RIZAL'S HIGHER EDUCATION AND LIFE ABROAD

• Gomburza


  Three Filipino priests executed in 1872 for their alleged involvement in the Cavite Mutiny
• Filipino workers at Fort San Felipe in Cavite faced a serious setback as their modest wages were reduced due to the removal of privileges


  January 20, 1872
• Since 1740, tax exemption and freedom from forced labor were granted to Filipino workers
• Governor-General Izquierdo decided to eliminate these perks
• Cavite Mutiny


  1. Filipino workers rose up in revolt against the Spaniards

  2. Revolt quickly ended after about two days
• "Terror of 1872"


  Participating Filipinos faced imprisonment, execution, or exile
• The most unforgettable act was the garrote execution of three priests accused, without adequate evidence, of masterminding the revolt
• Paciano


  • José Rizal's brother and housemate of Fr. Jose Burgos
  • Witnessed the garrote execution
• Without the "Terror of 1872"


  • There would be no Plarided, Jaena, Sancianco, or the valiant and generous Filipino expatriates in Europe
  • Rizal would have been a Jesuit and would not have written the Noli Me Tangere
• Rizal dedicated his second novel, El Filibusterismo, to the memory of the martyrs
• • 4 months since the priests were brutally killed
  • Donya Teodora was still in prison on unproven charges of poisoning


  June 1872
• Rizal took and passed an exam at the College of San Juan de Letran
• Ateneo


  Prestigious secondary school in the 19th century Philippines, led by Jesuits and maintained rigorous academic standards
• Jose Rizal quietly departed the Philippines

  May 3, 1882
• Father Magin Ferrando, the College Registrar, initially refused Rizal's admission due to him being a late registrant and being pale, thin, and undersized for his age
• Rizal's primary goal in leaving for Europe in 1882 was to complete his education
• With the help of Manuel Burgos, nephew of Father Burgos, Rizal was accepted into the institution
• Rizal had a secret mission: to study European cultures, laws, and governments for the eventual liberation of the Philippines from Spanish rule
• Rizal arrived in Barcelona

  June 16, 1882
• Rizal was not able to use Mercado as his surname and was instead registered as Jose Rizal
• Since it was summer vacation in Barcelona when he arrived, he was able to meet and socialize with acquaintances and former classmates from the Ateneo
• Subjects in the "Bachiller en Artes" program at Ateneo


  • Christian Doctrine
  • Languages of Spanish, Latin, Greek and French
  • History and Geography
  • Mathematics and Sciences
  • Classic Disciplines
• Rizal went to Madrid, following his brother Paciano's advice to stay there for its central location and educational opportunities

  1882
• Rizal swiftly engaged by writing for Diariong Tagalog under the pseudonym Laong Laan
• His essay El Amor Patrio- Love of Country was published


  August 20, 1882
• Teaching at Ateneo


  Classes were divided into two groups (Roman Empire and Carthaginian Empire) that constantly competed against each other to foster healthy competition
• Rizal: '"Love is an extremely powerful force behind most noble activities. Of all loves, the love of country has inspired the grandest, the most heroic, and the most selfless of deeds. We need only read history books, historical records, or traditions to see this."'
• After writing "El Amor Patrio", Rizal suspended writing articles about the country because of his mother's opposition
• Within an empire, members were also in continuous competition as they vied for the top ranks
• The essay raised concerns among Spanish officials about Rizal's nationalism, prompting his mother's fear of his arrest
• Rizal's first year at Ateneo (1872-1873)


  1. Attended mass at the college chapel and prayed for guidance and success

  2. Continued to climb the rank, becoming an Emperor of their empire

  3. Took private lessons at Santa Isabel College to further improve his Spanish

  4. Felt he did not put in enough effort, but still received excellent grades
• Rizal also had a difficult time gaining fame in Madrid, so, he decided to focus on his studies instead
• Rizal family faced financial decline due to crop failures and rising rentals of Dominican hacienda lands in their hometown
• As a result, the monthly allowance that Rizal received from the Philippines was often delayed or not enough
• During the summer vacation in 1873, Rizal and his brother Paciano wept in each other's embrace upon their reunion after a year-long separation
• Rizal lived frugally, allocating most of his money to education. At times, he attended classes hungry, sacrificing meals to cover exam fees and purchase necessary books and tools
• In his second year at Ateneo (1873-1874), Rizal became the top student in his class, regaining his position as the emperor
• Rizal attended a banquet celebrating the success of Filipino painters Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo at the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes

  June 25, 1884
• During the summer vacation in 1874, Rizal visited his mother and interpreted a dream, confidently predicting that she would be released from prison in three months' time
• Rizal: '"Luna and Hidalgo are Spanish as well as Philippine glories. They were born in the Philippines, but they could have been born Spain, because genius knows no country, genius sprouts everywhere, genius is like light, air, the patrimony of everybody, cosmopolitan like space, like life, like God."'