Rizal moved to Madrid in 1890 to supervise legal cases against the Dominican landlords regarding the dispossession of his family's land in Calamba. He sought help from the Filipino colony and liberal Spanish newspapers, but the colonial government did nothing in response. Rizal had an aborted duel with Antonio Luna after Luna made disparaging remarks about Nellie Boustead. Leonor Rivera also informed Rizal of her upcoming marriage to an Englishman. Rivalry emerged between Rizal and Del Pilar as editor of La Solidaridad due to differing political views. After three days of voting, Rizal was elected as the Responsible leader to determine the newspaper's editorial policy.

1. Chapter 16
in Belgian Brussels (1890)
Rizal Life and Works

2. January 28, 1890, Rizal left Paris for Brussels for two reasons:
1. The cost of living in Paris was very expensive
2. The gay social in life of the city of hampered his literary works,
especially the writing of his second novel El Filibusterismo.

3. Life in Brussels
Jose Alejandro narrated, “in Brussels, we took our meals in a house and Rizal on one occasion
suggested that we eat pansit…”
He was accompanied by Jose Albert when he moved to Brussels
They lived in a modest boarding house run by two Jacoby sisters, Suzanne and Marie
Albert left the city, replaced by Jose Alejandro.
He was busy writing his second novel which was a continuation of the NOLI
Wrote articles for La Solidaridad and letters to his family and friends
He spent part of his time in the medical clinic
He had gymnastics, target practice and fencing

4. Articles Published in La Solidaridad. During his sojoun in Brussels, Rizal wrote articles for La Solidaridad
in defense of his oppressed people and to point out the evils of Spanish rule in the Philippines. Among
these articles which Appeared in the patriotic periodical were:
1. “A La Defensa” (To La Defensa), April 30,1889, this was a reply to an anti-Filipino writing of a Spanish
authorPatricio de la Escosura which was published by La Defensa on March 30, 1889.
2. “La Verdad Para Todos ” (The Truth For All ), May 31,1889. Rizal’s defense against the Spanish charges
that the native Local officials were ignorant and depraved
3. “Vicente Barrantes’ Teote tagalo” June 15,1889. Rizal exposes Barrantes’ ignorance on the tagalog
theatrical art.
.

5. 4. “Una Profanacion” (A Profanacion) July 31,1889, a bitter attack against the friars for denying
Christian burial to Mariano Herbosa, in Calamba because he was a brother in law of Rizal. Herbosa,
husband of Lucia, died of cholera on May 23, 1889.
5. “Verdades Nuevas” (New Truths), July 31 1889. A reply to Vicente Bello Sanchez’ letter published in La
Patria, Madrid newspaper, on July 4 1889, which asserted that the granting of reforms in the Philippines
would ruin the “peaceful and maternal rule” of the friars.
6. “Crueldad” (Cruelty), August 15 1889. A brilliant defense of Blumentritt from the scurrillus
attacks of his enemies.
7. “Diferencias” (differences), September 15,1889. A reply to a biased article entitled “Old Truths”
published in La Patria on August 14,1889, which ridiculed those Filipno who asked for reforms.

6. 8. “Inconsequencias” (Inconequences), November 30, 1889. A defense od Antonio Luna against the
attack of Pablo Mir Deas in the Barcelona newspaper El Pueblo Soberano.
9. “Llanto y Risas” ((Tears and Laughter), November 30,1889. A denunciation of Spanish racial
prejudice against the brown Filipinos.
Rizal mentioned in this article how the audience, composed mostly of Spaniards and
mestizos, stopped applauding when he received first price in the literary contest in 1880
because of his brown color.
10. “Ingratitudes” (Ingratitude), January 15, 1890. A reply to Governor General Valeriano Weyler
who, while visiting Calamba, told the people that they “should not allow themselves to be
deceived by the vain promises of their ungrateful sons.”

