WEEK 11

STUDIES IN LONDON

Rizal arrived at Liverpool, England on May 24, 1888. The next day, he went to London and stayed

as guest of Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor. He found a boarding place at the home the Becketts at Primrose Hill.

It was conveniently located because it was located near the public parks and was within easy walking

distance to the British Museum when Rizal expected to do much study. At the British Museum, Rizal came

to know Dr. Reinhold Rost, a librarian of the ministry of foreign affairs and an authority on Malayan

culture. They became friends as they shared common sentiments with regards to the Malayan race.

Good and bad news from his home reached Rizal in London. One of the bad news was the

injustices by the spanish on the Filipino people and Rizal’s family. Among them were (1) The persecution

of Filipino who signed the “Anti-friar Petition of 1888” under the leadership of Doroteo Cortez. (2) The

Calamba agrarian conflict of 1888 in which the tenants, including the Rizal family, were being persecuted

by the Dominican management. (3) Manuel T. Hidalgo was exile to Bohol. (4) Laureano Viado was

imprisoned for possession of Noli Me Tangere. The one good news was that Rev. Vicente Garcia, who was

in Singapore came to the defense of Noli Me Tangere and against the attacks of the friars.

Rizal was aware that to be able to campaign for reforms, he would have to equip himself with an

effective tool that would boost the pride and honor of his people. As a child José Rizal heard from his

uncle, José Alberto, about an ancient history of the Philippines written by a Spaniard named Antonio de

Morga. The knowledge of this book came from the English Governor of Hong Kong, Sir John Browning,

who had once paid his uncle a visit. While in London, Rizal immediately acquainted himself with the British

Museum where he found one of the few remaining copies of that work. At his own expense, he had the

work republished with annotations that showed the Philippines was an advanced civilization prior to the

Spanish conquest. These writing describe the early Filipino life and industry which proved the following
points: (1) The early Filipinos already engaged in trade with other Asian nations like the Chinese, Indians,

Thais and Vietnamese. (2) The dominant religion of Manila and the Visayan town was Islam. It was also

noted that Mindanao was also predominantly Islam. (3) There was already a government called barangay

which were headed by rajahs. Rizal also learned that in Chinese chronicle of the 12th century, people of

Luzon were honest and hardworking. Rizal desired to write a history of his land in order to prove that the

allegation of some frias saying that natives were uncivilized prior to the arrival of Spaniards was false.

On September 1888, Rizal visited Paris for a week in order to search for more historical materials

in the Bibliotheque Nationale. He was entertained in this gay French metropolis by Juan Luna and his wife

(Pas Pardo de Tavera), who proudly showed him their little son Andres. On December 11, 1888, he went

to Spain, visiting Madrid and Barcelona. Rizal met, for the first time, Marcelo H. del Pilar and Mariano

Ponce, two titans of the Propaganda Movement. He promised to cooperate in the fight for the reforms.

Rizal also wrote many articles for La Solidaridad. Fray Rodriguez attacked his Noli in a series of

leaflets with title “Cuestions de Sumo Interes”. He then wrote a pamphlet entitled “La Vision del fray

Rodriguez where he used the name Dimas-Alang. This is a satire which ridiculed the intelligence of Fr.

Rodriguez, which made unworthy of being Augustinian. Rizal also wrote the famous “Letter to the Young

Malolos”. In this article, Rizal addressed the Filipino women to work for their education and not to be

merely influenced by the friars. He also wrote articles for the Trubner’s Record, a journal related to Asian

studies wherein he contributed “Two Eastern Fables” and “Specimens of Tagala Folklore”.

Gertude Beckett, the eldest of the ‘three’ (some say ‘four’) Beckett sisters, Gertrude (also called

‘Gettie’ or ‘Tottie’) was a curvy lady with cheerful blue eyes, brown hair, rosy cheeks, and thin lips. Rizal

called him “Gettie” and she called Rizal as “Pettie”. He could not marry Gettie for he has a mission to

fulfill in life. With iron will, Rizal suppressed the passionate yearning of his heart. Rizal decided to move

to Paris so that she may forget him.