RIZAL’S WORLD

AND HIS TIMES

PRESENTED BY:
NELIA B. APILIS
RIZAL A305 4:00-5:00pm
(BSEDIII BIO.SCIENCE)
 DR. JOSE P. RIZAL
• To understand the life of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, it is important to
know the historical background of the world and the
Philippines during his times.
 19TH CENTURY

• Era of challenges and responses

• A period of major changes which affected men and
society
 19th Century
• June 19, 1861 the birth of Rizal, the American Civil war was raging furiously in
the United States on the negro Slavery.
• Rizal was born and lived with a restless of events caused by variants tides of
leadership, changes in government, liberation, violence and war which affecting the
lives of mankind.
 In the Philippines

• The Filipino people suffered of the Spanish misrule, for they

were victims of the evils of an unjust, bigoted and
deteriorating colonial power.
• and….
• Rizal could attest on the evil events that made Filipinos felt
marginalized, discriminated and poorly administered.
Evils during the Spanish rule
in the Philippines
 1. Instability of colonial administration

• The political turmoil that Spain experiencing during that time

was of great effect to administer its colonized countries.

• It brought frequent periodic shifts in colonial policies of

colonial officials.
• For example, from 1834 – 1897, the Philippines was ruled by 50
governors general , that at one time a period of less than a
year, there were four Governor Generals.
 2. Corrupt officialdom

• The colonial officials sent by Spain in the 19th century were a

far cry from their able and dedicated predecessors of the 16th,
17th, 18th centuries.

• The “Siglo de Oro” of the Spaniards which produced Miguel

Cervantes, Lope de Vega and other glories of the Hispanic
nation.
• General Rafael Isquierdo, a ruthless governor general, aroused the anger
of the Filipinos by executing the innocent GOMBURZA.

• General Valeriano Weyler, a cruel and corrupt governor general, arrived

in Manila a poor man and returned to Spain millionaire. He was called
“tyrant” because of his brutal persecution of the Calamba tenants.

• For some, accepting brides and gifts to favor someone.

 3. No Philippine representation in Spanish
Cortes

• The first Philippine representation was with Ventura Delos Reyes,

took active part to represent concerns and issues to the Cortes.

• In his representation he achieved to speak on the issue of the

galleon trade that later on he managed to abolish it.
4. Human rights denied to Filipinos
5. No equality before the law

• With the Christian doctrines that, irrespective of color and race, that all
men are children of God.

• Filipinos were fascinated by this noble concept of human relations, that is

why they chose to become Christians.

• But in practice, Spaniards arrogantly -regarded the brown-skinned

Filipinos as inferior beings.
 6. Maladministration of Justice

• To the Imperialist way of thinking, brown Filipinos and white

Spaniards may be equal before God, but not before law and
certainly not in practice
• The Spanish Penal Code, imposed heavier penalties on native
Filipinos or mestizos and lighter penalties on white Spaniards.
• Wealth, social prestige, and color of skin were preponderant
factors in winning a case in court. Irrespective of the weight of
evidence, skin white can easily achieved victory in any
litigation.
 7. Racial Discrimination

• Racial prejudice was prevalent everywhere- in government offices,

in the courts of justice, in the armed forces and even in the
educational institutions and in the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
 8. Frailocracy

• “government of the friars”

• The friars practically ruled the Philippines through a façade of civil

government. The colonial authorities, from the governor general
down to the Alcaldes Mayores, were under the control of the friars.
 9. Forced Labor

• Known as the “polo”, it was the compulsory labor imposed by

the Spanish colonial authorities on adult Filipino males.

• The well-to-do Filipinos were able to escape this manual labor

by paying the “falla”, which was a sum of money paid to the
government to be exempted from rendering services.
 10. Hacienda owned by the Friars

• Spanish friars belonging to different religious orders were the

richest landlords, for they owned the best haciendas.

• The rural folks, who had been living in these haciendas and
cultivating them generation after generation became tenants.
 11. Guardia Civil

• the Guardia Civil had rendered meritorious services in

suppressing the bandits in the provinces, they later became
infamous for their rampant abuses.

• Rizal actually witnessed the atrocities committed by the

Guardia Civil on the Calamba folks. He and his mother had
been victims of the brutalities of the Guardia Civil.
 Important changes in the 19th century
• Struggle for nationalism
• Gradual spread of democracy
• Modernization of living through the Industrial Revolution
• Advance of Science
• March of Imperialism
• New current in the movement of thought and growing confidence on
progress.