7. 1. New Orthography of the Tagalog Language
• He was the first to advocate the Filipinization of its orthography
• The tagalog letters k and w should be used instead of c and o
• Example. Salacot – salakot; arao – araw
• While in Brussels, his article was published in La Solidaridad entitled, Sobre la Nueva
Ortografia de la Lengua Tagala (The New Orthography of the Tagalog Language).
• In this article, he laid down the rules of the new Tagalog orthography
• Rizal gave the credit for the adoption of his new orthography to Dr. Trinidad H.
Pardo de Tavera

8. 2. Rizal Criticizes Madrid Filipinos for Gambling
• Rizal received news from Juan Luna and Valentin Ventura that the Filipinos in Spain
were destroying good name of their nation by gambling too much
• Rizal wrote to MH del Pilar to remind Filipinos in Madrid that they did not come to
Europe to gamble, but to work for their fatherland’s freedom
• The gambling Filipinos in Madrid were angry when they learned of Rizal’s moralizing
• They called him Papa (Pope) instead of Pepe

9. 3. Bad News from Home
• The Calamba agrarian trouble was getting worse
• Don Francisco refused to pay higher rents imposed by the Dominican landlords
• Dominican Order filed cases to dispossess Rizal family of their land in Calamba
• Relatives were deported – Paciano, Antonio Lopez (husband of Narcisa), Silvestre
Ubaldo (husband of Olimpia), Manuel Hidalgo (husband of Saturnina)

10. 4. Presentiments of His Death
• He had bad dreams during the nights in Brussels
• He feared he would not live long
• He was not afraid to die, not until he finished his second novel
• In a letter to MH del Pilar, Rizal wrote “sad presentiments assaults me though I do not
give them entire credence. In my childhood, I had a strange belief that I would not reach
thirty years of age… I am preparing myself for death. Laong Laan (Ever Ready) is my true
name…

11. Preparation to go Home
“We have only once to die, and if we do not die well, we lose the opportunity which will
not again be presented to us.” – Rizal
Decision to Go to Madrid
• Paciano wrote to Rizal about their cases against the Dominicans
• Cases were appealed to the Supreme Court in Spain
• He wrote to Del Pilar, getting him as their counsel and notified that he will be
going to Madrid to supervise the handling of their cases

12. It was against the background of mental anguish in Brussels, during those sad days when he was worried
by family disasters, that he wrote his pathetic poem, “A Mi”
To my muse
Romance with Petite Susanne Jacoby
Two things brought some measures of cheers to the despondent Rizal as he was preparing to leave.
1. Summer time Festival of Belgium which was celebrated in carnival style, with
colorful costumes, fantastic floats, and many days of merriment
2. Romance with Susanne Jacoby
Rizal was so charming and dignified a gentleman that Petite Susanne was attracted to him
He was lonely in a strange country and Leonor was so far away
Like other women, Suzanne fell in love with Rizal
She cried when he left toward the end of July, 1890 for Madrid

13. Chapter 17
Misfortunes in Madrid (1890-1891)
Rizal Life and Works

14. • Early in August of 1890, Rizal arrived in Madrid
• He tried all legal means to seek justice for his family and the Calamba tenants
• He immediately sought the help of the Filipino colony, the Associacion Hispano-Filipina, and
the liberal newspapers – La Justicia, El Globo, El Resumen, La Republica
• Together with MH del Pilar and Dominador Gomez, the secretary of the Associacion, he
called on the Minister of Colonies (Fabie) in order to protest the injustices committed by
the Governor-General Valeriano Weyler and the Dominicans against the Calamba folks

15. • Nothing came out of Rizal’s interview with Senor Fabie As El Resumen said, “TO
COVER THE EARS, TO OPEN THE PURSE AND TO FOLD THE ARMS – this is the Spanish
Colonial Policy.”
• The family received ejectment order by the Dominicans against Francisco Rizal and the
Calamba tenants
• Paciano, Antonio, Silvestre, Teong, and Dandoy were deported to Mindoro
• Their parents were forcibly ejected from their home and live in the house of Narcisa
• Blumentritt in his letter urged him to see Queen Regent Maria Cristina, then the ruler
of Spain

16. • Towards the end of August 1890, Rizal attended a social reunion of the Filipinos in Madrid
• At that time, Luna was bitter of his frustrated romance with Nellie Boustead
• Luna was blaming Rizal for his failure to win her heart, although Rizal had previously explained he had
nothing to do about it
• Luna uttered certain unsavory remarks about Nellie
• Rizal heard him and he challenged Luna to a duel
• Rizal was a better pistol shooter than Luna
• Luna was superior in sword
• Luna, as the challenged party, had the choice of weapons Luna, when he became sober, realized that he
had made a fool of himself and apologized to Rizal
Aborted duel with Antonio Luna

