RIZAL IN SPAIN, FRANCE, BELGIUM, HONG KONG, AND HIS RETURN

TO THE PHILIPPINES
Rizal in Madrid

When Rizal arrived in Madrid in early August 1890, he immediately sought the help of
Filipino colony, the Asociacion Hispano-Filipina, and liberal Spanish newspapers (La Justicia, El
Globo, La Republica, El Resumen, etc.) to secure justice for the people of Calamba, including
his family. Together with del Pilar (acting as Rizal’s lawyer) and Dominador Gomezz (secretary
of Asociacion Hispano-Filipina), he called Señor Fabie, the Minister of Colonies, to protest
against Weyler and the Dominicans. However, nothing came out of this.

During this time, he also received a copy of the ejection papers against his father and
other Calamba tenants, the news of the deportation of Paciano, Antonino Lopez, Silvestre
Ubaldo, Mateo Elejorde, and Dandoy on September 6, 1890, and the ejection of his parents
from their home, forcing them to leave with Narcisa. Rizal sought help from liberal Spanish
statesmen, such as Becerra and Maura, but again nothing came off it. Blumentritt suggested
that he go see Queen Regent Maria Cristina, then ruler of Spain during the minority of Alfonso
XIII, but since Rizal has no powerful enough friends nor riches, he was not able to.

Another bad news that reached Rizal was the death of his friend Jose Ma. Panganiban
on August 19, 1890 because of an illness. He wrote an eulogy for his dear friend, whose death
he mourned deeply.

Rizal also almost had a duel with Antonio Luna. By the end of August 1890, during a
reunion of Filipinos in Madrid, Luna became drunk. Luna, then, was bitter because of his
frustrated romance with Nellie Boustead. Luna blamed Rizal, and during this drunken state he
said some unsavory remarks against Boustead. Rizal heard these remarks, and because of his
sense of chivalry, challenged Luna to a duel. Since Luna was the one challenged, he would
have the choice of weapon (Rizal was good pistol shooter, but Luna was a better swordsman,
which would put Rizal in a disadvantage when Luna chooses swords fight as the method of
duel). However, when Luna sobered up, he apologized to Rizal, and Rizal accepted this
apology.

Rizal also challenged another person to a duel, Wenceslao Retana, who was a Spanish
scholar and then a press agent of the friars in Spain. Retana wrote in La Epoca that Rizal’s
family were ejected from their land because they were not paying rent. Rizal, insulted,
challenged Retana to a duel. This time, Rizal was superior to Retana to both pistol and sword.
Because of this, Retana published a retraction, and silenced his pen against Rizal. Retana,
years afterward, wrote the first book-length biography of Rizal, which he recognized as a talent
and a martyr.

In addition to all of these misfortunes, he received a letter early December 1890 from
Leonor Rivera, who announced her engagement to an Englishman named Henry Charles
Kipping, a railway engineer, who was chosen for her by her mother and asked Rizal for his
forgiveness. The letter was a blow to Rizal, and proved to be the fulfillment of an omen, when
he lost a gold watch chain with a locket containing a picture of Leonor while watching a play in
Teatro Apollo with his friends.

Before the end of 1890, a rivalry between Rizal and del Pilar developed. Del Pilar had
purchased La Solidaridad from Pablo Rianzares, the first proprietor of the newspaper, and
replaced Lopez Jaena as its editor. During that time, Rizal was imbuing his compatriots high
standards of morality, dignity, and spirit of sacrifice to gain prestige for the Propaganda
Movement and to gain the respect of the Spaniards. However, his idealism was not shared by
many, and these people supported del Pilar. This was exacerbated by the disagreements
between Rizal and del Pilar regarding the editorial policy of the newspaper. To avert the break-
up between the two and to intensify campaigns for reform, about 90 Filipinos met on January 1,
1891 in Madrid. During the meeting, they decided that a Responsible will direct the affairs of the
Filipino community and determine the editorial policy of the newspaper. Del Pilar opposed the
latter (since the newspaper is a private enterprise), and an election for the Responsible
occurred on February 1891. This election was divided into two camps: Rizalistas and Pilaristas.
To win, two-thirds of the vote should be obtained. Rizal was winning, but was unable to get the
required number of votes. Ponce pleaded to some Pilaristas to vote for Rizal, and Rizal
eventually won. However, he abdicated the position to prevent disunity and bitterness among
his countrymen. (He eventually retired from the Propaganda Movement and stopped writing for
La Solidaridad, not because of resentment, but because of his desire to publish Fili, practice
medicine, and campaign for the redemption of the Philippines.)

