Rizal’s First Homecoming

(1887-1888)
Rizal’s plans of coming back home
• As early as 1884, Rizal wanted to go back to the Philippines for the following reasons:
1. Financial difficulties in Calamba
2. Dissatisfaction with his studies in Madrid
3. Desire to prove that there is no reason to fear going home.
4. His belief that the Spanish regime will not punish the innocent.

Decision to return home

• After five years of his memorable sojourn in Europe, Rizal returned to the Philippines.
• However, Rizal was warned by the following not to return to the Philippines because his Noli Me
Tangere angered the friars:
1. Paciano Mercado – Rizal’s adviser and only brother.
2. Silvestre Ubaldo – Rizal’s brother in law; husband of Olimpia.
3. Jose Ma. Cecilio (Chenggoy) – one of Rizal’s closest friends.

Rizal was determined to come back to the Philippines for the following reasons:
1. To operate his mother’s eyes
2. To serve his people who had long been oppressed by Spanish tyrants.
3. To find out for himself how the Noli Me Tangere and his other writings were affecting Filipinos and
Spaniards.
4. To inquire why Leonor Rivera remained silent.

Arrival in Manila
• Rizal left Rome by train to Marseilles, a French port and boarded Djemnah, the same steamer that
brought him to Europe five years ago.
• There were more than 50 passengers: 4 Englishmen, 2 Germans, 3 Chinese, 2 Japanese, 40
Frenchmen, and 1 Filipino (Rizal)
• When the ship reached Aden, the weather became rough and some of Rizal’s book got wet.
• In Saigon (Ho Chi Minh), Vietnam – he transferred to another steamer, Haiphong, that brought him to
Manila.

Happy Homecoming
• When Rizal arrived in Calamba, rumors spread that he was a:
 German spy
 An agent of Otto Von Bismarck – the liberator of Germany.
 A Protestant
 A Mason
 A soul halfway to damnation
• Paciano – did not leave him during the first days after arrival to protect him from any enemy assault.
• Don Francisco – did not permit him to go out alone

In Calamba
• Rizal established a medical clinic.
• Doña Teodora – was Rizal’s first patient
• Rizal treated her eyes but could not perform any surgical operation because her cataracts were not yet
ripe.
• He painted several beautiful landscapes in Calamba.
• He translated German poems of Von Wildernath in Tagalog.
• Doctor Uliman – Rizal was called this name because he came from Germany.
 He earned P900 in a few months and P5,000 before he left the Philippines.
• Gymnasium – was opened by Rizal for the young people

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 • He introduced European sports fencing and shooting to discourage them from cockfighting and
gambling.

Sad moments while Rizal was in Calamba

• Rizal tried to visit Leonor Rivera in Tarlac but his parents forbade him to go because Leonor’s mother
did not like him for a son-in-law.
• Olimpia Mercado-Ubaldo, his sister died because of child birth.

Storm over the Noli Me Tangere

• As Rizal was peacefully living in Calamba, his enemies plotted his doom.
• Governor General Emilio Terrero – wrote to Rizal requesting to come to Malacañang Palace.
1. Somebody had whispered to his ear that the Noli contains subversive ideas.
2. Rizal explained to him that he merely exposed the truth, but did not advocate subversive ideas.
3. He was pleased by Rizal’s explanation and curious about the book, he asked for a copy of the
novel.
4. Rizal had no copy that time but promised to send one for him.

Rizal visited the Jesuits

• Rizal visited the Jesuit fathers to ask for their feedback on the novel.
• He was gladly welcomed by the following friars:
1. Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez
2. Fr. Jose Bech
3. Fr. Federico Faura – told Rizal that everything in the novel was the truth and warned him that he
may lose his head because of it.
• Governor-General Emilio Terrero – a liberal minded Spaniard who knew that Rizal’s life was in jeopardy
because the friars were powerful.
 Because of this he gave Rizal a bodyguard to protect him.

Jose Taviel de Andrade

• A young Spanish lieutenant who came from a noble family
• He was cultured and knew painting
• He could speak French, English and Spanish.
• They became good friends.

