• Rizal’s Higher Education and Life Abroad

Brief Discussion:
A. RIZAL’S HIGHER EDUCATION AND LIFE ABROAD
HIGHER EDUCATION AT UST
After completing his Bachelor of Arts (high school diploma equivalent), Rizal’s higher
education was spent most in UST. Both Paciano and Don Francisco anted Rizal to enter a
university but Donya Teodora opposed the idea because the Spaniards might cut-off his
head.
In April, when Rizal was nearly 16 years old, he enrolled at UST. He took Philosophy and
Letters because his father liked it, and he was uncertain as to what course he would
pursue. At first, he was attracted to a priesthood. The Jesuits fathers want him to take up
farming but Rizal’s choice was between Literature and Law and Medicine. Having a talent
for self-expression and a keen sense of justice he would have been a brilliant lawyer.
Having received Father Pablo Ramon’s (Rector of Ateneo) advice to study medicine, he took
up medical course enrolling simultaneously in pre-medical course and regular medical
course. While at UST, he also studied at Ateneo taking up vocational course leading to the
title perito agrimensor (expert surveyor). He excelled in all subjects in surveying course and
obtained gold medals in Agriculture and Topography. He passed the final examination in
the surveying course and granted the title as Surveyor in November 25, 1885.
While at Ateneo pursuing the surveying course, he became active in extracurricular
activities. He was elected President of the Academy of Spanish Literature and Secretary of
the Academy of Spanish Literature. He was also the secretary of the Marian Congregation.
While at UST, Rizal fell in love with three women. During his first year, he fell in love with a
woman simply called “Miss L”, a woman with a fair, seductive and attractive eye. The
romance died like a natural death because of two reasons: the sweet memory of Segunda
Katigbak (Rizal’s firs sweetheart) was still fresh in his memory, and Rizal’s father did not
like the family of “Miss L”. The identity of “Miss L” is lost in history. During his sophomore
year, he courted Leonor Valenzuela (Orang), a tall girl with regal bearing. He sent her love
notes in invisible ink (combination of salt and water). During his junior year, Rizal had a
romance with Leonor Rivera of Camiling, Tarlac, a frail pretty girl and a student of La
Concordia College. Both Rizal and Leonor were engaged. Rizal used a sign name “Taimis” to
camouflage their relationship from their parents.
During his college days in UST and Ateneo, Rizal was involved in brawls and Spanish
brutality. During his summer vacation in 1878, while walking on a dimly street not
knowing the figure close to him, he did not greet and say “Good Evening”. The vague figure
turned out to be a lieutenant of Guardia Civil and struck Rizal’s back with his sword. In
another student brawls near Escolta in Manila, Rizal was wounded on the head. His
Filipino friends brought him bleeding and covered with dust to his boarding house “Casa
Tomasina”.
Rizal studied at UST from 1878 to 1882. Unlike in Ateneo, Rizal was unhappy in UST and
his grades at UST College of Medicine was not as impressive as what he got in Ateneo
Philosophy and Letters due to the hostility of the Dominican professors to him, backward
method of instruction (subjects were taught without laboratory experiments – laboratory
apparatuses were just kept inside showcases for display purposes), and racial
discrimination against Filipino students.
After completing the fourth-year term in medicine, Rizal decided to study in Spain because
he could no longer endure the discrimination and oppression at UST and because in Spain,
the professors were more liberal than those in UST.
TRAVEL, LIFE, AND EDUCATION ABROAD
Dr. Jose Rizal was considered as the “Most Travelled Filipino Hero”. He travelled to almost
20 countries and about 40 island cities. Rizal’s parents, Leonor, and the Spanish
authorities knew nothing of his decision to go abroad, only his brother Paciano, uncle
Antonio Rivera, sisters Neneng and Lucia, the Valenzuela family, Pedro Paterno, compadre
Mateo Evangelista, Ateneo Jesuits priest, and some intimate friends. Before Rizal’s secret
departure, he wrote a farewell letter to his parents and his sweetheart Leonor Rivera which
was delivered to them after he sailed away. His main reason in leaving the Philippines was
to transfer at the Universidad Central de Madrid in Spain and to finish his medicine course.
The following events took place during Rizal’s travels and life abroad are arranged in their
chronological order.
