INTRODUCTION

The second and last novel completed by José Rizal (though he left behind the unfinished manuscript of a
third one), El Filibusterismo is a sequel to Noli Me Tangere. A dark, brooding, at times satirical novel of
revenge, unfulfilled love, and tragedy, the Fili (as it is popularly referred to) still has as its protagonist Juan
Crisóstomo Ibarra. Thirteen years older, his idealism and youthful dreams shattered, and taking advantage of
the belief that he died at the end of Noli Me Tangere, he is disguised as Simoun, an enormously wealthy and
mysterious jeweler who has gained the confidence of the colony’s governor-general.

A number of other characters from the Noli reappear, among them: Basilio, whose mother and younger
brother Crispin met tragic ends; Father Salví, the devious former curate of San Diego responsible for
Crispin’s death, and who had lusted after Ibarra’s love, María Clara; the idealistic schoolmaster from San
Diego; Captain Tiago, the wealthy widower and legal father of María Clara; and Doña Victorina de
Espadaña and her Spanish husband, the faux doctor Tiburcio, now hiding from her with the indio priest
Father Florentino at his remote parish on the Pacific coast.

Where Ibarra had argued eloquently against violence to reform Manila society, Simoun is eager to foment it
in order to get his revenge: against Father Salví, and against the Spanish colonial state. He hopes to liberate
the love of his life, María Clara, from her suffocating life as a cloistered nun, and the islands from the
tyranny of Spain. As confidant to the governor-general, he advises him in such a manner as to make the state
even more oppressive, hoping thereby to force the masses to revolt. Simoun has a few conspirators, such as
the schoolmaster and a Chinese merchant, Quiroga, who aid him in planning terroristic acts. In sum, Simoun
has become an agent provocateur on a grand scale.

Basilio, now a young man, has risen from poverty to become Captain Tiago’s charge. Close to acquiring his
medical degree, he is pledged to Julí, the beautiful daughter of Cabesang Tales, a prosperous farmer whose
land is taken away from him by the friars. Tales subsequently murders his oppressors, turns to banditry, and
becomes the scourge of the countryside.

In contrast to Simoun’s path of armed revolution, a group of university students—among them, Isagani,
Peláez, and Makaraig—push for the founding of an academy devoted to teaching Castilian, in line with a
decree from Madrid. Opposed even to such a benign reform, the friars manage to co-opt the plan.
Subsequently the students are accused of being behind flyers that call for rebellion against the state. Most
observers see the hand of the friars in this whole affair, which results in the incarceration of the student
leaders, even of Basilio, though he was not involved, and the break-up between Isagani and the beauteous
Paulita Gómez, who agrees to marry the wealthy Peláez, much to the delight of Doña Victorina, who has
favored him all along.

In the meantime, Tiago, addicted to opium, dies of a drug overdose while attended to by Father Irene. A
meager inheritance is all that is given to Basilio and all the incarcerated students are soon released except for
him. Julí approaches Father Camorra to request him to obtain Basilio’s release. The friar attempts to rape her
but she commits suicide rather than submit to his lustful designs. Released from prison, with Julí dead and
his prospects considerably dimmed, Basilio, one of the few who knows who Simoun really is, reluctantly
becomes a part of the latter’s plot.

The lavish wedding celebration is to be held at the former residence of Captain Tiago, purchased by Don
Timoteo Peláez, the bridegroom’s father. Simoun has mined the residence, so it will blow up once a fancy
lamp—packed with nitroglycerin, it is Simoun’s wedding gift—has its wick lit. The resulting assassination
of the social and political elite gathered at the feast will be the signal for armed uprising. But Isagani,
informed by Basilio of what will happen, rushes into the house, snatches the lamp, and throws it into the
river, and in the confusion is able to escape.

The planned uprising is aborted, and Simoun’s true identity is finally revealed, partly through a note he
leaves for Father Salví at the feast. Wounded, he eludes capture and manages to seek refuge at Father
Florentino’s residence. There, he commits suicide but not before revealing to the priest what he has wrought.
He leaves behind his case of jewels, which the good father throws into the sea, with the injunction that the
precious stones yield themselves only when the country needs them for a “holy, sublime reason” (p. 328).

ABOUT JOSÉ RIZALBorn on June 19, 1861, José Rizal was from an upper-class Filipino family. His
mother, Teodora Alonso, a highly educated woman, exerted a powerful influence on his intellectual
development. He would grow up to be a brilliant polymath, doctor, fencer, essayist, and novelist, among
other things.

By the late nineteenth century, the Spanish empire was in irreversible decline. Spain had ruled the islands
since 1565, except for a brief hiatus when the British occupied them in 1762. The colonial government was
unresponsive and often cruel, with the religious establishment wielding as much power as the state. Clerical
abuses, European ideas of liberalism, and growing international trade fueled a burgeoning national
consciousness. For Rizal and his generation, the 1872 Cavite Mutiny, in which three native priests were
accused of treason and publicly executed, provided both inspiration and a cautionary tale.

Educated at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila and the Dominican University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Rizal
left for Spain in 1882, where he studied medicine and the liberal arts, with further studies in Paris and
Heidelberg. The charismatic Rizal quickly became a leading light of the Propaganda Movement—Filipino
expatriates advocating, through its newspaper, La Solidaridad, various reforms such as the integration of the
Philippines as a province of Spain, representation in the Cortes (the Spanish parliament), the Filipinization
of the clergy, and equality of Filipinos and Spaniards before the law. To Rizal, the main impediment to
reform lay not so much with the civil government but with the reactionary and powerful Franciscan,
Augustinian, and Dominican friars, who constituted a state within a state.

In 1887, he published his first novel, Noli Me Tangere, written in Spanish, a searing indictment of friar
abuse as well as of colonial rule’s shortcomings. That same year, he returned to Manila, where the Nolihad
been banned and its author now hated intensely by the friars. In 1888, he went to Europe once more, and
there wrote the sequel, El Filibusterismo (The Subversive), published in 1891. In addition, he annotated an
edition of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, showing that the Philippines had had a long
history before the advent of the Spaniards. Rizal returned to Manila in 1892 and founded a reform society,
La Liga Filipina, before being exiled to Dapitan, in Mindanao, Southern Philippines. There he devoted
himself to scientific research and public works. Well-known as an ophthalmologist, he was visited by an
English patient, accompanied by his ward, Josephine Bracken, who would be his last and most serious
romantic involvement.

In August of 1896, the Katipunan, a nationalist secret society, launched the revolution against Spain. Its
leaders venerated Rizal and tried to persuade him to their cause. He refused, convinced that the time was not
yet ripe for armed struggle. In the meantime he volunteered to serve as a doctor with the Spanish forces
fighting against Cuban revolutionaries. En route, Rizal was arrested and subjected to a mock trial in Manila
by the authorities although he had nothing to do with the revolution. Found guilty, he was, at the age of
thirty-five, shot at dawn on December 30, 1896. On the eve of his execution, Rizal pennedMi Ultimo
Adios (“My Last Farewell”), considered a masterpiece of nineteenth-century Spanish verse.

Rizal’s martyrdom only intensified the ultimately successful fight for independence from Spain. Because of
his role in shaping his country’s destiny, José Rizal is often described as the “First Filipino” and has since
served as an inspiration to countless nationalists and intellectuals.

El Filibusterismo
The word "filibustero" wrote Rizal to his friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, is very little
known in the Philippines. The masses do not know it yet.

Jose Alejandro, one of the new Filipinos who had been quite intimate with Rizal, said,
"in writing the Noli Rizal signed his own death warrant." Subsequent events, after the
fate of the Noli was sealed by the Spanish authorities, prompted Rizal to write the
continuation of his first novel. He confessed, however, that regretted very much
having killed Elias instead of Ibarra, reasoning that when he published the Noli his
health was very much broken, and was very unsure of being able to write the
continuation and speak of a revolution.

Explaining to Marcelo H. del Pilar his inability to contribute articles to the La

Solidaridad, Rizal said that he was haunted by certain sad presentiments, and that he
had been dreaming almost every night of dead relatives and friends a few days before
his 29th birthday, that is why he wanted to finish the second part of the Noli at all
costs.

Consequently, as expected of a determined character, Rizal apparently went in

writing, for to his friend, Blumentritt, he wrote on March 29, 1891: "I have finished
my book. Ah! I’ve not written it with any idea of vengeance against my enemies, but
only for the good of those who suffer and for the rights of Tagalog humanity,
although brown and not good-looking."

To a Filipino friend in Hong Kong, Jose Basa, Rizal likewise eagerly announced the
completion of his second novel. Having moved to Ghent to have the book published at
cheaper cost, Rizal once more wrote his friend, Basa, in Hongkong on July 9, 1891: "I
am not sailing at once, because I am now printing the second part of the Noli here, as
you may see from the enclosed pages. I prefer to publish it in some other way before
leaving Europe, for it seemed to me a pity not to do so. For the past three months I
have not received a single centavo, so I have pawned all that I have in order to
publish this book. I will continue publishing it as long as I can; and when there is
nothing to pawn I will stop and return to be at your side."

Inevitably, Rizal’s next letter to Basa contained the tragic news of the suspension of
the printing of the sequel to his first novel due to lack of funds, forcing him to stop
and leave the book half-way. "It is a pity," he wrote Basa, "because it seems to me
that this second part is more important than the first, and if I do not finish it here, it
will never be finished."

