Childhood in 0001

8/6/2019 Childhood in 0001

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Childhood in Calamba

Few men in history have had such copiousness of correspondenceas Rizal. He was of such courtesy and punctiliousness that he never

left a letter unanswered, nor did he, for reasons of laziness, allow

himself to postpone replying to any letter longer than he considered

proper. He never thought that his correspondence would laterbecome a documentary source for the study of his country and

people, what with that curiosity and analytical sense that was the

spur of his life and work. So much so that in May 1887, when he leftBerlin in the company of his friend Viola, the latter was surprised to

find that one of Rizal's suitcases was filled with nothing but letters

of friends and relatives. Rizal explained it by saying that "he wanted

to study the character, temperament, change and intellectual dis-

position of his friends and countrymen."l

It is, therefore, not surprising that much of the documentary

material we have on the great tagalo was taken from his Memorias.

The first part of this autobiography he entitled Memorias de un

Estudiante de Manila, and the second he called Dos Diarios de

Juventud. The fact that the letters were written at the age of 17 -

an age when, instead of speaking of games and love affairs, he treatsof weighty and serious matters - is unique. This is because the life

of Rizal was like a glass polichrome, with a background in which

excellence was the most important reason for being. All his actions

were premeditated. His writings do not show any harsh phrases; he

avoids disdain2 even when speaking of his enemies. When, in

exceptional cases, he writes something derogatory, he does so in

veiled phraseology, signifying that the matter is a private one. It

would seem that he was anointed for the part of an apostle, for his

steps were always so measured, predicated upon a historic role

reserved for him. His public conduct, his private life and his writ-

ings seem to respond to a destiny previously programed by Nature.If he could read these lines, he would simply smile, with the polite

smile of a skeptical rationalist,

Let us start with his own account, in which he informs us ofthe

facts about his birth. He proceeds by saying that "my customs and

manners are a consequence of the education that I have received."3

We already know about the harmonious, industrious and pious

character of his home. It was there that he first learned the rules of

courtesy, to which he adhered to the end of his life. While still very

young, he knew "melancholy" nights, to use his own words. Theeason for this was that his male nurse, who ironically loved him

very much, in his ignorance used to frighten him in order to makeim eat. Rizal had, by nature, a poor appetite. This, perhaps,

explains his lack of height and the slightness of his physique. The

ya frightened him with stories of a formidable asuang4 and at

ther times of the presence of an imaginary ghost called Bu.

Although most children have suffered similar psychic traumas, the

epercussion on the psyche of the child depends on his psychosoma-

tic personality. Rizal had a certain tendency toward depression. Ofhis we shall give more proof as we go through the rich and colorful

'mages in the kaleidoscope of his life. Meanwhile, he relates in his

emorias how his aya frightened him: "thus my heart was fed withl3adthoughts."~

Both parents seemed to be ofa moderate emotional sensibility.

rancisco, with his seriousness and taciturnity, together with an

nclination to isolation, followed the Roman precept that nothing is

ore secure than silence. As to the mother, she was, as all mothers

ould be, alarmed at disquieting news about her son; her reactions

ere extreme. Thus, when the news arrived in Calamba about the

peech he delivered at a banquet honoring two Filipino paintershose paintings had won honors in Madrid, embellished with com-

ents about Rizal's future, Teodora took to bed and refused to eat

l'sleep for several days until Paciano discovered that her illness

as of an emotional cause; he then took the necessary measures. 6

The father's reaction when Jose left for Europe was even more

ntense and prolonged. He was absolutely speechless for almost one

onth and spent the nights weeping until Paciano succeeded inomforting him.7

It should be noted that no risk or danger faced Rizal in Madrid

l' in Barcelona. At the same time, one could not tell what theeaction of the authorities upon his return would be.

