FIRST VISIT TO PARIS (1883)

-During his first summer vacation in Madrid, Rizal went to Paris, gay capital of France
-The prices of food, drinks, theatre, tickets, laundry, hotel accommodations, and transportation were too high for Rizal’s slender purse so that he commented in a letter to his family: “Paris is the costliest capital in Europe.”
· June 17 to August 20, 1883- Rizal sojourn in Paris
· Hotel de Paris- located on 37 Rue de Maubange wherein Rizal billeted but later, he moved to a cheaper
hotel on 124 Rue de Rennes in the Latin Quarter
· Laennec Hospital- where Rizal observed Dr. Nicaise treating his patients
· Lariboisiere Hospital- where Rizal observed the examination of different diseases of women
· Rizal was impressed by the way the Spanish Mason openly and freely c riticized the government policies and lambasted the friars, which could not be done in Philippines
· March 1883- Rizal joined the Masonic lodge called Acacia in Madrid
· Rizal’s reason for becoming a mason was to secure Freemansory’s aid in his fight against the friars in the Philippines
· Lodge Solidaridad (Madrid) – Rizal transferred where he became a Master Mason on November 15,
1890
· February 15, 1892- Rizal was awarded the diploma as Master Mason by Le Grand Orient de France in
Paris
· Science, Virtue and Labor- Rizal’s only Masonic writing; a lecture which he delivered in 1889 at Lodge Solidaridad, Madrid
· After Rizal’s departure for Spain, things turned from bad to worse in Calamba: (1) harvests of rice and sugarcane failed on account of drought and locusts (2) the manager of the Dominican-owned hacienda increased the rentals of the lands (3) a dreadful pest killed most of the turkeys. Due to hard times in Calamba, the monthly allowances of Rizal in Madrid were late in arrival and there were times when they never arrived
· June 24, 1884- a touching incident in Rizal’s life in Madrid wherein he was broke and was unable to take breakfast
-Rizal attended his class at the university, participated in the contest in Greek language and won the gold medal
· Evening of June 25, 1884- a banquet was sponsored by the Filipino community to celebrate the double victory of the Filipino artist in the National Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid—Luna’s Spoliarium winning the first prize and Hidalgo’s Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace (Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho), second prize
· November 20, 21, and 22, 1884- the serene city of Madrid exploded in bloody riots by the students of the Central University
· These student demonstrations were caused by the address of Dr. Miguel Morayta, professor of history, at the opening ceremonies of the academic year on November 20, in which he proclaimed “the freedom of science and the teacher”
· The Rector, who also took the side of the students, was forced to resign and was replaced by Doctor
Creus, “a very unpopular man, disliked by everybody”
· November 26, 1884- Rizal wrote the recounting tumultuous riots to his family
· June 21, 1884- Rizal completed his medical course in Spain; he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine by the Universidad Central de Madrid
· The next academic year (1884-1885), Rizal studied and passed all subjects leading to the degree of
Doctor of Medicine but he did not present the thesis required for graduation nor paid the corresponding
fees, he was not awarded his Doctor’s diploma
· June 19, 1885- on his 24th birthday, Rizal was awarded the degree of Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters by the Universidad Central de Madrid with the rating of “Excellent”: (Sobresaliente)
· November 26, 1884- a letter to Rizal’s family written in Madrid wherein he said “My doctorate is not of very much value to me… because although it is useful to a university professor, yet, I believe they
(Dominican friars—Z) will never appoint me as such in the College of Santo Tomas. I say the same thing of philosophy and letters which may serve also for a professorship, but I doubt if the Dominican fathers will grant it to me.”