Saint Ferdinand College

COLLEGE OF ACCOUNTANCY
Sta. Ana St., City of Ilagan, Isabela 3300 (078) 624-2125

MODULE 4: THE LIFE OF JOSE RIZAL

A. Rizal's Second Trip to Europe

In his second trip, Rizal became more active in the Propaganda Movement with fellow
ilustrados like Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Antonio Luna, Mariano Ponce, and
Trinidad Pardo de Tavera. The Propaganda campaigned for reforms such as: (1) for the
Philippines to be made a province of Spain so that native Filipinos would equal rights accorded
to Spaniards; (2) representation of the Philippines in the Spanish Cortes; and (3) secularization of
parishes.
Rizal became preoccupied with writing articles and essays which were published in the
Propaganda Movement's newspapq La Solidaridad. Among his intellectual works in Europe is
annotation of Antonio de Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipina, (1890) in which Rizal showed
that even before the coming of the Spaniards, the Filipinos already had a developed culture. He
also wrote an essay entitled "Sobre la Indolencia de los Filipinos(On the Indolence of the
Filipinos) published in 1890 in which he attributed the Filipinos' "indolence" to different factors
such as climate and social disorders. Another essay he wrote strongly called for reforms; it was
called "Filipinas Dentro de Cien Ahos (The Philippines a Century Hence) published in parts
from 1889 to 1890.
By July 1891, while in Brussels, Rizal completed his second novel, El Filibusterismo,
which was published on September 18, 1891 through the help of his friend, Valentin Ventura.
Compared with his Noli, Rizal's El Fili was more radical with its narrative portrayed of a society
on the verge of a revolution.
In 1892, Rizal decided to return to the Philippines thinking that the real struggle was in his
homeland. In spite of warnings and his family's disapproval, Rizal arrived in the Philippines on
June 26, 1892. Immediately, he visited his friends in Central Luzon and encouraged them to join
the La Liga Filipina, a socio-civic organization that Rizal established on July 3, 1892.
Unfortunately, just a few days after the Liga's formation, Rizal was arrested and brought to Fort
Santiago on July 6, 1892. He was charged with bringing with him from Hong Kong leaflets
entitled Pobres Frailes (Poor Friars), a satire against the rich Dominican friars and their
accumulation of wealth which was against thew vow of poverty. In spite of protests and
denial of having those materials, Rizal was exiled to J)apitan in Mindanao.

B. Exile in Dapitan

Rizal arrived in Dapitan on board the steamer Cebu on July 17, 1892. Dapitan (now a city
within Zamboanga del Norte) was a remote town in Mindanao which served as a politico-
military outpost of the Spaniards in the Philippines. It was headed by Captain Ricardo Carnicero,
who became a friend of Rizal during his exile. He gave Rizal the permission to explore the place
and required him to report once a week in his office.
The quiet place of Dapitan became Rizal's home from 1892 to 1896. Here, he practiced
medicine, pursued scientific studies, and continued his artistic pursuits in sculpture, painting,
sketching, and writing poetry. He established a school for boys and promoted community
development projects. He also found time to study the Malayan language and other Philippine
languages. He engaged himself in farming and commerce and even invented a wooden machine
for making bricks.
 On September 21, 1892, Rizal won the second prize in a lottery together with Ricardo
Carnicero and another Spaniard. His share amounted to 6,200 pesos. A portion of Rizal's
winnings was used in purchasing land approximately one kilometer away from Dapitan in a
place known as Talisay. He built his house on the seashore of Talisay as well as a school and a
hospital within the area.
In his letter to Blumentritt (December 19, 1893), Rizal described his daily activities in
Dapitan:
I am going to tell you how we live here. I have a square house, another
hexagonal, and another octagonal— all made of bamboo, wood and nipa.
In the square my mother, sister Trinidad, a nephew and I live. In the
octagonal my boys live—some boys whom
I teach arithmetic, Spanish and English—and now and then a patient who has been
operated on. In the hexagonal are my chickens. From my house I hear the murmur
of a crystalline rivulet that comes from the high rocks. I see the beach, the sea
where I have two small crafts—two canoes or barotos, as they call them here. I
have many fruit trees—mangoes, lanzones, guyabanos, baluno, nangka, etc. I have
rabbits, dogs, cats, etc. I get up early—at 5:00. I visit my fields, I feed the chickens.
I wake up my folks, and start them moving. At 7:30 we take breakfast—tea, pastry,
cheese, sweets, etc. Afterwards I treat my poor patients who come to my land. I
dress and go to the town in my baroto, I treat the people there and I return at 12:00
and take lunch. Afterwards, I teach the boys until 4:00 and I spend the afternoon
farming. I spend the evening reading and studying.