May 3, 1882 – on board the Spanish steamer Salvadora, Rizal departed for Spain using
Jose Mercado on his travel documents. May 8, 1882 – he has a two-day stopover in
Singapore, an English colony. May 11, 1882 – he was on board the steamer Djemnah, a
French steamer, much larger and cleaner than Salvadora. May 17, 1882 – he arrived at
Point Galle, a seacoast town in southern Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). May 18, 1882 – he had a
stopover at Colombo, the capital of Ceylon. May 28, 1882 – From Colombo, Ceylon, the
Djemnah continued voyage and crossed the Indian Ocean until it reached Cape of
Guardafin, Africa, then he reached Aden. June 2, 1882 – from Aden, he proceeded to Suez
Canal, then to the Red Sea Terminal reaching Port Said. June 11, 1882 – From Port Said,
the steamer proceeded to Europe and reached Naples City, Italy. June 12, 1882 – the
steamer docked at the French harbor of Marseilles where he stayed for 3 days. June 15,
1882 – the steamer left Marseilles by train and reached Pyrenees and stopped for a day at
Port Bou. June 16, 1882 – from Port Bou, Rizal continued his trip and finally reached his
destination – Barcelona, Spain.
LIFE IN BARCELONA: At first, Rizal had a bad impression of Barcelona – ugly, dirty little
inns, inhospitable people – because he happened to stay upon his arrival in a stingy hotel.
Later, he changed his mind and came to like the city – as a great city with an atmosphere of
freedom and liberalism and the people were open-hearted, hospitable, and courageous.
Rizal was welcomed by the Filipinos in Barcelona, some were his classmates in Ateneo.
They gave him party, exchanged toast and told Rizal of the attractions and customs of the
people in Barcelona, Rizal, in turn, gave news and gossips in the Philippines. While in
Barcelona, Rizal received two bad news, first was the cholera outbreak that ravaged Manila
and the provinces, the second was the chatty letter of Chenggoy recounting the
unhappiness of Leonor Rivera, who was getting thinner due to the absence of a loved one.
LIFE IN MADRID: November 3, 1882 – Rizal enrolled in the Universidad Central de Madrid
in Medicine and Philosophy and Letters. He also studied painting and sculpture in the
Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, took tutoring lessons in French and English and
practiced fencing and shooting in the Hall of Arms of Sanz Carbonell. Rizal lived frugally,
rigidly budgeting his money wisely. Although he used to buy tickets in every draw of the
Madrid lottery, he never wasted his money for gambling, wine, and women. He spent his
leisure time reading books, purchased second-hand books, practiced shooting and fencing.
At other times, he visited his Filipino friends, fraternized with other students, and visited
the home of Don Pablo Ortega y Rey, where he became attracted to Consuelo’s beauty and
charm.
June 21, 1884 – Rizal as conferred the Licentiate in Medicine by the Universidad Central de
Madrid. In the next academic year (1884-1885), he passed all the subjects leading to the
degree of Doctor of Medicine, however, he was not conferred with the degree for failure to
present a thesis required for graduation and pay corresponding fee. Nevertheless, by
obtaining the degree of Licentiate in Medicine, he became a full-pledge physician and
qualified to practice Medicine. June 19, 1885 – on his 24th birthday, Rizal was awarded the
degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters by the Universidad Central de Madrid, by
obtaining this degree, he became qualified to be a professor of humanities in any Spanish
University. June 25, 1885 – Rizal was invited to speak in a banquet to celebrate the double
victory of two Filipino artist: Juan Luna’s “Spoliarium” winning first place and Felix
Hidalgo’s “Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace” winning second prize, in the National
Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid.
November, 1885 – Rizal went to Paris and lived there for four months where he worked as
an assistant to Dr. Louis de Wecket, a leading French ophthalmologist. Outside working
hours, he visited his friends and even went to Juan Luna’s studio to help by posing as a
model in several paintings. February 3, 1886 – he left Paris for Heidelberg, Germany. Since
he was a good chess player, he was made a member of the Chess Player’s Club. Rizal
worked at the University Eye Hospital under Dr. Otto Becker, a distinguished German
ophthalmologist and attended lectures of Dr. Becker and Prof. Wilhelm Kuehne at the
University.
July 3, 1886 – Rizal wrote his first letter in German to Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt, an
Austrian ethnologist interested in the Philippine languages, who was at that time the
Director of Ateneo of Lemeritz, Austria. August 9, 1886 – Rizal left Heidelberg and boarded
a train, and visited other cities of Germany. August 14, 1886 – he arrived at Leipzig,
attended some lectures at the University of Leipzig in history and psychology, and
befriended Prof. Friedrich Ratzel (famous German historian) and Dr. Hans Meyer (German
anthropologist). October 29, 1886 – he arrived at Dresden, Germany and met Dr. Adolf
Meyer, Director of Anthropological and Ethnological Museum. Upon the recommendation of
Dr. Jagor and Meyer, he became member of the Anthropological Society, Ethnological
Society and Geographical Society in Berlin.
