Module 16
Last Trip Abroad
Prepared by:
Flor A. Docusin
Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson you will be able to:
Describe the departure of Rizal from Dapitan to Manila.
Explain about the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution.
Introduction
No longer an exile, Rizal had a pleasant trip from Dapitan to Manila,
with delightful stopovers in Dumaguete, Cebu, Iloilo, Capiz, and
Romblon. He missed the regular steamer Isla de Luzon, which sailed
to Spain the day before he arrived in Manila Bay. 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. It was his last trip abroad.
Module 16
Last Trip Abroad
From Dapitan to Manila
July 31, 1896-the Espana, with Rizal and party on board, sailed northward.
August 1, anchored at Dumaguete, capital of Negros Oriental.
Herrero Regidor-who was the judge of the province.
He visited other friends, including the Periquet and Rufina families.
In the afternoon he operated on a Spanish captain of the Guardia Civil.
The Espana left Dumaguete about 1:00 p.m. and reached Cebu which he
considered “beautiful”
“In Cebu”, he wrote,” “I did two operations of strabotomy, one operation
on the ears, and another of tumor”.
August 3, 1896-Rizal left Cebu going to Iloilo.
Rizal landed at Iloilo, went shopping in the city, and visited Molo.
From Iloilo, Rizal’s ship sailed to Capiz. After a brief stopover, it
proceeded towards Manila via Romblon.
Rizal Misses Ship Going to Spain
August 6, 1896-the Espana arrived in Manila Bay.
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.
Near midnight of the same day, Aug 6, Rizal was transferred to the Spanish
cruiser Castilla, by order of Governor General Ramon Blanco.
Enrique Santalo-who told him that he was not a prisoner but a guest on
board “in order to avoid difficulties from friends and enemies”.
August 6 to September 2, 1896-Rizal stayed on the cruiser for about a
month.
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 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 starting incident struck terror into the hearts of the Spanish
officials and residents, producing a hysteria of vindictive retaliation
against the Filipino patriots.
August 26, 1896-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.
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—Manila (as province), Bulacan, Cavite,
Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, and 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, he had started.
2. It would arouse Spanish vengeance against all Filipino patriots.
Departure for Spain
August 30, 1896-the day when the state of war was proclaimed in the eight
provinces.
September 2, 1896-the day before his departure for Spain, Rizal, on board
the Castilla, wrote to his mother, as follows:
At 6:00 .m., September 2, Rizal was transferred to the steamer Isla de
Panay which was sailing for Barcelona, Spain.
September 3-this steamer left Manila Bay. 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
Isla de Panay-arrived at Singapore in the evening of September 7.
Don Manuel Camus-urging him to stay in Singapore to save his life.
Victim of Spanish Duplicity
Rizal sealed his own doom. For without his knowledge, Governor General
Blanco was secretly conspiring with the Ministers of War and the colonies
(ultramar) for his destruction.
Rizal was unaware that since his departure from Manila Bay on his way to
Spain, Blanco and the Ministries of War and the colonies were exchanging
coded telegrams and confidential messages for his arrest upon reaching
Barcelona and that he was a deportee and was being secretly kept under
surveillance.
Rizal Arrested Before Reaching Barcelona
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 28-a day after the steamer had left Port Said (Mediterranean
terminus of the Suez Canal), 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.
With an agonizing heart, he immediately wrote a letter to his best friend,
Blumentritt.
September 29-Rizal wrote in his travel 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.”
The following day (Septembe 30), at 4:00p.m., he was officially notified by
Captain Alemany that he should stay in his cabin until further orders from
Manila. He graciously complied with the captain’s directive.
Arrival in Barcelona as a Prisoner
About 6:25 p.m., 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 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.
General Eulogio Despujol-his jailor, the same one who ordered his
banishment to Dapitan in July 1892.
At 3:00 a.m. on October 6, 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. About 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 was 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 aboard the Colon, which was “full of
soldiers and officers and their families.
October 6, the ship left Barcelona, with Rizal on board.
Summary
On the 2nd of September, 1896 he was transferred to the mail boat Isla
de Panay. A friend presented him to the captain, who attended to him
kindly and assigned him a private cabin, which according to Rizal
could not have been better. These were the external happenings.
The given destiny of Rizal had been decided. From then on, he would
no longer be able to intricate himself from the trap in which he had
found himself . He had been chosen to be the sacrificial lamb, a role
he would play in dignity, up to the last moment in his life.