Another aspect of the personality of Rizal was his obstinacy

ven before he was three; he alludes to this, telling ofthe many tears

hat it cost him. Later on he showed great sensitivity and timidity.is emotional character often led him to uncertainty and, on occa-

ion, to outright rigidity. But his positive qualities outweighed the

egative ones, and he tried to correct, or at least to minimize, them.

t the age of 13 he wept at the death of his sister Concha; for the


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evinced an innate curiosity for and interest in learning. In Calamba

he learned how to write. It is said that his father8 paid an old man

In the midst of the orchard that surrounded the house in to teach him the elements of Latin. These classes, however, lasted

Calamba, the father of Rizal constructed a modest nipa hut. The only five months owing to the death of the old man.

exuberance of Nature in the tropics in its fullest bloom provided the He went to a school in Calamba, but after a short time it was

poet with rich imagery for his future poems, and distilled in his clear that he had learned all there was to learn from his teacher

spirit the essence of his emotions. With what loving pleasure he there. This having been verified by Francisco, the boy was made to

describes the delicate atis, the sweet santol, the exquisite casuy, stop going to school. He was at the time seven years old.the delicious tamarind and so many others that offered not onlytheir delicious taste but also their aroma, filling the air all around! In 1868, a little after the birth of Trinidad, Jose made his first

trip to Manila. The fact that part of the trip was by boat across theA~ to his ornit~ologic hobbies, at the age of four ~e could Laguna de Bay provided him with a new and many-faceted experi-

recognIze the mart~n, the maya, the uwak, the multIcolored ence, which, 10 years later, he captured in poetic prose. He alsokulio:wan and many others. In the afternoon, protected .f:-omthe went to visit the Virgin of Antipolo in fulfillment of a promise madetropIcal sun by the shadow of the enormous Mount Makilmg, the by his mother on the day he was born.young Rizal contemplated these birds with joy. How happy he was

in that communion with nature! The tree ofthe golden apple that is a B.-symbol of love and fertility should have been located there; the lnanorchard of Jose should have been the garden of Hesperides! Rizal continued his studies at home. But this situation could not go

T d h d ' d d J "th 'd ' d 'th t on. So, Francisco thought of sending the boy to Biflan, his nativeeo ora a provI e ose WI a mm eqmppe WI a grea b' h C 1 b 1 h b k f L d B't f "1 t' d 'th t' l' t II' W'th town, Igger t a n a am a, a ong t e an so aguna e ay, ancapaCI y or aSSlmIa IOn an WI excep IOna m e Igence. 1 h d h If 'd Th h' h Id bth l

't' d 'th h t 1d d' t' 't' t ' our an -a- a l'l e away. e teac elS t ere wou e more capa-ese qua lIes, an WI suc m a erna e Ica lOn,1 ISno surpl'ls- bl

ing that the transmission of ideas was easily realized, bearing excel- e.

lent results. She taught him how to read and write; she inculcated in He was at the time nine years old, It was the first time that he

him a sense of duty. She corrected his faults, especially his obstina- was separated from his family. He did not think, however, that this

cy. To accomplish this, she used parables, which Jose, like all other would be the normal state of his life. His account of the incident, in

children, loved to listen to, At the end of each parable, the mother, his Memorias, is charged with tender emotion. He did not wish toexplaining the symbolism, brought out a fundamental moral lesson. cry because he wanted to be a man, but the tears fell just the same.

Ten years later, when he recounted this same incident, he showed

his irritation at a system of education which obliged a person to hide

his sentiments. Evaluating properly this boyish manifestation of

emotions, he comments on the system: "How much beauty, how

Thus was forged the per onality of the great Malayan, in the many tender and pathetic scenes the world would witness if not for

crucible of his land, Each country possesses, in general, a unity of yoU!"9

flora, fauna and g~nealo~J'. Si,nc,ec~ild~ood hobbies are us~al~\ Accompanied by Paciano, he left for Biflan one Sunday, arriv-those that last, Jose retamed hISmclmatlOn to botany and zoo og.) ingthereatsundown. They went to his aunt's house where he wasto

up to the end. board, together with six other relatives. Paciano introduced him to

Rizal continued making progress in his studies. Before the age his teacher, who earlier was his tutor. With a great talent for

ofthree, he could recite the alphabet; he paid great attention to the observation, Rizal describes him physically in his memoirs.

lessons that his sisters received from their tutor, This great dilig- The first day ofschool is not forgotten easily, and often he (theence was not forced on him by his mother, It was he himself who

In his hours of leisure, he would return to the orchard, where

another, more elaborate avocation, the study of insects, held his

interest.