LIFE IN BERLIN: November 1, 1886 – Rizal left Dresden by train and reached Berlin where
Rizal met for the first time Dr. Feodor Jagor, a famous German scientist-traveler and
author of Travels in the Philippines. Rizal became impressed in Berlin because of its
scientific atmosphere and absence of racial race. He lived in Berlin in a frugal life. He
worked as an assistant in Dr. Schweigger’s clinic, attended lectures in the University of
Berlin, took private lessons under French Prof. Madame Lucie Cerdale, performed daily
exercises in a Berlin gymnasium, observe keenly the customs, dresses, homes and
occupations of the peasants and made sketches of the things he saw. During winter in
1886 in Berlin, he lived in poverty because he was flat broke, he had to eat only one meal a
day consisted of bread, water, and cheap vegetable soup, washed his clothes, resulting to
his health’s break down. Rizal went to Berlin for five reasons: to increase his knowledge in
ophthalmology, to broaden his studies of sciences and languages, to observe political and
economic conditions of Germany, to associate with famous German scientist and scholars,
and to publish his novel, Noli Me Tangere.
May 11, 1887 – Rizal and Viola left berlin and went to Dresden. May 13, 1887 – Rizal and
Viola on board a train reached Letmeritz, Bohemia (now Czechoslovakia), where he met
another famous scientist of Europe, Dr. Carlos Czepelan, and another eminent naturalist
Robert Klutschak. May 17, 1887 – Rizal and Viola left Leitmeritz by train on their way to
the City of Prague. May 19, 1887 – Rizal and Viola went to Brunn City. May 20, 1887 – they
arrived at the city of Vienna, capital of Austria-Hungary. May 24, 1887 – they left Vienna by
river boat and ended in Lintz, afterwards, they travelled on land to Salzburg, and from
there to Munich. From Munich, they went to Nuremberg and then to Ulm. June 2-3, 1887 –
they continued their trip on boat and reached Bern, Lausanne. June 6, 1887 – Rizal and
Viola reached Geneva, Switzerland, where he received the sad news about the deplorable
conditions of the Igorots of Northern Luzon who were exhibited in the 1887 Madrid
Exhibition and their scanty clothing and crude weapons were objects of mockery and
laughter by the Spaniards. June 19, 1887 – on Rizal’s 26th birthday, he treated Viola to a
blow-out. June 23, 1887 – Rizal and Viola parted ways, Viola returned to Barcelona while
Rizal continued his tour to Italy. June 24, 1887 – from Geneva, Rizal went to Italy and
visited Turin, Milan, Venice, and Florence. June 27, 1887 – he reached Rome, the “Eternal
City” and the “City of the Caezars”. June 29, 1887- he visited for the first time the Vatican,
the “City of the Popes” and the capital of the Christiandom.
June 29, 1887 – Rizal wrote to his father announcing that he is coming home. Paciano, his
family and friends warned him not to return home because the publication of Noli Me
Tangere caused an uproar and anger among the friars in the Philippines. But, Rizal did not
heed their warning and was determined to return home for the following reasons: to operate
on his mother’s eyes, to serve the Filipino people who were oppressed by the Spanish
tyrants, to determine how his NOLI and other writings affected the Filipinos and Spaniards,
and to inquire the conditions of Leonor Rivera. July 3, 1887 – Rizal left Rome by train for
Marseilles, and boarded the Djemnah, a Manila-bound steamer. July 30, 1887 – in Saigon,
he transferred to steamer Haiphong bound for Manila. August 2, 1887 – steamer Haiphong
left Saigon for Manila. August 5, 1887 – steamer Haiphong arrived in Manila. August 8,
1887 – Rizal returned home to Calamba, where he was met affectionately and with plentiful
tears of joy, however his family became worried for his safety so Paciano did not leave him
during his first days after arrival and his father did not let him go out alone.
BRIEF STAY IN CALAMBA: upon his return from abroad, Rizal established a medical clinic
in Calamba, where his first patient is his mother who is almost blind, thus treating his
mother’s eye. Patients from Manila and nearby provinces flocked to Calamba for treatment.
His professional fee were reasonable and those who were poor were treated free of charge.
During his six months stay in Calamba he failed to see Leonor Rivera. Few weeks after
Rizal’s arrival in Calamba, there were threats over Rizal’s life due to the publication of his
book “Noli”. Governor General Emilio Terrero (1885-1888) assigned a young Spanish
Lieutenant, Don Jose Taviel de Andrade as bodyguard to prevent Rizal from being
harassed. In addition to his controversial book “Noli”, the Dominican friars got more furious
because of Rizal’s exposure of the deplorable conditions of tenancy in Calamba which
infuriated further his enemies. This alarmed his parenst, relatives, and friends, and even
Lt. Andrade, thus, the Governor-General advised Rizal to escape and leave the Philippines
for his own good.
