and looks for followers, mainly from the exploited and abused natives. One of his recruits is Basilio, the son of Sisa, who with Capitan Tiago’s help was able to study in Manila. Simoun also makes an alliance with the revolutionary group of Kabesang Tales, a former ‘cabeza de barangay’ who suffered maltreatments from the hands of the friars. Using his influence, Simoun encourages corruption, decadence, and more oppressive government policies so that the citizens may become more infuriated. Yet, the planned revolt one night was not carried out because Simoun, upon hearing that Maria Clara died in the nunnery, decided not to give the signal for the outbreak of the uprising. Another plan was made some months later. At the venue of the wedding reception of Juanito Pelaez and Paulita Gomez, Simoun planted many 1 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal El explosives — enough to kill the invited guests, primarily the friars and government officials. According to the plot, the big explosion shall be started by the gift he would give to the newlyweds at the reception—a kerosene lamp with an explosive. When the lamp flickers and someone turns the wick, it will result into a big explosion that will become a signal to the revolutionary troops to simultaneously attack all the government buildings in Manila. During the reception, Simoun gives his gift to the newly-weds. Before hurriedly leaving the venue, he leaves a piece of mysterious paper bearing the message “You will die tonight” signed by Juan Crisostomo Ibarra. Meanwhile, Isagani, the rejected lover of Paulita, is standing outside the reception. His friend Basilio tells him to leave the place because the lamp will soon blow up. When Father Salvi identifies the handwriting in the note and confirms that it was indeed Ibarra’s, the guests begin to panic. When the lamp flickers, Father Irene tries to turn the wick up. But Isagani, wanting to save Paulita’s life, rushes into the house, grabs the lamp, and throws it into the river where it explodes. Simoun’s revolutionary plot was thus known and he is thus hunted by the law enforcers. He managed to escape but was seriously wounded. Carrying his jewelry chest, he finds shelter in the home of Padre Florentino by the sea. Learning of his presence in the house of the priest, the lieutenant of the Guardia Civil informs Padre Florentino that he will come in the evening to arrest Simoun. Simoun then takes poison that he would not be caught alive. As the poison’s effects start to take toll on his body, he confesses to Florentino his true identity and his plan of revenge through bloody revolution. Aft