PRELIM COVERAGE

Course Syllabus
COURSE CODE : History 3

COURSE TITLE : The Life and Works of Rizal

COURSE CREDIT : 3 units

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

A study of the life, works and writings of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the national hero and martyr, as they relate
to the socio-political situation of the Philippines during his time and its implication to our present time.
It traces the hero’s life, ideals, concept of education, good government, and nationalism as embodied
in his writings, particularly the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the semester, the students will be able to:

1. Learn and understand the life of Dr. Jose P. Rizal from his birth to his martyrdom.

2. Analyze the impact of Rizal’s life in relation to his contribution on the socio-political situation of the
Philippines then and the present time.

3. Critically understand Rizal’s heroism and realize the significance of his ideas in the present time

4. Interpret the selected poem, essays and novels and its impact to socio-political situation during the
past and present time.

REFERENCES:

De Viana, Augusto, Cabrera, Helena MA. F., et.al., Jose Rizal: Social Reformer and Patriot

Module 1: The Conditions of Europe, America, and Spain

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. State the concept of liberal ideas as opposed to the conservative ideas (monarchists);

2. Point out the countries where its people tried to change the political and social situations of those
countries; and
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3. Discuss the direction of the changes.

Rizal's Century: The 19th Century

The 19th century was a century of change. During the last two decades of the previous century,
the age of enlightenment reached its zenith in France, culminating in the French Revolution of 1789.
In this age, ideas of freedom, liberty and equality, and the belief in the sovereignty of the people in
determining government thundered all across Europe. The French Revolution resulted in the toppling
of the monarchy of King Louis XVI and the ushering in of the French Republic. Though France was to
slide back to monarchy following the establishment of Napoleon Bonaparte's French Empire and the
restored Bourbon dynasty, the ideas of philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu,
Francois-Marie Arouet (Voltaire), and Englishman John Locke spread around the world like a
conflagration. The world was never the same again.

The struggle for equal rights has spread over the world. Europe went up in revolution from 1848,
with the regimes of the absolute monarchs in France and Austria being toppled by people seeking
more responsible governments. In 1861, the year of Rizal's birth, Tsar Alexander Il emancipated
Russian serfs.That year, the Italians, under Giuseppe Garibaldi, threw out the Austrians and took
over the papal lands. Italian nationalism ended the domination of the Church and united the various
Italian states as one country. Germany, on the other hand, was in the process of unification which
lasted until 1871. In the United States, President Abraham Lincoln emancipated the black slaves but
also triggered the American Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865. At the south of the US. border,
Mexican troops dealt a humiliating defeat on the French supported regime of Archduke Maximilian. In
France, the regime of Napoleon Ill was crumbling after the debacle in Mexico. Later, the French
overthrew the monarchists and established a republic. At this time, however, most of Spain's colonies
such as those in South and Central America, such as Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and others have won their independence from
Spain through revolution. The Philippines was one of Spain's remaining colonies along with Cuba,
Puerto Rico, and the Spanish Sahara.

The Need for Reforms: Representation

During Napoleon's time, Spain was part of France's alliance against Great Britain in the
Continental System. When this alliance faltered, Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808 and installed his
brother Joseph as king. The Spaniards resisted the French, and Spanish patriots declared allegiance
to their crown prince Ferdinand and gathered in the city of Cadiz where they crafted a constitution.
The Constitution of Cadiz had a novel feature of allowing colonies to be represented in the Spanish
parliament called the Cortes. The Philippines therefore was given representation for the very first
time, and Ventura de los Reyes, a Spaniard born in the Philippines, was selected to represent the
colony. However, after Napoleon was defeated, Ferdinand, who had become King Ferdinand Vll,
abolished the Cortes, saying that the body encroached on powers he believed belonged solely to him.
The decision was unpopular as Spain's American colonies began to revolt and sought independence.

In 1820, the Spanish people rose up and held the king hostage. They forced him to reconvene the
Cortes and restore the representation of the colonies. The restoration of the Cortes was short•lived as
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France, under the Bourbons, sent an army which restored Ferdinand to absolute rule and caused the
abolition of the Cortes. In 1833, Ferdinand Vll died and the Cortes was again restored. However, at
this time, the body held a secret session in which it was decided that the Philippines should not be
accorded representation. From that time on, the Philippines had no representation in the Cortes.
Representation in this body was one of the reforms demanded by reformists like Rizal. It would have
given the Filipinos the right to be heard in the body and equal rights with the Spaniards. After
Ferdinand VI! died, the country was ruled by his daughter, Queen Isabella Il, whose rule was
characterized by decadence and mismanagement. Other European powers such as Great Britain and
France became leading powers in the continent.

