RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

Lesson 4
Rizal’s Life: Higher Education
and Life Abroad
LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Explain the principle of
assimilation advocated by the
Propaganda Movement
 Appraise Rizal’s relationship
with other propagandist
 Analyze Rizal’s growth as
Propagandist and disavowal of
assimilation

Pre-test
1.Give at least five countries where Rizal traveled to.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2. Give two reasons why Rizal travelled abroad.
a.
b.

Pre-activity
If you were given a chance to go other countries, where would you go? Give three countries you want
to go to and what are your reason for going there?
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RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

Travelling Abroad

Rizal decided to complete his studies in Spain. Rizal has his “secret
mission”—was to observe keenly the life and culture, languages and customs,
industries and commerce, and government and laws of the European nations in
order to prepare himself in the mighty task of liberating his oppressed people from
Spanish tyranny.

Rizal’s departure for Spain was kept secret to avoid detection by the Spanish
authorities and the friars. He used the name Jose Mercado. On May 3, 1882- Rizal departed
on board the Spanish streamer Salvadora bound for Singapore.

Rizal transferred to another ship Djemnah, a French steamer, which left Singapore
Singapore for Europe on May 11, 1882 and on May 17, he reached Point Galle, a seacoast town in
southern Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

On June 11, 1882, Rizal reached Naples and was pleased on this Italian city because
Sri Lanka of its business activity, its lively people, and its panoramic beauty. Rizal visited the famous
Chateau d’If where Dantes, hero of the Count of Monte Cristo, was imprisoned.

In the afternoon of May 15, 1882, Rizal left Marseilles by train for the last lap of his
Italy trip to Spain and on June 16, he reached his destination—Barcelona.

He wrote Amor Patrio (Love of Country), a nationalistic essay which was also his first
article written on Spain’s soil under his pen-name Laong Laan and it appeared in print in
Diariong Tagalog on August 20, 1882. Diariong Tagalog was the first Manila bilingual
Spain newspaper (Spanish and Tagalog). His second article was Los Viajes (Travels) and the third
was Revista de Madrid (Review of Madrid) but returned to him because the Diariong Tagalog
had ceased publication for lack of funds.
Rizal received sad news about
the cholera that was ravaging Manila
and the provinces according to Paciano’s
letter, dated September 15, 1882.
Another sad news from the Philippines
was the chatty letter of Chengoy
recounting the unhappiness of Leonor
Rivera. In one of his letters (dated May
26, 1882), Paciano advised his younger
brother to finish the medical course in
Madrid.
Complutense University of Madrid
https://www.ucm.es/english/isabella-ii
On November 3, 1882, Rizal
enrolled in the Universidad Central de Madrid
(Central University of Madrid) in two courses—Medicine and Philosophy and Letters. He
also studied painting and sculpture in the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.

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RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

Me Piden Versos (They Ask Me For Verses) was a

Books aroused Rizal’s
poem he personally declaimed during the New Year’s sympathy for the oppressed
Eve reception of the Madrid Filipinos held in the and unfortunate people
evening of December 31, 1882 in which he poured out
the cry of his agonizing heart.
Spain
He observed Dr. Nicaise treating his patients in
Lariboisiere Hospital. On March 1883, Rizal joined the
Masonic lodge called Acacia in Madrid but transferred to
Lodge Solidaridad (Madrid) where he became a Master
Mason on November 15, 1890. Science, Virtue and Labor
France
was Rizal’s only Masonic writing; a lecture which he  Uncle Tom’s Cabin by
delivered in 1889 at Lodge Solidaridad, Madrid. Beecher Stowe
 The Wandering Jew by
After Rizal’s departure for Spain, things turned from Eugene Sue’s
bad to worse in Calamba because (1) harvests of rice and
sugarcane failed on account of drought and locusts, (2) the
manager of the Dominican-owned hacienda increased the https://www.yorkrite.com/mason.htm