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student) pays the price of being a beginner. Memorization was themethod used in teaching, and extreme severity was the rule, accord-ing 'to Rizal. The lessons were interspersed with blows with the

palmeta. Apparently the teacher believed in the saying "la letra con

sangre entra" (One has to suffer a great deal in order to learn).

When the teacher asked Rizal whether he spoke Spanish, and,

successively, whether he spoke Latin, Rizal answered, "A little,sir, " "A little, sir ."This prompted one ofhis co-students to make fun

of him. Rizal, although smaller and younger, challenged him to afight after class. He himself admitted that he won by sheer luck. He

gained the reputation of being small but strong, but this fame did

not last long. He had a favorable opinion of his teacher for knowing

the grammar of Nebrija perfectly, but an unfavorable one for impos-

ing discipline by means of physical punishment.

The schedule of work was exhausting for a boy of his age. It

would remind him of the journey of William Harvey as a student of

Gonville and Caius College. In the style of Isabel Tudor, in which

austerity, discipline, excessive tasks and frugal meals characterized

student life, Rizal woke up even earlier than Harvey. His schedule10

was as follows: Mass at 4:00, if there was mass. Thi s was

followed by breakfast, and after that, classes, until 1:00. After

eating, they resumed study. In the afternoon, classes again from

2:00 to 5:00. After that they played "for a while." Then back to class

again. This was followed by dinner, which consisted usually of two

plates of rice. 11And finally, prayers.

Occasionally, he took a trip to Calamba, but not as often as he

wished. He was not happy in Biflan, finding the town ugly, its

inhabitants dirty and the food poor. But here we may suppose that

the stronger reason was that he was homesick for his town and his

family. He himself says: "I wept silently as I saw the calesa going toBiflan."12

going by boat, an experience he had never had before. One canimagine the emotion and boundless joy that he felt as he set foot on

the beach of his beloved Calamba. Rizal spent Christmas with his

family. And there it was decided that he would not return to Biflan.

While waiting for the month of June when he would enroll for

secondary school in Manila, they provided him with another profes-

SOl', from whom he did not learn anything except the multiplication

table.

The Detention of TeodoraWhile Rizal, happy in the bosom of his family, awaited the month of

July to go to school in Manila, something happened to darken the life

in that home. Jose Alberto, cousin of Teodora, was one of the

wealthiest in Biflan. Upon his return from a trip to Europe, he

came home to find his wife gone and his children abandoned. To all

appearances, she had been unfaithful to him. Jose Alberto planned

to separate from her, but Teodora intervened for the sake of the

children, and for reasons based on the Catholic principles she pro-

fessed. They succeeded in dissuading him from his plans, and thefamily was reunited.

Subsequent events proved tragic. Rizal says in his Memorias:

"A few days later, the infamous woman, together with a lieutenant

ofthe guardia civil who had been a family friend, accused him (Jose

Alberto) of poisoning, al).dnamed my mother as an accomplice. Mymother was put in prison by the alcalde, who was a fanatic, a puppet

of the friars. From then on, Jose doubted all men and lost faith intheir friendship. "13

"One dark night," Rizal further relates, "while taking a stroll I

was assaulted and jailed, despite my being wounded. They

threatened me with deportation for the sole reason that, in thedarkness of the night, I failed to lift my hat as I passed the lieuten-

ant of the guardia civil." He filed a suit with the Capitan General.

"It took two weeks before my wounds were healed," he writes.14

The legal action was in vain; he was not permitted to see the

Capitan, nor did he obtain redress of his grievances.

The restoration of the guardia civil in the Philippines waswell-intentioned as regards the principal mission assigned to them,

namely, to fight the tulisanes. But almost all the Filipinos of thattime protested against abuse of authority and discrimination

This stay in Biflan, with only occasional trips to Calamba,

brought out his natural melancholy, which was always there albeitin dm-mant state.

However, being a fervent Catholic, he found the lenitive for his

griefs in prayer and invoked the Virgin of Biflan to intercede for his

return to Calamba. At last, by about the middle of1870, he receiveda letter from home announcing that the boat Talim would pass forhim on his return home. Not only was he going home, but he was


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against the natives. Such abuses and discrimination happened alsoin other Spanish colonies. 15

Going back to Rizal's account, he repeatedly refers to the

alcalde as a servant ofthe friars. We stress this because it appears

again and again, like a ritornello, in the course ofthis narrative. The

Filipinos considered the ''frailocracia,'' as they described the rule of

the friars, responsible f or the state of political stagnation in which

the Filipino people were kept, and it was used as the most importantcoercive instrument of the government to hold back any current of

progressive political thought.