After this, he left Madrid and left for Biarritz, France.

Rizal in France

He arrived in Biarritz in February 1891, where he was welcomed by Eduardo Boustead

and his family. He stayed with the family for a month of vacation. During this vacation, Rizal
became enamored with Nellie (or Nelly) Boustead, the younger of the two daughters of
Eduardo. Luna, who had previously loved and lost Nellie, encouraged Rizal to woo and marry
her. He wooed her, but nothing came of it because Rizal did not want to change religion (Nellie
was a Protestant) and Nellie’s mother (who thought that he was poor, a doctor without clients, a
writer without salary, and a reformer persecuted for his actions). Despite this, Nellie and Rizal
remained good friends.

During this time, he continued writing his second novel, El Filibusterismo, which he
started writing while he was still in Calamba. He finished his novel on March 29, 1891. The
next day, he left the Boustead family on his way to Paris. He stayed with his friend Ventura and
left Paris for Brussels by the middle of April 1891 (before he left, however, he wrote his friend
Basa to express his desire to go to Hong Kong and practice ophthalmology and requested to
advance him an amount for a steamer ticket from Europe to Hong Kong).

Rizal in Belgium and El Filibusterismo

Rizal was received by the Jacobys in Brussels, where he revised the Fili. but left for
Ghent on July 5, 1891 because of the cheaper cost of printing in Ghent and to escape the
attraction of Petite. There he met Edilberto Evangelista and lived with Jose Alejandro, due to
his limited funds.

Rizal found a printing shop that can publish the novel on an installment basis: F. Meyer-
Van Loo Press. At this time, his funds were running low, and Rizal was pawning his jewels,
money that was coming from his friends were not enough (such as those from Basa and the P
200 from Rodriguez Arias for the sale of his annotated Sucesos). On August 6, 1891, he had to
suspend the printing of the novel. Then, just liked what happened during the printing of Noli,
Valentin Ventura came to his rescue and sent him the needed funds. By September 18, 1891,
El FIlibusterismo came off the press. He sent two copies to Hong Kong – one to Basa and
another to Sixto Lopez. He sent the original manuscript and an autographed copy to Ventura,
and he gave other copies to Blumentritt, Ponce, Lopez Jaena, Tavera, the Lunas, and others.

The book was praised by Filipinos and it was serialized in the liberal Madrid newspaper
El Nuevo Regimen on October 1891. However, the first editions that were shipped to Hong
Kong were confiscated, making the book very rare. The first edition copies reached a price up
to 400 pesetas a copy.

Today, the original manuscript of the book is preserved in the Filipiniana Division of the
Bureau of Public Libraries in Manila, acquiring the copy from Ventura by the government for P
10, 000. The 279-page book contains an inscription from Blumentritt and was dedicated to the
Gomburza.

Rizal left Ghent on October 3, 1891 because he wanted to be nearer his family and to
get away from the unbearable life in Europe. He first went to Paris to say goodbye to some
friends. From Paris he went to Marseilles, where he board a steamer ship Melbourne for Hong
Kong, with a letter of recommendation by Juan Luna for Manuel Camus and 600 copies of Fili.

Other (Unfinished) Novels of Rizal

On September 22, 1891, Rizal wrote Blumentritt about writing a third novel. He started
writing this while he was bound for Hong Kong. The untitled Tagalog unfinished novel was 44
pages (33 cm x 21 cm), still in the National Library. The story was about Kamandagan, a
descendant of Laka Dula, who plotted to regain the lost freedom og his fathers. The hero saved
his two granddaughters (Maligaya and Sinagtala) from the cura and encomendero of Bay
Laguna. The novel began with the burial of Prince Tagulima, son of Sultan Zaide of Ternate, on
Malapad-na-Bato in Pasig. The Sultan was taken prisoner by the Spaniards during the war in a
Moluccas and brought to Manila together with his family and retainers. The Spaniards promised
them a good treatment, but failed to fulfill this promise.