Attackers of the Noli

• Archbishop Pedro Payo – a Dominican
 Archbishop of Manila
 Sent a copy of the Noli to Fr. Gregorio Echevarria, Rector of the University of Santo Tomas to
examine the novel.

UST and Rizal

• The committee that examined the Noli Me Tangere were composed of Dominican professors.
• The report of the faculty members from UST about the Noli states that the novel was:
 Heretical, impious and scandalous in the religious orders, and anti-patriotic, subversive of public
order, injurious to the government of Spain and its function in the Philippine Islands in the political
order.
• Governor-General Terrero – was not satisfied with the report so he sent the novel to the Permanent
Commission of Censorship which was composed of priests and lawyers.
• Fr. Salvador Font – Augustinian friar curate of Tondo was the head of the commission.
 The group found that the novel contain subversive ideas against the Church and Spain and
recommended that the importation, reproduction and circulation of the pernicious book in the
islands be absolutely prohibited.
• The newspaper published Font’s written report

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 • The banning of the Noli Me Tangere served to make it popular
• The masses supported the book.
• Fr. Jose Rodriguez – Augustinian Friar of Guadalupe
 Published a series of eight pamphlets under the heading Questions of Supreme Interest to blast the
Noli and other anti-Spanish writing.
 Copies of anti-Rizal pamphlets were sold after mass
 Many Filipinos were forced to buy them in order not to displease the friars.

Noli Me Tangere in Spain

• The novel was fiercely attacked in the session hall of the Senate of the Spanish Cortes.
• Senators:
1. General Jose de Salamanca
2. General Luis de Pando
3. Sr. Fernando Vida
• Vicente Barantes – Spanish academician of Madrid who formerly occupied high government position in
the Philippines bitterly criticized the novel in an article published in the Madrid newspaper, La España
Moderna.

Defenders of the Noli Me Tangere

• Propagandists such as Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez-Jaena, Antonio Ma. Regidor, Mariano
Ponce rushed to uphold the truths of the Noli.
• Father Francisco de Paula Sanchez – Rizal’s favorite teacher in Ateneo defended and praised the
novel in public.
• Don Segismundo Moret – former Minister of the Crown.
• Prof. Miguel Morayta- historian and stateman
• Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt – Rizal’s best friend
• Rev. Fr. Vicente Garcia – a Filipino Catholic priest-scholar, a theologian of the Manila Cathedral and a
Tagalog translator of the famous Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis.
 Under the pen name Justo Desiderio Magalang he wrote a defense of the novel published in
Singapore.
• Rizal cried because of his gratitude to his defenders especially to Fr. Garcia who defended him
unexpectedly.
• He attacked Barantes by exposing his ignorance of Philippine affairs and mental dishonesty which is
unworthy of an academician.
• Because of the interest of both enemies and protectors of the Noli the price of the book increased from
five pesetas per copy to 50 pesetas per copy.

Agrarian Problem in Calamba

• Influenced by the novel, Governor-General Emilio Terrero ordered a government investigation of the
friar estates to remedy whatever inequities might have been present in connection with land taxes and
with tenant relations.
• One of the friar estates affected was the Calamba hacienda by the Dominican order since 1883.
• Upon hearing about the investigation, the people of Calamba asked helped from Rizal to gather facts
and list the grievances so that the government might institute certain agrarian reforms.

Findings submitted by Rizal

• The hacienda of the Dominican Order comprised not only the lands around Calamba, but the whole
town of Calamba.
• The profits of the Dominican Order continually increased because of the arbitrary increase of the
rentals paid by the tenants.
• The hacienda owner never contributed a single centavo for the celebration of the town fiesta, for the
education of the children, and for the improvement of agriculture.

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 • Tenants who spent much labor in clearing the lands were dispossessed of the said lands for flimsy
reasons
• High rates of interest were arbitrarily charged the tenants for delayed payment of rentals
• When the rentals could not be paid, the hacienda management confiscated the work animals, tools,
and farm implements of the tenants.

Friars Reaction
• Rizal’s exposure to the deplorable condition angered the friars.
• The friars exerted pressure to Malacañang to eliminate Rizal.
• They asked Gov. Gen. Terrero to deport Rizal but the latter refused for there is lack of charges against
Rizal in court.
• Anonymous threats in Rizal’s life alarmed his parents, siblings, Andrade his bodyguard, friends, and
even Terrero, thus they all advised him to leave the country.

