Jose Rizal — Education, Travels & Early Reformist Career (1872-1892)

Ateneo de Municipal, Manila (1872{-}1877)

  • Context of Entry
    • Arrived 4 months after the execution of GOM‐BUR‐ZA (17\,\text{Feb}\,1872) while Doña Teodora was imprisoned.
    • Initially passed Letran exams; father changed plan—enrolled him in Ateneo.
    • Admission obstacles: late registration; judged frail & undersized.
    • Manuel Xerez Burgos (nephew of Padre Burgos) interceded → acceptance.
  • Jesuit System & Campus Culture
    • Strict, mechanical discipline; daily Mass, prayers opening/closing classes.
    • Students split into Internos (Roman Empire) vs. Externos (Carthaginian Empire); weekly point system for academic “battles.”
    • Five class ranks: Emperor, Tribune, Decurion, Centurion, Standard-Bearer.
  • Academic Life & Achievements
    • Adopted surname Rizal (Paciano continued using Mercado).
    • Crafted a 24-hour work-plan; reached Emperor within 1 month.
    • Consistent excellent marks; medals every year; five medals in 4ᵗʰ year.
    • Took private Spanish at Santa Isabel College during recess.
    • Favorite teachers: Fr. Jose Bech (1ᵗʰ yr), Fr. Francisco Paula de Sánchez (4ᵗʰ yr) → lifelong mentor, later visited him in Dapitan.
  • Extra-academic Skills
    • Poetry: wrote Felicitación, El Embarque, Por la Educación, In Memory of My Town, etc.
    • Visual Arts: studied drawing (Don Agustín Saez) & sculpture (Romualdo de Jesús); carved images of the Virgin and the Sacred Heart.
    • Physical culture: regular gymnastics, fencing; later astonished family with swordsmanship.
  • Early Readings & Ideas
    • First foreign novel: Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo” → resonated with mother’s injustice.
    • Profound impact of Feodor Jagor’s “Travels in the Philippines”—forecast U.S. influence and need for Filipino preparedness.

Early Romances (Ateneo Period)

  • Segunda Katigbak (14) met 1879; puppy-love, thwarted by her engagement to Manuel Luz.
  • Miss L in Calamba—fleeting courtship.
  • Leonor Valenzuela (“Orang”): neighbour in Intramuros; invisible-ink letters.
  • Leonor Rivera (“Taimis”): cousin from Camiling; serious secret engagement, began 1879.

University of Santo Tomas (1877{-}1882)

  • Courses & Motives
    • 1877{-}78: Philosophy & Letters (to please Don Francisco; undecided career).
    • 1878{-}79: shifted to Medicine (cure mother’s eyesight; advice of Fr. Pablo Ramon).
    • Simultaneously took Ateneo’s vocational course perito agrimensor (surveyor).
  • Environment & Discrimination
    • Dominican professors hostile; racial bias vs. Indios.
    • Brutality incident 1880: Guardia Civil lieutenant slashed his back for failing to salute.
    • Teaching style: dogmatic vs. Jesuit dialogic method—frustrated Rizal.
  • Literary Triumphs
    • A la Juventud Filipina (1879): 1ˢᵗ prize, silver pen.
    • El Consejo de los Dioses (1880): won Cervantes centennial contest, gold ring.
    • Wrote Junto al Pasig, Abd-el-Azis y Mahoma, A Filipinas, Al M.R.P. Pablo Ramon.
  • Student Activism
    • Founded secret society Compañerismo (“Companions of Jehu”) 1880; clashed with Spanish students → head wound nursed by Leonor Rivera.
  • Reasons for Leaving UST
    • ① Professorial hostility ② Racial discrimination ③ Obsolete pedagogy ④ Limited honors.
    • Decided, with Paciano’s backing, to study in Spain (secret from parents). Allowance: P35/month.

First Travel to Spain (May 3,1882{-}1887)

Voyage Out & Barcelona

  • Sailed as “José Mercado” on SS Salvadora → Singapore; Djemnah → Suez, Marseilles; rail to Barcelona (16\,Jun\,1882).
  • Wrote initial nationalist essay “El Amor Patrio.”

Madrid Studies

  • Enrolled 3\,Nov\,1882 at Universidad Central: Medicine; Philosophy & Letters.
  • Auxiliary pursuits: Fine Arts (San Fernando), languages (Fr, De, Eng), fencing & shooting.
  • Degrees: Licentiate in Medicine (21\,Jun\,1884); completed coursework for Doctorate & Licentiate in Philosophy but unpaid fees prevented diplomas.

Masonry & Reform Circle

  • Joined Lodge Acacia (Mar\,1883); Master Mason in Lodge Solidaridad (15\,Nov\,1890); later recognized by Grand Orient de France.
  • Helped found Circulo Hispano-Filipino & wrote for La Solidaridad (later 1889 onward).

Brindis Speech (25\,Jun\,1884)

  • Banquet honoring Juan Luna (Spoliarium) & Félix Resurrección Hidalgo (Virgen Cristiana).
  • Toast extolled Filipino genius, denounced obscurantism; early public assertion of Filipino-Spanish equality.

Scientific & Literary Maturation (1885{-}1887)

  • Paris (intern of Dr. Louis de Wecker).
  • Heidelberg: Eye Hospital under Dr. Otto Becker; wrote poem A las Flores de Heidelberg; embraced German discipline, ecumenism.
  • Stayed in Wilhelmsfeld with Pastor Karl Ullmer; began correspondence with Ferdinand Blumentritt (31\,Jul\,1886).
  • Leipzig & Berlin: proof-reader; member of Anthropological, Ethnological & Geographical Societies (first Asian).
  • Private French lessons (Mme Cerdole); experienced winter poverty—single meal/day.