17. • Wenceslao E. Retana wrote an article in La Epoca (Spanish Newspaper) asserting that the family
and friends of Rizal had not paid their rents so that they were ejected from their lands in Calamba
by the Dominicans
• Rizal immediately challenged Retana to a duel. Only Retana’s blood or his apology could vindicate
the good name of Rizal’s family and friends
• Years later, Retana became Rizal’s biographer
Rizal Challenges Retana to Duel

18. • Early in December, 1890, Rizal received a letter from Leonor Rivera, announcing her
coming marriage to an Englishman Henry Kipping and asking for forgiveness
Infidelity of Leonor Rivera
• Del Pilar was gaining prestige in Madrid for his vagarious editorials in La Solidaridad,
which he came to own
• He purchased the periodical from Pablo Rianzares, its first proprietor, and replaced
Graciano Lopez Jaena as its editor
• Rizal’s leadership declined because some of his former admirers and supporters
turned against him because they resented his interference in their private lives
Rizal – Del Pilar Rivalry

19. • Rizal and his close friends objected to the periodical’s editorial policy which was
occasionally contrary to Rizal’s political view
• To avert the break-up between Rizal and Del Pilar, Filipinos in Madrid (90) met to intensify
the campaign for reform and they declared a leader called Responsible, he chosen to
determine the editorial policy of La Solidaridad.
• Responsible should be elected by a two-thirds vote of the Filipino community.

20. • The Filipinos were divided into two camps – Rizalistas and Pilaristas
• 1 st day of Voting – Rizal was winning but could not obtain the required 2/3 vote
• 2 nd day of Voting – Rizal was winning but could not obtain the required 2/3 vote
• 3 rd day of Voting – Mariano Ponce appealed to his countrymen to vote for Rizal. Thus, Rizal
obtained the necessary 2/3 votes and was proclaimed Responsible
• Rizal, a man of honor and dignity, with a high sense of delicadeza, graciously declined the
coveted position
• He knew that some of his compatriots who supported del Pilar despised or disliked him so he
preferred to abdicate his leadership rather than be the cause of disunity and bitterness among
his countrymen
Rizal Abdicates His Leadership

21. • Sadly, he paced up his bags and boarded a train leaving for Biarritz
• As his train pulled of the railway station, he gazed through the city of Madrid, where he was happy
during his first sojourn but unhappy on his second visit

22. Chapter 18
Biarritz vacation and romance with Nelly
Boustead (1891)
Rizal Life and Works

23. • To seek solace for his disappointments in Madrid, Rizal took vacation in the resort city of Biarritz
• He was warmly welcomed as a guest of a rich Boustead family at its winter residence – Villa Elliada
• The one-month vacation in Biarritz worked wonders for Rizal as its made him forget the bitter
memories of Madrid
• “I have put on much weight since I arrived here; my cheeks are no longer shrunken as before for the
reason that I go to bed early and I have no reason to care.” – Rizal

24. • Rizal found Nellie to be a real Filipina, highly intelligent, vivacious in temperament, and morally
upright
• MH del Pilar teased Rizal about changing the “o” in Noli to an “e”
• Antonio Luna, who had previously loved and lost Nelly, encouraged Rizal to woo and marry her
• With the encouragement of his friends, Rizal courted Nellie who, in turn, reciprocated his
affection
• While wooing Nellie, and enjoying so many magnificent moonlight nights with her, Rizal kept
working on his second novel which he began to write in Calamba in 1887
Romance with Nellie Boustead

25. • Unfortunately, Rizal marriage proposal failed because:
1. Rizal refused to give up his Catholic faith and be converted to Protestantism, as Nelly
demanded
2. Nelly’s mother did not like Rizal as a son-in-law
• Nelly’s mother had no wish to entrust her daughter’s happiness to a man who was poor in material
things, a physician without a paying clientele, a writer who earned nothing from his pen, and a
reformer who was persecuted by the friars and government officials of his own country
• Although Rizal and Nelly could not get married, the two parted as good friends
El Filibusterismo finished in Biarritz
• On March 29 1891, the eve of his departure from Biarritz to Paris, he finished the
manuscript of El Filibusterismo