Rizal’s reasons for leaving the Philippines

1. His presence in Calamba was jeopardizing the safety and happiness of his family and friends.
2. He could not fight better his enemies and serve his country’s cause with greater efficacy by writing in
foreign countries.

Himno Al Trabajo
• A poem for Lipa – shortly before Rizal left in 1888, he was asked by a friend to write a poem in
commemoration of the town’s cityhood.
• Himno Al Trabajo (Hymn To Labor) – title of the poem dedicated to the industrious people of Lipa.

Farewell Philippines
• On February 3, 1888 Rizal left his country with a heavy heart.
• But this is for his own good and the safety of his family and friends.

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 Rizal leaving the Philippines for the Second Time

• Hounded by powerful enemies, Rizal was forced to leave his country for the second time in 1888.
• He was 27 years old, a practicing physician, and a recognized man of letters.

Rizal in Hong Kong and Macau

• After six months of staying in the Philippines Rizal left via the steamer Zapiro bound for Hong Kong.
• Amoy – the first stop over of the ship
– Rizal did not get off the ship for the following reasons:
1. He was not feeling well
2. It was raining hard
3. He heard that the city is dirty.

Hong Kong
• A British colony
• Rizal stayed in Victoria Hotel
• According to Rizal in his letter to Blumentritt, is a small, but very clean city.
• Many Portuguese, Hindus, English, Chinese and Jews.
• There are some Filipinos exiled in Marianas Islands since 1872, they were former financiers and rich
but now poor, gentle and timid.
• He met Jose Maria Basa, Balbino Mauricio, and Manuel Yriarte (son of the alcalde mayor in Calamba)
• Jose Sainz de Varanda – A Spaniard and former secretary of Governor-General Terrero shadowed
Rizal’s movement in Hong Kong.
– It is believed that he was commissioned by the Spanish authorities to spy on Rizal.

Rizal’s Visit to Macau

• A Portuguese colony near Hong Kong.
• Rizal together with Basa boarded a ferry named Kiu-Kiang going to Macau.
• Jose Sainz de Varanda – among one of the passengers
• Don Juan Francisco Lecaros – a Filipino gentleman who is married to a Portuguese lady.
– Rizal and Basa stayed in his house for two days while they were in Macau.
• During Rizal’s two week vacation in Hong Kong, he studied Chinese life, language, drama and customs
and found out the following which he wrote in his diary:
– The celebration of the Chinese New Year was quite very noisy due to the continuous explosion of
firecrackers on the streets.
– The lauriat party, wherein the guests were served a variety of dishes, shows lavishness and
hospitality among the Chinese.
– The Dominican Order, the richest religious order in Hong Kong, had millions of dollars deposited in
various banks earning very high interests.
– The graveyards for Catholics, Protestants and Muslims were well maintained.

Rizal in Japan
• The Land of the Cherry Blossoms
• Rizal left Hong Kong on board of the Oceanic, an American steamer on his way to Japan.
• He arrived in Yokohama, Japan and stayed for one day in Grand Hotel.

Rizal in Tokyo
• After spending a day in Yokohama, Rizal went to Tokyo and stayed in Tokyo Hotel for five days.
• Juan Perez Caballero – secretary of the Spanish legation visited him in the hotel inviting him to stay in
the Spanish legation.
• Knowing that it is a plot to monitor him, Rizal accepted the offer for the following reasons:
– He could economize his living expenses
– He had nothing to hide from the prying eyes of the Spanish authorities.
– He and Caballero became good friends.

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 • In Japan, Rizal was embarrassed because he did not knew how to speak Nihonggo (Japanese
Language)
• He was mistaken as an Europeanized Japanese because he looks like a Japanese and yet speaks in
different tongue.

Rizal’s Impression of Japan

• The scenic beauty of the country
• The cleanliness, politeness and industry of the Japanese people.
• The picturesque dress and simple charm of the Japanese women.
• There were few thieves in Japan.
• Beggars are rarely seen in the city streets.