Fortunately, Rizal was not to remain in despair for long. A compatriot, Valentin
Ventura, learned of Rizal’s predicament. He offered him financial assistance. Even
then Rizal’s was forced to shorten the novel quite drastically, leaving only thirty-eight
chapters compared to the sixty-four chapters of the first novel.

Rizal moved to Ghent, and writes Jose Alejandro. The sequel to Rizal’s Noli came off
the press by the middle of September, 1891.On the 18th he sent Basa two copies,
and Valentin Ventura the original manuscript and an autographed printed copy.

Inspired by what the word filibustero connoted in relation to the circumstances

obtaining in his time, and his spirits dampened by the tragic execution of the three
martyred priests, Rizal aptly titled the second part of the Noli Me Tangere, El
Filibusterismo. In veneration of the three priests, he dedicated the book to them.
"To the memory of the priests, Don Mariano Gomez (85 years old), Don Jose Burgos
(30 years old), and Don Jacinto Zamora (35 years old). Executed in the Bagumbayan
Field on the 28th of February, 1872."

"The church, by refusing to degrade you, has placed in doubt the crime that has been
imputed to you; the Government, by surrounding your trials with mystery and
shadows causes the belief that there was some error, committed in fatal moments;
and all the Philippines, by worshipping your memory and calling you martyrs, in no
sense recognizes your culpability. In so far, therefore, as your complicity in the Cavite
Mutiny is not clearly proved, as you may or may not have been patriots, and as you
may or may not cherished sentiments for justice and for liberty, I have the right to
dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil which I undertake to combat. And
while we await expectantly upon Spain some day to restore your good name and
cease to be answerable for your death, let these pages serve as a tardy wreath of
dried leaves over one who without clear proofs attacks your memory stains his hands
in your blood."

Rizal’s memory seemed to have failed him, though, for Father Gomez was then 73 not
85, Father Burgos 35 not 30 Father Zamora 37 not 35; and the date of execution
17th not 28th.

The FOREWORD of the Fili was addressed to his beloved countrymen, thus:

"TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE AND THEIR GOVERNMENT"

Mga tauhan:
Ang nobelang "El Filibusterismo" ay isinulat ng ating magiting na bayaning si Dr. Jose
Rizal na buong pusong inalay sa tatlong paring martir, na lalong kilala sa bansag na
GOMBURZA - Gomez, Burgos, Zamora.

Tulad ng "Noli Me Tangere", ang may-akda ay dumanas ng hirap habang isinusulat

ito. Sinimulan niyang isulat ito sa London, Inglatera noong 1890 at ang malaking
bahagi nito ay naisulat niya sa Bruselas, Belgica. Natapos ang kanyang akda noong
Marso 29, 1891. Isang Nagngangalang Valentin Viola na isa niyang kaibigan ang
nagpahiram ng pera sa kanya upang maipalimbag ang aklat noong Setyembre 22,
1891.
Ang nasabing nobela ay pampulitika na nagpapadama, nagpapahiwatig at nagpapagising pang lalo sa maalab na
hangaring makapagtamo ng tunay na kalayaan at karapatan ang bayan.

Mga Tauhan:
Simoun
Ang mapagpanggap na mag-aalahas na nakasalaming may kulay
Isagani
Ang makatang kasintahan ni Paulita
Basilio
Ang mag-aaral ng medisina at kasintahan ni Juli
Kabesang Tales
Ang naghahangad ng karapatan sa pagmamay- ari ng lupang sinasaka na inaangkin ng mga prayle
Tandang Selo
Ama ni Kabesang Tales na nabaril ng kanyang sariling apo
Ginoong Pasta
Ang tagapayo ng mga prayle sa mga suliraning legal
Ben-zayb
Ang mamamahayag sa pahayagan
Placido Penitente
Ang mag-aaral na nawalan ng ganang mag-aral sanhi ng suliraning pampaaralan
Padre Camorra
Ang mukhang artilyerong pari
Padre Fernandez
Ang paring Dominikong may malayang paninindigan
Padre Florentino
Ang amain ni Isagani
Don Custodio
Ang kilala sa tawag na Buena Tinta
Padre Irene
Ang kaanib ng mga kabataan sa pagtatatag ng Akademya ng Wikang Kastila
Juanito Pelaez
Ang mag-aaral na kinagigiliwan ng mga propesor; nabibilang sa kilalang angkang may dugong Kastila
Makaraig
Ang mayamang mag-aaral na masigasig na nakikipaglaban para sa pagtatatag ng Akademya ng Wikang
Kastila ngunit biglang nawala sa oras ng kagipitan.
Sandoval
Ang kawaning Kastila na sang-ayon o panig sa ipinaglalaban ng mga mag-aaral
Donya Victorina
Ang mapagpanggap na isang Europea ngunit isa namang Pilipina; tiyahin ni Paulita
Paulita Gomez
Kasintahan ni Isagani ngunit nagpakasal kay Juanito Pelaez
Quiroga
Isang mangangalakal na Intsik na nais magkaroon ng konsulado sa Pilipinas
Juli
Anak ni Kabesang Tales at katipan naman ni Basilio
Hermana Bali
Naghimok kay Juli upang humingi ng tulong kay Padre Camorra
Hermana Penchang
Ang mayaman at madasaling babae na pinaglilingkuran ni Juli
Ginoong Leeds
Ang misteryosong Amerikanong nagtatanghal sa perya
Imuthis
Ang mahiwagang ulo sa palabas ni G. Leeds
Synopsis of Jose Rizal's Novel, "El Filibusterismo"
This article is based on Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo. This novel is a sequel to the Noli. It has a
little humor, less idealism, and less romance than the Noli Me Tangere. It is more revolutionary
and more tragic than the first novel.

Explaining Simoun, The Main Character in "El Filibusterismo"

The hero of El Filibusterismo is a rich jeweler named Simoun. He was Crisostomo Ibarra of the
Noli, who, with Elias’ help, escaped from the pursuing soldiers at Laguna de Bay, dug up his
buried treasure, and fled to Cuba where he became rich and befriended many Spanish officials.
After many years he returned to the Philippines, where he freely moved around. He is a powerful
figure not only because he is a rich jeweler, but also because he is a good friend and adviser of
the governor general.
Outwardly, Simoun is a friend of Spain. However, deep in his heart, he is secretly cherishing a
terrible revenge against the Spanish authorities. His two obsessions are rescuing Maria Clara from
the nunnery of Santa Clara, and fomenting a revolution against their hated Spanish masters.
Synopsis of the Beginning Chapters of "El Filibusterismo"
The story of El Filibusterismo begins on board the clumsy, roundish shaped steamer Tabo, so
appropriately named. This steamer is sailing upstream the Pasig from Manila to Laguna de Bay.
Among the passengers are Simoun, the rich jeweler; Doña Victorina, the ridiculously pro-Spanish
native woman who is going to Laguna in search of her henpecked husband, Tiburcio de
Espadaña, who has deserted her; Paulita Gomez, her beautiful niece; Ben-Zayb (anagram of
Ibañez), a Spanish journalist who writes silly articles about the Filipinos; Padre Sibyla, vice-rector
of the University of Santo Tomas; Padre Camorra, the parish priest of the town of Tiani; Don
Custodio, a pro-spanish Filipino holding a position in the government; Padre Salvi, thin Franciscan
friar and former cura of San Diego; Padre Irene, a kind friar who was a friend of the Filipino
students; Padre Florentino, a retired scholarly and patriotic Filipino priest; Isagani, a poet-nephew
of Padre Florentino and a lover of Paulita; and Basilio, son of Sisa and promising medical student,
whose medical education is financed by his patron, Capitan Tiago.

Simoun, a man of wealth and mystery, is a very close friend and confidante of the Spanish
governor general. Because of his great influence in Malacañang, he was called the “Brown
Cardinal” or the “Black Eminence”. By using his wealth and political influence, he encourages
corruption in the government, promotes the oppression of the masses, and hastens the moral
degradation of the country so that the people may become desperate and fight. He smuggles arms
into the country with the help of a rich Chinese merchant, Quiroga, who wants very much to be
Chinese consul of Manila. His first attempt to begin the armed uprising did not materialize because
at the last hour he hears the sad news that Maria Clara died in the nunnery. In his agonizing
moment of bereavement, he did not give the signal for the outbreak of hostilities.

Synopsis of the Middle Chapters of "El Filibusterismo"

After a long time of illness brought about by the bitter loss of Maria Clara, Simoun perfects his plan
to overthrow the government. On the occasion of the wedding of Paulita Gomez and Juanito
Pelaez, he gives a wedding gift to them a beautiful lamp. Only he and his confidential associates,
Basilio (Sisa’s son who joined his revolutionary cause), know that when the wick of his lamp burns
lower the nitroglycerine, hidden in its secret compartment, will explode, destroying the house
where the wedding feast is going to be held killing all the guests, including the governor general,
the friars, and the government officials. Simultaneously, all the government buildings in Manila will
be blown by Simoun’s followers.
As the wedding feast begins, the poet Isagani, who has been rejected by Paulita because of his
liberal ideas, is standing outside the house, watching sorrowfully the merriment inside. Basilio, his
friend, warns him to go away because the lightened lamp will soon explode.
Upon hearing the horrible secret of the lamp, Isagani realizes that his beloved Paulita was in grave
danger. To save her life, he rushes into the house, seizes the lightened lamp, and hurls it into the
river, where it explodes.

