Annotation of Morga’s Sucesos

de las Islas Filipinas

I’ll reiterate my expression of gratitude for the precious gift with which
you have favored your mother country and the whole civilized world.
- Final prologue of Rizal’s annotation
On August 18, 1888 Rizal wrote a letter to blumentrit over his
plan and Dr. Regidor’s offer saying ” I am very busy with Morga.
I am planning to copy the entire work and present a new
edition to the public. Dr. Morga wishes to be my financer.”
• Work of Morga consist of Eight Chapters;

Discoveries of the Eastern Iislands

The Government of Dr. Francisco de Sande
The Government of Don Gonzalo
The Government of Dr. Santiago de Vera
The Government of Gomes Peres Dasmariñas
The Government of Don Francisco Tello
The Government of Don Pedro de Acuña
Account of the Philippine Islands
Some historians and intellectuals consider the work as the best
chronicle of the conquest of the Philippines

It cast a new framework of understanding the history of the

Philippines from the stamdpoint of Filipino

Mariano Ponce and Baldomero Roxas from Lipa Bantangas received

a copy
As it reached manila, it was confiscated and destroyed and it
became rare and out of print

The book argued that Filipinos were already civilized before

the coming of Spain
Rizal came to know Dr. Reinhold Rost, a librarian of Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in England and an authority in Malayan
language and customs.

Dr. Rost found Rizal to be an interesting person, “ a man with

a strong character, education and even considered Rizal as a
“pearl of a man” (una perla de hombre)
Besides Rizal’s reading and analysis of Dr. Morga’s book. He also wrote
some articles in London (Hernandez 1959). They are the following:

• La Vision del Fray Rodriguez

• Letter to the young Women of Malolos
• Specimens of Tagalog Folklore
Rizal received various news from his family and friends from
the Philippines, such as:

1. Persecution of the Filipino patriots who signed the “Anti – Friar Petition of
1888”

2. Persecution of Calamba tenants for their courage to petition the

government for agrarian reforms

3. Manuel T. Hidalgo, Rizal’s brother-in-law, was exiled to bohol

4. Laureano Viado, Rizal’s friend was arrested and jailed for processing a copy
of Noli me Tangere

5. The defense of Rev. Vicente Garcia of the Noli against the attacks
In March of 1889, Rizal decided to move to paris caught up in
preparation for Universal Exposition.

He stayed with his friend Valentin Ventura

He settled in a small room together with two other Filipino.

He founded societies of Filipinos who were in Paris at the time

Kidlat Club

Indios Bravos
Rizal would often visit his friends’ house such as Juan Luna and
his wife Paz Pardo de Tavera, the Ventura’s the Tavera’s – Dr.
Trinidad and Dr. Felix and the Boisteads

Aside from the various activities in Paris, Rizal enjoyed the

responsibilities of the Luna’s, the Travera’s. and the
Boustead’s. Historians speculated that Rizal is romantically
linked with Nellie and Adelina Boustead, which had been the
reason for Rizal and Antonio Luna’s confrontation