Chapter 23Last Trip Abroad, (1896)

- No longer an exile, Rizal had a pleasant trip from

Dapitan to Manila with delightful stopovers in Dumaguete, Cebu, Iloilo, Capiz, and Romblon.

- He missedthe regular steamer Isla de Luzon which sailed toSpain the day before he arrived in Manila Bay while waiting for the next ship for Spain, he was kept as a guest´ onboard the Spanish cruiser Castilla.

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.

September 3, 1896. It was his last trip abroad.

From Dapitan to Manila.- Leaving Dapitan at midnight, July 31, 1896, the Spaña with Rizal and party on board, sailed northward.

At dawn the next day(Saturday, August 1)- it anchored at Dumaguete, capital of Negros Oriental,Dumaguete wrote Rizal his Travel diary‘Spreads out on the beach. There are big houses, some with galvanized iron roofing. Outstanding are the house of a lady, whose name I forgotten,

which is occupied by the government and another one just begun with ipil posts´.

- In Dumaguete, Rizal visited a friend and former classmate, Herrero Regidor, and Rufina family.- In the afternoon he operated on a Spanish captain of the Guardia civil.

- The España left Dumaguete about 1:00 p.m and reached Cebu of 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 Cebu. He wrote in his diary, I did two operations of strabotomy, one operation on the ears, and another of tumor´.

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

‘The voyage was fine. At the right we saw Mactan an island famous for what

happened to Magellan. The whole afternoon was magnificent . . . We saw

many islands along our way . . . The next day, in the morning, we entered Iloilo´ . . .Rizal landed at Iloilo, went

shopping in the city, and visited Molo’

- Of the Molo 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, Rizal’s ship sailed to Capiz- After a brief stopover, it proceeded towards Manila via Romblon

Rizal Misses Ship Going to Spain (España)- Arrived in Manila Bay early in August 6, 1896- Unfortunately, Rizal was not able to catch the mail ship Isla de Luzon for Spain because it had departed the previous day at 5:00 p.m. . He was greatly disappointed, but he took this unlucky incidence with abiding resignation.

Governor Ramon Blanco

Isla de Panay at Port Said, 1898

-Writing to Bluementritt later, Rizal mentioned this episode,

‘Unfortunately, I did not catch the mail ship for Spain, and fearing that my stay in Manila for month might bring me

troubles I made known to the governor general, while remaining on the 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 the Spanish cruiser Castilla by

order of Governor General Ramon Blanco. Rizal stayed on the cruiser for about a month, from August 6 to September

2,1869, pending the availability of Spain-bound steamer.

-Outbreak of Philippine RevolutionWhile 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. 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 stuck terror into the hearts of the Spanish officials and residents, producing a hysteria of vindictive retaliation against the Filipino patriots

August 26,1896‘Cry of Balintawak´ which was raised

by Bonifacio and his valiant Katipuneros in PugadLawin.

At sunrise of August 30The revolution led by Bonifacio and Jacinto attacked San Juan near the city of Manila, but they were repulse with heavy losses. In the afternoon, after the Battle of San Juan, Governor General Blanco proclaimed as tate of war in the first eight provinces for rising in arms against Spain Manila (as province),Bulacan Cavite BatangasLagunaPampanga Nueva Ecija Tarlac ManilaRizal learned of the eruption of the revolution and the raging battles around Manila through the newspaper he read the Castilla.

Rizal 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

• August 30, 1896 (Departure for Spain)• The day when the state of war was

proclaimed in the eight provinces, Rizal received from Governor General Blanco two

letters of the introduction for 1. The Minister of War 2. The Minister of Colonies with a covering letter which absolved him from all blame for raging revolution.

 At 6:00 p.m., September 2 Rizal was transferred to the steamer Isla de

Panay which was sailing for Barcelona, Spain. The next morning, September 3, the steamer left Manila Bay. At last, Rizal's last trip to Spain began. Among his fellow passengers onboard were Don Pedro Roxas (rich Manila Creole Industrialist and his friend) and his son named Periquin

September 7 (Rizal in Singapore)The Isla de Panay arrived at Singapore .