Synopsis of the Ending Chapters of "El Filibusterismo"

Upon hearing the horrible secret of the lamp, Isagani realizes that his beloved Paulita was in grave
danger. To save her life, he rushes into the house, seizes the lightened lamp, and hurls it into the
river, where it explodes.
The revolutionary plot was thus discovered. Simoun was cornered by the soldiers, but he escaped.
Mortally wounded, and carrying his treasure chest, he sought refuge in the home of Padre
Florentino by the sea.
The Spanish authorities, however, learns of his presence in the house of Padre Florentino.
Lieutenant Perez of the Guardia Civil informs the priest by letter that he would come at eight
o’clock that night to arrest Simoun.
Simoun eluded arrest by taking poison. As he is dying, he confesses to Padre Florentino,
revealing his true identity, his dastardly plan to use his wealth to avenge himself, and his sinister
aim to destroy his friends and enemies.
The confession of the dying Simoun is long and painful. It is already night when Padre Florentino,
wiping the sweat from his wrinkled brow, rises and begins to meditate. He consoles the dying man
saying: “God will forgive you Señor Simoun. He knows that we are fallible. He has seen that you
have suffered, and in ordaining that the chastisement for your faults should come as death from
the very ones you have instigated to crime, we can see His infinite mercy. He has frustrated your
plans one by one, the best conceived, first by the death of Maria Clara, then by a lack of
preparation, then in some mysterious way. Let us bow to His will and render Him thanks!”
Watching Simoun die peacefully with a clear conscience and at peace with God. Padre Florentino
falls upon his knees and prays for the dead jeweler. He takes the treasure chest and throws it into
the sea; as the waves close over the sinking chest.
El filibusterismo (lit. Spanish for "filibustering"; The Subversive or Subversion, as in the Locsín
English translation, are also possible translations), also known by its English alternative title The
Reign of Greed,[1] is the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the
sequel to Noli me tangere and, like the first book was written in Spanish. It was first published in
1891 in Ghent.
The novel's dark theme departs dramatically from the previous novel's hopeful and romantic
atmosphere, signifying the character Ibarra's resort to solving his country's issues through violent
means, after his previous attempt at reforming the country's system have made no effect and
seemed impossible with the attitudes of the Spaniards towards the Filipinos. The novel, along with
its predecessor, was banned in some parts of the Philippines as a result of their portrayals of the
Spanish government's abuse and corruption. These novels along with Rizal's involvement in
organizations that aim to address and reform the Spanish system and its issues led to Rizal's exile
to Dapitan and eventual execution. Both the novel and its predecessor, along with Rizal's last
poem, are now considered Rizal's literary masterpieces.
Both of Rizal's novels had a profound effect on Philippine society in terms of views about national
identity, the Catholic faith and its influence on Filipino's choice, and the government's issues of
corruption, abuse, and discrimination, and on a larger scale, the issues related to the effect of
colonization on people's lives and the cause for independence. These novels later on indirectly
became the inspiration to start the Philippine Revolution.
Throughout the Philippines, the reading of both the novel and its predecessor is
now mandatory for high school students throughout the archipelago, although it is now read using
English, Filipino, and the Philippines' regional languages.
PLOT

Thirteen years after the events of Noli me tangere, Crisostomo Ibarra returns to
the Philippines under the guise of Simoun, a wealthy bearded jewelry tycoon sporting blue-tinted
glasses, and a confidant of the Captain-General. Abandoning his idealism, he becomes a cynical
saboteur and agitator, seeking revenge against the Spanish Philippine system responsible for his
misfortunes by plotting a revolution. Simoun insinuates himself into Manila high society and
influences every decision of the Captain-General to mismanage the country’s affairs so that a
revolution will break out. He cynically sides with the upper classes, encouraging them to commit
abuses against the masses to encourage the latter to revolt against the oppressive Spanish
colonial regime. This time, he does not attempt to fight the authorities through legal and peaceful
means, but through violent revolution using the masses. His two reasons for instigating a
revolution are at first, to rescue María Clara from the convent and second, to get rid of the ills and
evils of Philippine society.
A now grown-up Basilio visits the grave of his deranged mother, Sisa, in a forested land owned by
the Ibarra family one evening. Near the gravesite, Simoun digs for his buried treasures. His
identity is discovered by Basilio when the two happen to meet up just as the latter leaves Sisa's
grave to go home. Simoun spares Basilio's life and tells his story of his past, then asks him to join
in his planned revolution against the government, egging him on by bringing up the tragic
misfortunes of the latter's family. Basilio declines the offer as he still hopes that the country’s
condition will improve.
Basilio, at this point, is a graduating medical student at the Ateneo Municipal. After the death of his
mother, Sisa, and the disappearance of his younger brother, Crispín, Basilio heeded the advice of
the dying boatman, Elías, and traveled to Manila to study. Basilio was adopted by Capitan Tiago
after María Clara entered the convent. With the help of the Ibarra's riches and Capitan Tiago,
Basilio was able to go to Colegio de San Juan de Letrán where, at first, he is frowned upon by his
peers and teachers because of his skin color and his shabby appearance but is able to win their
favor after winning a fencing tournament. Capitan Tiago’s confessor, Father Irene is making
Captain Tiago’s health worse by giving him opium even as Basilio tries hard to prevent Capitan
Tiago from smoking it. He and other students want to establish a Spanish language academy so
that they can learn to speak and write Spanish despite the opposition from the Dominican friars of
the Universidad de Santo Tomás. With the help of a reluctant Father Irene as their mediator and
Don Custodio’s decision, the academy is established, but this turns bad as they will serve, not as
the teachers but as caretakers of the school. Dejected and defeated, they hold a mock celebration
at a pancitería while a spy for the friars witnesses the proceedings. Basilio, however, did not show
up during the event.
Simoun, for his part, keeps in close contact with the bandit group of Kabesang Tales, a
former cabeza de barangay who suffered misfortunes at the hands of the friars. Once a farmer
owning a prosperous sugarcane plantation, Tales was forced to give everything he had owned to
the greedy, unscrupulous Spanish friars and the Church. His son, Tano, who became a Civil
Guard, was captured by bandits; his daughter Julî had to work as a maid under Hermana
Penchang to get enough ransom money for Tano's freedom; and his father, Tandang Selo,
became mute. Before joining the bandits, Tales took Simoun’s revolver while Simoun was staying
at his house for the night. As payment, Tales leaves a locket that once belonged to María Clara.
To further strengthen the revolution, Simoun has Quiroga, a Chinese businessman hoping for
a consul position in the Philippines, smuggle weaponry to the country, using the latter’s bazaar as
a front. Simoun plans to attack during a stage play with all of his enemies in attendance. On the
afternoon of the day the attack is supposed to happen, Basilio informs Simoun of María Clara's
death in the convent during the morning hours of the day. A heartbroken Simoun abruptly aborts
his plan in order to mourn her death.
A few years after the mock celebration by the students, the people are agitated when disturbing
posters are found displayed around the city. The students present at the[which?]pancitería (that is to
say, a local noodle shop) are arrested on charges of agitation and disturbing the peace. Basilio,
although not present at the mock celebration, is also arrested. Capitan Tiago dies after learning of
the incident. But before he dies he signs a will; unknown to him, it was forged by Father Irene.
Tiago's will originally stated that Basilio should inherit all his property; but due to this forgery his
property is given in parts, one to Santa Clara, one for the archbishop, one for the Pope, and one
for the religious orders, leaving nothing for Basilio to inherit. Basilio is left in prison as the other
students are released. A high official tries to intervene for the release of Basilio but the Captain-
General, bearing grudges against the high official, coerces him to tender his resignation. Julî,
Basilio’s sweetheart and the daughter of Kabesang Tales, tries to ask Father Camorra's help upon
the advice of Hermana Bali.[who?] The two travel to the convent, but during a rendezvous, Camorra
tries to rape Julî, due to his long-hidden desires for young women. Hermana Bali tries to intervene
to stop Camorra's immoral act but is outmatched by the friar. Julî, finding herself trapped and
being cornered by the friar, jumps from the convent's window to her death. Simoun arranges for
Basilio's release and manages to get him out of confinement.
After Basilio is released, Simoun tells him about Julî's ordeal with Camorra and her suicide. Basilio
decides to join Simoun’s revolution. Simoun then tells Basilio his plan at the wedding of Paulita
Gómez and Juanito Pelaez, Basilio’s hunch-backed classmate. He plans to conceal an explosive
charge of nitroglycerin inside a pomegranate-styled kerosene lamp that Simoun will give to the
newlyweds as a gift during the wedding reception. The reception is to take place at the former
home of the late Capitan Tiago, which is now filled with explosives planted by Simoun. According
to Simoun, the lamp will stay lighted for only twenty minutes before it flickers; if someone attempts
to turn the wick, it will explode and kill everyone—important members of civil society and the
Church hierarchy—inside the house. Basilio has a change of heart and attempts to warn Isagani,
his friend and the former sweetheart of Paulita. Simoun leaves the reception early as planned and
leaves a note behind:

“ Mene Thecel Phares. ”

Initially thinking that it is simply a bad joke, Father Salví recognizes the handwriting and confirms
that it is indeed Ibarra’s. As people begin to panic, the lamp flickers. Father Irene tries to turn the
wick up when Isagani, due to his undying love for Paulita, bursts in the room and throws the lamp
into the river, sabotaging Simoun's plans. He escapes by diving into the river as guards chase
after him. He later regrets his impulsive action: The explosion and revolution could have fulfilled
his ideals for Filipino society; he had contradicted his own belief that he loved his nation more than
he loved Paulita.
Simoun, now unmasked as the perpetrator of the attempted arson and failed revolution, becomes
a fugitive. Wounded and exhausted after being shot by the pursuing Guardia Civil, he seeks
shelter at the home of Father Florentino, Isagani’s uncle, and comes under the care of doctor
Tiburcio de Espadaña, Doña Victorina's husband, who was also hiding at the house. Simoun takes
poison in order not to be captured alive. Before he dies, he reveals his real identity to Florentino
while they exchange thoughts about the failure of his revolution and why God forsook him, when
all he wanted was to avenge the people important to him that were wronged, such as Elias, Maria
Clara, and his father Don Rafael. Florentino opines that God did not forsake him and that his plans
were not for the greater good but for personal gain. Simoun, finally accepting Florentino’s
explanation, squeezes his hand and dies. Florentino then takes Simoun’s remaining jewels and
throws them into the Pacific Ocean with the corals hoping that they would not be used by the
greedy, and that when the time came they would be used for the greater good.

