Jose Rizal’s

Life Abroad

Subject: G-RIZAL (Life and Works of Rizal)

Instructor: Maria Divina M. Beti, MPA

Department of Social Sciences // College of Arts and Sciences // University of the Visayas
Jose Rizal left Manila on May 3, 1882.

He left for Spain with the blessings of his

brother Paciano and his uncle, Antonio
Rivera.

He decided not to seek his parents’

blessing knowing they would never
approve of his plan.

He secured endorsements from Pedro

Paterno.
 First Trip to Europe
 His first stop was in Singapore, Colombo
in Sri Lanka; Aden in Yemen; and

crossed the entire length of Suez Canal.

Suez Canal

They landed at Port Said, Egypt;

Naples in Italy; and

disembarked in Marseilles, France.

 ACTIVITIES IN MARSEILLES

1. Jose Rizal went to Chateau d’lf, the venue of Alexandre Dumas’

Novel, The Count of Monte Cristo.

2. He boarded in Portbou. He
noticed the indifference of
the Spanish immigration
officers compared to the
courteous French counterparts.

Chateau, d’lf, Marseille, France

 ARRIVAL IN SPAIN

1. He first stopped in Barcelona, the capital of the Spanish province,

Cataluña. According to him, the people were indifferent and he arrived
during the summer vacation of the students.

a. In this city, he found out that the people of the city enjoyed freedom and
liberalism.
Plaza de Cataluña, Spain
b. He wrote essays for Diariong Tagalog.
* “Amor Patrio” (Love of Country)
* “Los Viajes” (Travels)
* “Revista de Madrid” (Review of Madrid)

c. He met his classmates from Ateneo at the

Plaza de Cataluña.
2. Madrid
 a. He enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid on November 3,
1882. He enrolled in the following courses:
- Medicine
- Philosophy and Letters
 b. He took courses at the Academy of San Carlos
- Painting and Sculpture
- Languages: French, German, and English
 c. He took private lessons at the Hall of Sanz and Carbonell
- Shooting
- Fencing
 d. Important people he met:
- Dr. Miguel Morayta, an advocate of freedom and self-determination.
Students from South America hailed Dr. Morayta as their champion. He
joined his students and other supports to this end.
- Don Pablo Ortega y Rey, a Spanish
liberal who used to live in the
Philippines.

 e. Jose Rizal joined the Circulo

Hispano Filipino.
- It was a social organization where
the members talked on the
reforms needed in the
Philippines.
 - This group was mostly made up of elder Filipinos who were the exiles of
1872.
- It held informal programs which included poetry reading and debates.

 f. Jose Rizal joined freemasonry.

- He became a member and his masonic name was Dimasalang.
- Freemasonry was an organization outlawed by the Catholic Church because
its beliefs are contrary to the doctrines of the church.
- A mason’s view is that knowledge should be achieved by the light of reason
and universal brotherhood of men. Rizal adopted the masonic view.
- Masonry attacked the Church because they believed it promoted religious
superstition and obscurantism, hiding truth behind the veil of religion.
 g. He was an avid book collector. He scrimped on food and clothes, and
lived in modest accommodations but he bought books.

These are the important books he collected:

- Uncle Tom’s Cabin written by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Works of Alexandre Dumas
- The Wandering Jew written by Eugen Sue
Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Lives of the Presidents of the United States from
George Washington to Andrew Johnson
- The Complete Works of Horace (3 Volumes)

Horace Alexandre Dumas

 h. events on June 25, 1884
- Juan Luna was awarded the top prize for his painting Spoliarium while Feliz Resurrection
Hidalgo took the second place for his painting Virgines Christianas Expuestas al Populacho
(Christian Virgins Exposed to the Population).
- The Filipino painters joined the National Exposition of Fine Arts.
- Jose Rizal gave a speech in a public audience saying that Luna and Hidalgo were the
pride of the Filipino people; that genius is not a monopoly of any race and their prizes
were products of both the Philippines and Spain.
Spoliarium by Juan Luna
He voiced the hope that, someday, Spain will
grant the reforms needed by Filipinos.
- This speech was published in the newspaper
“El Liberal”. This reached the Philippines and
there were elements (people) in the Philippines
who were not pleased with this development.
 i. Completion of his studies
- He completed his Licenciado en Medicina on June 21, 1884. He did not have his
Doctorate in Medicine because he did not present the thesis required for graduation. He
can practice medicine with the acquisition of this degree but he cannot teach medicine.
- He finished his studies in Philosophy and Letters and obtained the degree Licenciado en
Filosofia y Letras with the rating of sobresaliente.

