18 September, 1891

TODAY IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY:

The second novel of Dr. Jose Rizal, El Filibusterismo (Reign of Greed), written in Spanish and a sequel to Noli Me Tangere, was published in Ghent, Belgium. Rizal, who began writing El Filibusterismo in October 1887 in Calamba, Laguna, revised some chapters while he was in London and completed the book on March 29, 1891.

Rizal wrote El Filibusterismo in dedication to the three martyred priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, expressing conviction that their treatment and deaths at the hands of the Spanish authorities was unjust. In Noli Me Tangere, there is aspiration, beauty, romance, and mercy.

In El Filibusterismo, what readers will feel is bitterness, hatred, and antipathy. The romance and aspirations are gone. Even the characters’ personalities seem to have undergone radical change.

(Ref: Philippines News Agency)