ABOUT EL FILIBUSTERISMO

In the spirit of The Count of Monte Cristo and Les Misérables, a major new translation-José
Rizal’s stunning continuation of Noli Me Tangere.

José Rizal was one of the leading champions of Filipino nationalism and independence. His
masterpiece, Noli Me Tangere, is widely considered to be the foundational novel of the
Philippines. In this riveting continuation, which picks up the story thirteen years later, Rizal departs
from the Noli’s themes of innocent love and martyrdom to present a gripping tale of obsession and
revenge. Clearly demonstrating Rizal’s growth as a writer, and influenced by his exposure to
international events, El Filibusterismo is a thrilling and suspenseful account of Filipino resistance
to colonial rule that still resonates today.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the
English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global
bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust
the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished
scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning
translators.
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda,[7] widely known as José Rizal (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse
riˈsal]; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896), was a Filipino nationalist and polymath during the tail end of
the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal became a writer and a
key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement which advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain.
He was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion after the Philippine Revolution,
inspired in part by his writings, broke out. Though he was not actively involved in its planning or conduct, he
ultimately approved of its goals which eventually led to Philippine independence.
He is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines and has been recommended to be so
honored by an officially empaneled National Heroes Committee. However, no law, executive order or
proclamation has been enacted or issued officially proclaiming any Filipino historical figure as a national
hero.[8] He was the author of the novels Noli Me Tángere[9] and El filibusterismo,[10] and a number of poems and
essays.[

Early life
José Rizal was born in 1861 to Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso in the town
of Calamba in Laguna province. He had nine sisters and one brother. His parents were leaseholders of
a hacienda and an accompanying rice farm by the Dominicans. Both their families had adopted the additional
surnames of Rizal and Realonda in 1849, after Governor General Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa decreed the
adoption of Spanish surnames among the Filipinos for census purposes (though they already had Spanish
names).
Like many families in the Philippines, the Rizals were of mixed origin. José's patrilineal lineage could be traced
back to Fujian in China through his father's ancestor Lam-Co, a Chinese merchant who immigrated to the
Philippines in the late 17th century.[13][14][note 1][15] Lam-Co traveled to Manila from Amoy, China, possibly to avoid the
famine or plague in his home district, and more probably to escape the Manchuinvasion. He finally decided to
stay in the islands as a farmer. In 1697, to escape the bitter anti-Chinese prejudice that existed in
the Philippines, he converted to Catholicism, changed his name to Domingo Mercado and married the daughter
of Chinese friend Augustin Chin-co. On his mother's side, Rizal's ancestry included Chinese, Japanese
and Tagalog blood. His mother's lineage can be traced to the affluent Florentina family of Chinese mestizo
families originating in Baliuag, Bulacan.[16] José Rizal also had Spanish ancestry. His grandfather was a half
Spaniard engineer named Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo.[17]
From an early age, José showed a precocious intellect. He learned the alphabet from his mother at 3, and could
read and write at age 5.[14] Upon enrolling at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, he dropped the last three names
that made up his full name, on the advice of his brother, Paciano and the Mercado family, thus rendering his
name as "José Protasio Rizal". Of this, he later wrote: "My family never paid much attention [to our second
surname Rizal], but now I had to use it, thus giving me the appearance of an illegitimate child!"[18] This was to
enable him to travel freely and disassociate him from his brother, who had gained notoriety with his earlier links
to Filipino priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora(popularly known as Gomburza) who had
been accused and executed for treason.
Despite the name change, José, as "Rizal" soon distinguished himself in poetry writing contests, impressing his
professors with his facility with Castilian and other foreign languages, and later, in writing essays that were
critical of the Spanish historical accounts of the pre-colonial Philippine societies. Indeed, by 1891, the year he
finished his El Filibusterismo, this second surname had become so well known that, as he writes to another
friend, "All my family now carry the name Rizal instead of Mercado because the name Rizal means persecution!
Good! I too want to join them and be worthy of this family name..."[18]

Education
Rizal first studied under Justiniano Aquino Cruz in Biñan, Laguna, before he was sent to Manila.[19] As to his
father's request, he took the entrance examination in Colegio de San Juan de Letran but he then enrolled at
the Ateneo Municipal de Manila and graduated as one of the nine students in his class declared sobresaliente or
outstanding. He continued his education at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila to obtain a land surveyor and
assessor's degree, and at the same time at the University of Santo Tomas where he did take up a preparatory
course in law.[20] Upon learning that his mother was going blind, he decided to switch to medicine at the medical
school of Santo Tomas specializing later in ophthalmology.
Without his parents' knowledge and consent, but secretly supported by his brother Paciano, he traveled alone
to Madrid, Spain in May 1882 and studied medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid where he earned the
degree, Licentiate in Medicine. He also attended medical lectures at the University of Paris and the University of
Heidelberg. In Berlin, he was inducted as a member of the Berlin Ethnological Society and the Berlin
Anthropological Society under the patronage of the famous pathologist Rudolf Virchow. Following custom, he
delivered an address in German in April 1887 before the Anthropological Society on the orthography and
structure of the Tagalog language. He left Heidelberg a poem, "A las flores del Heidelberg", which was both an
evocation and a prayer for the welfare of his native land and the unification of common values between East and
West.
At Heidelberg, the 25-year-old Rizal, completed in 1887 his eye specialization under the renowned professor,
Otto Becker. There he used the newly invented ophthalmoscope (invented by Hermann von Helmholtz) to later
operate on his own mother's eye. From Heidelberg, Rizal wrote his parents: "I spend half of the day in the study
of German and the other half, in the diseases of the eye. Twice a week, I go to the bierbrauerie, or beerhall, to
speak German with my student friends." He lived in a Karlstraße boarding house then moved to Ludwigsplatz.
There, he met Reverend Karl Ullmer and stayed with them in Wilhelmsfeld, where he wrote the last few chapters
of Noli Me Tángere.
Rizal was a polymath, skilled in both science and the arts. He painted, sketched, and made sculptures and
woodcarving. He was a prolific poet, essayist, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels, Noli
Me Tángere and its sequel, El filibusterismo.[note 2][9] These social commentaries during the Spanish colonization of
the country formed the nucleus of literature that inspired peaceful reformists and armed revolutionaries alike.
Rizal was also a polyglot, conversant in twenty-two languages.[note 3][note 4][21][22]
Rizal's multifacetedness was described by his German friend, Dr. Adolf Bernhard Meyer, as "stupendous."[note
5]
Documented studies show him to be a polymath with the ability to master various skills and
subjects.[21][23][23][24] He was an ophthalmologist, sculptor, painter, educator, farmer, historian, playwright and
journalist. Besides poetry and creative writing, he dabbled, with varying degrees of expertise, in
architecture, cartography, economics, ethnology, anthropology, sociology, dramatics, martial arts, fencing
and pistol shooting. He was also a Freemason, joining Acacia Lodge No. 9 during his time in Spain and
becoming a Master Mason in 1884.

Personal life, relationships and ventures

José Rizal's life is one of the most documented of 19th century Filipinos due to the vast and extensive records
written by and about him.[25]Almost everything in his short life is recorded somewhere, being himself a regular
diarist and prolific letter writer, much of the material having survived. His biographers, however, have faced
difficulty in translating his writings because of Rizal's habit of switching from one language to another.
They drew largely from his travel diaries with their insights of a young Asian encountering the West for the first
time. They included his later trips, home and back again to Europe through Japan and the United States,[26] and,
finally, through his self-imposed exile in Hong Kong.
Shortly after he graduated from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila (now Ateneo de Manila University), Rizal (who
was then 16 years old) and a friend, Mariano Katigbak, came to visit Rizal's maternal grandmother in Tondo,
Manila. Mariano brought along his sister, Segunda Katigbak, a 14-year-old Batangueña from Lipa, Batangas. It
was the first time they met and Rizal described Segunda as "rather short, with eyes that were eloquent and
ardent at times and languid at others, rosy–cheeked, with an enchanting and provocative smile that revealed
very beautiful teeth, and the air of a sylph; her entire self diffused a mysterious charm." His grandmother's
guests were mostly college students and they knew that Rizal had skills in painting. They suggested that Rizal
should make a portrait of Segunda. He complied reluctantly and made a pencil sketch of her. Unfortunately for
him, Katigbak was engaged to Manuel Luz.[27]
rom December 1891 to June 1892, Rizal lived with his family in Number 2 of Rednaxela Terrace, Mid-levels,
Hong Kong Island. Rizal used 5 D'Aguilar Street, Central district, Hong Kong Island, as his ophthalmologist clinic
from 2 pm to 6 pm. This period of his life included his recorded affections of which nine were identified. They
were Gertrude Beckett of Chalcot Crescent, London, wealthy and high-minded Nelly Boustead of the English
and Iberian merchant family, last descendant of a noble Japanese family Seiko Usui (affectionately called O-Sei-
san), his earlier friendship with Segunda Katigbak, Leonor Valenzuela, and eight-year romantic relationship with
a distant cousin, Leonor Rivera (popularly thought to be the inspiration for the character of María Clara in Noli
me tangere).

