El filibusterismo

El filibusterismo (lit. Spanish for "The Filibustering"), also known by its English alternate title The
Reign of Greed, is the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the sequel to
Noli Me Tangere and like the first book, was written in Spanish. It was first published in 1891 in Ghent,
Belgium.

Plot summary
Thirteen years after he left the Philippines, Crisostomo Ibarra (the main character from Noli Me
Tangere) returns as Simoun, a rich jeweler sporting a beard and blue-tinted glasses, and a confidant of
the Governor-General of the Philippines, the Captain-General. Abandoning his idealism, he becomes a
cynical saboteur, the titular filibustero, seeking revenge against the Spanish Philippines system
responsible for his misfortunes by plotting a revolution. Simoun insinuates himself into Manila high
society and influences every decision of the Captain-General to mismanage the country’s affairs so
that a revolution will break out. He cynically sides with the upper classes, encouraging them to commit
abuses against the masses so that the latter would be encouraged to revolt against the oppressive
Spanish colonial regime. This time, he does not attempt to fight the authorities through legal means,
but through violent revolution using the masses. Simoun has reasons for instigating a revolution. First
is to rescue María Clara from the convent and second, to get rid of ills and evils of Philippine society.
His true identity is discovered by a now grown-up Basilio while visiting the grave of his mother, Sisa, as
Simoun was digging near the grave site for his buried treasures. Simoun spares Basilio’s life and asks
him to join in his planned revolution against the government, egging him on by bringing up the tragic
misfortunes of the latter's family. Basilio declines the offer as he still hopes that the country’s
condition will improve.
Basilio, at this point, is a graduating student of medicine at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. After the
death of his mother, Sisa, and the disappearance of his younger brother, Crispín, Basilio needed the
advice of the dying boatman, Elías, and traveled to Manila to study. Basilio was adopted by Captain
Tiago after María Clara entered the convent. With Captain Tiago’s help, Basilio was able to go to
Colegio de San Juan de Letrán where, at first, he is frowned upon by his peers and teachers not only
because of the color of his skin but also because of his shabby appearance which he also experiences
at Ateneo. Captain Tiago’s confessor, Father Irene is making Captain Tiago’s health worse by giving
him opium even as Basilio tries hard to prevent Captain Tiago from smoking it. He and other students
want to establish a Spanish language academy so that they can learn to speak and write Spanish
language in the Philippines Spanish despite the opposition from the Dominican friars of the
Universidad de Santo Tomás. With the help of a reluctant Father Irene as their mediator and Don
Custodio’s decision, the academy is established; however they will only serve as caretakers of the
school not as the teachers. Dejected and defeated, they hold a mock celebration at a pancitería while
a spy for the friars witnesses the proceedings.
Simoun, for his part, keeps in close contact with the bandit group of Kabesang Tales, a former cabeza
de barangay who suffered misfortunes at the hands of the friars. Once a farmer owning a prosperous
sugarcane plantation and a cabeza de barangay (barangay head), he was forced to give everything to
the greedy and unscrupulous Spanish friars. His son, Tano, who became a civil guard was captured by
bandits; his daughter Hulî had to work as a maid to get enough ransom money for his freedom; and his
father, Tandang Selo, suffered a stroke and became mute. Before joining the bandits, Tales took
Simoun’s revolver while Simoun was staying at his house for the night. As payment, Tales leaves a
locket that once belonged to María Clara. To further strengthen the revolution, Simoun has Quiroga, a
Chinese man hoping to be appointed consul to the Philippines, smuggle weapons into the country
using Quiroga’s bazaar as a front. Simoun wishes to attack during a stage play with all of his enemies
in attendance. He, however, abruptly aborts the attack when he learns from Basilio that María Clara
had died earlier that day in the convent.
A few days after the mock celebration by the students, the people are agitated when disturbing
posters are found displayed around the city. The authorities accuse the students present at the
pancitería of agitation and disturbing peace and has them arrested. Basilio, although not present at
the mock celebration, is also arrested. Captain Tiago dies after learning of the incident and as stated in
his will—forged by Father Irene, all his possessions are given to the Church, leaving nothing for Basilio.
Basilio is left in prison as the other students are released. A high official tries to intervene for the
release of Basilio but the Captain-General, bearing grudges against the high official, coerces him to
tender his resignation. Julî, Basilio’s girlfriend and the daughter of Kabesang Tales, tries to ask Father
Camorra’s help upon the advice of an elder woman. Instead of helping Julî, however, Father Camorra
tries to rape her as he has long-hidden desires for Julî. Julî, rather than submit to the will of the friar,
jumps over the balcony to her death.
Basilio is soon released with the help of Simoun. Basilio, now a changed man, and after hearing about
Julî's suicide, finally joins Simoun’s revolution. Simoun then tells Basilio his plan at the wedding of
Paulita Gómez and Juanito, Basilio’s hunch-backed classmate. His plan was to conceal an explosive
inside a pomegranate-styled Kerosene lamp that Simoun will give to the newlyweds as a gift during the
wedding reception. The reception will take place at the former home of the late Captain Tiago, which
was now filled with explosives planted by Simoun. According to Simoun, the lamp will stay lighted for
only 20 minutes before it flickers; if someone attempts to turn the wick, it will explode and kill
everyone—important members of civil society and the Church hierarchy—inside the house. Basilio has
a change of heart and attempts to warn Isagani, his friend and the former boyfriend of Paulita. Simoun
leaves the reception early as planned and leaves a note behind;
"Mene Thecel Phares." - "The writing on the wall" (or sometimes "handwriting on the wall")
Juan Crisostomo Ibarra.
Initially thinking that it was simply a bad joke by those left behind, Father Salví recognizes the
handwriting and confirms that it was indeed Ibarra’s. As people begin to panic, the lamp flickers.
Father Irene tries to turn the wick up when Isagani, due to his undying love for Paulita, bursts in the
room and throws the lamp into the river, sabotaging Simoun's plans. He escapes by diving into the
river as guards chase after him. He later regrets his impulsive action because he had contradicted his
own belief that he loved his nation more than Paulita and that the explosion and revolution could have
fulfilled his ideals for Filipino society.
Simoun, now unmasked as the perpetrator of the attempted arson and failed revolution, becomes a
fugitive. Wounded and exhausted after he was shot by the pursuing Guardia Civil, he seeks shelter at
the home of Father Florentino, Isagani’s uncle, and comes under the care of doctor Tiburcio de
Espadaña, Doña Victorina's husband, who was also hiding at the house. Simoun takes poison in order
for him not to be captured alive. Before he dies, he reveals his real identity to Florentino while they
exchange thoughts about the failure of his revolution and why God forsook him. Florentino opines that
God did not forsake him and that his plans were not for the greater good but for personal gain.
Simoun, finally accepting Florentino’s explanation, squeezes his hand and dies. Florentino then takes
Simoun’s remaining jewels and throws them into the Pacific Ocean with the corals hoping that they
would not be used by the greedy, and that when the time came that it would be used for the greater
good, when the nation would be finally deserving liberty for themselves, the sea would reveal the
treasures.