Another unfinished Tagalog novel was entitled Makamisa. It is a 20-page, 34.2 cm x 22

cm, novel written in a sarcastic style, but only two chapters were written.

During his exile in Dapitan, he wrote another 8-page unfinished novel in ironic Spanish
entitled Dapitan. The 23 cm x 16 cm novel was written to depict the town life and customs.

Another untitled novel about life in Pili, Laguna was written in Spanish. The manuscript,
consisting of 147 pages measuring 8” x 6.5”, had characters like Padre Agaton (a Spanish friar),
Capitan Panchong and Capitana Barang, Cecilia (the daughter), Isagani (Cecilia’s lover),
Capitan Crispin (political rival of Panchong), and Dr. Lopez (a free thinker).

A novel with Cristobal (who studied for 12 years in Europe), Amelia (Cristobal’s
swwetheart), Capitan Ramon (Cristobal’s father), friars, and Guardia Civil lieutenant as
characters was also unfinished. The 8.5” x 6.25” manuscript was 34 pages.

Lastly, the beginnings of another novel contained in two notebooks (one 35.5 cm x 22
cm with 31 pages, and the other 22 cm x 17 cm with 12 pages) was unfinished and written in
ironic Spanish. The novel is about the deplorable conditions through the mouth of celestial
characters.

Rizal in Hong Kong

Rizal arrived in Hong Kong in November 20, 1891, where he was welcomed by his
friends including Basa. He opened his clinic in his residence. He wrote his parents about
returning on home on December 1, 1891, but received a letter on the same day sent to him by
Manuel Hidalgo about deportation of 25 Calamba residents including his father, Neneng, Sisa,
Lucia, and Paciano. The letter from Hidalgo also stated that he was preparing a letter to the
Queen Regent of Spain, and if the Queen will not listen, to Queen Victoria of England.

Before Christmas of 1891, his father, brother, and Ubaldo arrived in Hong Kong, and not
long after, his mother and sisters Lucia, Josefa, and Trinidad. The year before, his mother was
arrested because she was not using Realonda and was forced to walk from Calamba to Sta.
Cruz despite her old age (but she was freed through the governor of Laguna). The Christmas of
1891 became one of the happiest in Rizal’s life.

He practiced medicine in Hong Kong, helped by Dr. Lorenzo Marquez to have a wider
clientele. He was able to successfully operate his mother’s left eye and eventually became
successful. Friends supported him through praises and gifts of books and instruments.

During his stay in Hong Kong, he also conceived the establishment of a Filipino colony in
Sabah, planning to move landless Filipino families and carve out its wildness a “New Calamba”.
He went to Sandakan on board Menon on March 7, 1892 to negotiate with the British
authorities. He was offered 100,000 acres of land for free by the Bengkoka River in Maradu
Bay. By April 20, he was back in Hong Kong.

His friends in Europe supported the project. However, Hidalgo, Rizal’s brother-in-law,
objected, telling Rizal that they should not leave their very own country. When Weyler was
replaced by Eulogio Despujol, the Count of Caspe, as Governor General, Rizal sent him a letter
of felicitation and offered his cooperation, believing that Despujol was sincere for his promise of
a better government. He wrote again, but both times the Governor General did not reply.
Instead, Despujol did not approve of the immigration of the Filipinos to Borneo, since the
Philippines lacked laborers and it would not be patriotic to cultivate foreign soil.

Rizal’s writings in Hong Kong included the following:

 1. Ang Mga Karapatan Nang Tao, a Tagalog translation of The Rights of Man proclaimed
by the French Revolution

2. A La Nacion Española, an appeal to Spain about the situation in Calamba

3. Sa Mga Kababayan, which explains the Calamba agrarian situation

4. Articles for The Hong Kong Telegraph, edited by Frazier Smith. This was soon
discovered and the newspaper was censored in the Philippines

5. Una Vista a la Victoria Gaol, is a comparison of the Spanish and British prison system

6. Colonisation du British North Borneo, par de Familles de Iles Philippines, a French

article elucidating his Borneo colonization project

7. Proyecto de Colonizacion del British North Borneo por los Filipinos, an elaboration of the
said project

8. La Mano Roja, which denounced the frequent outbreaks of intentional fires in Manila

9. Constitution of La Liga Filipina, which indicated that the printing was done on London
Printing Press to deceive Spanish authorities. The copies were sent to Domingo Franco.