Conditions in Asia in the 19th Century

In Asia, there were renewed efforts of European penetration with the weakening of Spain and
Portugal and the rise of Great Britain and France. The British gained its colony in Hong Kong and
forced China to open five ports to its traders following China's defeat in the Opium War of 1839-1842.
China was humiliated with another defeat in the Arrow War of 1856-1858 when the British, now joined
by the French, forced China to open the whole country to foreigners. Furthermore, Great Britain
enlarged its colony in Hong Kong by taking over Kowloon. Japan was forced open by the Americans
under Commodore Matthew Perry in 1854. Unlike the Chinese, however, the Japanese were able to
parry western requests to make Yokohama a treaty port. India became a crown colony of Great
Britain in 1858 following the suppression of the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857. Burma became a colony of
Great Britain after three Burmese wars in 1824-1826,1862-1863, and 1885-1886. Near the
Philippines, Indo-China became a protectorate of France following the suppression of the kingdoms
of Annam and Cochin-China. Filipino troops from Manila played a role in the conquest of Indo-China
for France. Malaysia became a protectorate and eventually a colony of Great Britain while Indonesia
was conquered by the Dutch of Netherlands.

Module 2: Conditions in the Philippines in the 19th Century

Lesson Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Review the political and social changes that occurred in Europe in the 19th century; and

2. Analyze how the changes in Europe affected an Asian colony (e.g., the Philippines was a colony of
Spain, a western European country).

Liberal stirrings from Europe reached the Philippines. In the Ilocos, leading citizens there, called
Kailanes, refused to believe that the Cadiz Constitution was abolished by King Ferdinand and rose up
in revolt. They were crushed by troops from the other provinces. In 1826, Mexican soldiers led by Lt.
Andres Novales mutinied. They complained of discrimination and unfair treatment from peninsular
officials following the independence of Mexico from Spain. The mutineers tried to rally the Filipinos to

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gain their support and promised to fight for the independence of the Philippines. The mutiny,
however, was crushed and the rebels were executed.

The last of the series of revolts took place in 1841-1842 when Apolinario de la Cruz refused to
disband his religious organization, the Cofradia de San Jose. De la Cruz aspired to be a priest but
was refused by the Spaniards because of his race. Instead, he founded the Cofradia which gained
popularity among ordinary people and was seen as a threat by the Catholic Church. After his
execution and the suppression of the Cofradia, members of the Tayabas Regiment of the Spanish
army, who turned out to be province-mates of de la Cruz, mutinied and almost took over Manila. The
arrival of native reinforcements saved the Spanish colonizers from certain defeat.

The defeats of native revolts demonstrated that the Philippines was disunited beca use of lack of
a national identity. The Spaniards used this disunity to divide and rule the country. Demographically,
the Spaniards were a minority in the Philippines. The peninsulares, or Spaniards born in Spain but at
that time were working in the Philippines, were very few, consisting of the governor-general, some
officials and priests, and the insulares, Spaniards born in the Philippines who were also few in
comparison to the native population. In large towns, the parish priest and the head of local police
were the only Spaniards. The colonial order was maintained largely by native officials. Local officials
such as the gobernadorcillos, the councilmen, and the Principalia. The policemen were also natives,
and even the composition of the local Spanish army and civil guards was largely natives. Only the
officials with the rank of sergeants were

Spaniards. The Spaniards, despite their inferior number, managed to retain the loyalty of the native
officials by giving them certain privileges that kept them separated from the rest of the population.
The gobernadorcillos were afforded the titles of capitan municipal, teniente, and cabeza. Though their
positions did not pay much, the titles gave them an exalted position in native society and were called
principales or leading citizens. There were also some material rewards in serving the Spaniards. A
number of the principales descended from the loyal datus who pledged their loyalty to the colonizers.
They were exempt from taxation and community labor or prestacion personal. They were also entitled
to receive a portion of their collection from the people. After serving their terms of office, former
officials were still eligible for re-election. It was possible for former officials to be reinstated into their
former offices several times. This explains why Spain controlled the Philippines for more 300 years.
Spain controlled the natives through the native leaders.

Changes in the 19th century had profound effects to the Philippines. During the previous
centuries, it was forbidden for the Philippines to trade with other countries because of Spain's
monopolistic policy, but colonial officials ignored this instruction and traded with other nations. By
1834, this mercantilist policy of not allowing the Philippines to trade with other countries was
scrapped with the opening of Manila to world trade. Other ports in the colony like Iloilo; Cebu; Sual,
Pangasinan; and Zamboanga followed. There was brisk demand for Philippine products such as
sugar, coffee, abaca, tobacco, dyestuff, and rice. This created economic opportunities as many
families began trading these products for the international market. These families were mostly
mestizos consisting of Spanish and Chinese families. They intermarried with natives who were
farmers that became traders. In the process, they became more affluent and formed the nucleus of

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the middle class. The increased wealth allowed middle-class families to have better houses and sent
their children to colleges and universities for tertiary education. They obtained higher education
degrees which they thought made them equal with the Spaniards. Eventually, they became
concerned with issues of equality including secularization. By the time of Rizal's youth, the quest for
equality was the cry of the times. It influenced Rizal throughout his life and it became his lifelong
quest.