Affair
In one recorded fall from grace he succumbed to the temptation of a 'lady of the camellias'. The writer, Maximo
Viola, a friend of Rizal's, was alluding to Dumas's 1848 novel, La dame aux camelias, about a man who fell in
love with a courtesan. While the affair was on record, there was no account in Viola's letter whether it was more
than one-night and if it was more a business transaction than an amorous affair.
A crayon portrait of Leonor Rivera by José Rizal

Leonor Rivera is thought to be the inspiration for the character of Maria Clara in Noli Me Tángere and El
Filibusterismo.[30] Rivera and Rizal first met in Manila when Rivera was only 14 years old. When Rizal left for
Europe on May 3, 1882, Rivera was 16 years of age. Their correspondence began when Rizal left a poem for
Rivera saying farewell.[31]
The correspondence between Rivera and Rizal kept Rizal focused on his studies in Europe. They employed
codes in their letters because Rivera's mother did not favor Rizal. A letter from Mariano Katigbak dated June 27,
1884, referred to Rivera as Rizal's "betrothed". Katigbak described Rivera as having been greatly affected by
Rizal's departure, frequently sick because of insomnia.
When Rizal returned to the Philippines on August 5, 1887, Rivera and her family had moved back to Dagupan,
Pangasinan. Rizal was forbidden by his father Francisco Mercado to see Rivera in order to avoid putting the
Rivera family in danger because at the time Rizal was already labeled by the criollo elite as
a filibustero or subversive[31] because of his novel Noli Me Tángere. Rizal wanted to marry Rivera while he was
still in the Philippines because of Rivera's uncomplaining fidelity. Rizal asked permission from his father one
more time before his second departure from the Philippines. The meeting never happened. In 1888, Rizal
stopped receiving letters from Rivera for a year, although Rizal kept sending letters to Rivera. The reason for
Rivera's year of silence was the connivance between Rivera's mother and the Englishman named Henry
Kipping, a railway engineer who fell in love with Rivera and was favored by Rivera's mother.[31][32] The news of
Leonor Rivera's marriage to Kipping devastated Rizal.
His European friends kept almost everything he gave them, including doodlings on pieces of paper. In the home
of a Spanish liberal, Pedro Ortiga y Pérez, he left an impression that was to be remembered by his daughter,
Consuelo. In her diary, she wrote of a day Rizal spent there and regaled them with his wit, social graces, and
sleight-of-hand tricks. In London, during his research on Antonio de Morga's writings, he became a regular guest
in the home of Reinhold Rost of the British Museum who referred to him as "a gem of a man."[25][note 7] The family
of Karl Ullmer, pastor of Wilhelmsfeld, and the Blumentritts saved even buttonholes and napkins with sketches
and notes. They were ultimately bequeathed to the Rizal family to form a treasure trove of memorabilia.

Relationship with Josephine Bracken

Further information: Josephine Bracken

In February 1895, Rizal, 33, met Josephine Bracken, an Irish woman from Hong Kong, when she accompanied
her blind adoptive father, George Taufer, to have his eyes checked by Rizal.[33] After frequent visits, Rizal and
Bracken fell in love with each other. They applied to marry but, because of Rizal's reputation from his writings
and political stance, the local priest Father Obach would only hold the ceremony if Rizal could get permission
from the Bishop of Cebu. He was unable to obtain an ecclesiastical marriage because he would not return to
Catholicism.[6]
After accompanying her father to Manila on her return to Hong Kong, and before heading back to Dapitan to live
with Rizal, Josephine introduced herself to members of Rizal's family in Manila. His mother suggested a civil
marriage, which she believed to be a lesser sacrament but less sinful to Rizal's conscience than making any sort
of political retraction in order to gain permission from the Bishop.[34] Rizal and Josephine lived as husband and
wife in a common-law marriage in Talisay in Dapitan. The couple had a son who lived only for a few hours after
Josephine suffered a miscarriage; Rizal named him after his father Francisco.[35]
In Brussels and Spain (1890–92)
In 1890, Rizal, 29, left Paris for Brussels as he was preparing for the publication of his annotations of Antonio de
Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (1609). He lived in the boarding house of the two Jacoby sisters,
Catherina and Suzanna, who had a niece Suzanna ("Thil"), age 16. Historian Gregorio F. Zaide states that Rizal
had "his romance with Suzanne Jacoby, 45, the petite niece of his landladies." Belgian Pros Slachmuylders,
however, believed that Rizal had a romance with the 17-year-old niece, Suzanna Thil, as his other liaisons were
all with young women.[36] He found records clarifying their names and ages.
Rizal's Brussels stay was short-lived; he moved to Madrid, giving the young Suzanna a box of chocolates. She
wrote to him in French: "After your departure, I did not take the chocolate. The box is still intact as on the day of
your parting. Don’t delay too long writing us because I wear out the soles of my shoes for running to the mailbox
to see if there is a letter from you. There will never be any home in which you are so loved as in that in Brussels,
so, you little bad boy, hurry up and come back…"[36] In 2007, Slachmuylders' group arranged for an historical
marker honoring Rizal to be placed at the house.[36]
The content of Rizal's writings changed considerably in his two most famous novels, Noli Me Tángere, published
in Berlin in 1887, and El Filibusterismo, published in Ghent in 1891. For the latter, he used funds borrowed from
his friends. These writings angered both the Spanish colonial elite and many educated Filipinos due to their
symbolism. They are critical of Spanish friars and the power of the Church. Rizal's friend Ferdinand Blumentritt,
an Austria-Hungary-born professor and historian, wrote that the novel's characters were drawn from real life and
that every episode can be repeated on any day in the Philippines.[37]
Blumentritt was the grandson of the Imperial Treasurer at Vienna in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and a
staunch defender of the Catholic faith. This did not dissuade him from writing the preface of El
filibusterismo after he had translated Noli Me Tángere into German. As Blumentritt had warned, these books
resulted in Rizal's being prosecuted as the inciter of revolution. He was eventually tried by the military, convicted
and executed. Teaching the natives where they stood brought about an adverse reaction, as the Philippine
Revolution of 1896 took off virulently thereafter.
As leader of the reform movement of Filipino students in Spain, Rizal contributed essays, allegories, poems,
and editorials to the Spanish newspaper La Solidaridad in Barcelona (in this case Rizal used a pen name,
"Dimasalang", "Laong Laan" and "May Pagasa"). The core of his writings centers on liberal and progressive
ideas of individual rights and freedom; specifically, rights for the Filipino people. He shared the same sentiments
with members of the movement: that the Philippines is battling, in Rizal's own words, "a double-faced Goliath"—
corrupt friars and bad government. His commentaries reiterate the following agenda:[note 8]

