Bernales, Jan Lianne E.

GEC 09 The Life, Works and Writing of Jose Rizal

BSN IV-B Module #4: Rizal’s Higher Education and Life Abroad

TASK #1. QUESTIONS

1. Explain the principle of assimilation advocated by the Propaganda Movement.
The Propaganda Movement was the first Filipino nationalist movement, organized
by a Filipino elite and spurred by pronationalist agitation and colonial authorities'
execution of figures like José Burgos. Young men, mostly mestizos and creoles whose
families could afford to send them to Spanish colleges in Madrid and Barcelona, served
as propagandists. They came across the upheaval of 19th-century political movements
fueled by Enlightenment philosophy, individual rights, constitutionalism, and anti-
clericalism. It was an assimilationist movement in the sense that the propagandists, many
of whom were of half Spanish parentage and saw themselves as inheritors of Spanish
civilization, believed that the Philippines should be fully integrated into Spain as a
Spanish province, not just as a colony, with Filipinos granted the same citizenship rights
as Spanish citizens. Second, it called for the expulsion of Spanish friars from the
Philippines and the establishment of a native Philippine priesthood. Finally, as a cultural
movement, it promoted the writing and artistic output of the young Filipino elite as a
means of proving their intellectual sophistication, which was on par with that of their
Spanish counterparts.

2. Appraise Rizal’s relationship with other Propagandists.

Rizal became a leader of the reformist movement called Propaganda, an
unwavering campaign for political and social freedoms, lobbying the peninsular
government, using their connections with the liberal Spanish politicians.  He wrote
unceasingly for the La Solidaridad, mouthpiece of the Propaganda, hoping as did his
fellow Propagandists that the pleas of the Filipinos would be heard by the powers-that-
be.  He produced the two novels that he hoped would succeed in achieving his goals
where all other means had failed, but which ultimately led to his death.  

Rizal’s relationship with his fellow propagandists was not smooth but was
characterized by rivalry, petty bickering and intrigues. This is not mentioned in textbooks
as it would ruin the illusion of a group that was trying heroically to bring change to the
Philippines. It also shows that the propagandists were not a solid and unified group. The
Spanish-born Filipinos as well as the sympathetic Spaniards clashed with the Indios on
how or which reforms should be pursued. Eventually some also left the group, among
them Manuel Blanco whose brother, Eugenio became a colonel in the Spanish army in
command of Macabebes.

3. Analyze Rizal’s growth as a Propagandists and disavowal of assimilation.

Support for newspapers gradually increased, and the list of writers increased.
Among the final contributors to the article were José Rizal, Dominador Gomez, Jose
Maria Panganivan, Antanio Luna, and the famous Filipino scholar Ferdinand Brumentrit.
Other Filipinos who contributed the article did so by using the wrong name. The
newspaper editorial staff was first provided to Rizal. However, he declined because he
 had commented on Antonio Morgas Ssessos de las Islas Filipinas in London during this
time. After Rizal refused, Graciano Lopez Jaena was offered to the editorial department.
On April 25, 1889, La Solidaridad published a letter entitled "The Filipino Aspirations".
This letter was written by the Hispanic Filipino Association of Madrid (English: Hispanic
Filipino Association of Madrid). She pursued the following wishes. 1. Representative in
Cortez 2. Abolition of distrust 3. Explicit and definitive ban on former residents without
judicial enforcement, purely by official order. Over time, Del Pilar gradually played an
active role in running newspapers. Lopez Jaena, by name, an editor, was known for
spending most of her days in cafes and not being able to work permanently. The
newspaper went with him when Del Pilar decided to move to Madrid. The first edition
printed in Madrid appeared on November 15, 1889. A month later, the magazine
announced a change in editors, now under the leadership of Del Pilar. Under his editing,
the newspaper's goals have expanded. His article drew the attention of Spanish leaders
and ministers. With her propaganda, she pursued the following wishes: First, The
Philippines must be a Spanish state. Second, Representation of Filipino priests instead of
Spanish friars. Third, Freedom of assembly and speech. And lastly, Equal rights before
the law (both Filipino and Spanish plaintiffs). By 1890, the two most prominent
members of the Spanish Filipino community showed increasingly different attitudes
towards the Filipino issue. started. Rizal has always said that the country should receive
better service and the problem should be closer to home.

References:

Madraga, M. M. (2016). Module 7 - Rizal in Propaganda Movement and Free Masonry

“Ignorance is servitude, because as a man thinks, so he is; Pdfcoffee.Com.

https://pdfcoffee.com/module-7-7-pdf-free.html

de Viana, A. (2021, March). Did Rizal have a good relationship with the other propagandists?

Quora. https://www.quora.com/Did-Rizal-have-a-good-relationship-with-the-other-

propagandists