26. • March 30, 1891 Rizal bade farewell to the Bousteads and proceeded to Paris by train
• He stayed at home of Valentin Ventura
• Rizal wrote to Jose Ma. Basa expressing his desire to go to British colony (Hong Kong) and
practice ophthalmology in order to earn his living
• Rizal also requested Basa to advance him the amount for a first class steamer ticket from
Europe to Hong Kong
• By middle of April 1891, Rizal went back to Brussels, where he was happily received by
Suzanne and Marie Jacoby
To Paris and back to Brussels

27. • Rizal retired from the Propaganda Movement because he desired to publish his second novel, to
practice his medical profession, and later, when he became financially independent, he expected to
make a more, vigorous campaign for his country’s redemption
• May 1, 1891, Rizal notified the Propaganda authorities in Manila to cancel his monthly allowance
and devote the money to some better cause, such as the education of young Filipino student in
Europe
Retirement from Propaganda Movement
• Simultaneous with his retirement from the Propaganda Movement, Rizal ceased writing articles
for La Solidaridad
• MH del Pilar wrote to Rizal begging for forgiveness for any resentment and requesting him to
resume writing for the La Solidaridad
Rizal stopped writing for La Solidaridad

28. • In reply, Rizal wrote to del Pilar denying any resentment and explained why he stopped
writing for La Solidaridad
• Reasons:
1. He needed to work on his book
2. He wanted other Filipinos to work also
3. He considered it very important to the party that there be unity in the work
Revising the Filibusterismo for Publication
• In Brussels, Rizal worked day after day revising the finished manuscript of El
Filibusterismo and readied it for printing

29. CHAPTER 19
EL FILIBUSTERISMO PUBLISHED
IN GHENT (1891)
Rizal Life and Works

30. • Days flew fast like fleeting arrows in Brussels. Rizal was busy correcting and polishing his second
novel – El Filibusterismo
• It took Rizal three years to complete the novel
Privations in Ghent
• July 5, 1891, Rizal left Brussels for Ghent
• Reasons: 1.The cost of living was lower and the price of printing was much cheaper than in Brussels
2. To escape from the enticing attraction of Petite Suzanne
• In Ghent, he met two compatriots
1. Jose Alejandrino (Pampanga)
2. Edilberto Evangelista (Manila)
• Owing to his limited funds, Rizal lived in a cheap boarding house, with Jose Alejandrino (Pampanga) as
roommate
• Rizal and Alejandrino live a frugal life in Ghent

31. • F. MEYER-VAN LOO PRESS – where El Fili was printed and who was willing to print his book
on installment basis
• July 1891, Rizal wrote a letter to Basa saying that if no money comes he has to stop the El
Fili’s publication
• August 6, 1891 – The printing had to be suspended, as Rizal feared, because he could no
longer give the necessary funds to the printe
The printing of “El Filibusterismo”
Ventura, Savior of the El Filibusterismo
• In his morbid moments of despair, Rizal almost burned the manuscript of El
Filibusterismo. When everything seemed lost, help came from an unexpected source.
Valentin Ventura heard of Rizal’s predicament and immediately sent the amount to
finish the publication of the novel

32. • September 18, 1891 – El Filibusterismo, the sequel of the Noli, came off the press
• Rizal send two copies to Basa and Sixto Lopez who were both in Hong Kong while giving the
original manuscript to Valentin Ventura with his autograph printed copy
The Fili Comes off the Press
Other recipients of El Fili
1. Blumentritt
2. Mariano Ponce
3. Graciano Lopez Jaena
4. T. H Pardo de Tavera
5. Antonio and Juan Luna
• In Hong Kong, all copies of the first edition (Ghent copies) were confiscated and lost. The book
immediately became rare and the few available Ghent copies were sold at very high prices,
reaching as high as 400 pesetas per copy

33. • Rizal dedicated his second novel El Filibusterismo to the three Filipino Martyrs:
1. Fr. Mariano Gomez
2. Fr. Jacinto Zamora
3. Jose Burgos The Manuscript and the Book
• The original manuscript of El Fili in Rizal’s own handwriting is now preserved in the
Filipiniana Division of the Bureau of Public Libraries, Manila
• Acquired from Valentin Ventura for P10,000 – Consisting of 279 pages of long sheets of
paper
GOM-BUR-ZA