 That the Philippines be made a province of Spain (The Philippines was a province of New Spain – now
Mexico, administered from Mexico city from 1565 to 1821. From 1821 to 1898 it was administered directly
from Spain.)
 Representation in the Cortes
 Filipino priests instead of Spanish friars – Augustinians, Dominicans, and Franciscans – in parishes and
remote sitios
 Freedom of assembly and speech
 Equal rights before the law (for both Filipino and Spanish plaintiffs)
The colonial authorities in the Philippines did not favor these reforms. Such Spanish intellectuals as
Morayta, Unamuno, Pi y Margall, and others did endorse them.
Wenceslao Retana, a political commentator in Spain, had slighted Rizal by writing an insulting article in La
Epoca, a newspaper in Madrid. He implied that the family and friends of Rizal were evicted from their lands in
Calamba for not having paid their due rents. The incident (when Rizal was ten) stemmed from an accusation that
Rizal's mother, Teodora, tried to poison the wife of a cousin, but she said she was trying to help. With the
approval of the Church prelates, and without a hearing, she was ordered to prison in Santa Cruz in 1871. She
was made to walk the ten miles (16 km) from Calamba. She was released after two-and-a-half years of appeals
to the highest court.[24] In 1887, Rizal wrote a petition on behalf of the tenants of Calamba, and later that year led
them to speak out against the friars' attempts to raise rent. They initiated a litigation which resulted in the
Dominicans' evicting them from their homes, including the Rizal family. General Valeriano Weyler had the
buildings on the farm torn down.
Upon reading the article, Rizal sent a representative to challenge Retana to a duel. Retana published a public
apology and later became one of Rizal's biggest admirers, writing Rizal's most important biography, Vida y
Escritos del José Rizal.
Return to Philippines (1892–96)
Exile in Dapitan
Upon his return to Manila in 1892, he formed a civic movement called La Liga Filipina. The league advocated
these moderate social reforms through legal means, but was disbanded by the governor. At that time, he had
already been declared an enemy of the state by the Spanish authorities because of the publication of his novel.
Rizal was implicated in the activities of the nascent rebellion and in July 1892, was deported to Dapitan in the
province of Zamboanga, a peninsula of Mindanao.[39] There he built a school, a hospital and a water supply
system, and taught and engaged in farming and horticulture.[citation needed] Abaca, then the vital raw material for
cordage and which Rizal and his students planted in the thousands, was a memorial.[citation needed]
The boys' school, which taught in Spanish, and included English as a foreign language (considered a prescient if
unusual option then) was conceived by Rizal and antedated Gordonstoun with its aims of inculcating
resourcefulness and self-sufficiency in young men.[citation needed] They would later enjoy successful lives as farmers
and honest government officials.[citation needed] One, a Muslim, became a datu, and another, José Aseniero, who was
with Rizal throughout the life of the school, became Governor of Zamboanga.[40][citation needed]
In Dapitan, the Jesuits mounted a great effort to secure his return to the fold led by Fray Francisco de Paula
Sánchez, his former professor, who failed in his mission. The task was resumed by Fray Pastells, a prominent
member of the Order. In a letter to Pastells, Rizal sails close to the deism familiar to us today.[41][42][43]
We are entirely in accord in admitting the existence of God. How can I doubt His when I am convinced of mine.
Who so recognizes the effect recognizes the cause. To doubt God is to doubt one's own conscience, and in
consequence, it would be to doubt everything; and then what is life for? Now then, my faith in God, if the result of
a ratiocination may be called faith, is blind, blind in the sense of knowing nothing. I neither believe nor disbelieve
the qualities which many attribute to Him; before theologians' and philosophers' definitions and lucubrations of
this ineffable and inscrutable being I find myself smiling. Faced with the conviction of seeing myself confronting
the supreme Problem, which confused voices seek to explain to me, I cannot but reply: ‘It could be’; but the God
that I foreknow is far more grand, far more good: Plus Supra!...I believe in (revelation); but not in revelation or
revelations which each religion or religions claim to possess. Examining them impartially, comparing them and
scrutinizing them, one cannot avoid discerning the human 'fingernail' and the stamp of the time in which they
were written... No, let us not make God in our image, poor inhabitants that we are of a distant planet lost in
infinite space. However, brilliant and sublime our intelligence may be, it is scarcely more than a small spark
which shines and in an instant is extinguished, and it alone can give us no idea of that blaze, that conflagration,
that ocean of light. I believe in revelation, but in that living revelation which surrounds us on every side, in that
voice, mighty, eternal, unceasing, incorruptible, clear, distinct, universal as is the being from whom it proceeds,
in that revelation which speaks to us and penetrates us from the moment we are born until we die. What books
can better reveal to us the goodness of God, His love, His providence, His eternity, His glory, His wisdom? ‘The
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork.[44]
His best friend, professor Ferdinand Blumentritt, kept him in touch with European friends and fellow-scientists
who wrote a stream of letters which arrived in Dutch, French, German and English and which baffled the
censors, delaying their transmittal. Those four years of his exile coincided with the development of the Philippine
Revolution from inception and to its final breakout, which, from the viewpoint of the court which was to try him,
suggested his complicity in it.[25] He condemned the uprising, although all the members of the Katipunan had
made him their honorary president and had used his name as a cry for war, unity, and liberty.[45]
He is known to making the resolution of bearing personal sacrifice instead of the incoming revolution, believing
that a peaceful stand is the best way to avoid further suffering in the country and loss of Filipino lives. In Rizal's
own words, "I consider myself happy for being able to suffer a little for a cause which I believe to be sacred [...]. I
believe further that in any undertaking, the more one suffers for it, the surer its success. If this be fanaticism may
God pardon me, but my poor judgment does not see it as such."[46]
In Dapitan, Rizal wrote "Haec Est Sibylla Cumana", a parlor-game for his students, with questions and answers
for which a wooden top was used. In 2004, Jean Paul Verstraeten traced this book and the wooden top, as well
as Rizal's personal watch, spoon and salter.

Arrest and trial

By 1896, the rebellion fomented by the Katipunan, a militant secret society, had become a full-blown revolution,
proving to be a nationwide uprising.[citation needed] Rizal had earlier volunteered his services as a doctor in Cuba and
was given leave by Governor-General Ramón Blanco to serve in Cuba to minister to victims of yellow fever.
Rizal and Josephine left Dapitan on August 1, 1896, with letter of recommendation from Blanco.
Rizal was arrested en route to Cuba via Spain and was imprisoned in Barcelona on October 6, 1896. He was
sent back the same day to Manila to stand trial as he was implicated in the revolution through his association
with members of the Katipunan. During the entire passage, he was unchained, no Spaniard laid a hand on him,
and had many opportunities to escape but refused to do so.
While imprisoned in Fort Santiago, he issued a manifesto disavowing the current revolution in its present state
and declaring that the education of Filipinos and their achievement of a national identity were prerequisites to
freedom.
Rizal was tried before a court-martial for rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy, was convicted on all three charges,
and sentenced to death. Blanco, who was sympathetic to Rizal, had been forced out of office. The friars, led by
then Archbishop of Manila Bernardino Nozaleda, had 'intercalated' Camilo de Polavieja in his stead, as the new
Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines after pressuring Queen-Regent Maria Cristina of Spain, thus
sealing Rizal's fate.

Execution
A photographic record of Rizal's execution in what was then Bagumbayan.

Moments before his execution on December 30, 1896, by a squad of Filipino soldiers of the Spanish Army, a
backup force of regular Spanish Army troops stood ready to shoot the executioners should they fail to obey
orders.[47] The Spanish Army Surgeon General requested to take his pulse: it was normal. Aware of this the
sergeant commanding the backup force hushed his men to silence when they began raising "vivas" with the
highly partisan crowd of Peninsular and Mestizo Spaniards. His last words were those of Jesus Christ:
"consummatum est", – it is finished.[21][48][note 10]
He was secretly buried in Pacò Cemetery in Manila with no identification on his grave. His sister Narcisa toured
all possible gravesites and found freshly turned earth at the cemetery with guards posted at the gate. Assuming
this could be the most likely spot, there never having any ground burials, she made a gift to the caretaker to
mark the site "RPJ", Rizal's initials in reverse.
His undated poem Mi último adiós, believed to have been written a few days before his execution, was hidden in
an alcohol stove, which was later handed to his family with his few remaining possessions, including the final
letters and his last bequests.[49]:91 During their visit, Rizal reminded his sisters in English, "There is something
inside it", referring to the alcohol stove given by the Pardo de Taveras which was to be returned after his
execution, thereby emphasizing the importance of the poem. This instruction was followed by another, "Look in
my shoes", in which another item was secreted. Exhumation of his remains in August 1898, under American
rule, revealed he had been uncoffined, his burial not on sanctified ground granted the 'confessed' faithful, and
whatever was in his shoes had disintegrated. And now he is buried in Rizal Monument in Manila.[24]
In his letter to his family he wrote: "Treat our aged parents as you would wish to be treated...Love them greatly in
memory of me...December 30, 1896."[25] He gave his family instructions for his burial: "Bury me in the ground.
Place a stone and a cross over it. My name, the date of my birth and of my death. Nothing more. If later you wish
to surround my grave with a fence, you can do it. No anniversaries."[50]
In his final letter, to Blumentritt – Tomorrow at 7, I shall be shot; but I am innocent of the crime of rebellion. I am
going to die with a tranquil conscience.[25] Rizal is believed to be the first Filipino revolutionary whose death is
attributed entirely to his work as a writer; and through dissent and civil disobedience enabled him to successfully
destroy Spain's moral primacy to rule. He also bequeathed a book personally bound by him in Dapitan to his
'best and dearest friend.' When Blumentritt received it in his hometown Litoměřice (Leitmeritz) he broke down
and wept.

Works and writings

Rizal wrote mostly in Spanish, the lingua franca of the Spanish Philippines, though some of his letters (for
example Sa Mga Kababaihang Taga Malolos) were written in Tagalog. His works have since been translated
into a number of languages including Tagalog and English.

Novels and essays

 Noli Me Tángere, novel, 1887 (literally Latin for 'touch me not', from John 20:17)[51]
 El Filibusterismo, (novel, 1891), sequel to Noli Me Tángere
 Alin Mang Lahi ("Whate'er the Race"), a Kundiman attributed to Dr. José Rizal[52]
 The Friars and the Filipinos (Unfinished)
 Toast to Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo (Speech, 1884), given at Restaurante Ingles, Madrid
 The Diaries of José Rizal
 Rizal's Letters is a compendium of Dr. Jose Rizal's letters to his family members, Blumentritt, Fr. Pablo
Pastells and other reformers
 "Come se gobiernan las Filipinas" (Governing the Philippine islands)
 Filipinas dentro de cien años essay, 1889–90 (The Philippines a Century Hence)
 La Indolencia de los Filipinos, essay, 1890 (The indolence of Filipinos)[53]
 Makamisa unfinished novel
 Sa Mga Kababaihang Taga Malolos, essay, 1889, To the Young Women of Malolos
 Annotations to Antonio de Moragas, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (essay, 1889, Events in the Philippine
Islands)

The Triumph of Science over Death, by Rizal.