The detention ofTeodora was marked by extreme cruelty and

humiliation. They made her walk barefoot to the prison which was

situated 30 kilometers away. We continue with Rizal's narration:

"Once there, they made her confess what they wanted her to con-

fess, promising her liberty and the chance to see her children once

again, should she confess. My mother was terrified and deceived;

they threatened to condemn her ifshe did not acquiesce. Weakened,

she submitted to the will of her enemies."

Subsequently, when the case reached the Audiencia, thealcalde asked pardon for Teodora. She was finally absolved but the

case dragged on for two and a half years before she finally gained

release.

The knowledge of these facts, and the conclusions that can be

drawn from their repercussion and influence on the shaping of the

personality of the great Malayan, are very significant. He himself

says in his Memorias16 that (as a result of these) he became a

skeptic. This emotional trauma was to such a sensitive boy very

painful, indeed, plus the fact that he lost faith and confidence at an

age when his personality was still in a very plastic stage.

The fact that the alcalde was in connivance with the friars and

their subordinates indicated who were behind all this, especially in

view ofthe political view ofPaciano, as we shall see when we cometo the Cavite Mutiny of 1872.

The Cavite Mutiny in 1872The history of a country, conquered and dominated, is always

sprinkled with the blood of the conquerors and the conquered,usually with the latter shedding the greater part. The Philippines is

not an exception to this rule, although the struggle maintained by

the aborigines during the period of the conquest was hardly of any

significance, except for that "Battle by the Pasig River" whereManila is now, with the troops of Legazpi. This was due to the fact

that the natives were directed by a Portuguese who organized the

defense behind a protective fort by the bank of the river, armed

with twelve cannons. Once this was over, the rest ofthe conquest of

the island of Luzon was carried on by Juan de Salcedo, nephew of

Legazpi, with only 45 men, thanks to the tact and diplomacy withwhich he carried out the occupation, plus the natural qualities of the

Filipinos: affable, submissive, hospitable and with the exception of

the aetas ornegritos, easy to indoctrinate. Legazpi, by nature, was

notin favor of violence and,besides,when he left Puerto de Natividad

on the 21st of November, 1564, he carried the instructions of Philip

II to the effect that they should desist from using arms unless it was

absolutely necessary.

After this, however, with the lapse of centuries, the relations

deteriorated: on the part of the natives, because submission and

compliance with the orders of any state were incompatible with the

customs of the inhabitants, accustomed as they were to the freeforest life. The Spaniards, on their part, tended to abuse their

authority, an unfortunate reaction which is but human, and to which

was added an air of superiority put on (up to the present) by some.

Many of the Spaniards were adventurers, fortune-seekers, who,

after some years, returned to the Peninsula. Still common up to this

day is the phrase "punto filipino," a derogatory expression refer-

ring t o the Spanish officials who went to the Philippines with the

aforementioned motive. On the other hand, one thing we can say of

the Spaniards is that, unlike the British, they readily intermarried

with the Mexicans, the guarani or the Filipinas, etc.

The intellectual progress of the Filipinos, and their slow butconstant development of political consciousness led to much friction,

which in turn resulted in rebellion. The common backgTound of

these revolts consisted of protests against discrimination rather

than the desire for independence from the metropolis. Only a few

fought openly for separation. Even Rizal himself did not have this in

mind at the time.

T o enum erate here all the insurrections recorded would~ unnecessarily extend this work. We shall limit ourselves to those of

the 19th century, up to and including the Cavite Mutiny.


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About the end of1807,during the reign of Ferdinand VII, therewas an uprising in the Ilocos provinces. The missionaries resistedthe said uprising. In 1811 there was another seditious movement

motivated by anti-friar sentiments.17 The principalia and the

cabezas de barangay 18entered into a joint effort with the Igorots,19

to exterminate the Spaniards; they were discovered and crushed.