The following morning Rizal and other passengers went ashore for sightseeing and shopping for souvenirs. In the travel diary, Rizal wrote:

‘I have observed some changes: There more Chinese

merchants and less Indians. . . I bought a Chinese gown. . . Singapore has changed much since I saw it for

the first time in 1882’.

Don Pedro with his son, disembarked at Singapore. He advised Rizal to stay behind too and take advantage of the protection of the British law. Rizal did not heed his advice.

Don Manuel Camus and several Filipino residents of Singapore, urging him to stay in Singapore to save his life. He also ignored the appeal because he had given his word of honor to Governor General Blanco and he did not like to break it.

Victim of Spanish Duplicity.- By refusing to break his word of honor in Singapore, Rizal sealed his own doom.- For without his knowledge, Governor Blanco was secretly conspiring with the Ministers of War and the Colonies (ultramar) for his destruction - Great hero and genius that he was, Rizal proved to be as gullible as Sultan Zaide, another victim of Spanish intrigue.

‘For all his wonderful talents, Rizal was after all a mortal man who committed

mistakes. And one of his greatest mistakes was to believe that Governor General

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 in Cuba,

where a bloody revolution was raging, and gave him two nice letters of introduction

addressed to the Spanish Ministers of War and the Colonies’

Rizal Arrested Before Reaching BarcelonaSeptember 8, 1:00 p.m.

The Isla de Panay, with Rizal onboard, left Singapore, unaware of the Spanish duplicity particularly of Governor General Blanco's infernal deceit, he happily continued the voyage towards Barcelona.

September 25 He saw the steamer Isla de Luzon, leaving the Suez Canal crammed with Spanish troops.

September 27, Sunday (Two days later) He heard from the passengers that a telegram arrived from Manila reporting the execution of Francisco Roxas Genato and Osorio

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 Cueta (Spanish Morocco), opposite Gibraltar.

- Shocked by the alarming news, Rizal belatedly realized that he was duped by the unscrupulous Spanish officials, particularly the sly Governor General Blanco. With an agonizing heart, he immediately wrote a letter to his best friend, Blumentritt, unburdening his disgust and bitterness as follows:

‘There was nothing official yet about impending arrest; it was still merely shipboard gossip. 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 4:00 p.m.) He was officially notified by Captain Alemany that he should stay in his cabin until further orders from Manila. He graciously compiled with the captain's directive

September 30 (6:25 p.m. - arrival in Barcelona as prisoner) ‘I saw through a tiny window. the beautiful view of the port with its monumental and

significant castle in three levels . . . illumined by the lingering afternoon

lights.’

October 3, at 10:00 o'clock in the morning- The Isla de Panay arrived in Barcelona, with Rizal a prisoner on board.The trip from Manila to Barcelona lasted exactly 30 days.- He was kept under heavy guard in his cabin for three days. His jailor was no longer the ship captain but the Military

Commander of Barcelona, who happened to be

General Eulogio Despujol The same one who ordered his banishment to Dapitan in July, 1892. It was one of those coincidences in the lives of men that make "history stranger than fiction."On his second day in Barcelona, Rizal, although held incommunicado in his cabin, noticed the city celebration of the feast of St, Francis of Assisi. He recorded it in his diary as follows:

‘At 12:00 o'clock I counted as many as 31 cannon shots and at6:00 there were again as

many. At night there was a concert in the dining room which can be heard from my

cabin’.

On October 6 (3:00 a.m.)- Rizal was awakened by the guards and escorted to the grim and infamous prison-fortress named Monjuich.- He spent the whole morning in a cell.

2:00 in the afternoon - He was taken out of 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 the transport ship Colon which was leaving that evening. After the Interview, Rizal was taken abroad the Colon which was "full of soldiers and officers and their families."

October 6 (8:00 p.m.) The ship left Barcelona, with Rizal on board S.S. Colon

Fort Santiago

Rizal's Cell

End of Slides

Prepared by:

Mary Grace V. MancaoIV-BSHM