 j. He started writing the novel Noli Me Tangere when he was still a student at the
Central University of Madrid.
- He was inspired to write after reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin
by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This book is about the trial and
hardship of the black slaves and awakened in him his inherent
love and concern for the afflicted.
 - On January 2, 1884, the Filipino expatriates had a meeting at the house of
the Paterno brothers. It was during this meeting that the Filipinos who attended
agreed to write a novel about the Philippines. These were Pedro Paterno, Antonio
Paterno, Maximo Paterno,Graciano Lopez Jaena, Evaristo Aguirre, and Eduardo de
Lete.
- The plan did not materialize and Jose Rizal was left to write the novel. He
started writing in Madrid and he continued to write while he was in France and
Germany. Final revisions were made in Berlin.
- He could not afford the printing cost but was saved by his friend, Maximo
Viola. He lent Jose the needed amount for the first 2,000 copies of the novel.
- On March 29, 1887, the novel was printed in Berlin.
The first recipients of the novel were Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt, Dr. Antonio Ma.
Regidor, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Mariano Ponce, Felix Resurrection Hidalgo.
 As a way of showing his appreciation, he gave
the original manuscript of the Noli Me Tangere and a
complimentary copy to Maximo Viola.

Jose Rizal explained the title

“Noli Me Tangere” means “Touch
Me Not”. This was from the bible,
from the Gospel of St. John.

Maximo Viola
The book was dedicated to
the Philippines, his fatherland.

Noli Me Tangere
first book cover 1887
PARIS, FRANCE

1. He arrived in Paris on November 1885.

2. He worked as an assistant to Dr. Louis de Weckert.
3. He found time to be with his friends, Pardo de Taveras, Juan
Luna, and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo.
4. He posed for Juan Luna’s paintings.
5. Composed songs: “Alin Mang Lahi” and “La Deportacion”.
GERMANY
1. On February 1886, he arrived in Heidelberg, an old university
town.
a. He worked as an assistant to Dr. Otto Becker at the University Eye
Hospital.
b. He listened to the lectures of Dr. Becker and Prof. Wilhelm
Kuehne.
c. He wrote the poem, “To the Flowers of Heidelberg.”
d. He spent his summer vacation in 1886 in Wilhelmsfeld where he
lived with Protestant pastor Karl Ulmer to perfect his ability to speak
German.
e. He started his correspondence with Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt,
the Director of Ateneo of Leitmeritz, Austria. He sent a book to Prof.
Blumentritt, Aritmetica by Rufino Baltazar.
2. On August 1886, he arrived in Leipzig.
a. He met Prof. Friedrich Ratzel and Dr. Hans Meyer who wrote a book
on the Philippines.
b. He translated Schiller’s William Tell to Tagalog. The book narrates
how the Swiss attained their independence in a peaceful manner.
c. He translated Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales to Tagalog for
his nephews and nieces.

3. On October 29, 1886, he arrived in Dresden.

a. He saw the painting of Raphael, the Sistine Madonna.
b. At the Zoological, Anthropological and Ethnographic Museum, he
saw the collction on the Philippines.
4. Berlin
a. He met Dr. Feodor Jagor who wrote Travels in the Philippines.
b. He met Drs. Rudolf and his son, Hns Virchow, two known German
anthropologists; Dr. W. Joest; and Dr. Ernest Schweigger, a known
ophthalmologist.
c. He became a member of the Anthropological Society, the
Ethnographic Society, and the Geographic Society.
* His paper entitled “Tagalische Verkunst” was delivered
before the members.
* He was accepted and became a very respected member.
 d. He made the final revisions on the novel Noli Me Tangere.
On March 29, 1887, the novel was finally printed.

5. He went to Prague to visit the tomb of

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), aa
a Renaissance-era mathematician and
astronomer, who formulated a model of
the universe that place the Sun rather than
Earth at the center of the universe.
Departure from Europe
• 1. In Geneva, Switzerland, Maximo Viola and Jose Rizal parted
ways. Viola returned to Spain.
• 2. Rizal continued to Rome, Italy.
• 3. In Marseilles, France, he boarded
Djemnah to Saigon, Vietnam and finally,
Manila.
• 4. He arrived in Manila.
SOURCE:
• De Viana, A.V., Cabrera, H.M.F., Samala, E.P., De Vera, M.M., Atutubo,
J.C. (2018). Jose Rizal: Social Reformer and Patriot, A Study of his Life
and Times. Quezon City: Rex Printing Company, Inc.