About the beginning of 1812, two years after the approval of

the Constitution of Cadiz, General Gordoque publicized this event,

as was his duty, causing great re joicing among the natives. Whenthe constitution was abolished by Ferdinand VII, an uprising broke

out, the natives thinking the abolition due to intrigues of the

Spaniards in connivance with the friars. The insurrection, which

started in 1820, was led by the Filipino capitan Novales. It lasted

for three years. The cooperation of the friars greatly contributed to

the suppression of the uprising. Novales, the rebel chief, was exe-

cuted. He had risen in protest against the decree that conferred the

peninsular officials precedence over the Filipinos for the sole reason

of having been born in the metropolis (Spain).

In 1836, in a reflection of the mutiny of the sergeants of La

Granja, discontent arose once more; but it was subdued by theclergy.

In Novem ber, 1841, during the rule of General Oraa,

Apolinario de la Cruz, of the convent of San Juan de Dios in Manila,

was refused entrance in the monastic order because he was a native.

In resentment, he decided to form a national religious and anti-

Spanish order in the vicinity of a Tagalog township. He was able to

recruit some 3,000 followers under the patronage of San Jose. They

were denounced by a priest, and the repression which followed was

bloody. Three hundred natives were either wounded or killed by the

soldiers. De la Cruz was executed, but his order was reestablished a

number of times, as it was in 1920.20

Finally, before the Cavite uprising, a mestizo lieutenant of the

guards, Cuesta, staged a revolt in Nueva Ecija. Three Spanish

priests denounced him, and although he was given political asylum

at the British consulate, they gave him up upon the insistence of theSpanish authorities. He was hanged.

There are several common characteristic in almost all the

insunections: they were mostly sparked by some discriminatory act

against the natives; the friars or Spanish priests denounced therebels; finally, events in the Peninsula usually served as the ignitingspark. The insurrections increased in frequency.during the 19thcentury. These were a consequence ofincreasing political changes

inherent in the political development of a people. And these were

related to the break in the isolation in which the Philippines had

been maintained, as was also the case with China, and with Japan

before the visit of Commodore Perry in 1854.

Meanwhile, the opium trade opened the ports ofancient Cathayto the Occidentals. Twelve years before this, in 1830, the port of

Manila w a s opened to Occidental trade. Oriental commerce had

existed before, particularly in the exchange of merchandise, as well

as in immigTation, especially Chinese. This was carried on by means

ofjunks from Hongkong and Amoy. In 1834, the Filipino ports were

opened to foreign ships. This brought an influx of ideas. The flow of

new currents of thought was more important than economic trade in

the movement of the country towards political liberation.

We have given a brief description of the political and social

conditions prevailing in the Philippines during the first three quar-

ters of the 19th century, as well as of the repercussion in thearchipelago ofevents abroad, principally in the peninsula. For only

with understanding the national situation can one understand our

hero.

We can now approach the subject of the Cavite Mutiny in 1872.

To this event we attribute extraordinary importance, not only

because of the events per se, but also because of their repercussions

on the creation of an elite of patriots who, led by Rizal, contributed

greatly towards the awakening of the political consciousness of the

Filipinos.

The historical cause, or starting point, is linked with the CaviteMutiny as a hasic cathartic factor although as always, there are

other factors that motivate a conduct or a personality, more so when

it is a rare case, as is that of Rizal. In his candid and clear language,

he himself admits the influence of the incident of Cavite, and he

expresses this in a letter to Mariano Ponce: "Without 1872, there

would not be a Plaridel21 nor a J aena, nor a Sancianco, nor would

there be such brave and generous Filipino communities in Europe.

Were it not for 1872, Rizal would now be a Jesuit, and instead of

writing the Noli, I would have written the contrary. Seeing those


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injustices and that cruelty, even as a boy, my imagination wasawakened a nd I swore to dedicate myself someday to avenge the

wrongs committed against so many victims. With this idea I pur-

sued my studies, and this can be seen in all my works and writings.God will give me the chance, someday, of carrying out this prom-ise. "22

He was, i n truth, a boy, only 11, when the events of Cavite

transpired. With his usual care he does not speak of confused

happenings that would capture the imagination of a boy. These

came alive with the ideas imparted to him by Paciano. Paciano, whowas 10 years older, had lived and witnessed the mutiny from the

beginning.