SECOND TRIP ABROAD: February 3, 1888 – Rizal left Manila for Hong Kong on board the
Zafiro. February 7, 1888 – steamer Zafiro made a brief stopover at Amoy. February 8, 1888
– He arrived in Hong Kong. February 18, 1888 – Rizal and Basa visited Macao boarding the
ferry steamer Ku-Kiang. February 21, 1888 – Rizal and Basa went back to Hong Kong.
While in Hong Kong, Jose Sainz de Varonda, a Spaniard, was commissioned by the Spanish
authorities to spy on Rizal. February 22, 1888 – on board the American steamer Oceanic,
Rizal left Hong Kong for Japan. February 28, 1888 – Rizal arrived at Yokohama, Japan.
February 29, 1888 – he proceeded to Tokyo, Japan. While in Japan, Rizal met Seiko-San.
April 13, 1888 – Rizal boarded the English steamer Belgic bound for United States. April
28, 1888 – Rizal arrived at San Francisco Port however all the passengers were not allowed
to land because the ship was placed under quarantine for it came from Far East where the
cholera epidemic was alleged to be raging. May 4, 1888 – Rizal and the other passengers
were permitted to land. May 6, 1888 – he left San Francisco to Oakland. May 7, 1888 –
Rizal boarded a train for trip across the American continent (Reno> Nevada> Utah> Ogden>
Denver> Colorado> Nebraska> Chicago> Canada> Albany). May 13, 1888 – Rizal reached
New York. May 18, 1888 – on board the ship called City of Rome, Rizal left New York for
Liverpool.
RIZAL’S IMPRESSION OF AMERICA. Good Impressions: America is a progressive nation
with great cities, huge farms, flourishing industries and busy factories; American people
were energetic and hard-working; the cities were beautiful; standard of living is high; better
opportunities for a better life especially the poor immigrants. Bad Impressions: racial
prejudice existed, democracy and freedom were only in words, not practiced; no true civil
liberty.
May 25, 1888 – he went to London and stay there for a short time as a guest at the home of
Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor, a practicing lawyer in London. While in London, he received bad
news: persecution of the Filipino patriots who signed the petition for the expulsion of the
friars in the Philippines; attacks on Rizal by Senators Salamanca and Vida; persecution of
Rizal family and other Calamba farmers for their courage to petition the government for
agrarian reforms; exile of Manuel T. Hidalgo; and arrest and jailing of Rizal’s friend
Lauriano Viado because of the copies of Noli. September, 1888 – Rizal visited Paris to
search for more historical materials in the Biblioteque Nationale. December 11, 1888 – he
went to visit his compatriots Marcelo H. Del Pilar and Mariano Ponce in Spain. December
31, 1888 – A patriotic society was established and inaugurated called Association La
Solidaridad with Rizal chosen as honorary president. February 15, 1889 – Graciano Lopez
Jaena founded the fortnightly patriotic newspaper, La Solidaridad – in Barcelona, Spain. Its
aims were: to work for a peaceful political and social reforms in the Philippines; to portray
the deplorable conditions of the Philippines; to oppose the evil forces of reaction; to
advocate liberal ideas and progress; and to champion the legitimate aspirations of the
Filipino people to life, democracy, and happiness. March 19, 1889 – Rizal went to Paris, he
organized his compatriots into a society called Kidlat Club which would bring together the
young Filipinos in the French capital so that they could enjoy their sojourn in the city.
August, 1889 – Rizal scheduled the holding of the inaugural convention of the
“International Association of Filipinologist” which aims to study the Philippines from
scientific and historical point of view. September 21, 1889 – Rizal founded the society called
Redencion de los Malayos (Redemption of the Malays) during the Universal Exposition in
Paris. June 20, 1890 – Rizal wrote to M.H. Del Pilar to serve as the lawyer in the land case
that was appealed by the Rizal family to the Supreme Court in Spain. July 18, 1890 – Rizal
wrote Mariano Ponce of his determination to go home because of the suffering that affected
his family. August, 1890 – upon his arrival in Madrid, he immediately sought the help of
the Filipino colony in order to protest the injustices committed by the governor general and
Dominican friars against the Calamba people. August 19, 1890 – Rizal received a sad news
on the untimely death of his friend Jose Ma. Panganiban in Barcelona. September 6, 1890
– Paciano Rizal, Antonio Lopez, Silvestre Ubaldo, Mateo Elejorde, and Dandoy were
arrested, shipped out of Calamba and exiled in Mindoro. December 1890 – Rizal received a
letter from Leonor Rivera announcing her coming marriage to Englishman and asking his
forgiveness. February 1, 1891 – Rizal left Madrid for Biarritz where he had a brief vacation
and stayed as a guest at the Bousted family and eventually fell in love with Nelly but did
not end happily. March 29, 1891 – he finished writing the manuscript for El Filibusterismo.
