José Rizal & Philippine Independence
Influenced by the French and American revolutions, Filipinos began demanding not only local priests, but self-rule as well. Champions in the church rose up. Some were martyred, like Father Burgos, and others stepped-in to take his place. José Rizal was a well-educated eye doctor in Manila — long inspired by the story of Father Burgos. Though he was only a boy at the time, the execution of Burgos and other local priests deeply impacted his view of the Spanish colonialists and the so-called, ‘foreign friars.’
When growing nationalism finally burst into violent revolution in 1896, Jose Rizal was considered one of the leaders. Many of the Catholic orders had their lands and churches confiscated and turned over to local Filipino priests. Rizal inspired many to action, because he was a great writer and communicator. But in the end, the revolution failed and Jose Rizal was arrested. This is the prison cell at Fort Santiago where Jose Rizal spent his final night before his execution. It’s here that Rizal wrote his famous poem, “My Last Farewell,” and hid it in an oil lamp.
Translated to English, the 70-line poem begins:
Farewell, my adored Land, region of the sun caressed,
Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost,
With gladness I give you my life, sad and repressed;
And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its best,
I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.
The last words of José Rizal before his execution by firing squad were said to be “Consummatum Est!” — It is finished! — the same last words spoken by Jesus Christ on the cross.
Today, the Rizal Shrine Museum in Manila memorializes the role of José Rizal in the history of the Philippines. The Museum even honors his final walk from his cell to the place of his execution with molded bronze footsteps. To this day, Jose Rizal is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of the Philippine people.
The Philippine Revolution of 1896 ultimately failed, but the execution of local heroes such as José Rizal stoked the flames of independence. Two years later, revolutionary hopes were rekindled when U.S. Admiral George Dewey’s fleet arrived in Manila Bay. The United States had gone to war with Spain by intervening in the Cuban War of Independence. Soon, the United States — an emerging naval power — was fighting Spain in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. The U.S. navy proved too strong for the fading Spanish fleet. In the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, Admiral Dewey’s seven ships defeated 12 Spanish ships in a matter of hours. When the United States defeated Spain in 1898, the Philippines came under American control. Filipinos assumed they had an ally in the United States, but history tells us this didn’t pan out.
In the end, 300 years of Spanish colonialism gave the diverse peoples of the Philippine islands a sense of national and cultural unity; and their shared Catholicism gave them a reason to remain together after they shook off the bonds of Spanish rule. It is a testament to the localization of Christianity in the Philippines that the rejection of Spanish rule in the late 19th century was not accompanied by a rejection of Christianity.
Following World War II, the Philippine people finally declared independence once and for all. They ruled themselves in civil, political, and religious matters for the first time in history. But challenges soon followed. The presidency of Ferdinand Marcos was a dark, two-decade period, in which Catholic priests were imprisoned and killed, and pastors of every denomination were harassed.
Then, the nation started to right itself once again through the ‘People Power Revolution’ of 1986. This led to the removal of Marcos and the restoration of true democracy and religious freedom in the Philippines. Soon, the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements — in both Protestant and Catholic forms – came on the scene and achieved wide influence here in the Philippines. Today, the nation’s largest churches are part of this movement, and Christianity once again dominates the culture.
José Rizal & Philippine Independence
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