Rizal and the La

Solidaridad
• December 31, 1888-
inauguration of Asociacion La
Solidaridad (Solidaridad
Association), a patriotic society.
They crusade for reforms in the
Philippine Government. By
unanimous vote of all members,
Rizal was chosen honorary
president. This was a recognition
of his leadership among all
Filipino patriots in Europe. .
La Solidaridad: A Patriotic Newspaper

• February 15, 1889- Graciano Lopez Jaena founded the

patriotic newspaper called La Solidaridad in Barcelona
1 • A fortnightly periodical which served as the organ of the
Propaganda Movement.
• political and social reforms
• portray the deplorable conditions of the Philippines so
that Spain may remedy them
• oppose the evil forces of reaction and medievalism
• advocate liberal ideas and progress
2 • La Vision del Fray Rodriguez (The Vision of Fray
Rodriguez)-pamphlet which was published in Barcelona
under his nom-de-plume Dimas Alang in order to defend
his novel.
• good news an bad news
• good news is that Rev. Vicente Garcia was defending his
3 Noli from the attacks of the friars
• the bad news were that the Filipino signatories
• “ Petition d of 1888” and the tenants of the Calamba
agrarian trouble were facing persecution
• Manuel T. HIdalgo and Mariano Herbosa, were exiled to
Bohol and was denied Christian burial
• Laureno Viadoa, a UST medical student, was imprisoned
for possessing some copies of his Noli in Paris
La Solidaridad: A Patriotic Newspaper

• Mid-March 1899, Rizal decided to move to Paris

• Parisian life was different from the life he
4 experienced in London
• city bursting with merriment, exciting events, and
unending social gathering
• cost of living -very high.
• Life in Paris was gay
• continued to spend long hours at the National library
in Paris
5 • reviewing and rewriting his historical annotations on
De Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas
• published in January 1890
• wrote a satirical booklet entitled Por Telefono, in
answer to Fr. Salvation Fort, a Spanish friar who hurled
attacks on the Noli Me Tangere and caused its banning.
6 • continued his study on various languages
especially the French language
• which he was able to perfect during his 10 months
stay at the French capital city
La Solidaridad: A Patriotic Newspaper

• Kidlat Club , a social club which brought together

7 young Filipinos residing in Paris.
• the members of the said club founded a new Filipino
society
• the Indios Bravos, an organization which envisioned
Filipinos being recognized by Spain for being
excellent in various fields of knowledge
8
• Rizal also had leisurely activities like socializing with
friends in their homes
• frequently visited were the homes of the Pardo de
Taveras, the Venturas, the Lunas, the Bousteads and
others.

