Rizal and his time

• Conditions in the Philippines during the 19th century:

  • Most powerful people: Foreigners from Spain who ruled over the Filipinos
  • The least happy: Native people
• Evils of Colonial Rule in the Philippines:

  • Instability of the government after 1821
  • Corruption among officials due to the union of Church and State
  • Lack of Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes
  • Denial of human rights to Filipinos
  • Lack of equality before the law
  • Maladministration of justice
  • Racial prejudice and preference for Spaniards
  • Forced labor (Polo)
  • Union of the Church and the State
• From 1810 to 1837, a short-lived parliament government limited the powers of the monarch and invited representatives to help make laws and lobby for better laws
• During Rizal's time, the church and the state were intertwined, with Spanish priests holding significant political power
• Guardia Civil in the Philippines was composed of natives in the rank-and-file and Spaniards as officers, with the priest and the police being the face of the government closest to the people
• Changes during the Modern Era:

  • Religion took second place to science and reason
  • Political enlightenment led to revolutions that toppled absolute rulers
  • Spread of information through new mass media like printed photographs, books, newspapers, and pamphlets
  • Major revolutions like the American, French, Latin American, and Philippine Revolutions changed the world
• Ideas that shaped the Modern World:

  • Liberalism: freedom and change, supported by the poor and middle classes
  • Nationalism: love of one's people, both a negative and positive force
  • Democracy: elected officials and limited government, Filipinos established the first Republic in Asia
• Rizal's novel "Noli Me Tangere" is considered as one of the greatest novels ever written by an Asian author.
• In 1876, Jose Protacio Mercado (Jose P. Rizal) enrolled at Ateneo Municipal de Manila to pursue his secondary education.
• Jose Rizal wrote "Noli Me Tangere" from 1886 to 1889, while he was living in Dapitan.
• At UST, Rizal became involved in student politics and joined the Katipunan, a secret society dedicated to overthrowing Spanish rule in the Philippines.
• "Noli Me Tangere" means "Touch Me Not", while "El Filibusterismo" translates to "The Revolutionist".
• After completing his studies at Ateneo, Rizal entered the University of Santo Tomas where he studied medicine from 1872 to 1874.
• The Katipunan played a major role in the Philippine Revolution against Spain.
• The novel "El Filibusterismo" or "The Reign of Greed" is a sequel to "Noli Me Tangere".
• First Philippine delegate to the Cortes: Ventura de los Reyes
• Graciano Lopez Jaena implored: o “We want representation in the legislative chamber so that our aspirations may be known to the mother country and its government”
• In Spanish colonies, all adult males from 18-60 years old were required to do mandatory labor once manually
• Wage: five centavos daily, less than the ordinary salary of two pesetas
• Criollo born in Latin America and the insulare born in the Philippines were considered inferior to the peninsulare from Spain
• Two powerful enemies of Rizal: bad fraile and the Guardia Civil
• The Guardia Civil was the local police