Received huge bribes and gifts of diamonds from wealthy Chinese who evaded the anti-Chinese law.
Gen. Camilo de Polavieja: executed Rizal
After Spain’s loss of colonies in Latin America:
Numerous job-seekers and penniless Spaniards came to the Philippines
They became judges, provincial executives, army officers, and government employees.
They were either relatives or protégés of civil officials and friars.
Mostly ignorant, they conducted themselves with arrogance because of their alien white skin and tall noses.
They became rich by illegal means or by marrying the heiresses of rich Filipino families.
NO PHILIPPINE REPRESENTATION IN THE SPANISH CORTES
To win the support of her overseas colonies during the Napoleonic Invasion, Spain granted locals from their colonies representation in the Cortes, thus Spanish parliament government.
Philippines experienced her first period of representation in the Cortes from 1810-1813.
However, the second (1820-23) and third (1834-37) periods were less fruitful because the Philippine delegates were not energetic and devoted in parliamentary work.
The representation of the overseas colonies (including the Philippines) was abolished in 1837. Since then, the Philippine conditions worsened because there was no means by which the Filipino people could expose the anomalies perpetrated by the colonial officials.
Result: Propaganda Movement that led to Philippine Revolution (1896) was launched.
HUMAN RIGHTS ARE DENIED
Result of no Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes
Freedom for Filipinos was denied
NO EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW
Teachings of the Spanish Missionaries: “All men, irrespective of color and race, are equal before God.”
Spanish colonial authorities, who were Christians, did not implement Christ’s precept of brotherhood of all men.
Brown-skinned Filipinos are inferior beings: subjects to be exploited
Brown Filipinos and white Spaniards may be equal before God, but not before the law and certainly not in practice.
MALADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Justice was costly, partial, and slow. Poor Filipinos had no access to the courts because they could not afford the heavy expenses of litigation.
Wealth, social, prestige, and color of skin were preponderant factors in winning a case in court.
Justice delayed is justice denied: Juan de la Cruz (1886-1898) – 12 yrs
Suspect for murder without preliminary investigation and proper trial
Jailed in Cavite for 12 years. In 1898, the Americans came and found him in jail still awaiting trial.
Spaniards called the brown-skinned and flat-nosed Filipinos “INDIOS” (Indians)
Filipinos dubbed the Spaniards as “BANGUS” (Milkfish)
A Spaniard, no matter how stupid he was, always enjoyed political and social prestige and superiority.
Fr. Jose Burgos:
complained the Spanish misconception that a man’s merit depended on the pigment of his skin
complained of the lack of opportunities for educated young Filipinos to rise in the service of God and country
Spanish political philosophy: union of Church and State
“government of friars”
Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans controlled the religious and educational life of the Philippines: they acquire tremendous political power, influence, and riches.
A friar’s recommendation is heard by the governor general and provincial officials. He could send a patriotic Filipino to jailor denounce him as a filibustero (traitor)
These friars were portrayed by Rizal in his novels as Padre Damaso and Padre Salvi
“POLO:” forced labor imposed on Filipinos in the construction of infrastructures and public works
“Falla:” sum of money paid to government to be exempted from the polo.
FIRST: Spanish residents, contrary to law, were not recruited for “polo”
SECOND: Laborers received only a part of their supposed original stipend. Worse, they got nothing.
People who pay taxes are compelled to work gratis.
THIRD: this caused inconvenience and suffering because common laborers are disturbed from their work in farms, shops, and labors are far from homes and towns.
HACIENDAS OWNED BY THE FRIARS
Spanish friars were the richest landlords for they owned the best haciendas (agricultural lands) in the Philippines.
The rural folks became tenants.
They resented the loss of their lands which belonged to their ancestors since pre-Spanish times
The friars were recognized as legal owners of said lands because they obtained royal titles of ownership from the Spanish Crown.
Rizal, whose family and relatives were tenants of a land, tried to initiate agrarian reform.
Rizal’s advocacy ignited the wrath of the friars, who retaliated by raising rentals of the lands.
Friar ownership of the productive lands contributed to the economic stagnation of the Philippines.