Poetry

 A La Juventud Filipina (To The Philippine Youth)

 El Canto Del Viajero
 Briayle Crismarl
 Canto de María Clara
 Himno Al Trabajo (Dalit sa Paggawa)
 Felicitación
 Kundiman (Tagalog)
 Me Piden Versos
 Mi primera inspiracion
 Mi Retiro
 Mi Ultimo Adiós
 Por La Educación (Recibe Lustre La Patria)
 Sa Sanggol na si Jesus
 A Mi Musa (To My Muse)
 Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo
 A Man in Dapitan
Plays

 El Consejo de los Dioses (The council of Gods)

 Junto Al Pasig (Along the Pasig)[54]:381
 San Euistaquio, Mártyr (Saint Eustache, the martyr)[55]
Other works
Rizal also tried his hand at painting and sculpture. His most famous sculptural work was "The Triumph of
Science over Death", a clay sculpture of a naked young woman with overflowing hair, standing on a skull while
bearing a torch held high. The woman symbolized the ignorance of humankind during the Dark Ages, while the
torch she bore symbolized the enlightenment science brings over the whole world. He sent the sculpture as a gift
to his dear friend Ferdinand Blumentritt, together with another one named "The Triumph of Death over Life".
The woman is shown trampling the skull, a symbol of death, to signify the victory the humankind achieved by
conquering the bane of death through their scientific advancements. The original sculpture is now displayed at
the Rizal Shrine Museum at Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. A large replica, made of concrete, stands in
front of Fernando Calderón Hall, the building which houses the College of Medicine of the University of the
Philippines Manila along Pedro Gil Street in Ermita, Manila.

Reactions after death

An engraving of the execution of Filipino insurgents at Bagumbayan (now Luneta).

Historical marker of José Rizal's execution site.

Retraction controversy
Several historians report that Rizal retracted his anti-Catholic ideas through a document which stated: "I retract
with all my heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and conduct have been contrary to my character
as a son of the Catholic Church."[note 11] However, there are doubts of its authenticity given that there is no
certificate of Rizal's Catholic marriage to Josephine Bracken.[56] Also there is an allegation that the retraction
document was a forgery.[57]
After analyzing six major documents of Rizal, Ricardo Pascual concluded that the retraction document, said to
have been discovered in 1935, was not in Rizal's handwriting. Senator Rafael Palma, a former President of
the University of the Philippines and a prominent Mason, argued that a retraction is not in keeping with Rizal's
character and mature beliefs.[58]He called the retraction story a "pious fraud."[59] Others who deny the retraction
are Frank Laubach,[21] a Protestant minister; Austin Coates,[32] a British writer; and Ricardo Manapat, director of
the National Archives.[60]
Those who affirm the authenticity of Rizal's retraction are prominent Philippine historians such as Nick
Joaquin,[note 12]Nicolas Zafra of UP[61] León María Guerrero III,[note 13] Gregorio Zaide,[63] Guillermo Gómez
Rivera, Ambeth Ocampo,[60]John Schumacher,[64] Antonio Molina,[65] Paul Dumol[66] and Austin Craig.[24] They take
the retraction document as authentic, having been judged as such by a foremost expert on the writings of
Rizal, Teodoro Kalaw (a 33rd degree Mason) and "handwriting experts...known and recognized in our courts of
justice", H. Otley Beyer and Dr. José I. Del Rosario, both of UP.[61]
Historians also refer to 11 eyewitnesses when Rizal wrote his retraction, signed a Catholic prayer book, and
recited Catholic prayers, and the multitude who saw him kiss the crucifix before his execution. A great grand
nephew of Rizal, Fr. Marciano Guzman, cites that Rizal's 4 confessions were certified by 5 eyewitnesses, 10
qualified witnesses, 7 newspapers, and 12 historians and writers including Aglipayan bishops, Masons and anti-
clericals.[67] One witness was the head of the Spanish Supreme Court at the time of his notarized declaration and
was highly esteemed by Rizal for his integrity.[68]
Because of what he sees as the strength these direct evidence have in the light of the historical method, in
contrast with merely circumstantial evidence, UP professor emeritus of history Nicolas Zafra called the retraction
"a plain unadorned fact of history."[61] Guzmán attributes the denial of retraction to "the blatant disbelief and
stubbornness" of some Masons.[67] To explain the retraction Guzman said that the factors are the long discussion
and debate which appealed to reason and logic that he had with Fr. Balaguer, the visits of his mentors and
friends from the Ateneo, and the grace of God due the numerous prayers of religious communities.[67]
Supporters see in the retraction Rizal's "moral courage...to recognize his mistakes,"[63][note 14] his reversion to the
"true faith", and thus his "unfading glory,"[68] and a return to the "ideals of his fathers" which "did not diminish his
stature as a great patriot; on the contrary, it increased that stature to greatness."[71] On the other hand,
senator Jose Diokno stated, "Surely whether Rizal died as a Catholic or an apostate adds or detracts nothing
from his greatness as a Filipino... Catholic or Mason, Rizal is still Rizal – the hero who courted death 'to prove to
those who deny our patriotism that we know how to die for our duty and our beliefs'."[72]

"Mi último adiós"

Main article: Mi último adiós

The poem is more aptly titled, "Adiós, Patria Adorada" (literally "Farewell, Beloved Fatherland"), by virtue of
logic and literary tradition, the words coming from the first line of the poem itself. It first appeared in print not in
Manila but in Hong Kong in 1897, when a copy of the poem and an accompanying photograph came to J. P.
Braga who decided to publish it in a monthly journal he edited. There was a delay when Braga, who greatly
admired Rizal, wanted a good job of the photograph and sent it to be engraved in London, a process taking well
over two months. It finally appeared under 'Mi último pensamiento,' a title he supplied and by which it was known
for a few years. Thus, when the Jesuit Balaguer's anonymous account of the retraction and the marriage to
Josephine was appearing in Barcelona, no word of the poem's existence reached him in time to revise what he
had written. His account was too elaborate that Rizal would have had no time to write "Adiós."
Six years after his death, when the Philippine Organic Act of 1902 was being debated in the United States
Congress, Representative Henry Cooper of Wisconsin rendered an English translation of Rizal's valedictory
poem capped by the peroration, "Under what clime or what skies has tyranny claimed a nobler
victim?"[73] Subsequently, the US Congress passed the bill into law which is now known as the Philippine Organic
Act of 1902.[74]
This was a major breakthrough for a US Congress that had yet to grant equal rights to African Americans
guaranteed to them in the US Constitution and the Chinese Exclusion Actwas still in effect. It created the
Philippine legislature, appointed two Filipino delegates to the US Congress, extended the US Bill of Rights to
Filipinos, and laid the foundation for an autonomous government. The colony was on its way to
independence.[74] The Americans, however, would not sign the bill into law until 1916 and did not recognize
Philippine Independence until the Treaty of Manila in 1946—fifty years after Rizal's death.This same poem which
has inspired independence activists across the region and beyond was recited (in its Indonesian translation
by Rosihan Anwar) by Indonesian soldiers of independence before going into battle.[75]

Later life of Bracken

Josephine Bracken, whom Rizal addressed as his wife on his last day,[76] promptly joined the revolutionary forces
in Cavite province, making her way through thicket and mud across enemy lines, and helped reloading spent
cartridges at the arsenal in Imus under the revolutionary General Pantaleón García. Imus came under threat of
recapture that the operation was moved, with Bracken, to Maragondon, the mountain redoubt in Cavite.[77]
She witnessed the Tejeros Convention prior to returning to Manila and was summoned by the Governor-
General, but owing to her stepfather's American citizenship she could not be forcibly deported. She left
voluntarily returning to Hong Kong. She later married another Filipino, Vicente Abad, a mestizo acting as agent
for the Tabacalera firm in the Philippines. She died of tuberculosis in Hong Kong in March 15, 1902, and was
buried at the Happy Valley Cemetery.[77] She was immortalized by Rizal in the last stanza of Mi Ultimo Adios:
"Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, my joy...".

Polavieja and Blanco

Polavieja faced condemnation by his countrymen after his return to Spain. While visiting Girona, in Catalonia,
circulars were distributed among the crowd bearing Rizal's last verses, his portrait, and the charge that Polavieja
was responsible for the loss of the Philippines to Spain.[78] Ramon Blanco later presented his sash and sword to
the Rizal family as an apology.[

Criticism and controversies

Attempts to debunk legends surrounding Rizal, and the tug of war between free thinker and Catholic, have kept
his legacy controversial.

Rizal Shrine in Calamba City, Laguna, the ancestral house and birthplace of José Rizal, is now a museum housing Rizal
memorabilia.

José Rizal's original grave at Paco Park in Manila. Slightly renovated and date repainted in English.