May 1, 1891 – Rizal notified the Propaganda authorities in Manila to cancel his monthly
allowance and devote the money to the education of young Filipino students in Europe.
Also, he ceased writing articles for La Solidaridad. May 30, 1891 – Rizal almost completed
the revision of El Filibusterismo and readied for printing. July 5, 1891 – Rizal left Brussels
for Ghent. He moved to Ghent because the cost of printing in Ghent was cheaper than in
Brussels. October 3, 1891 – Rizal left Ghent for Paris and stayed there for few days to bid
goodbye to his friends. October 14, 1891- from Paris he went to Marseilles. October 18,
1891 – Rizal boarded steamer Melbourne bound for Hong Kong. November 20, 1891 – he
arrived at Hong Kong. December 21, 1891 – Rizal wrote his parents asking permission to
return home. December 24, 1891 – Rizal was gladdened by the arrival of his father, brother,
and Silvestre Ubaldo, not long afterwards, his mother and sisters Lucia, Josefina, and
Trinidad also arrived. December 25, 1891 – it was one of the happiest yuletide celebration
in Rizal’s life as they had a happy family reunion. January 31, 1892 – Rizal wrote
Blumentritt recounting their pleasant life in Hong Kong. March 7, 1892 – on board the ship
Menon, Rizal went to Sandakan to negotiate with the British authorities for the
establishment of a Filipino colony which is a success because the Borneo Authorities were
willing to give Filipino colonist 100, 000 acres of land, a beautiful harbor, and a
government. April 20, 1892 – Rizal is back to Hong Kong. May 8, 1892 – Rizal wanted to
return to Manila to confer with Governor Despujol regarding the Borneo Colonization
project and to established the La Liga Filipina in Manila and to prove that Eduardo de Lete
was wrong in attacking him in Madrid that he is being comfortable and safe in Hong Kong
had abandoned the country’s cause. June 21, 1892 – Rizal and his sister Lucia left Hong
Kong for Manila. At the same date, the Spanish consul-general who issued him a
government guarantee of safety, informed Manila that the victim is on trap, hence, a secret
case was filed in Manila against Rizal. June 26, 1892 – Rizal and his sister Lucia arrived in
Manila.
THE PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT
PROPAGANDA means a “campaign of information as well as a bid for sympathy”. The
Propaganda Movement was a campaign by the native Filipinos calling for reforms in the
Philippines. According to Dr. Domingo Abella, it should have been called Counter
Propaganda Movement, because their essential task was to counteract the campaign of
misinformation that certain Spanish groups were disseminating in Spain. The Movement
started in 1890 up to 1896.
PROMINENT MEMBERS: JOSE RIZAL – author of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
GRACIANO LOPEZ JAENA – publisher of La Solidaridad. MARIANO PONCE – movement’s
secretary. MARCELO H. DEL PILAR.
AIMS: representation of the Philippines in the Cortes Generales; secularization of the
clergy; legalization of Spanish and Filipino equality; creation of public school system
independent of Catholic friars; abolition of polo y servicios (labor service) and the bandala
(forced sale of local products to the government); guarantee of basic freedoms; equal
opportunity for the Filipinos and Spanish to enter government service.

Directions: Copy and Answer this on a 1 whole size paper or your notebook with your
name, course & year and date.

Read and understand each of the following questions carefully. Answer item number 1, 2,
3, and 4 in not less than three and not more than five sentences.

Questions:
1. Describe Dr. Jose Rizal as a student of higher education at UST. (10 points).
_______________________________________________
2. Why did Dr. Jose Rizal decide to go and travel to Europe? (10 points).
_______________________________________________
3. After five years of travel in Europe, why is Dr. Jose Rizal so determined to return home?
(10 points).
_______________________________________________
4. What is the main reason why the La Solidaridad newspaper was put up? (10 points).
_______________________________________________
5. With not less than and not more than three paragraphs, reflect on the travel and life of
Dr. Jose Rizal abroad. (20 points).
_______________________________________________