Essay of Rizal: “INDOLENCE (lack of concern) OF FILIPINOS”: Deceptions made by friars making the local folks believe that plantations are prospering because they were under their care.
GUARDIA CIVIL (Constabulary)
Supposed to maintain peace and order in the society
Service: to suppress bandits in the provinces
They don’t observe their duty: maltreating innocent people, looting their livelihoods, raping women
Rizal directed his stinging satire against the hatred Guardia Civil, through Elias in Noli Me Tangere.
Exposed Guardia Civil as ruthless: disturbing peace & persecuting honest men
He proposed to improve the military organization by having it composed of good men who have good education and principles; men who are conscious of the limitations of authority and power.
A Tagalog Comedy, written after his first poem was done: bought by a gobernadorcillo from Paete and staged it in his town fiesta.
AS BOY MAGICIAN/ PERFORMER
Making a coin appear or disappear in his fingers and making a handkerchief vanish in thin air
Magic lantern exhibitions: lamp casting its shadow on a white screen. He twisted his fingers into fantastic shapes, making their enlarged shadows on the screen resemble certain animals and persons.
Puppet shows: manipulating marionettes
“meditations” at the shore of Laguna with his dog (Usman) on the sad conditions of his oppressed people
Guardia Civil: everyday in his town, unarmed villagers are always injured. Villager’s only fault: not taking his hat off and not bowing.
There was no restraint put upon brutality
He always asks himself: if people live the same way across the lake
Jose grieved deeply over the unhappy situation of his beloved fatherland.
The Spanish misdeeds awakened in his boyish heart a great determination to fight tyranny.
With these injustices, Jose made a vow dedicating himself in studies to avenge the many victims of his hometown. (same idea was written to his friend, Mariano Ponce)
INFLUENCES ON THE HERO’S BOYHOOD
Malayan Ancestors: love for freedom, desire to travel, and courage.
Chinese Ancestors: serious nature, frugality, patience, and love for children.
Spanish Ancestors: elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult, and gallantry to ladies.
Father: profound sense of self-respect, love for work, habit of independent thinking.
Mother: religious nature, spirit of self-sacrifice, and passion for arts and literature.
Scenic beauties of Calamba and the beautiful garden of the Rizal family stimulated the inborn artistic and literary talents of Jose.
The religious atmosphere at his home fortified his religious nature.
Paciano: love for freedom and justice
Sisters: courteous and kind to women
Fairy tales told by his aya: awakened his interest in folklore and legends.
Tio Jose Alberto: who had studied for 11 years in a British School in Calcutta, India, and had travelled in Europe inspired him to develop his artistic ability.
Tio Manuel: a husky and atheletic man, encouraged him to develop his frail body by means of physical exercises, including horse riding, walking, and wrestling.
Tio Gregorio: a book lover, intensified his voracious reading of good books.
Fr. Leoncio Lopez, fostered Rizal’s love for scholarship and intellectual honesty.
Death of Concha and the imprisonment of his mother, contributed to strengthen his character, enabling him to resist blows of adversity in later years.
Spanish abuses and cruelties, the brutal acts of the Guardia Civil and the alcalde, the unjust tortures inflicted on innocent Filipinos, and the Execution of the Gom-Bur-Za, awakened his spirit of patriotism and inspired him to consecrate his life and talents to redeem his oppressed people.
A person may have everything in life – brains, wealth, and power – but, without the aid of Divine Providence, he cannot attain greatness in the annals of the nation.
CHAPTER 3: EARLY EDUCATION IN CALAMBA AND BINAN
HERO’S FIRST TEACHER
Typical schooling of an ilustrado son: 4Rs --- Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic, Religion
Knowledge was forced into the minds of students by means of memory method aided by the teacher’s whip.
First teacher: Jose’s Mother
At the age of 3: Jose learned the alphabet and prayers
Discovered that her son had a talent for poetry
She encouraged him to write poems and told him stories: to lighten the monotony of memorizing the ABCs and to stimulate her son’s imagination
Private tutors were employed: Spanish and Latin
JOSE GOES TO BINAN --- Jose experienced his first homesickness
FIRST DAY IN BINAN SCHOOL
School of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz
Students laughing at Jose’s answers
FIRST SCHOOL BRAWL
Jose met the bully, Pedro (Maestro Justiniano’s son)
Jose was angry at this bully for making fun of him during his conversation with the teacher
Jose challenged Pedro to a fight
Jose having learned the art of wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel, defeated the bigger boy.