Rickshaw
• a popular mode of transportation which he did not like in Japan.

Rizal and O-Sei-San

• A samurai’s daughter of 23 years old and had never experienced true love.
• A woman of beauty, charm, modesty and intelligence.
• Speaks French and English
• When Rizal first introduced himself to her, he took of his hat as a sign of respect ( A German custom)

O-Sei-San
• Was more than Rizal’s girlfriend for she was his guide, interpreter and tutor.
• She improved his knowledge of the Japanese language.
• She eases the pain left by Leonor Rivera.
• Rizal fell greatly in-love with O-Sei-San that he was tempted to leave the Philippines and settle down in
Japan.
• He was offered a job in the Spanish Legation
• Paciano – wrote to him reminding him of his duty and why he left the Philippines in the first place.
• Rizal left Japan via the ship Belgic, an English steamer in Yokohama bound for United States.
• It ended 45 days of his unforgettable stay in Japan and his relationship with O-Sei-San.

O-Sei-San after Rizal’s departure

• Alfred Charlton – became the husband of O-Sei-San in 1897, one year after Rizal was executed.
– He was a British teacher of chemistry in Peers’ School in Tokyo.
• They had a daughter named Yuriko, who married a son of a Japanese senator
• Seiko-Usui died in 1947 at age 80 and was buried beside her husband.

Rizal in steamer Belgic

• He met a semi-Filipino family – Mr. Reinaldo Turner and his wife Emma Jackson, their children and
maid from Pangasinan.
• Tetcho Suehiro
– a fighting Japanese journalist, novelist, champion of human rights, who was forced by the
government to leave Japan.
– Became a member of the Japanese Imperial Diet (Parliament)
– Wrote to novels:
1. Nankai-no-Daiharan (Storm Over the South Sea) – 1891 resembling Noli Me Tangere
2. O-unabara (The Big Ocean) – 1894 – resembling El Filibusterismo
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 – Died in 1896 at age 49 due to heart attack.

Rizal in USA
• Via the steamer Belgic, Rizal arrived in San Francisco, USA on April 28, 1888.
• Cholera
– Raging epidemic in the Far East according to the Americans
– All passengers are quarantined for safety
– Rizal was surprised because there is no outbreak of the disease in the Far East, thus he joined
other passengers in protest.
• 643 Chinese coolies boarded the ship
– the coolies from China were displacing white laborers in railroad construction camp.
• But Rizal was questioning how come 700 bolts of silk were unloaded without fumigation.
• After a week Rizal together with other first class passengers were permitted to land. But the Japanese
and the Chinese and passengers belonging to the second and thirds class remained aboard.
• Rizal stayed in Palace Hotel (then a first class hotel) in San Francisco
– He stayed there for two days
• Grover Cleveland was the president when Rizal visited the United States
• Leland Stanford – the founder and benefactor of the Stanford University was then a senator
representing California.

Rizal toured the United States

• Oakland – first stop via ferryboat
• Via train
– Sacramento – where he ate his supper 75 cents and slept at his couch.
– Reno, Nevada – where he had his breakfast
– Utah – where he saw Mormons, thickly populated
– Colorado – a lot of snow and pine trees
– Nebraska – Omaha City, as big as San Francisco
o Missouri River – twice as big as Pasig River
– Chicago – a lot of Indians in cigar stores
– Albany – where he saw the Hudson River
– New York – which he considers a big city
o Where he stayed for three days
• He left the United States for Liverpool, London on board the City of Rome, the second largest ship in
the world.
• Great Eastern – largest ship in the world during his time.

Rizal’s impression of America (Good)

• Material progress of the country as shown in its cities, farms, and industries
• The drive and energy of the Americans
• The natural beauty of the land
• The high standard of living
• The opportunities for better life offered to poor immigrants.

Rizal’s impression of America (Bad)

• Non-existence of true civil liberty, as Negro cannot marry an American and vice versa.
• The existence of racial prejudice as shown in their hatred of the Chinese, Japanese and Negroes.
• The valuing of money over human life

America for Rizal

• The land par excellence of freedom but only for the whites.

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