rentals of the lands and (3) a dreadful pest killed most of the Did you know?
turkeys. Due to hard times in Calamba, the monthly
allowances of Rizal in Madrid were late in arrival and there
Masonry (or Freemasonry)
were times when they never arrived. is the oldest fraternity in the
world. In 1717, Masonry
Rizal completed his medical course in Spain on June created a formal
21, 1884; he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in organization in England
Medicine by the Universidad Central de Madrid. He studied when the first Grand Lodge
was formed.
and passed all subjects leading to the degree of Doctor of
Medicine the next academic year but he did not present the A Mason (or Freemason) is a
thesis required for graduation nor paid the corresponding member of a fraternity
known as Masonry (or
fees, he was not awarded his Doctor’s diploma. Freemasonry). A fraternity is
a group of men who join
On his 24th birthday (June 19, 1885), Rizal was together because:
awarded the degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters by  There are things they
the Universidad Central de Madrid with the rating of want to do in the world.
 There are things they
“Excellent”: (Sobresaliente).
want to do "inside their
own minds."
Rizal went to Paris and Germany in order to specialize
 They enjoy being
in ophthalmology—Rizal chose this branch of medicine together with men they
because he wanted to cure his mother’s eye ailment. like and respect.

He worked as an assistant from November 1885 to February 1886 under Dr. Louis de Weckert (1852-
1906), leading French ophthalmologist.

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RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

Arriving in Heidelberg, he worked in University Eye Hospital under the distinguished

German ophthalmologist, Dr. Otto Becker.
France
Rizal wrote a fine poem “A Las Flores de Heidelberg” (To the
Flowers of Heidelberg) . In the spring of 1886, Rizal was fascinated by
the blooming flowers along the cool banks of the Neckar River.
Among them was his favorite flower—the light blue “forget-me-not”

He stayed with Dr. Karl Ullmer, a kind Protestant pastor who

became his good friend and admirer. Rizal wrote his first letter in Germany
German (which he had improved after his stay with the Ullmers) to
Professor Blumentritt, Director of the Ateneo of Leitmeritz, Austria.

Leaving Heidelberg, he arrived in Leipzig and befriended a

famous German historian, Professor Friedrich Ratzel and German
Dr. Otto Becker anthropologist, Dr. Hans Meyer. Rizal found out that the cost of
living in Leipzig was cheapest in Europe so that he stayed two
months and a half. He worked as proof-reader in a publisher’s firm
because of his knowledge of German, Spanish, and other European
languages.

Rizal left Leipzig for Dresden on October 29, 1886 where he

met Dr. Adolph B. Meyer, Director of the Anthropological and
Ethnological Museum. Then he departed on November 1 to go to
Berlin where he met Dr. Feodor Jagor, celebrated German scientist-
traveler and author of Travels in the Philippines, a book which Rizal
read and admired during his student days in Manila.
Prof. Friedrich Ratzel He also got the chance to know several prominent people like:

(1) Dr. Rudolf Virchow, famous German anthropologist;

(2) Dr. Hans Virchow, professor of Descriptive Anatomy;
(3) Dr. W. Joest, a noted German geographer; and
(4) Dr. Ernest Schweigger, famous German ophthalmologist where Rizal worked with

Rizal lived in Berlin for five reasons:

(1) to gain further knowledge of ophthalmology
(2) to further his studies of sciences and languages
(3) to observe the economic and political conditions of the German nation
(4) to associate with famous German scientists and scholars
Dr. Hans Meyer
(5) to publish his novel, Noli Me Tangere

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RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

NOLI ME TANGERE PUBLISHED IN BERLIN (1887)

The bleak winter of 1886 in Berlin was
Rizal’s darkest winter because no money arrived from
Calamba and he was flat broke. The diamond ring
which his sister, Saturnina, gave him was in the
pawnshop.
It was memorable in the life of Rizal for two reasons (1) it was a painful episode for he was hungry, sick
and despondent in a strange city and (2) it brought him great joy after enduring so much sufferings, because his
first novel, Noli Me Tangere came off the press in March, 1887.

Did you know?

In Luna’s canvas “The Death of Cleopatra,“ Rizal posed as

an Egyptian priest. In another of Luna’s great paintings,
“The Blood Compact,” he posed as Sikatuna, with
Trinidad Pardo de Tavera taking the role of Legazpi

Germany Czech Republic Austria Italy

Switzerland

Rizal had a grand tour with Viola in 1887 leaving Berlin and visited several countries until they parted
ways in Geneva with Viola returning to Barcelona while Rizal continue his trip to Italy.

FIRST HOMECOMING (1887-1888)

Noli Me Tangere caused an uproar and Rizal was warned not to return
home by Paciano (his brother), Silvestre Ubaldo (his brother-in-law) and Chengoy
(Jose M. Cecilio). However, Rizal was determined to return to the Philippines for
the following reasons: (1) to operate on his mother’s eyes; (2) to serve his
people who had long been oppressed by Spanish tyrants; (3) to find out for
himself how Noli and his other writings were affecting Filipinos and Spaniards in
the Philippines; and (4) to inquire why Leonor Rivera remained silent.