Relative to Rizal's project to improve and beautify Dapitan he made a big relief map of
Mindanao in the plaza and used i to teach geography. With this map, which still exists today, h
discussed to the town people the position of Dapitan in relatio to other places of Mindanao.
Assisted by his pupils, Rizal al constructed a water system to supply the town with water for
drinking and irrigation. He also helped the people in putting up lampposts at every corner of the
town.
Having heard of Rizal's fame as an ophthalmologist, George Taufer who was suffering
from an eye ailment traveled from Hong Kong to Dapitan. He was accompanied by his adopted
daughter, Josephine Bracken, who eventually fell in love with Rizal. They lived as husband and
wife in Rizal's octagonal house after being denied the sacrament of marriage by Obach, the
parish priest of Dapitan, due to Rizal's refusal retract his statements against the Church and to
accept other conditions.
On the eve of June 21, 1896, Dr. Pio Valenzuela visited Rizal in Dapitan and informed
him about the founding of Ktipunan and the planned revolution. Rizal objected to it, citing the
importance of a well-planned movement with sufficient arms.
Meanwhile, Rizal had been sending letters to the Governor-General Ramon Blanco.
Twice he sent letters, one in 1894 and another in 1895. He asked for a review of his case. He said
that if his request would not be granted, he would volunteer to serve a surgeon under the Spanish
army fighting tn the Cuban revolution-
On July 30, 1896, Rizal's request to go to Cuba was approved. The next day, he left for
Manila on board the steamer Espaia- And on Septemær 3, 1896, he boarded the steamer Isla de
Panay which would bring him to Barcelona. Upon arriving at the fort, however, Governor-
General Despujol told him that there was an order to ship him back to Manila. On November 3,
1896, Rizal arrived in Manila and was immediately brought to Fort
C. Trial and Execution
The preliminary investigation of Rizal's case began on November 20, 1896. He was
accused of being the main organizer of the revolution by having proliferated the ideas of
rebellion and of founding illegal organizations. Rizal pleaded not guilty and even wrote a
manifesto appealing to the revolutionaries to discontinue the uprising. Rizal's lawyer, Lt. Luis
Taviel de Andrade, tried his best to save Rizal. However, on December 26, 1896, the trial ended
and the sentence was read. José Rizal was found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad.
On December 28, 1896, Governor-General Camilo de Polavieia signed the court decision.
He later decreed that Rizal be executed by firing squad at 7:00 a.m. of December 30.
Rizal, on his last remaining days, composed his longest poem, Mi Ultimo Adios, which
was about his farewell to the Filipino people. When his mother and sisters visited him on
December 29, 1896, Rizal gave away his remaining possessions. He handed his gas lamp to his
sister Trinidad and murmured softly in English, "There is something inside." Eventually, Trining
and her sister Maria would extract from the lamp the copy of Rizal's last poem.
At 6:30 in the morning of December 30, 1896, Rizal, in black suit with his arms tied
behind his back, walked to Bagumbayan. The orders were given and shots were fired.
Consummatum est! ("It is finished!" ) Rizal died offering his life for his country and its freedom.
Source:

Obias, R., Mallari, A., and Estella, J. (2018). The Life and Works of Rizal. EDSA, South Triangle, Quezon
City. C & E Publishing, Inc.