Rizal's Century

• Age of Enlightenment characterized by the thundering all throughout Europe of the ideas of freedom, liberty, and equality, the belief in the sovereignty of the people in determining their government
• Rizal lived in an exciting century
• The age of Enlightenment may have marked the rise of Liberalism, but the ideas of freedom, liberty, and equality, and the belief in the sovereignty of the people in determining their government only applied to property-owning males.
• Women and the working class were not included then.
• President Abraham Lincoln attempted to stop the expansion of slavery, but this triggered the Civil War that lasted from 1861 to 1865.
• Lincoln freed southern slaves in 1863 through the Emancipation Proclamation
• Liberal is an individual Freedom, with no government interference, no taxes, Laissez-Faire, the individuals are rational and prudent, and individuals are self interested.
• Conservative is a Social order preservation, has a government action, with taxes and governmental restrictions, Individuals are in need of assistance-imprudent, incapacitated, victimized, and Social Welfare is primary interest.
• The Spanish Constitution of 1876 cemented this new constitutional monarchy under Alfonso Xll. Cuba and Puerto Rico were granted representation in the Cortes, but not the Philippines
• The Filipino in Rizal's time were unfortunate victims of the evils of an unjust, biased and deteriorating power.