On August 8, 1887, Rizal returned to Calamba and established a medical

clinic. His first patient was his mother, who was almost blind. Rizal, who came to
be called “Doctor Uliman” because he came from Germany treated their
ailments and soon he acquired a lucrative medical practice. Nevertheless, Rizal
suffered one failure during his six months of sojourn in Calamba—his failure to
see Leonor Rivera.

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RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

STORM OVER THE NOLI

Governor General Emilio Terrero (1885-1888) requested Rizal to
come to Malacańang Palace and placed Don Jose Taviel de Andrade, a
young Spanish lieutenant assigned by Governor General Terrero to posed
as bodyguard of Rizal.

Fr. Salvador Font, an Augustinian cura of Tondo and Fr. Jose

Rodriguez, an Augustinian priest both comdemened Noli Me Tangere
because they found the novel to contain subversive ideas against the
Church and Spain.

What marred Rizal’s happy days in Calamba were (1) the death of
his older sister, Olimpia and (2) the groundless tales circulated by his
enemies that he was “a German spy, an agent of Bismarck, a Protestant, a
Mason, a witch, a soul beyond salvation, etc.”

Vicente Barrantes, a Spanish academician of Madrid, criticized the Noli in an article published in La
Espańa Moderna (a newspaper of Madrid) in January, 1890 but Rizal himself defended his novel against
Barrantes’ attack, in a letter written in Brussels, Belgium in February 1880.

FAREWELL TO CALAMBA
The friars asked Governor General Terrero to deport him, but latter refused because there was no valid
charge against Rizal in court.

Rizal was compelled to leave Calamba for two reasons: (1) his presence in Calamba was jeopardizing the
safety and happiness of his family and friends, and (2) he could fight better his enemies and serve his country’s
cause with greater efficacy by writing in foreign countries.

Himno Al Trabajo (Hymn to Labor) was a poem written by Rizal dedicated to the industrious folks of Lipa to
fulfill a request from his friend from Lipa in commemoration of the town’s elevation to a villa (city) by virtue of
the Becerra Law of 1888.

Rizal was forced to leave his country for a second time in February
1888. He was then a full-grown man of 27 years of age, a practicing
physician, and a recognized man-of-letters. He stayed at Victoria Hotel and
was welcomed by Filipino residents. He described Hong Kong as a small,
but very clean city.

Together with Jose Maria Basa, he boarded the ferry steamer, Kiu-Kiang
for Macao on February 18, 1888 and stayed with Don Juan Francisco Lecaros, a
Filipino gentleman married to a Portuguese lady. He described Macao as a small,
low, and gloomy city.

Jose Maria Basa

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HongKong Macao Japan United States of America United Kingdom

One of the happiest interludes in the life of Rizal was his sojourn in the Land of the Cherry Blossoms for
one month and a half (February 28-April 13, 1888). He stayed in Tokyo Hotel from March 2 to March 7.

He wrote to Bluementritt: "Tokyo is more expensive then Paris. The walls are built in cyclopean manner.
The streets are large and wide.”

Rizal was invited by Juan Perez Caballero, secretary of the Spanish

Legation, to live at the Spanish Legation. He accepted the invitation for two
reasons: (1) he could economize his living expenses by staying at the
legation (2) he had nothing to hide from the prying eyes of the Spanish
authorities.

On April 13, 1888, He boarded the Belgic, an English steamer, at

Yokohama, bound for the United States. There, he met a passenger and
befriended Tetcho Suehiro who was a fighting Japanese journalist, novelist
and champion of human rights, who was forced by the Japanese
government to leave the country. They had eight months of intimate
acquaintanceship and parted with each other after a last warm handshake
and bidding each other goodbye. Tetcho Suehiro

Rizal registered in Palace Hotel which was then

considered a first-class hotel in San Francisco after
arriving on April 28, 1888 and was permitted to go
ashore on May 4.

Rizal had good and bad impressions of the United

States. The good impressions were:
(1) the material progress of the country as shown in the
great cities, huge farms,
flourishing industries and busy factories
(2) the drive and energy of the American people
(3) the natural beauty of the land
(4) the high standard of living
(5) the opportunities for better life offered to poor
immigrants.

One bad impression Rizal had of America was the lack of

Palace Hotel, San Francisco (1875) racial equality.