Module 3: The Religious Front: Secularization

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Define the word "secularization" and apply this to the Philippine situation in the 19th century;

2. State a working definition of the word "secularization;" and

3. Differentiate a regular priest and a secular priest.

Aside from the need to secure political and social reforms, there was also the persisting issue of
the secularization of the Philippine Church. This was a matter involving the Catholic clergy in the
Philippines. In the 16th century, the Council of Trent of the Vatican specified the division of the
regular and secular priests. At the beginning of the Spanish colonization, the task of establishing and
administering the country's parishes was done by the regular priests who belong to different religious
orders. In the Philippines, these were the Augustinians, Recollects, Jesuits, Franciscans, and
Dominicans. Originally, they came as missionaries to the Philippines. During the course of Spanish
rule, there were demands by the seculars to implement the royal and papal orders. For a time, this
was actually implemented but turned out to be failures, as the secular priests, who were mostly
composed of Filipino priests, were found to be wanting and deemed to be unready to head the
parishes. The expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 created oppurtunities for seculars to occupy vacated
parishes, when the Jesuits were allowed to return in 1858, parishes held by the seculars were given
back to the regulars once the secular priest holding the post died. What happened was a reverse
secularization of the churches, where the parishes held by the seculars were reverted to the regulars.
The issue pitted Filipino seculars against the Spanish regular clergy, the secularization issue has
become a race issue. During the Spanish colonization, the Spaniards in the Philippines who were
born and who grew up in Spain were called peninsulares, while the Spaniards born in the Philippines
were called Filipinos. This issue was between the Spanish regulars versus the Filipino seculars. In
the forefront of this struggle were Filipino priests like Fathers Pedro Pablo Palaez, Jacinto Zamora,
Mariano Gomez, and Jose Burgos who championed the cause of equal rights with Spaniards and the
reduction of the influence of the Church in politics. Also among the suspects were the leaders of the
Filipino secular clergy who fought for secularization of the Philippine Catholic Church. The King of
Spain and the Pope himself gave instructions for the secularization of the country's parishes, but this
was resisted by the orders of friars who contended that the Filipino seculars were not ready to take
over. During the previous administration of the liberal Governor- General Carlos Ma. de la Torre,
these Filipino liberals and seculars were allowed to voice their grievances. Under Governor-General

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Izquierdo's regime, this right was suppressed. The Filipinos, on the other hand, struggled to defend
their gains under the old regime. They were already identified by the conservative Spaniards for
elimination. The Cavite Mutiny provided the pretext for the conservatives to eliminate the Filipino
liberals. The Spanish forces arrested several known liberals, among them were Jose Ma, Basa,
Antonio Ma. Regidor, Balbino Mauricio, Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, and Filipino secular priests like
Pedro Dandan and Toribio H. del Pilar, the brother of propagandist Marcelo H. del Pilar.

Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora were identified by a false witness named Francisco
Zaldua, who pointed out that the three priests were indeed out to lead a government that would
overthrow the Spaniards and install Father Burgos as the future leader of the Philippines. Despite the
protests and insufficient evidence, the three

priests were garroted at Bagumbayan on February 17, 1872. The others who were identified as
sympathizers of the secularization issue also underwent trial and were found guilty. They were
sentenced with deportation to Guam in the Marianas and were never allowed to return as long as
Spain ruled the Philippines.

Reinforcing Spanish domination in the country were the Spanish clergymen. At the beginning of
Spanish rule, they helped establish the country's parishes and even several towns in the course of
their evangelization. Through centuries of Spanish rule, they performed an important role not only as
spreaders of the Christian faith but also as representatives of the colonial government. Very often, the
Spanish religious officials acted as the eyes and ears of the colonial government, and in many cases,
they served or held positions in the government. They also controlled education in the country as the
country's educational institutions were controlled by the religious orders. In the local level, the Church
operated parish schools which were the primary schools until the enactment of religious reforms in
1868. Religious officials were also guardians of public morals as they sat on bodies such as those
concerning censorship. In the local level, the parish priest often endorsed candidates for political
positions. This gave him a political role in addition to a religious role. In the national level, religious
officials acted as advisers to the governor-general. Many of these officials belong to the regular
orders such as the friar orders. More often than not, religious officials serve longer than the governor-
general whose average term lasted around three years. Given this condition, the religious officials
were deeply entrenched and it was difficult for a new governor-general to enforce sweeping reforms
especially those that threaten the supremacy of the religious officials. With the cries for reform,
especially those concerning secularization, the religious orders strongly opposed the efforts.

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 ACTIVITY:

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS COMPREHENSIVELY. (20PTS EACH)

1. WHAT ARE YOUR CONCEPTS AND OPINION ON RIZAL’S WORK?

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2. IN WHAT WAY YOU APPRECIATE THE WORK OF JOSE RIZAL?

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3. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE IMPACT OF RIZAL’S LIFE IN RELATION TO HIS

CONTRIBUTION ON THE SOCIO-POLITICAL SITUIATION OF THE PHILIPPINE THEN
AND PRESENT TIME?
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4. COMPARE YOUR OWN PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS WITH THE FULLY
FUNCTIONING PERSON.

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5. WHAT ARE RIZAL’S CHARACTERS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE AND WHY?
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NOTE:
ORAL RECITATION ON NEXT WEEK SATURDAY (ONLINE OR FACE TO FACE)

SIR NAIM