CHAPTER 15 - THE DESTINY OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE

The essay "The Philippines a century Hence" was Rizal's attempt to answer the question
of whether ir not the Philippines would continue to remain a colony of Spain or not. It was
serializedin La Solidaridad in four installments from September 30, 1889 to January 31, 1890.
By presenting sound arguments, Rizal made a compelling case that the Philippine would only
remain a colony of Spain if the Filipinos were granted reforms, particularly the freedom of the
press and representation in the Spanish Cortes. Without these reforms, Rizal forsaw the eventual
independence of the Philippines resulting from a violent revolution.

The first part of Rizal's essay does this by illustrating that with the arrival of the
Spaniards, the Filipinos were forced to accept and subject themselves to a new and foreign
culture. Time passed while spaniards attempt to subjugate the Filipinos completely, but Rizal
argues that the continued oppression only resulted in the gradual awakening of the Filipinos.

The final part of Rizal's work presents another interesting point of discussion since he
attempts to look into the future of the country. He aargues that if the Filipino becomes free in the
future, this independence will be short-lived since the United States of America will probably
acquire and colonize the country as one of their own territories.