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RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

After visiting the United States, Rizal lived in London from May, 1888 to March, 1889 for three reasons:
(1) to improve his knowledge of the English language (2) to study and annotate Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas, a rare copy of which he heard to be available in the British Museum (3) London was a safe place for
him to carry on his fight against Spanish tyranny.

On September 1888, Rizal visited Paris for a week in order to search for more
historical materials in the Bibliotheque Nationale. Then, on December 11, he went to
Spain, visiting Madrid and Barcelona. For the first time, Marcelo H. del Pilar and
Mariano Ponce, two titans of the Propaganda Movement. He spent Christmas and
New Year’s Day with the Becketts back in London.

Asociacion La Solidaridad (Solidaridad Association) was a patriotic society,

which cooperate in the crusade for reforms, was inaugurated on December 31, 1888.
Rizal was chosen honorary president by unanimous vote of all members.

RIZAL AND THE LA SOLIDARIDAD NEWSPAPER

Marcelo H. del Pilar Graciano Lopez Jaena founded the patriotic newspaper called La Solidaridad
in Barcelona in February 15, 1889.

La Solidadridad-fortnightly periodical which served as the organ of the Propaganda

Movement. Its aims were as follows:

(1) to work peacefully for political and social reforms

(2) to portray the deplorable conditions of the Philippines so that Spain may remedy
them
(3) to oppose the evil forces of reaction and medievalism
(4) to advocate liberal ideas and progress
(5) to champion the legitimate aspirations of the Filipino people to life, democracy
and happiness
Mariano Ponce

Los Agricultores Filipinos (The Filipino Farmers) was Rizal’s first article which appeared in La Solidaridad
which is published on March 25, 1889, six days after he left London for Paris.

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ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN LA SOLIDARIDAD

Rizal wrote articles for La Solidaridad in defense of his oppressed people and to point out the evils of Spanish
rule in the Philippines.

1. “A La Defensa” (To La Defensa 6. “Crueldad” (Cruelty)

2. “La Verdad Para Todos” (The Truth For All) 7. “Diferencias’ (Differences)
3. “Vicente Barrantes’ Teatro Tagalo” 8. “Inconsequencias” (Inconsequences)
4. “Una Profanacion” (A Profanation) 9. “Llanto y Risas” (Tears and Laughter)
5. “Verdades Nuevas” (New Truths) 10 .“Ingratitudes” (Ingratitude)

Simultaneous with Rizal retirement from the Propaganda Movement, Rizal ceased writing articles for La
Solidaridad. He stopped writing for La Solidaridad, it was because of several reasons:
(1) Rizal need to work on his book
(2) He wanted other Filipinos to work also
(3) Rizal considered it very important to the party that there be unity in the work
(4) Marcelo H. del Pilar is already at the top and Rizal also have his own ideas, it is better to leave del Pilar
alone to direct the policy

JOSE RIZAL AND THE PROPAGANDA

“You will remember that, walking on the Pascode Recoletos … I

told you: "Watch out, for some fine day we shall wake up
quarrelling without knowing why." You laughed at my witticism
and so did I … that occurred to me without reason as a vague
presentment.” – Marcelo H. Del Pilar’s letter to Jose Rizal (July
20, 1892)

Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitan, a prominent

figure in the Propaganda Movement, was also known
through his pen name "Plaridel". He was a writer, lawyer,
and journalist who was also a co-publisher and the second
and last editor of La Solidaridad.
An unwanted rivalry between Del Pilar and Rizal
arose by the end of 1890. During this time, Del Pilar
became the owner of La Solidardad and replaced of
Graciano Lopez Jaena as its editor. However, Del Pilar's
management and editorial policy clashed with Rizal's
political vision.
About 90 Filipinos in Madrid met on the New Year’s Day of 1891 to fix their differences and
make their bonds stronger. One of the gathering's aim was to elect a Responsable, a leader to

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RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

administer the campaigns for reform of the Filipinos. Rizal won the election for first and second day,
but fell short of the required two-thirds vote (quorum) to be declared Responsable.
Mariano Ponce appealed to some Pilaristas to surrender their will to the majority which made
Rizal become the legal Responsable but Rizal courteously declined the position and left Madrid.
Before Del Pilar died, he abadoned the ‘assimilationist’ stand, the advocacy to have the
Philippines be treated as one of Spain’s provinces.
“Insurrection is the last remedy, especially when the people have acquired the belief that
peaceful means to secure the remedies for evils prove futile.” Del Pilar wrote.