Characters
Below are some of the major characters in the novel.

Simoun - Crisostomo Ibarra, believed to be dead at the end of Noli Me Tangere, made his fortune
abroad and returns to the Philippines as the wealthy jeweller, Simoun, disguised with a beard and
tinted glasses. His sufferings, related in the first novel, have motivated him to take his revenge. Hence
he becomes a rebel, the titular "filibustero". While he appears to side with the wealthy and influential
in society, his motivation is actually to encourage them to abuse the masses who would then be driven
to revolt by increasing abuses. Whereas he once sought reform and education, he now resorts to
subterfuge and violence.

Basilio - Taking to heart the advice of the dying boatman Elias to study at the end of Noli Me Tangere,
he went to Manila after burying his mother. There, he was taken in by Capitan Tiago and was able to
go to San Juan de Letran. Though a diligent student, he failed to please his teachers, who were
affronted by the efforts of a poor native to improve his status in life. His situation in the school
improved when his skill in a fencing match impressed one of his teachers. Having high grades, he was
encouraged by Capitan Tiago to move to Ateneo, where the teachers were more enlightened and
encouraging. While there he pursued a medical degree and became involved in a movement of some
students, headed by Isagani, to set up a school for the teaching of Spanish to natives. At the time of
Simoun's arrival, he is looking forward to graduating as valedictorian then marrying his childhood
sweetheart, Juliana.

Isagani - The best friend of Basilio, he is a poor law student and poet. He has little fear of authority
and speaks openly of his patriotic ideals, becoming the leader of a group of students who plan to set
up a school for the teaching of Spanish to natives. With his idealism, he clashes with the cynical
Simoun. He is in love with the spoiled, flirtatious Paulita Gomez, against the advice of his uncle and
guardian Padre Florentino.