For this feat, Jose became popular among his classmates.
After the class: a classmate named Andres Salandanan challenged Jose to an arm-wrestling match.
They went to a sidewalk of a house and wrestled with their arms.
Jose was not quarrelsome by nature, but he never ran away from a fight.
PAINTING LESSONS IN BINAN
Juancho: father-in-law of the school’s teacher
Jose, lured by his love for painting, spent many leisure hours at the painter’s studio.
Old Juancho freely gave him lessons in drawing and painting.
Jose and his classmate, Jose Guevarra, who also loved painting, became apprentices of the old painter.
They became favorite painters of the class
DAILY LIFE IN BINAN
4am: hearing the mass, Jose studies then goes to mass afterwards
Breakfast, goes to class and went out at 10. Jose goes home at once, have lunch and studies.
Goes to school at 2, and goes out at 5. Prays with cousins and goes home afterwards.
He studies lessons, drew a little, and then eats his supper.
Prays, and plays with his nieces in the street when the moon is out.
BEST STUDENT IN SCHOOL
Jose beat all the Binan boys in academic studies.
Older classmates were jealous of his intellectual superiority.
They wickedly squealed to the teacher whenever Jose had a fight outside the school, and told lies to discredit him before the teacher’s eyes.
Consequently: teacher had to punish Jose --- five or six blows.
END OF BINAN SCHOOLING
Letter from sister, Saturnina: arrival of the steamer Talim which would take him from Binan to Calamba. This was Jose’s first time to ride in a steamer.
Rizal’s premonition: not returning to Binan
MARTYRDOM OF GOM-BUR-ZA (1872)
About 200 Filipino Soldiers and workmen of the Cavite arsenal under the leadership of Lamadrid, Filipino Sergeant, rose in violent mutiny because their usual privileges were abolished, including exemption from tribute and polo (forced labor) by: Gov. Rafael de Izquierdo.
The mutiny was suppressed.
The Spanish authorities, in order to liquidate Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, leaders of the secular movement to Filipinize the Philippine Parishes, magnified the failed mutiny into a “revolt” for Philippine Independence.
Despite the archbishop’s plea for clemency because of their innocence, they were still executed.
Paciano, enraged by the execution of Burgos, his beloved friend and teacher, quit his studies and returned to Calamba, where he told the heroic story of Burgos to Jose, who was 11 years old.
The martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za inspired Rizal to fight the evils of Spanish tyranny and redeem his oppressed people. This motivated him to develop his studies.
He dedicated his 2nd novel, El Filibusterismo, to Gom-Bur-Za.
INJUSTICE TO HERO’S MOTHER
Dona Teodora was arrested on a malicious charge that she and her brother, Jose Alberto, tried to poision the latter’s perfidious wife.
Jose Alberto, a rich Binan ilustrado, had just returned from a business trip in Europe.
During his absence his wife abandoned their home and children.
When he arrived in Binan, he found her living with another man.
Infuriated by her infidelity, he planned to divorce her.
Dona Teodora, to avert family scandal, persuaded him to forgive his wife.
The family trouble was amicably settled, and Jose Alberto lived again with his wife.
However, the wife of Jose Alberto, with the connivance of the Spanish lieutenant (had been friends of the Rizals and was treated as their honored guest in their home) of the Guardia Civil, filed a case in court accusing her husband and Dona Teodora of attempting to poison her.
This lieutenant happened to have an ax to grind against the Rizal family, because at one time Don Francisco (Rizal’s father) refused to give him fodder for his horse. Taking the opportunity to avenge himself, he arrested Dona Teodora.
After arresting Dona Teodora, the Spanish Lieutenant forced her to walk from Calamba to Santa Cruz, a distance of 50 kilometers.
After arrival to Santa Cruz, Dona Teodora was incarcerated at the provincial prison, where she languished for 2 and ½ years and was later on acquitted.