Around France, Belgium, and Spain

On January 28, 1890, Rizal went to Brussels, capital

of Belgium accompanied by Jose Albert and lived in a
modest boarding house on 38 Rue Philippe Champagne,
which was run by two Jacoby sisters (Suzanne and Marie).
Letters from home which Rizal received in Brussels
worried him. (1) the Calamba agrarian trouble was getting
worse (2) the Dominican Order filed a suit in court to
dispossess the Rizal family of their lands in Calamba.
Rizal feared that he would not live long. He was not afraid to die, but he wanted to finish his
second novel before he went to his grave. “To my Muse” (A Mi…), a poem written by Rizal during
those sad days when he was worried by family disasters.
OPHTHALMIC SURGEON IN HONG KONG (1891-1892)
Rizal left Europe for Hong Kong, where he lived from November, 1891 to June, 1892. His
reasons for leaving Europe were (1) life was unbearable in Europe because of his political differences
with M.H. del Pilar and other Filipinos in Spain (2) to be near his idolized Philippines and family.

DECISION TO RETURN TO MANILA

Rizal made up his mind to return to Manila. This decision was spurred by the following: (1) to
confer with Governor Despujol regarding his Borneo colonization project (2) to establish the La Liga
Filipina in Manila (3) to prove that Eduardo de Lete was wrong in attacking him in Madrid that he
(Rizal), being comfortable and safe in Hong Kong, had abandoned the country’s cause.

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RIZAL’S LIFE AND WORKS

SECOND HOMECOMING AND THE LIGA FILIPINA

Rizal firmly believed that the fight for Filipino liberties had assumed a
new phase: it must be fought in the Philippines not in Spain. “The battlefield is in
the Philippines,” he told countrymen in Europe, “There is where we should
meet… There we will help one another, there together we will suffer or triumph
perhaps.”
On July 3, 1892, Rizal attended a
meeting with patriots at the home of the
Chinese-Filipino mestizo, Doroteo
Ongjunco, on Ylaya Street, Tondo, Manila.
He explained the objectives of the Liga Filipina, a civic league of
Filipinos, which he desired to establish and its role in the socio-
economic life of the people. It aimed to:
(1) Unite the whole country
(2) Protect and assist all members
(3) Fight violence and injustice
(4) Support education
(5) Study and implement reforms

Summary
 Rizal explored Europe and some parts of Asia in his travel abroad.
 He traveled abroad to get more knowledge to help liberating Filipinos from Spanish tyranny.
 He befriended and get acquainted with several prominent people in different fields of
profession.
 Rizal was not able to get his Doctor’s diploma because he was not able to pay for his fees
and present his thesis.
 Maximo Viola was the savior of Noli Me Tangere while Valentin Ventura was the savior of El
Filibusterismo.
 Rizal founded the La Liga Filipina when he went back to the Philippines in 1892.
 He had some conflicts with other propagandists and friends like Marcelo H. Del Pilar and
Antonio Luna.
 He didn’t give up the idea of attaining equal rights through non-violence movement.

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ASSESSMENT
TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Answer the following questions.

1. What makes Rizal’s travel significance to our history?

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2. Give at least three reflections that you could conclude knowing Rizal’s pursuance of higher education
abroad and his travel as propagandanist.
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Post-test Give at least 10 countries Rizal visited in his

1st and 2nd travel abroad in any order. (10
Write the correct answer on the blank provided before each points)
questions. (5 points)
____________1. What is the pen name of Rizal when he first 1. __________________________________
wrote an article in Diariong Tagalog? 2. __________________________________
____________2. How many course did Rizal take in Universidad 3. __________________________________
Central de Madrid?
4. __________________________________
____________3. What did Rizal pawned to support himself in
5. __________________________________
Berlin in 1887?
6. __________________________________
____________4. Who was the Austrian professor whom Rizal
7. __________________________________
became a good friend and frequently
8. __________________________________
exchanged letter?
____________5. What was Rizal called when he first went 9. __________________________________
home to the Philippines prior to his journey in 10. __________________________________
Europe?

Resources/References:
Mañebog, J. DG. (2013). The 'Love-and-Hate' Relationship of Jose Rizal And Marcelo Del Pilar. Retrieved from: https://ourhappyschool.com/history/love-and-hate-
relationship-jose-rizal-and-marcelo-del-pilar

WATCH: iJuander: Jose Rizal, nagkaroon nga ba ng grado na pasang-awa?

Jose Rizal (1998) Movie starring Cesar Montano.

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