As in previous uprisings, the root cause may be found in the

discrimination against the Filipinos. We have to go back to 1864to

find the antecedents of the attitude of Father Burgos, principal

protagonist in these events. That year, he had published a man-

ifesto in defense of the native clergy of which he was the most

qualified and courageous spokesman. He asked for equality ofrights

and opportunities; he showed how the most lucrative parishes were

never granted to the Filipinos but to peninsular-es, priest or friars.

In effect, the existing rule was that the native priests should not be

given the positions of parish priests. Furthermore, the friars par-

ticularly considered unpatriotic any move to assimilate the native

clergy. Although there were not many native priests, and they

lacked the prestige and preparation of the Spanish clergy and,

according to Jagor,23 they were known to be libertines, still, such

prerogatives were not justifiable solely on the basis of race. Father

Burgos, who at the time was 32 years old, possessed a solid intellec-

tual preparation and was well-respected for his ability. He had

written a book entitled La Loba Negm which had a socio-political

theme. In the story, which bears a socialistic message, the people

fight for power. 24

The Masonic lodges seem to have been implicated in the Cavite

Mutiny, albeit slightly, since at the time Masonry was not yetwidespread in the archipelago. 25

The Spanish revolution of September, 1868, was the event that

really precipitated the outbreak of the mutiny. Ten days later came

the fall of Isabel II. In Yara, Cuba, the first cry ofrevolution arose.

This heralded the Cry of Balintawak in Luzon, 28 years later. We

note this delay in the outbreak of the Philippine Insurrectionbecause in the rest of the Spanish colonial empire the revolutionscame much earlier.

On the 21st of January, 1872, there was an insurrection which

should be called a mutiny, owing to its special significance. Two

hundred men, officers and the rank and file of the arsenal of Cavite,

revolted. The military character of the rebels and the proximity to

Manila and to Manila Bay drew attention to the mutiny. But above

all it provided a reason for the conservatives, prompted by the

friars, to incite the Governor General to unleash a repression that

nipped in the bud the weak attempts at equalization between the

"Spanish Filipinos" and the "peninsular Spaniards."

The September revolution, which resulted in the downfall of

Isabel II, was reflected not only in the ideological attitude of the

Filipinos but also in the character of the officials from the met-

ropolis. In 1869, Carlos Ma. de la Torre assumed the position of

Governor and Captain General. A liberal in ideas, he introduced a

series of measures that liberalized the norms and customs so far

established. The accolade given by de la Torre to Father Burgos, on

the occasion of the reception at the latter's oath-taking, aroused theindignation of the religious orders and they prepared and workedfor the downfall of the Captain General.

This may come as a surprise to those who do not know that in

the development of Spanish politics in the Philippines the religious

orders were the most powerful force, equalled by no other, except in

Calvin's theocratic state in Geneva of the 16th century, or the

hegemony of the Jesuits in Paraguay.

All through this work, we shall see again and again the change

of Governors General - their replacement by others more docile to

the policies of the religious orders, which were bent on maintaining

the status quo and repressing progress. When Amadeo I assumedthe headship of fhe state, [he clergy gotWhafThey wanted. TIela

Torre was replaced by General Rafael Izquierdo and he fulfilled,

though only partially, the aspirations of the friars. Izquierdo was

much less of a liberal than his predecessor. He had streaks of

Masonry, but little by little he yielded to local practices, the path of

which was marked by the recalcitrant Spanish colony and the religi-ous orders.

Very soon came the repression, and it was not limited to those


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who took active part in the mutiny but extended to those who were

known to have worked in the propaganda for the political enligh-tenment of the Filipinos, especially the intellectuals. Hundreds of

them were imprisoned, the most prominent being Fathers Jose

Burgos, Mariano G6mez and Jacinto Zamora, although their par-

ticipation in the mutiny was not proven (according to the most

important biographers of Rizal).26 The accused were summoned

before the Council of War and condemned to death. The execution

took place in Bagumbayan, and to add insult to injury, the garrote

was used. The intellectuals of the period supported the propagandacarried out by Burgos and his colleagues to gain for the Filipino

priests the same rights as those enjoyed by the Spanish clergy.

