Rizal

• The Philippines a Century Hence (Short Version) is an abridged version of the essay by Dr. Jose Rizal
• No paraphrase or summarization has been done, all text is taken from the original English translation, occasionally condensed and truncated for clarity
• In order to read the destiny of a people, it is necessary to open the book of its past
• The Philippines were depopulated, impoverished and retarded after being attached to the Spanish crown
• The Philippines gradually lost their ancient traditions, recollections, writings, songs, poetry, and laws, in order to learn other doctrines, ethics, and tastes
• Religious shows, rites, songs, lights, images arrayed with gold, and worship in a strange language hypnotized the already naturally superstitious spirit of the country
• The spirit of the people was not cowed, and even though it had been awakened in only a few hearts, its flame was consumingly propagated
• The Philippines cannot remain in the condition they are without requiring from the sovereign country more liberty
• The Philippines will remain under Spanish domination, but with more law and greater liberty, or they will declare themselves independent, after steeping themselves and the mother country in blood
• The minister who wants reforms must begin by declaring the press in the Philippines free and by instituting Filipino delegates
• Justice is the foremost virtue of the civilizing races, and it subdues the barbarous nations, while injustice arouses the weakest
• History does not record in its annals any lasting domination exercised by one people over another, of different race, of diverse usages and customs, of opposite and divergent ideals
• If the Philippines secure their independence after heroic and stubborn conflicts, they can rest assured that neither England, nor Germany, nor France, and still less Holland, will dare to take up what Spain has been unable to hold
• It is better to keep pace with the desires of a people than to give way before them, and since it is necessary to grant six million Filipinos their rights, so that they may be in fact Spaniards, let the government grant these rights freely and spontaneously
• The Philippines a Century Hence


  An essay written by Philippine national hero Jose Rizal to forecast the future of the country within a hundred years
• Rizal felt that it was time to remind Spain that the circumstances that ushered in the French Revolution could have a telling effect for her in the Philippines
• Causes of the miseries suffered by the Filipino people

  • Spain's implementation of her military policies
  • Deterioration and disappearance of Filipino indigenous culture
  • Passivity and submissiveness to the Spanish colonizers
• Spain's implementation of military policies led to a dramatic decrease in the Philippine population, increased poverty, abandoned farmlands, neglect of the family, and overall retardation of every aspect of Filipino life
• The gradual destruction of native Philippine culture by Spain led to Filipinos losing confidence in their past and heritage, becoming doubtful of their present lifestyle, and eventually losing hope in the future and the preservation of their race
• The use of force by Spanish friars influenced a culture of silence and submission among the native Filipinos
• The natives eventually realized that such oppression by foreign colonizers must no longer be tolerated
• Ways Spain tried to prevent the progress of the Philippines


  • Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant
  • Keeping the people impoverished
  • Exterminating the people
• Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant failed as national consciousness had still awakened and great Filipino minds still emerged
• Keeping the people impoverished came to no avail as it allowed the Filipinos to act on the desire for a change in their way of life and explore other horizons towards progress
• Exterminating the people as an alternative to hindering progress did not work either as the Filipino race was able to survive amidst wars and famine, and became even more numerous after such catastrophes
• Spain had no means to stop the progress of the country and needed to change her colonial policies to be in keeping with the needs of the Philippine society and the rising nationalism of the people
• In 1898, the Americans wrestled with Spain to win the Philippines and eventually took over the country, ushering in a reign of democracy and liberty
• Five decades after Rizal's death, the Philippines gained her long-awaited independence, fulfilling what he had written that history does not record any lasting domination by one people over another of different races, usages and customs, and opposite and divergent ideas