Publication of Noli Me Tangere (21\,Mar\,1887)

  • Wrote 1884{-}86; deleted ch. Elias y Salomé to cut cost.
  • Printer: Berliner Buchdruckerei; quote \text{₱}300 for 2\,000 copies.
  • Maximo Viola financed final printing; received original proofs & Rizal’s writing pen as token.
  • Dedication: the Philippines as a cancer patient; intended as “exposure, not attack.”

Grand Tour of Europe with Viola (May\,11{-}Jun\,1887)

  • Route: Berlin → Dresden → Leitmeritz (met Blumentritt) → Prague → Vienna → Danube cruise → Munich, Nuremberg, Ulm, Stuttgart → Rheinfall → Basel → Geneva (Rizal’s 26^{\text{th}} birthday 19\,Jun).
  • Split: Viola to Barcelona; Rizal toured Italy (Turin, Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome).

First Homecoming & Calamba Campaign (Aug\,1887{-}Feb\,1888)

  • Treated Doña Teodora’s eyes; earned ≈₱900/month.
  • Founded youth gym (fencing, gymnastics) vs. gambling.
  • Noli banned: UST committee, Archbp. Payo declared it heretical; Permanent Commission of Censorship confirmed ban.
  • Fr. Vicente García’s defensa rebutted Fr. José Rodríguez’s pamphlet “¡Caiñgat Cayo!”
  • Land dispute: urged tenants to demand title proofs; Dominicans sued → eviction orders.
  • Gov-Gen Emilio Terrero assigned bodyguard; advised Rizal to leave for safety.

Second Travel (Feb 3,1888{-}Oct 1891)

Hong Kong & Macao

  • Observed raucous Chinese New Year; tailed by Spaniard José Varanda.

Japan (28\,Feb{-}13\,Apr\,1888)

  • Stayed at Spanish Legation (invited by Juan Pérez Caballero); fell in love with Seiko Usui (O-Sei-San); admired orderliness, disliked rickshaws.

United States (28\,Apr{-}16\,May\,1888)

  • Landed San Francisco → rail via Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois → New York.
  • Impressions: material progress, but racial prejudice vs. Chinese & Negroes inconsistent with democracy ideals.

London (25\,May\,1888{-}Mar\,19\,1889)

  • Goals: master English; study & annotate 1609 Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Antonio de Morga) at British Museum; safe from friars.
  • Boarded with Beckett family; mild romance with Gertrude Beckett.
  • Wrote Specimens of Tagal Folklore, Two Eastern Fables; honorary president of Asociación La Solidaridad (13\,Dec\,1888).

Paris & Brussels (1889{-}1890)

  • Helped Filipinos mount Philippine exhibit at Universal Exposition; enchanted by Eiffel Tower.
  • Formed secret society R.D.L.M. (Redención de los Malayos).
  • In Brussels with José Albert/José Alejandro; wrote majority of El Filibusterismo; denounced Madrid-based compatriots’ gambling.
  • Received news: Calamba mass eviction (2^{\text{nd}} half 1890), deportations, Leonor Rivera’s marriage to Henry Kipping.

Publication of El Filibusterismo (Sept\,18,1891)

  • Moved to Ghent (5\,Jul\,1891) for cheaper press (F. Meyer-Van Loo); pawned jewels; financing completed by Valentín Ventura.
  • Dedication: to martyred priests Gom-Bur-Za; tone darker, reflects reformist disillusionment.

Hong Kong Practice & Family Reunion (Nov\,1891{-}Jun\,1892)

  • Address: 5 D’Aguilar St; professional card: “José Rizal, Medico Oculista.”
  • Parents & siblings (Lucia, Josefa, Trinidad) joined → joyful Christmas 1891.
  • Drafted La Liga Filipina constitution (civic, reformist, non-violent).

Second Homecoming & Arrest (26\,Jun{-}7\,Jul\,1892)

  • Landed with Lucia; lodged at Hotel de Oriente.
  • Met Gov-Gen Eulogio Despujol (Terrero’s successor); confronted with leaflets Pobres Frailes allegedly in Lucia’s pillow—denied knowledge.
  • Founded La Liga Filipina (3\,Jul\,1892) in Tondo to unite people, aid commerce & education, advocate reforms.
  • Arrested 7\,Jul, confined Fort Santiago; imminent deportation to Dapitan (beginning 17\,Jul\,1892).

Key Intellectual Outputs (Summary)

  • Novels: Noli Me Tangere (1887), El Filibusterismo (1891); drafts of Makamisa, Dapitan (unfinished).
  • Essays: El Amor Patrio, La Indolencia de los Filipinos, Filipinas Dentro de Cien Años, letters to Jovenes de Malolos, etc.
  • Scientific papers: Tagalische Verskunst (Berlin Ethnographic Society).
  • Civic texts: Constitutions of La Liga Filipina, R.D.L.M., annotated Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.

Ideological & Practical Legacy (Up to 1892)

  • Embodied Enlightenment principles—science, reason, secular education; combined with moral nationalism.
  • Championed peaceful reform (Propaganda Movement), equality of races, secularization of parishes, representation in Cortes, freedom of press/speech.
  • Demonstrated integrative approach: academic excellence, artistic talent, physical fitness, civic activism, and global awareness—all directed toward Philippine emancipation.