According to them their controversy with the friars decisively

influenced the decision of the authorities.

Be that as it may, the severity of the repression was the seed

that 24 years later gave fruit to the revolution.

A good many of the intellectuals, who were deported to the

distant Marianas Islands for life, later came to form the elite of the

Filipino patriots. Among these were Jose Ma. Basa, Joaquin Pardo

de Tavera, Antonio Regidor, Balbino Mauricio, P.J. Dandan, who,aside from having been deported, were contemptuously called

filibusteros. Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt, the Austrian friend of

Rizal, defines this word in the following way: 27"One who had

progressive or liberal ideas, or even one who advocated assimila-

tion, was calledfilibustero." Rizal, for his part, wrote to Blumen-

tritt that "his father had forbidden them to pronounce in his pres-

ence the words 'filibustero', 'Cavite', 'Burgos', adding that the word

filibustero does not denote pirate. Rather, it means a dangerous

patriot soon to be hanged. "28

The Cavite mutiny was not the leitmotiv which inspired the

political activities of Rizal, but from its varied implications andconsequences he drew concl.,usionsand set his own norm of conduct.

Thus, when Rizal comments on the weak attitude of Father Burgos

at the hour of his death, in contrast to that of Father G6mez, he

affirms, "If Burgos, at the hour of death, had demonstrated the

courage of Gomez, the Filipinos of today would be different."29

Amidst all this darkness there was something bright: When the

Spanish authorities asked the archbishop to defrock the condemnedpriests, l).erefused. This resolution is, indeed, worthy of praise. It i::.

a pity that this conduct turned out to be only a fleeting spark, agesture not repeated by his successors in the episcopal chair ofManila. We shall see the conduct of Archbishop Nozaleda regarding

the execution of Rizal.

While the repression intensified, Paciano, who had lived with

Burgos and had been his pupil, secretly left Manila for Calamba where

he was to remain in hiding.

1M. (170) Mis Viajes con el Dr. Rizal, Manila, 1913.

2Except once, against General Blanco, Rizal, J. (l41) Epistola1'w. Vol. II, Bk. 2, Part 3,

Rizal to Blumentritt, Meditarraneo, Sept. 28, 1896.3Rizal, J. (103) with pseudonym of P. Jacinto. Memorias de un Estudiante, p. 1. 274A black magical being which, according to stories, eats the entrails of people.

5Rizal, J. (103) Merrwrias de un Estudiante. p. 2, Manila, 1949.

6Rizal, J. (137) Epistolario, Kalaw. Paciano to Rizal, Calamba, Nov. 5, 1884, p. 128.

'Id. id. id. Manila, May 6, 1882, Vol. I, p. 19.

6Rizal J. (103) Memorias de un Estudiante. p. 4, Manila, 1949.

9Id. id. id., p. 7.

'ORizal, J. (103) Merrwrias de un Estudiante. p. 8, Manila, 1949

"Rice cooked in water and no salt. Ordinary food of Filipinos of the period.

I2Rizal, J. (103) Memorias de un Estudiante. p. 12, Manila, 1949.

'3Id. id. id., p. 13.

J4Rizal, J. (139) Epistolario, C.N.C. Vol. II, Bk. 2, Part 1, Rizal to Blumentritt, Berlin,

March 21, 1887.15Fermindez, Almagro, M. (38) Hist01ia Politica de la Espana Contempomnea. Vol. II,

p. 52, Madrid, 1959. In this recent work, published in Spain, the illustrious historian relates

that during a peaceful strike, February, 1888, there was a demonstration of the laborers of

Rio Tinto. The civil guards (rural police) put a stop to the strike, but 20 persons died and 150

were wounded. With this information we do not wish to justify any abuse but simply to show

that the abuse of authority was suffered not only by the Filipinos as the dominated people.

'6Rizal, J. (103) Merrwrias de un Estudiante. p. 14, Manila, 1949.

"By a Spaniard (91) Los Fmiles Filipinos. p. 98, Madrid, 1898.

ISCabezas de barangay were chieftains of50 families from whom they collected contribu-

tions. This was a pre-Spanish institution.

'lIThe Igorots are natives that inhabit the island

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