LIFE IN

HONGKONG
Jose Rizal
(1891-1892)
On October 3, 1891, Rizal left
Europe for Hong Kong.

Upon arrival in Hong Kong on

November 20, 1891, he began to
work as an ophthalmic surgeon.
EUROPE HONGKONG
Rizal in Hong Kong

Rizal’s Hong Kong Card

 His father, brother, and Silvestre
Ubando, his brother-in-law, went to
Hong Kong before Christmas. His
mother and his sisters Lucia,
Josefa and Trinidad also went to
Hong Kong.
Where Rizal lived in Hong Kong
 Doña Teodora was
going blind so Rizal
had to operate on her.
Dr. Lorenzo P.
Marquez, a Portuguese
physician, helped in
Doña Teodora building a wide clientele
for him.
 Because of the difficulties
encountered by his family and by
many of his relatives and friends
in Calamba, he conceived the
idea of establishing a Filipino
colony in Borneo. (Borneo
Colonization)
He went to Borneo on March 1892
to establish a Filipino colony there.
Borneo was willing to give 100
acres of land and was good for 999
years, free of charge. He visited
the place and by April 20, he was
back in Hong Kong.
BORNEO ( Brunei)
 Graciano Lopez
Jaena, wanted to
join Rizal in
Borneo. But the
relatives of Rizal
and his brother-in-
law, Manuel T.
Hidalgo, objected to
the project.
Rizal sent Governor-
general Despujol a
letter of
congratulations at the
same time offering to
return to the
Philippines.
Instead, Despujol told the Spanish
Consul-General in Hong Kong to
tell Rizal not to go to Borneo and
to take Filipinos to that proposed
colony because the Philippines
needed laborers. Both letters
were not answered.
 Rizal wrote a translation of the
“Rights of Man” which was issued
during the French Revolution in
1789. He also contributed articles to
the Hong Kong Telegraph which
was banned by the Spaniards when
they saw that this newspaper carried
many of Rizal’s inspiring articles on
the need for freedom.
On July 3, 1892, he formed La
Liga Filipina. The most
important document that came
from his pen at that time was the
Constitution and By-Laws of La
Liga Filipina.
But he could not stay in Hong Kong on
May, 1892, he made up his mind to return to
Manila for the following purposes:

• Confer with Governor-general about the

Borneo colonization;
• Establish La Liga Filipina;
• To disprove Eduardo de Lete’s accusation
that he was comfortable in Hong Kong and
abandoned the country’s cause of
freedom.
MANILA
But before going back to Manila, he
wrote two letters. First, addressed:
To my Parents, Brethren and
Friends; second, To The
Filipinos.
• They were kept by a friend for
safekeeping “to be opened after his
death”.
 He knew that he was going to be
punished for the many books,
articles, and essays which he had
written against the Spanish
government and some of the friars.
 He arrived in Manila on June 26,
1892 with his sister, Lucia.
Gov. Eulogio Despujol set a trap for
him and ordered his exile to Dapitan.
On July 6, 1892, he went
to Malacañang and was
arrested. He was charge
of the following:

• Bringing anti-friar
pamphlets.
•For dedicating his 2nd novel to the priests
who had been proven traitors but were
extolled as martyrs.
On july 14, 1892, he sailed into
exile in Dapitan and reached the
place on July 17.

Where Rizal
was detained
House of Rizal in Dapitan