Macaraig - The rich student who offered his own house as the dormitory of the students studying in
Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He leads the students with Isagani to set up a spanish school, but later the
were defeated in the movement.

Kabesang Tales - Aspiring to start his own farm, he suffered great losses. First, his wife and eldest
daughter died while clearing their land. Then most of his land was seized and he was charged an
exorbitant tax on the little left to him. Known to be dependable, he was elected the kabesa or head of
the barangay, which meant often having to appease the higher officials by shouldering the expenses
of those who were unable to pay their taxes. His son was conscripted by the Civil Guard and his
daughter, Juliana, became a servant to help pay off their debts. Finally, when Simoun comes to pass
the night at his house, he takes Simoun's revolver and goes to join the tulisanes. He murders the friar-
adminstrator and the new tenants of his land. Later Juliana is killed in an encounter with a friar and his
father, struck dumb, dies in an encounter with the Guardia Civil, shot by his own grandson.

Padre Florentino - A secular Filipino priest. Pressured by his mother, he became a priest even though
he was in love. After his former sweetheart married a worthless man, he devoted himself to his priestly
duties and the study of natural sciences. He prefers to live alone on his family's remote seaside
property than to maintain the position of curate, which suggests his strong character in avoiding the
temptations of a prestigious position and high income. Through his words to the dying Simoun, he
reaffirms Rizal's stance that liberation must be achieved not through bloody revolution but through
peaceful reforms.

Don Custodio - A high official in the government, he has held many posts, many of which he had no
qualifications for. He used his rich wife's money to secure such positions. He has a mistress, a dancer
named Pepay, on whom people rely for assistance in swaying Don Custodio when they need a favor
from him.

Paulita Gomez - A beautiful girl who is admired by all the students, she at first shows preference for
Isagani. But she is thrown into the company of Juanito Pelaez because her aunt, the ridiculous Doña
Victorina from Noli Me Tangere, has taken an interest in the young heir, even contemplating marrying
him if her runaway husband were found to be dead. Eventually the self-centered Paulita chooses to
marry the amusing Juanito rather than the serious Isagani. Her romantic dilemma is similar to that
faced by Rizal's real-life sweetheart Leonor Rivera.

Juli - Juliana, Kabesang Tales's daughter and Basilio's sweetheart is known by the nickname Juli.
Devoted to Basilio, when her family falls into debt she decides to become a servant rather than sell the
 locket he had given her, once a possession of Maria Clara's that had fallen into his hands. Pure and
innocent, she is nevertheless aware of the curate's reputation as a womanizer. But she is made to feel
by a devout, busybody neighbor woman that she has no other recourse but to ask his help in freeing
Basilio. After much hesitation she approaches the friar, only to end up getting fatally injured running
from him.

• Ben Zayb - Abraham Ibañez is his real name. He is a journalist who believes he is the "only" one
thinking in the Philippines.
• Placido Penitente - a student of the University of Santo Tomas who was very intelligent and wise but
did not want, if not only by his mother's plea, to pursue his studies. He also controls his temper against
Padre Millon, his physics teacher.
• Quiroga - a Chinese businessman who dreamed of being a consul for his country in the Philippines. He
hid Simoun's weapons inside his house.
• Tandang Selo - father of Kabesang Tales. He raised the sick and young Basilio after his mother Sisa
had died.
• Father Fernández - the priest-friend of Isagani. He promised to Isagani that he and the other priests
will give in to the students' demands.
• Attorney Pasta - one of the great lawyers of mid-Hispanic Manila
• Captain-General (no specific name) - the highest-ranking official in the Philippines during the Spanish
era
• Father Sibyla- Hernando de la Sibyla, a Dominican friar and vice-rector of the University of Santo
Tomas

