RIZAL IN EUROPE

(1882-1885)
The First Voyage to Spain
■ Rizal left the Philippines for Spain on May 3, 1882 at
the age of 20.
■ The first leg of his trip for Spain aboard the vessel
(Salvadora) proved to be a learning experience for the
young man.
■ He made sketches of the things he saw, the coast of
Manila Bay, the coastline of Palawan and Borneo, and
his fellow passengers.
■ Singapore was Rizal’s first stop his voyage to Europe
and he had to change ships.
■ He stayed there for two days and lodged at the Hotel de
Paz.
■ While in Singapore, Jose had the opportunity to tour the
British colony and was impressed by its progress and
beautiful places including the botanical garden, temples
and art galleries.
■ After two days, Rizal boarded the Djemnah, a vessel managed by
a Dutch company.
■ From Singapore the Djemnah made brief stops in Point de Galle
and Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) where he went ashore for
sightseeing.
■ The Djemnah the resumed its crossing of the Indian Ocean and
landed at the port of Aden in present-day Yemen.
■ While approaching the Suez Canal he had a view of the Arabian
Peninsula to his right and the Afriacan continent to his left.
■ The Djemnah passed through the Suez Canal and Rizal landed
at Port Said in Egypt to see the sights in this port city.
■ The people spoke various languages like Arabic, Greek, Egyptian,
Italian and Spanish.
■ He visited the various churches, mosques and temples.
■ Rizal arrived in Barcelona, the capital of the Spanish province of
the Cataluna and Spains second largest city.
■ Rizal stayed in Barcelona for the duration of the summer
vacation.
■ He found time to write a nationalistic essay Amor Patrio (Love of
Country) using the pen name Laon Laan. The essay appeared in
Diariong Tagalog on August 20, 1882.
■ He dutifully submitted two articles entitled Los Viajes (travels)
and Revista de Madrid (Review of Madrid).
The University Student in Madrid

■ With the end of summer vacation, Rizal proceeded to

Madrid and enrolled in two courses of Medicine and
Philosophy and Letters at the Universidad Central de
Madrid on November 3, 1882.
■ He also studied painting and sculpture and French,
German, and English at the Academy of San Carlos.
■ He also took lessons from a private instructor who
taught him shooting and fencing at the Hall of Sanz and
Carbonell.
 Romantic Episode with Consuelo Ortiga
■ It became a habit for Rizal to visit the house of Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey, a Spanish
liberal who lived in the Philippines during the time of Governor General Carlos Ma.
de la Torre.
■ He came to his house every Saturday where he came to know about Don Ortiga’s
two lovely daughters, Consuelo and Pilar.
■ Rizal was attracted to Consuelo and gave her flowers. Consuelo for her part
reciprocated Rizal’s feelings.
■ Rizal wrote her a poem entitled A la Senorita C.O. y R --- Consuelo’s initials.
■ Rizal however did not allow the romance to prosper because he was still engaged to
Leonor Rivera.
■ His friend Eduardo de Lete was also in love with Consuelo.
■ In the summer of 1883, he left Madrid for Paris to forget Consuelo.
■ He later married de Lete who later became Rizal’s secret enemy.
Meeting with Future Reformists:
The Circulo Hispano- Filipino
■ Rizal’s meeting with fellow Filipinos and liberal Spaniards paved the
way to his joining the circulo Hispano- Filipino. The group was basically
a social conglomeration and it held informal programs which included
poetry reading and debates.
■ This poem entitled Me Piden Versos ( They Ask Me [for] Verses).
■ Inevitably politics became part of the discussion of the group
centering on the need for reforms in the Philippines.
■ Rizal became an active discussant.
■ In later years conservative elements in the Circulo distanced
themselves from the group which eventually faded away.
 Important Dates in the Life of Rizal
Rizal arrives in Manila after staying five years in
August 5, 1887 Europe.

Archbishop Pedro Payo instructs UST Rector to

August 15, 1887 review Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. The committee
later issues negative information about the novel.
Governor General Emilio Terrero requests from
August 20, 1887 Rizal a copy of the Noli Me Tangere.

Rizals introduces gymnastics and other sports to

October 1887 discourage his townmates from gambling.

The permanent Board of Censors under Fr.

December 29, 1887 Salvador Font issues a final judgment prohibiting
the distribution of the Noli Me Tangere
Rizal writes a report outlining the grievances of the
January 1888 tenants of the Calamba Estate to Governor
General Terrero. Te report precipitates the protesta
de Calamba.