9 Although Rizal lived a frugal life, he prepared a

sumptuous Christmas dinner for some of his friends.
Shortly after New Year, he visited London for the last
time
 Rizal's Time in Brussels
• January 28, 1890, left Paris for Brussels. a.)The Philippines Within a Century-article
He left the extravagant and gay social life in written by Rizal in which he expressed his
Paris and stayed in a boarding house owned views on the Spanish colonization in the
by the Jacoby sisters in Brussels. Philippines.
• From 1889- 1890, Rizal continued b) The Indolence of the Filipinos- It is an able
contributing to La Solidaridad under the defense of the alleged indolence of the
pseudonyms Dimas Alang and Laong Laan. Filipinos.
Among the 10 articles he had contributed c) the Sobre la Nueva Ortografia de la Lengua
below were some of the most famous and Tagala (The New Orthography of the Tagalog
important articles: Language) In this article, he laid down the
rules of the new Tagalog orthography
• From Calamba, Rizal received letters telling that the agrarian trouble in
the province was getting worse, and as such, he decided to go home. But
instead of going home, a letter from Paciano told him that they already lost
the case against the Dominicans and they were in need of a lawyer who
would defend their family and the families in Calamba from Madrid.
• Rizal wrote a letter to Ponce, he announced that he was leaving Brussels
and decided to go to Madrid because this case must be presented to the
Supreme Court and he needs to pay close attention to the developments of
the case.
MISFORTUNES IN
MADRID (1890-1891)
• August, 1890, Rizal arrived in Madrid. Upon
arrival in Madrid. Rizal immediately sought
help from the Filipino colony, The
Asociacion Hispano-Filipina, and the liberal
Spanish newspaper in securing justice for
the oppressed Calamba tenants. Nothing
came out of this, several newspapers were
sympathetic to the plight of the Calamba
tenants but this did not translate to any
form of action. By this time, Francisco Rizal
and other tenants were already forcibly
evicted from Calamba by Governor General
Valeriano Weyler. Their houses were burned
and more people were exiled regardless of
their gender.
 Misfortunes in Madrid
 In August 1890, Rizal attended a social reunion of the Filipinos in Madrid.
After drinking so many glasses the guests became more talkative. One of
them, Antonio Luna, became drunk. Rizal challenged Antonio Luna, it was
about the latter’s frustration with his unsuccessful “love affair” with Nellie
Boustead, and so gave negative remarks on the lady which Rizal did not
tolerate. The Filipinos tried to pacify them, pointing out that such a duel
would damage their cause in Spain. Fortunately, Luna realized his mistakes
and he apologized and Rizal immediately accepted his apology and became
good friends again.
• Rizal challenged Wenceslao Retana in a duel. Retana had insulted Rizal
and his family by writing in La Epoca, an anti-Filipino newspaper, that
the Rizal family in Calamba was ejected from their lands because they
did not pay their rents. Rizal was, by nature neither hot-tempered but
when the honor of his people, family, women or friends was
besmirched, he never hesitated to fight even if he were risking his own
life. Retana at once published a retraction and an apology, he knew that
Rizal was superior in both pistol and sword
 Misfortunes in Madrid
 December 1890, Rizal received a letter from Leonor Rivera announcing
her coming marriage to Henry Kipping, an Englishman (the choice of her
mother).This was a big blow for him and his heart broke.
• Another marked event in Madrid was the Marcelo H. del Pilar-Jose Rizal
rivalry for leadership in the Asociacion Hispano Filipino. A fraction
emerged from the Filipinos in Madrid, the Rizalistas and Pilaristas. The
group decided that the leader must be elected by two-thirds vote. Rizal
won the election, he was offered the appointment but he did not want to
see the Filipinos in Madrid divided so he thought it best to leave the city.

• Rizal took a vacation in the resort city of Biarritz on the fabulous French
Riviera. He was a guest of the rich Boustead family at its winter
residence—Villa Eliada. The one month vacation in this city worked
wonders for Rizal. This is where he was able to finish his second novel El
Filibusterismo.
• March 30, 1891, Rizal bade farewell to the hospitable and friendly
Bousteads and proceeded to Paris by Train. He stayed at the home of his
friend Valentin Ventura.
 RETIREMENT FROM THE PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT

• April 1891, Rizal was back to Brussels where he became busy revising and polishing the manuscript of El
Filibusterismo.
• Rizal retired from the Propaganda Movement. He notified the Propaganda authorities in Manila to
cancel his monthly allowance and devote the money to some better cause, such as the education of a
young Filipino student in Europe. He desired to publish his second novel, to practice his medical
profession, and later when he became financially independent, he expected to make a more vigorous
campaign for his country’s redemption.
 RETIREMENT FROM THE
PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT
• Simultaneously with his retirement from the Propaganda Movement,
Rizal ceased writing articles for La Solidaridad. Many of his friends in
Spain urged him to continue writing because his articles always
attracted considerable attention in European countries.
• M.H. Del Pilar himself realized the need for Rizal’s collaboration in
both the Propaganda Movement and in the La Solidaridad newspaper
because the enthusiasm for the reform crusade was declining. He
wrote to Rizal begging for forgiveness for any resentment and
requesting him to resume writing for La Solidaridad.
• Rizal replied to Del Pilar’s letter, denying any resentment and explaining
why he stopped writing. Below are reasons why Rizal stopped writing
for La Solidaridad:
a.) Rizal need to work on his book ;
b) He wanted other Filipinos to work also;
c) Rizal considered it very important to the party that there be unity in the
work ;
d) Marcelo H. Del Pilar is already at the top and Rizal also has his own
ideas it is better to leave del Pilar alone to direct the policy.
 THE PRINTING OF
THE EL FILIBUSTERISMO

• July 5, 1891- Rizal left Brussels for Ghent, a famous university city in Belgium because
the cost of printing in Ghent was cheaper than in Brussels. F. Meyer-Van Loo Press-a
printing shop that gave Rizal the lowest quotation for the publication of his novel.
• August 6, 1891-the printing of his book had to be suspended because Rizal could no
longer give the necessary funds to the printer. Valentin Ventura- the savior of the Fili,
when he learned of Rizal’s predicament he sent him the necessary funds.
• September 18, 1891- El Filibusterismo came off the press. Rizal gratefully donated the
original manuscript and an autographed printed copy to Valentin Ventura