Themes
As with Noli Me Tangere, Rizal seeks to expose the current situation in the Philippines in El
Filibusterismo. Similar issues are raised: the need for reform in education, superstition masquerading
as religion, the abuses of the friars, the corruption of officials, and the pretensions of social-climbing
natives and Spaniards. As in Noli, Rizal uses satire and caricature, but there is less humor, more
bitterness in his treatment of situations.
The main theme focused on by El Filibusterismo is the ideal means of achieving social reform. A
number of chapters have long dialouges that seem like debates, pitting Rizal's fading hopes for reform
against his long-held aversion to revolution. The latter still seems to win out, as the novel ends with
Simoun's failure at revolution and Padre Florentino's conviction that freedom should be won without
bloodshed.
Some scholars argue, however, that Rizal's aversion was mainly towards a disorganized revolution of
an uneducated people, since it could have little chance of success and only lead to "useless spilling of
blood." Rizal's comment that a noble, patriotic and self-sacrificing man such as Elias in Noli would be a
good revolutionary leader would seem to support the idea that Rizal supported the idea of armed
revolution in certain conditions, despite his preference for achieving reforms bloodlessly. In any case,
the lengthy discussions of the possible means of achieving social reform indicate that Rizal had given
the different possibilities much serious consideration.

Historical context
El Filibusterismo was written about four years after Noli. In it Rizal reveals a more mature and less
hopeful outlook regarding the political and social situation in the Philippines. The frustrations he had
experienced in his efforts toward social reform in those years account for the book's graver tone
Rizal himself considered Fili to be a better, more profound novel than Noli. His biographer Retana
agrees that as a political novel, it is superior.
Upon completing El Filibusterismo Rizal wrote to Blumentritt: "I have not written in it any idea of
vengeance against my enemies, but only for the good of those who suffer, for the rights of
Tagalogs...."
Given the reaction to his first book, Rizal tried to avoid allowing the second one to fall into the hands of
the Spaniards. He had after all written El Filibusterismo not for the Spaniards but for the Filipino people
to read. After distributing copies of the first edition to his friends in Europe, Rizal designated most of
the remainder to be sent to the Philippines. The books were first sent to his residence in Hong Kong, to
be smuggled to the Philippines by friends. Upon shipment to the Philippines the copies were
immediately seized by the authorities, making El Filibusterismo a rare book overnight. The few copies
that were circulated were greatly in demand among the Filipinos.
The content of the novel and its dedication were used as proof of Rizal's subversion when he was tried.
Against Rizal's intentions, along with Noli Me Tangere the book inspired Andres Bonifacio and other
revolutionaries in their cause.

The writing of the novel

Rizal began writing El Filibusterismo in October 1887 while he was in Calamba. In London (1888), he
revised the plot and some chapters. Rizal continued to work on his manuscript in Paris. He later moved
to Brussels where the cost of living was cheaper and he would be less likely to be distracted by social
events so he could focus on finsihing the book. He finally completed the book on March 29, 1891 in
Biarritz. It was published in September of that year in Ghent, partially funded by Rizal's friend Valentin
Ventura.

The title
Rizal had to define the word filibustero to his German friend Ferdinand Blumentritt, who did not
understand his use of the word in Noli Me Tangere. In a letter, Rizal explained: "The word filibustero is
little known in the Philippines. The masses do not know it yet. I heard it for the first time in 1872 when
the tragic executions (of the Gomburza) took place. I still remember the panic that this word created.
Our father forbade us to utter it, as well as the words Cavite, Burgos (one of the executed priests), etc.
The Manila newspapers and the Spaniards apply this word to one whom they want to make a
revolutionary suspect. The Filipinos belonging to the educated class fear the reach of the word. It does
not have the meaning of freebooters; it rather means a dangerous patriot who will soon be hanged or
well, a presumptuous man."
By the end of the nineteenth century, the word filibustero had acquired the meaning "subversive" in
the Philippines, hence the book is about subversion.

The dedication
The book is dedicated to the memory of the Gomburza, three priests who were accused of being
seditious and executed. In his dedication, Rizal audaciously expresses his conviction that their
treatment at the hands of the Spanish authorities was unjust.

Dr. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896,
Bagumbayan), was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the
Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is considered a national hero of the Philippines,
and the anniversary of Rizal's death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day. Rizal's
1896 military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution.
The seventh of eleven children born to a wealthy family in the town of Calamba, Laguna, Rizal
attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts. He enrolled in Medicine and
Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas and then traveled alone to Madrid, Spain,
where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid, earning the degree of Licentiate
in Medicine. He attended the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of
Heidelberg. Rizal was a polyglot conversant in at least ten languages.
He was a prolific poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous works were
his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El filibusterismo. These are social commentaries on the
Philippines that formed the nucleus of literature that inspired dissent among peaceful reformists and
spurred the militancy of armed revolutionaries against the Spanish colonial authorities.
As a political figure, Jose Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that
subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan
led by Andrés Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of institutional reforms by peaceful
means rather than by violent revolution. The general consensus among Rizal scholars, however,
attributed his martyred death as the catalyst that precipitated the Philippine Revolution.

