MarshalBraginsky
Banned
The Dominican friars had lots of complaints to give to His Majesty the King of Spain. Their mind was on one setting: Governor Ramon Blanco's soft attitude towards the indios that wanted to break away from Inang Espana. Spain's King Alfonso XIII was more worried about the integrity of the remaining colonies it possessed overseas, as Cuba was in a state of rebellion. It was 1896, at the time when the Philippines too, was caught in the same kind of rebellious spirit. Governor Blanco gave his side of the story, which reflected on his policy towards the indigenous population.
Blanco's argument would prove to be a decisive point, for Alfonso XIII decided to overturn the friars' suggestion of replacing Blanco with a reactionary. For now, Spain has maintained its lifeline on its only territories in borrowed time. Fired up with joy over the king's intervention, Governor General Blanco returned to the Philippines and allowed Rizal to serve in Cuba, although when he returned into his domain, the administration was instead divided into the pro-Blanco and the anti-Blanco factions, each fighting for a position within the government.
As for Jose Rizal himself, he was still arrested for treason once again but this time Blanco looked deeper into the charges and realized that the anti-Blanco faction was not going to concede to Rizal himself. So he decided to intervene personally in his trial by sentencing Rizal to exile, on the condition that he cannot be exiled in other parts of the Spanish Empire (Cuba, the Spanish homeland) or territories that are close to the Philippines. After Rizal packed his bags and left the Philippines once again, Blanco himself arrived at the Rizal resident and explained to them what happened. To make sure that the Rizals are not ostracized, he authorized for them to emigrate. The USA seemed to be too far, and Europe is where their son Jose would be staying.
In January of 1897, Jose met up with his family and settled down in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, upon the recommendation of Ferdinand Blumentritt. Earlier on back in 1896, Blumentritt had moved his publishing company from Bohemia and into Galicia upon the demands for books to be published in the local Galician dialect (NOTE: This is set in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, not in Spain). The Rizals joined Blumentritt in a city called Lemberg (yes, this is Lwow/Lviv/Lvov), and Jose himself started to continue with a book called the Makimasa.
(NOTE: This would at first be like a journal entry, but the real start of the chapter would be when the foreign powers come to the Philippines)
Your Majesty, the policies of the friars had a very negative result on the indios of the islands. Already, the people even here in Madrid are protesting against the Bishops for their conduct and are in desire of change. The friars fear change in the islands, for should the winds of reform take place, they would stand to lose most of their power. If I must be replaced by someone who will do as the friars' command, the revolution will spread like a wildfire, and you, Your Excellency, can you repair the damage and the cracks which suffered the bond between Spain and her colonies? The Catholic Church has to be aware that nations like Great Britain and France have become dominant, Germany has just risen within 20 years, our Habsburg adversary has faced rebellion in her polyglot realm, the infidel Ottoman Turks are in decline, as well as the gigantic, schmismatic Tsarist empire. Finally, the little nation of Japan too, has began to grow and would become the envy of Asia if we continue to exploit the indios. Jose Rizal y Mercado has done nothing wrong to anger Mother Spain, for he has constantly worked hard to achieve the eventual goal of autonomy within Spain. To the rest of the clergy: you say that our Spanish Kingdom is superior, then let me ask you this: Why have we lost our colonies to natives shorter than us? The United States may be a pushover, but they can become a very dangerous player on the world scene.
Blanco's argument would prove to be a decisive point, for Alfonso XIII decided to overturn the friars' suggestion of replacing Blanco with a reactionary. For now, Spain has maintained its lifeline on its only territories in borrowed time. Fired up with joy over the king's intervention, Governor General Blanco returned to the Philippines and allowed Rizal to serve in Cuba, although when he returned into his domain, the administration was instead divided into the pro-Blanco and the anti-Blanco factions, each fighting for a position within the government.
As for Jose Rizal himself, he was still arrested for treason once again but this time Blanco looked deeper into the charges and realized that the anti-Blanco faction was not going to concede to Rizal himself. So he decided to intervene personally in his trial by sentencing Rizal to exile, on the condition that he cannot be exiled in other parts of the Spanish Empire (Cuba, the Spanish homeland) or territories that are close to the Philippines. After Rizal packed his bags and left the Philippines once again, Blanco himself arrived at the Rizal resident and explained to them what happened. To make sure that the Rizals are not ostracized, he authorized for them to emigrate. The USA seemed to be too far, and Europe is where their son Jose would be staying.
In January of 1897, Jose met up with his family and settled down in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, upon the recommendation of Ferdinand Blumentritt. Earlier on back in 1896, Blumentritt had moved his publishing company from Bohemia and into Galicia upon the demands for books to be published in the local Galician dialect (NOTE: This is set in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, not in Spain). The Rizals joined Blumentritt in a city called Lemberg (yes, this is Lwow/Lviv/Lvov), and Jose himself started to continue with a book called the Makimasa.
(NOTE: This would at first be like a journal entry, but the real start of the chapter would be when the foreign powers come to the Philippines)
Last edited: