THE PHIL IP P I N ES A

CENTUR Y H E N C E
BY: JOSE RIZAL
GROUP 8

JEAN CEDRIC VILLOJAN

RALP TUPARAN
RIZZABETH JOY MAALIHAN
• IT WAS ORIGINALLY ENTITLED “FILIPINAS DENTRO DE CIEN AÑOS “

• FIRST PUBLISHED IN LA SOLIDARIDAD IN MADRID AT SEPTEMBER

30, OCTOBER 31, DECEMBER 15 AND FEBRUARY 15, 1890

• IN THE ARTICLE, ESTIMATED THE FUTURE OF THE PHILIPPINES IN THE

SPAN OF A HUNDRED YEARS AND FORETOLD THE CATASTROPHIC AND
OF SPANISH RULE IN ASIA.

• THE ESSAY ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE GLORIOUS PAST OF THE

PHILIPPINES, RECOUNTED THE DETERIORATION OF THE ECONOMY,
AND EXPOSED THE CAUSES OF THE NATIVES’ SUFFERINGS UNDER THE
CRUEL SPANISH RULE.
CAUSES OF SUFFERINGS AND
DETERIORATION
• In Rizal’s annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipina
(also penned in 1889 to 1890), our national hero through great efforts to
proved and discussed the glorious past of the Philippines.
• In the essay, he analyzed the deterioration of its economy and identified
the causes of locals’ sufferings under the cruel Spanish rule.
• The various causes of the sorrows suffered by the Philippine natives:

a. Spain’s implementation of its military policies

b. Deterioration and disappearance of Filipino Indigenous culture
c. Passitivity and submissiveness to the Spanish colonizers
THE INEVITABLE
• One of the main topics tackled by Rizal in the essay was whether Spain could indeed prevent
the looming progress of the Philippines. Despite the corruption and deterioration brought
about by the colonizers to Philippines, he was hopeful that the Country’s eventual
improvement could not be hindered. For this, he made the following points:

1. Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant failed

2. Keeping the people impoverished also came to no avail
3. Exterminating the people as an alternative to hindering progress did not work either

• Rizal, Concluded that Spain had no means to stop the progress of the Philippines. What the
colonist had to do was to change its colonial policies so that they would be suitable for the
needs of the Philippine society and to the increasing nationalism of its people.
RIZAL’S “PROPHECIES”

• Rizal expressed in tge essay his confident prediction that something would
awaken the hearts and open the minds of the Filipino people as regards their
plight
• He “prophesied” the Philippine people’s revolution against Spain, winning their
independence, but later the Americans would come as the new colonizer

• Some years after Rizal’s deathz, the Philippines attained its long-awaited
liberation and independence.
• Again, this appeared to be the fulfillment of what he had written in the essay:

“History does not record in its annals any lasting domination by one people
over another, of different races, of diverse usages and customs, of opposite
and divergent ideas. One of the two had to yield and succumb. “
 FEODOR JAGOR’S INFLUENCE
German ethnologist

• RIZAL’S REFERENCE TO AMERICA AS A PROBABLE FACTOR IN

THE PHILIPPINES’ FUTURE IS SAID TO BE BASED UPON THE
FORECAST OF THE GERMAN TRAVELER FEODOR JAGOR

• 1860 HE SPENT SOME MONTHS ON THE ISLANDS AND LATER

PUBLISHED HIS OBSERVATIONS, SUPPLEMENTED BY 10
YEARS OF FURTHER STUDY IN EUROPEAN MUSEUMS AND
LIBRARIES, AS TRAVELS IN THE PHILIPPINES
THE ESSAY’S RELEVANCE TODAY
• “I do not write for this generation. I am writing for other ages. If this could read me,
they would burn my books, the work of my whole life. On the other hand, the
generation which interprets these writings will be an educated generation; they
will understand me and say: Not all were asleep in the night-time of our
grandparents. “ Philosopher Tasio
• Rizal’s essay like “The Philippines a Century Hence” are as relevant today as they
were when they were written over a century ago.
• The essay, moreover, serves to remind us that we, Filipinos, are historically
resolute and determined. In fact, all those efforts by the colonizers to keep us
uneducated and impoverished had failed. Nationalism eventually thrived and the
country became independent after 4 centuries of tyrannical Spanish rule and 5
decades under the Americans.
CHALLENGES TO THE FILIPINOS
“SOBRE LA INDOLENCIA DE LOS FILIPINOS”
(THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINOS)

The logical essay is a proof the national hero’s historical scholarship. The essay
rationally countered the accusations by Spaniards that Philippine natives were indolent
(lazy) during the Spanish reign. It was published in La Solidaridad in 5 consecutive
issues on july (15 and 31), August (1 and 31) and September 1, 1890

1. The Galleon Trade

2. The Spanish forced labor compelled the Filipinos to work
3. Many Filipinos became landless and wanderers
4. The system of education offered by the colonizers
5. The Spaniards were a bad example as negligent officials
6. Gambling, like cockfights, was established
7. The crooked system of religion discouraged the natives from working hard
LETTER TO YOUNG WOMAN OF MALOLOS
• Originally written in tagalog, this famous letter directly addressing to the women of Malolos,
Bulacan was written by Rizal as a response to Marcelo H. Del Pila’s request
• Rizal was greatly impressed by the bravery of the 20 young women of Malolos who planned to
establish a school where they could learn Spanish despite the Opposition of Felipe Garcia, Spanish
parish priest of Malolos
Below are some of the points mentioned by Rizal in his letter to the young women of Malolos:
1. The priests in the country that time did not embody the true spirit of Christianity
2. Private judgement should be used
3. Mothers should be an epitome of an ideal woman who teaches her children to love God, country and
fellowmen
4. Mothers should rear children in the service of the state and set standards of behavior for men
around them
5. Filipino women must be noble, decent, and dignified, and they should be submissive, tender, and
loving to their respective husband and

6. Young women must edify themselves live the real Christian way with good morals and manners,
and should be intelligent in their choice of a lifetime partner