Education

Rizal first studied under the tutelage of Justiniano Aquino Cruz in Biñan, Laguna. He was sent to Manila
and enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He graduated as one of the nine students in his class
declared sobresaliente or outstanding. He continued his education at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila
to obtain a land surveyor and assessor's degree, and at the same time at the University of Santo
Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters where he studied Philosophy and Letters. Upon learning that his
mother was going blind, he decided to study medicine specializing in ophthalmology at the University
of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery but did not complete the program claiming
discrimination made by the Spanish Dominican friars against the native students.
Without his parents' knowledge and consent, but secretly supported by his brother Paciano, he
traveled alone to Europe: Madrid in May 1882 and studied medicine at the Universidad Central de
Madrid where he earned the degree, Licentiate in Medicine. His education continued at the University
of Paris and the University of Heidelberg where he earned a second doctorate. In Berlin he was
inducted as a member of the Berlin Ethnological Society and the Berlin Anthropological Society under
the patronage of the famous pathologist Rudolf Virchow. Following custom, he delivered an address in
German in April 1887 before the anthropological society on the orthography and structure of the
Tagalog language. He left Heidelberg a poem, "A las flores del Heidelberg," which was both an
evocation and a prayer for the welfare of his native land and the unification of common values
between East and West.
At Heidelberg, the 25-year-old Rizal, completed in 1887 his eye specialization under the renowned
professor, Otto Becker. There he used the newly invented ophthalmoscope (invented by Hermann von
Helmholtz) to later operate on his own mother's eye. From Heidelberg, Rizal wrote his parents: “I
spend half of the day in the study of German and the other half, in the diseases of the eye. Twice a
week, I go to the bierbrauerie, or beerhall, to speak German with my student friends.” He lived in a
Karlstraße boarding house then moved to Ludwigsplatz. There, he met Reverend Karl Ullmer and
stayed with them in Wilhelmsfeld, where he wrote the last few chapters of "Noli Me Tangere".
A plaque marks the Heidelberg building where he trained with Professor Becker, while in Wilhemsfeld,
a smaller version of the Rizal Park with his bronze statue stands and the street where he lived was also
renamed after him. A sandstone fountain in Pastor Ullmer’s house garden where Rizal lived in
Wilhelmsfeld, stands.
Exile in Dapitan
Rizal was implicated in the activities of the nascent rebellion and in July 1892, was deported to Dapitan
in the province of Zamboanga, a peninsula of Mindanao.
There he built a school, a hospital and a water supply system, and taught and engaged in farming and
horticulture. Abaca, then the vital raw material for cordage and which Rizal and his students planted in
the thousands, was a memorial.The boys' school, in which they learned English, considered a prescient
if unusual option then, was conceived by Rizal and antedated Gordonstoun with its aims of inculcating
resourcefulness and self sufficiency in young men. They would later enjoy successful lives as farmers
and honest government officials.One, a Muslim, became a datu, and another, José Aseniero, who was
with Rizal throughout the life of the school, became Governor of Zamboanga.
Execution
Moments before his execution by a firing squad of native infantry of the Spanish Army, backed by an
insurance force of Spanish troops, the Spanish surgeon general requested to take his pulse; it was
normal. Aware of this, the Spanish sergeant in charge of the backup force hushed his men to silence
when they began raising '¡vivas!' with the partisan crowd. His last words were those of Jesus Christ:
"consummatum est",--it is finished.[4][29][30]
He was secretly buried in Pacò Cemetery in Manila with no identification on his grave. His sister
Narcisa toured all possible gravesites and found freshly turned earth at the cemetery with guards
posted at the gate. Assuming this could be the most likely spot, there never having any ground burials,
she made a gift to the caretaker to mark the site "RPJ", Rizal's initials in reverse.
A national monumentMain article: Rizal ParkA monument, with his remains, now stands near the
place where he fell, designed by the Swiss Richard Kissling of the famed William Tell sculpture.The
statue carries the inscription "I want to show to those who deprive people the right to love of country,
that when we know how to sacrifice ourselves for our duties and convictions, death does not matter if
one dies for those one loves – for his country and for others dear to him."