CHAPTER 23

Last Trip Abroad (1896)

Rizal had a pleasant trip from Dapitan to Manila, with delightful stopovers in

DumagueteCebuIloiloCapizRomblon

He missed the regular steamer Isla de Luzon.

While waiting for the next ship for Spain, he was kept as a “guest” on board the Spanish cruiser Castilla.

Meanwhile, on August 26, 1896, Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan raised the cry of revolution in the hills of Balintawak, a few miles north of Manila.

Rizal worried about the raging hostilities, left for Spain on the steamer Isla de Panay on September 3, 1896.

FROM DAPITAN TO MANILA

 Leaving Dapitan at midnight, July 31,1896, the España, with Rizal and party on board sailed northward.

At dawn the next day (Saturday, August 1) it anchored at Dumaguete Capital of Negros Oriental.

In Dumaguete Rizal visited a friend and former classmate, Herrero Regidor, who was the judge of the province.

He also visited other friends, including the Periquet and Rufina families.

In the afternoon he operated on a Spanish Captain of the Guardia Civil.

The España left dumaguete about 1:00pm and reached Cebu the following morning.Rizal was fascinated by the entrance to cebu which he considered "beautiful".

At the house of Attorney Mateos he met an old couple whom he had known in Madrid.

In the morning of Monday August 3, Rizal left Cebu going to Iloilo.

Arrived at iloilo he went shopping in the city, and visited “Molo”.

Molo was a church, he commented: “The church is pretty outside and the interior is not bad, considering that it had been painted by a lad.”

The Paintings are mostly copies of biblical scenes by Gustave Dore.

From iloilo ship sailed to capiz. After a brief stopover it proceeded toward Manila. 

RIZAL MISSES SHIP GOING TO SPAIN The España arrived in Manila Bay

early morning of Thursday, August 6, 1896.

Unfortunately rizal was not able to catch the mail ship Isla de Luzon because it had departed the previous day 5:00pm.

He was greatly disappointed, but he took this unlucky incidence with abiding resignation. 

Writting to Blumentritt later, "Unfortunately I didn't catch the mail ship for spain and fearing that my stay for a month in manila would bring me troubled i made known to governor general, while remaining on board the ship (España) of my wish to be isolated from everybody, except my family."

Near midnight of the same day, August 6, Rizal was transferred to a spanish cruiser Castilla by order of Governor General Ramos Blanco.

He was given good accommodation by the gallant captain, Enrique Santalo, who told him that he was not a prisoner, but a guest detained on board “in order to avoid difficulties from friends and enemies.”

• Rizal stayed on the cruiser for about a month, from August 6 to September 2, 1896 pending the availability of a Spain-bound steamer.

OUTBREAK OF THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION While Rizal was patiently waiting on

the cruiser Castilla for the next steamer to take him to Spain, portentous events occurred, presaging the downfall of Spanish power in Asia.

On the fateful evening of August 19, 1896 the Katipunan plot to overthrow Spanish rule by means of revolution was discovered by Fray Mariano Gil, Augustinian cura of Tondo.

This startling incident struck terror into the hearts of the Spanish officials and residents, producing a hysteria of vindictive relation against Filipino patriots.

The tumult produced by the discovery of the Katipunan plot was aggravated by the “Cry of Balintawak” which was raised by Bonifacio and his valiant Katipuneros on August 26, 1896.

At sunrise of August 30, the revolutionists led by Bonifacio and Jacinto attacked San Juan, near the city of Manila, but they were repulsed with heavy losses.

In the afternoon, after the Battle of San Juan, Governor General Blanco proclaimed a state of war in the first eight provinces for rising in arms against Spain.

1. Manila (as a province)2. Bulacan3. Cavite4. Batangas5. Laguna6. Pampanga7. Nueva Ecija8. Tarlac

Rizal learned of the eruption of the revolution and the raging battles around Manila through the newspapers he read on the Castilla.

He was worried for two reasons:1. The violent revolution which he sincerely

believed to be premature and would only cause much suffering and terrible loss of human lives and property, had started.

