questioned Spanish authorities and demanded reforms.

The martyrdom of the three

priests apparently helped to inspire the organization of the Propaganda Movement,
which aimed to seek reforms and inform Spain of the abuses of its colonial
government.
The illustrados led the Filipinos� quest for reforms. Because of their education
and newly acquired wealth, they felt more confident about voicing out popular
grievances. However, since the illustrados themselves were a result of the changes
that the Spanish government had been slowly implementing, the group could not
really push very hard for the reforms it wanted. The illustrados did not succeed in
easing the sufferings of the Filipinos; but from this group arose another faction
called the intelligentsia. The intelligentsia also wanted reforms; but they were
more systematic and used a peaceful means called the Propaganda Movement.
Goals of the Propaganda Movement
Members of the Propaganda Movement were called propagandists or reformists. They
worked inside and outside the Philippines.

The Propaganda Movement never asked for Philippine independence because its members
believed that once Spain realized the pitiful state of the country, the Spaniards
would implement the changes the Filipinos were seeking.
The Propagandists
The Filipinos in Europe were much more active in seeking reforms than those in
Manila. They could be divided into three groups: The first included Filipinos who
had been exiled to the Marianas Islands in 1872 after being implicated in the
Cavite Mutiny. After two many years in the Marianas, they proceeded to Madrid and
Barcelona because they could no longer return

to the Philippines. The second group consisted of illustrados in the Philippines

who had been sent to Europe for their education. The third group was composed of
Filipinos who had fled their country to avoid punishment for a crime, or simply
because they could not stand Spanish atrocities any longer. Still, not all
Filipinos living in Spain were members of the Propaganda Movement. Jose Rizal,
Graciano Lopez Jaena and Marcelo H. del Pilar were it most prominent members.
Lopez Jaena was a brilliant orator who wrote such pieces as 'Fray Botod,'
'Esperanza,' and 'La Hija del Fraile,' which all criticized the abuses of Spanish
friars in the Philippines. Del Pilar was an excellent writer and speaker who put up
the newspaper Diarion Tagalog in 1882. His favorite topic was the friars. Some of
his most popular writings included 'Caiingat Cayo', 'Dasalan at Tocsohan,' and 'Ang
Sampung Kautusan ng mga Prayle'. 'Caingat Cayo' was a pamphlet answering the
criticisms received by Jose Rizal�s novel Noli Me Tangere. 'Dasalan�' was parody of
the prayer books used by the Church, while 'Ang Sampung Kautusan�' was a satirical
take on the Ten Commandments, which highly ridiculed the Spanish friars.
Jose Rizal was recognized as the great novelist of the Propaganda Movement. He was
the first Filipino become famous for his written works. He wrote a poem entitled
�Sa Aking mga Kababata� when he was only eight years old. His novels, Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, clearly depicted the sufferings of the Filipinos and
the rampant abuses committed by the friars in the colony. Because of his criticisms
of the government and the friars, Rizal made a lot of enemies. He was executed at
Bagumbayan (later renamed Luneta Park and now called Rizal Park) on December 30,
1896.
The writings produced by the Propaganda Movement inspired Andres Bonifacio and
other radicals to establish the Katipunan and set the Philippine Revolution in
place.

This article is based on a talk given by the author to students and faculty of the
University of London 's School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) in September
1999. Translations of Filipino poems cited in this piece are all by the author.
Do not go gentle into that good night
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
�Dylan Thomas
Those who are awake have a world in common,
but every sleeper has a world of his own.
�Heraclitus