Rizal decided to return to Manila on May 1892 to confer with Despujol regarding his
colonization project, establish La Liga Filipina, and prove that Eduardo de Lete was wrong when
he said that Rizal was abandoning his country’s cause (the attack of de Lete was published in
La Solidaridad on April 15, 1892, and Rizal wrote to del Pilar protesting its publication). His
decision to return, however, was opposed by his relatives and friends, for fear of his death. The
day after his 31st birthday, he wrote two letters to be opened after his death and gave the letters
to Dr. Marques for safekeeping. The first leter, addressed To My Parents, Brethren, and
Friends, read as follows:

The affection that I have ever professed for you suggests this step, and
time alone can tell whether or not it is sensible. The outcome judges things
according to the consequences; but whether the result be favorable or
unfavorable, it may always be said that duty urged me, so if I die in doing it, it will
not matter.

A man ought to die for duty and his principles. I hold fast to every idea
which I have advanced as to the condition and future of our country, and shall
willingly die for it, and even more willingly sacrifice all to secure justice and peace
for you.

With pleasure, then, I risk life to save so many innocent persons – so

many nieces and nephews, so many children of friends, and children too of
others who are not even friends – who are suffering on my account. What am I?
A bachelor, practically without a family and sufficiently undeceived as to life. I
have had many disappointments and the future before me is gloomy, and will be
gloomy if light does not illumine it with the dawn of a better day for my native
land. On the other hand, there are many persons, filled with hope and ambition,
who perhaps might be happier if I were dead, and then I hope my enemies would
be satisfied and stop persecuting so many entirely innocent people. To a certain
extent their hatred is justifiable as to myself, and my parents and relatives.

Should fate go against me, you will all understand that I shall die happy in
the thought that my death will end all your troubles. Return to our country and
may you be happy in it.

Till the last moment of my life I shall be thinking of you and wishing you all
good fortune and happiness.
 The second, addressed To the Filipinos, read as follows:

The step which I am taking, or rather am about to take, is undoubtedly

risky, needless to say, I have considered it for some time. I understand that
almost everyone is opposed to it; but I know, too, that hardly anybody else
understands what is in my heart. I cannot live on, knowing that so many suffer
unjust persecutions on my account; I cannot bear to see my sisters and their
numerous families treated like criminals. I would prefer death – cheerfully shall I
relinquish life – to free so many innocent persons from such unjust persecution.

I appreciate the fact that at present the future of our country gravitates in
some degree around me, that at my death many will feel triumphant, and thus,
many are now wishing for my fall. But what of it: I hold duties of conscience
above all else, I have obligations to the families who suffer, to my aged parents,
whose sight strikes me to the heart; I know that I alone, only with my death, can
make them happy, returning them to their native land and to a peaceful life at
home. I am all my parents have, but our country has many, many more sons who
can take my place and even do my work better.

Besides I wish to show those who deny us the boon of patriotism that we
know how to die for duty and principles. What matters death, if one dies for what
one loves, for native land and beings held dear?

If I thought that I were the only resource of the consummation of a policy

of progress in the Philippines, and were I convinced that my countrymen were
going to make use of my services , perhaps I should hesitate about taking this
step; but there are others who can take my place, who can do my work to
advantage. Furthermore, there are perchance those who hold me as an
unnecessary being and so my services are not utilized, and I am reduced to
inactivity.

Always have I loved our unhappy land, and I am sure that I shall continue
loving it till my last moment, in case men prove unjust to me. My career, my life,
my happiness – I have sacrificed all for love of country. Whatever my fate, I shall
die blessing it and longing for the dawn of its redemption.

The next day, he wrote his third letter to Despujol informing him of his return to Manila
and placed himself under the protection of the Spanish government. On the same day, he and
Lucia, left Hong Kong for Manila, carrying special passport issued by the Spanish consul
general in Hong Kong. The consul general sent a cablegram to Despujol, trapping Rizal. A
case was fuiled against Rizal in Manila for anti-religious and anti-patriotic agitation. Luis de la
Torre, Despujol’s secretary, was also ordered to find out if Rizal was a German citizen.
Meanwhile, Rizal and Lucia were unaware of this deceit.