2. It would arouse Spanish vengeance against all Filipino patriots.

DEPARTURE FOR SPAIN

On August 30, 1896 the day when the state of war was proclaimed in the eight provinces, Rizal received from the Governor General Blanco two letters of introduction for the Minister of War and the Minister of Colonies, with a covering letter which absolved him from all blame for the raging revolution, as follows: pp. 245

At 6:00pm, September 2, Rizal was transferred to the steamer Isla de Panay which was sailing for Barcelona, Spain.

The next morning, September 3, this steamer left Manila Bay.

At last, Rizal’s last trip to Spain began. Among his fellow passengers on board were Don Pedro Roxas (rich Manila creole industrialist and his friend) and his son named Periquin.

RIZAL IN SINGAPORE

Sept. 7 – Isla de Panay arrived at Singapore in the evening

The following morning Rizal and the passengers went ashore or sightseeing and to shop souvenirs.

Rizal wrote in his travel diary “I have observed some changes: more Chinese merchants than Indian. Singapore has changed much since I saw it for first time in 1882.”

Don Pedro advised Rizal to stay behind too and take advantage of the protection of the British law. But Rizal did not

heed his advised.

Rizal ignore their appeal because he had given his word of honor to GovernorGeneral Blanco and he didn’t like to break it

VICTIM OF SPANISH

DUPLICITY

Rizal sealed his own doom

Gov. Gen. Blanco was secretly conspiring with the Ministers of War and the Colonies (ultramar) for his destruction

Rizal proved to be as gullible as Sultan Zaide, another victim of Spanish intrigue.

One of the greatest mistakes of Rizal was to: believe that Gov. Gen. Blanco was a man of honor

and a friend because he allowed him to go as a free man to Spain to become a physician-surgeon of the Spanish army Cuba, where a bloody revolution was raging

and gave him 2 nice letters of introduction addressed to Spanish Ministers of War and the Colonies

The truth of the manner was substantiated by the declassified documents in Minister of War and Colonies: that Blanco was implacable foe, regarded him as “dangerous Filipino.”

Rizal was unaware that Blanco and the Ministers of War and Colonies were exchanging coded telegrams and confidential messages for his arrest upon reaching Barcelona and that he was deportee and was being secretly kept under surveillance

RIZAL ARRESTED BEFORE

REACHING BARCELONA

Sept. 8 – Isla de Panay left Singapore at 1pm

Unaware of the Spanish duplicity, particularly Gov. Gen. Blanco happily continued the voyage towards Barcelona

Sept.25- he saw Islas de Luzon, leaving the Suez Canal, crammed with Spanish troops.

Sept. 27 he heard from the passengers that a telegram arrived from Manila reporting execution of Francisco Roxas, Genato and Osorio.

On September 28, a day after the steamer had left Port Said, a passenger told Rizal the bad news that he would be arrested by order of Governor General Blanco and would be sent to prison in Ceuta (Spanish Morocco), opposite Gibraltar.

On September 29, Rizal wrote in his diary: “There are people on board who do nothing but slander me and invent fanciful stories about me. I'm going to become a legendary personage.”

September 30 at 4pm, he was officially notified by Captain Alemany that he should stay in his cabin until further orders in Manila.

ARRIVAL IN BARELONA AS A PRISONER

About 6:25pm September 30, the steamer anchored at Malta. Being confined to his cabin, Rizal was not able to visit the famous island-fortress of the Christian crusaders.

On October 3 at 10am, the Isla de Panay arrived in Barcelona, with Rizal on board. The trip from Manila to Barcelona lasted exactly 30 days.

His jailor was no longer the ship captain but the Military Commander of Barcelona, who happened to be General Eulogio Despujol.

On his second day in Barcelona, Rizal, noticed the city celebration of the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

At 3:00am on October 6, Rizal was awakened by the guards and escorted to the infamous prison-fortress named Monjuich.

About 2:00 in the afternoon, he was taken out of the prison by the guards and brought to the headquarters of General Despujol.

In the interview, which lasted a quarter of an hour, the brusque general told Rizal that he would be shipped back to Manila on board to transport ship Colon which was leaving that evening.

After the interview, Rizal was taken aboard the Colon, which was “full of soldiers and officers and their families.”

At 8pm, October 6, the ship left Barcelona, with Rizal on board.