National hero status

The confusion over Rizal's real stance on the Philippine Revolution leads to the sometimes bitter question of his
ranking as the nation's premier hero.[79][80] But then again, according to the National Historical Commission of the
Philippines (NHCP) Section Chief Teodoro Atienza, and Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo, there is no Filipino
historical figure, including Rizal, that was officially declared as national hero through law or executive
order.[81][82] Although, there were laws and proclamations honoring Filipino heroes.
Made national hero by colonial Americans
Some[who?] suggest that Jose Rizal was made a legislated national hero by the American forces occupying
Philippines. In 1901, the American Governor General William Howard Taft suggested that the U.S.
sponsored Philippine Commission name Rizal a national hero for Filipinos. Jose Rizal was an ideal candidate,
favourable to the American occupiers since he was dead, and non-violent, a favourable quality which, if
emulated by Filipinos, would not threaten the American rule or change the status quo of the occupiers of
Philippine islands. Rizal did not advocate independence for Philippines either.[83] Subsequently, the US-
sponsored commission passed Act No. 346 which set the anniversary of Rizal’s death as a “day of
observance.”[84]
Renato Constantino writes Rizal is a "United States-sponsored hero" who was promoted as the greatest Filipino
hero during the American colonial period of the Philippines – after Aguinaldo lost the Philippine–American War.
The United States promoted Rizal, who represented peaceful political advocacy (in fact, repudiation of violent
means in general) instead of more radical figures whose ideas could inspire resistance against American rule.
Rizal was selected over Andrés Bonifacio who was viewed "too radical" and Apolinario Mabini who was
considered "unregenerate."[85]
Made national hero by Emilio Aguinaldo
On the other hand, numerous sources[86] quote that it was General Emilio Aguinaldo, and not the second
Philippine Commission, who first recognized December 30 as "national day of mourning in memory of Rizal and
other victims of Spanish tyranny. As per them, the first celebration of Rizal Day was held in Manila on December
30, 1898, under the sponsorship of the Club Filipino.[87]
The veracity of both claims seems to be justified and hence difficult to ascertain. However, most historians agree
that a majority of Filipinos were unaware of Rizal during his lifetime,[88] as he was a member of the richer elite
classes (he was born in an affluent family, had lived abroad for nearly as long as he had lived in the Philippines)
and wrote primarily in an elite language (at that time, Tagalog and Cebuano were the languages of the masses)
about ideals as lofty as freedom (the masses were more concerned about day to day issues like earning money
and making a living, something which has not changed much today).[89]
Teodoro Agoncillo opines that the Philippine national hero, unlike those of other countries, is not "the leader of
its liberation forces". He gives the opinion that Andrés Bonifacio not replace Rizal as national hero, like some
have suggested, but that be honored alongside him.[90]
Constantino's analysis has been criticised for its polemicism and inaccuracies regarding Rizal.[91] The historian
Rafael Palma, contends that the revolution of Bonifacio is a consequence wrought by the writings of Rizal and
that although the Bonifacio's revolver produced an immediate outcome, the pen of Rizal generated a more
lasting achievement.[92]

Critiques of books
Others present him as a man of contradictions. Miguel de Unamuno in "Rizal: the Tagalog Hamlet", said of him,
“a soul that dreads the revolution although deep down desires it. He pivots between fear and hope, between
faith and despair.”[93] His critics assert this character flaw is translated into his two novels where he opposes
violence in Noli and appears to advocate it in Fili, contrasting Ibarra's idealism to Simoun's cynicism. His
defenders insist this ambivalence is trounced when Simoun is struck down in the sequel's final chapters,
reaffirming the author's resolute stance, Pure and spotless must the victim be if the sacrifice is to be
acceptable.[94]
Many thinkers tend to find the characters of María Clara and Ibarra (Noli Me Tángere) poor role models, María
Clara being too frail, and young Ibarra being too accepting of circumstances, rather than being courageous and
bold.[95]
In El Filibusterismo, Rizal had Father Florentino say: “...our liberty will (not) be secured at the sword's point...we
must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it. And when a people reaches that height God will provide a
weapon, the idols will be shattered, tyranny will crumble like a house of cards and liberty will shine out like the
first dawn.”[94] Rizal's attitude to the Philippine Revolution is also debated, not only based on his own writings, but
also due to the varying eyewitness accounts of Pío Valenzuela, a doctor who in 1895 had consulted Rizal in
Dapitan on behalf of Bonifacio and the Katipunan.

Role in the Philippine revolution

Upon the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in 1896, Valenzuela surrendered to the Spanish authorities and
testified in military court that Rizal had strongly condemned an armed struggle for independence when
Valenzuela asked for his support. Rizal had even refused him entry to his house. Bonifacio, in turn, had openly
denounced him as a coward for his refusal.[note 15]
But years later, Valenzuela testified that Rizal had been favorable to an uprising as long as the Filipinos were
well-prepared, and well-supplied with arms. Rizal had suggested that the Katipunan get wealthy and influential
Filipino members of society on their side, or at least ensure they would stay neutral. Rizal had even suggested
his friend Antonio Luna to lead the revolutionary forces since he had studied military science.[note 16] In the event
that the Katipunan was discovered prematurely, they should fight rather than allow themselves to be killed.
Valenzuela said to historian Teodoro Agoncillo that he had lied to the Spanish military authorities about Rizal's
true stance toward a revolution in an attempt to exculpate him.[96]
Before his execution, Rizal wrote a proclamation denouncing the revolution. But as noted by historian Floro
Quibuyen, his final poem Mi ultimo adios contains a stanza which equates his coming execution and the rebels
then dying in battle as fundamentally the same, as both are dying for their country.[97]

Legacy
Rizal was a contemporary of Gandhi, Tagore and Sun Yat Sen who also advocated liberty through peaceful
means rather than by violent revolution. Coinciding with the appearance of those other leaders, Rizal from an
early age had been enunciating in poems, tracts and plays, ideas all his own of modern nationhood as a
practical possibility in Asia. In the Nolihe stated that if European civilization had nothing better to offer,
colonialism in Asia was doomed.[note

Government poster from the 1950s

Though popularly mentioned, especially on blogs, there is no evidence to suggest that Gandhi or Nehru may
have corresponded with Rizal, neither have they mentioned him in any of their memoirs or letters. But it was
documented by Rizal's biographer, Austin Coates who interviewed Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi that Rizal was
mentioned, specifically in Nehru's prison letters to his daughter Indira.[98][99]
As a political figure, José Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave
birth to the Katipunan led by Andrés Bonifacio,[note 18], a secret society which would start the Philippine
Revolution against Spain that eventually laid the foundation of the First Philippine Republic under Emilio
Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of achieving Philippine self-government peacefully through institutional reform
rather than through violent revolution, and would only support "violent means" as a last resort.[101] Rizal believed
that the only justification for national liberation and self-government was the restoration of the dignity of the
people,[note 19] saying "Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow?"[102] However,
through careful examination of his works and statements, including Mi Ultimo Adios, Rizal reveals himself as a
revolutionary. His image as the Tagalog Christ also intensified early reverence to him.
Rizal, through his reading of Morga and other western historians, knew of the genial image of Spain's early
relations with his people.[103] In his writings, he showed the disparity between the early colonialists and those of
his day, with the latter's injustices giving rise to Gomburzaand the Philippine Revolution of 1896. The English
biographer, Austin Coates, and writer, Benedict Anderson, believe that Rizal gave the Philippine revolution a
genuinely national character; and that Rizal's patriotism and his standing as one of Asia's first intellectuals have
inspired others of the importance of a national identity to nation-building.[32][note 20]
The Belgian researcher Jean Paul "JP" Verstraeten authored several books about Jose Rizal: Rizal in Belgium
and France, Jose Rizal's Europe, Growing up like Rizal (published by the National Historical Institute and in
teacher's programs all over the Philippines), Reminiscences and Travels of Jose Rizal and Jose Rizal "Pearl of
Unselfishness". He received an award from the president of the Philippines "in recognition of his unwavering
support and commitment to promote the health and education of disadvantaged Filipinos, and his invaluable
contribution to engender the teachings and ideals of Dr. Jose Rizal in the Philippines and in Europe". One of the
greatest researchers about Rizal nowadays is Lucien Spittael.
Several titles were bestowed on him: "the First Filipino", "Greatest Man of the Brown Race", among others. The
Order of the Knights of Rizal, a civic and patriotic organization, boasts of dozens of chapters all over the
globe [3] [4]. There are some remote-area religious sects who venerate Rizal as a Folk saint collectively known
as the Rizalista religious movements, who claim him as a sublimation of Christ.[105] In September 1903, he
was canonised as a saint in the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, however it was revoked in the 1950s.[106]

Species named after Rizal

José Rizal was imprisoned at Fort Santiago and soon after he was banished at Dapitan where he plunged
himself into studying of nature. He then able to collect a number of species of various classes:
insects, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles, shells, snakes and plants.
Rizal sent many specimens of animals, insects, and plants for identification to the (Anthropological and
Ethnographical Museum of Dresden[107]), Dresden Museum of Ethnology. It was not in his interest to receive any
monetary payment; all he wanted were scientific books, magazines and surgical instruments which he needed
and used in Dapitan.
During his exile, Rizal also secretly sent several specimens of flying dragons to Europe. He believed that they
were a new species. The German zoologist Benno Wandolleck named them Draco rizali after Rizal. However, it
has since been discovered that the species had already been described by the Belgian-British zoologist George
Albert Boulenger in 1885 as Draco guentheri.[108]
There are three species named after Rizal:

 Draco rizali – a small lizard, known as a flying dragon

 Apogania rizali – a very rare kind of beetle with five horns
 Rhacophorus rizali – a peculiar frog species. Rhacophorus rizali[109]