Hija del Sol de Oriente

Im quite surprised on how you convinced Rizal to leave. IMO, based on Rizals character, he wont leave simply because Spain planned to kill execute him. He would have probably left because the Revolution was a point that he recognize Philippines can win via armed struggle and that words/propaganda are not enough.

At this point Rizal still believes he can win his case (despite the odds), partially due to his connection to Blanco, even though the Governor is already powerless. He doesn't know yet that a new Governor favored by the friars would seal his fate. OTL, he only gave up when the verdict was announced. ITTL, it took a government insider to finally make him embrace the reality that he was already doomed by the time he stepped on Manila's soil, and his death would only fuel the rebels.

On another note, Rizal was only convinced to escape. He hasn't decided yet if he'll join the Revolution (I realized that I've just butterflied away his manifesto), he may even attempt to stop it.
 
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What happens in the Philipines shapes Spain, South East Asia, and any one who has interests in the area. I would love to see how this all plays together ;)
 
Chapter 13

The Great Manila Mutiny, as it was now called in the newspapers, was the biggest humiliation yet for the Spanish colonial government. Governor-General Ramon Blanco now had his reputation in question. The friars, furious after learning of Rizal's escape, finally decided to act. Days after the incident Blanco received a telegram from Madrid, removing him from his post as the Governor of the islands. On December 13, 1896 a ship arrived at Manila, carrying the newly-appointed Governor-General of the Philippines: his name is Camilo de Polavieja. A veteran of the Third Carlist War, he previously served as Governor of Cuba and Puerto Rico, and was seen as a competent military commander and administrator, albeit a ruthless one. Polavieja also brought with him additional Spanish troops numbering 12,000 men along with a new commander for the colonial army, Jose de Lachambre. Two days after his arrival, Polavieja immediately goes to work, assessing the current situation of the whole colony, particularly the ongoing rebellion against the government.

Earlier, a day after the mutiny, Jose Rizal, Julio Navarro and a handful of Katipuneros finally reached Andres Bonifacio's camp in Antipolo. Navarro immediately reported to Bonifacio the recent happenings from Manila, then afterwards presented Rizal to him, who somehow was eager to talk to Bonifacio. Accompanied by Emilio Jacinto, Bonifacio invited Rizal for a chat. As Bonifacio recounted in his memoirs:
We sat in a round table. Moments later we were served with some coffee while I started the conversation. "I would like to repeat my offer to you. Join our cause."

"You already know my answer to that." Sr. Rizal immediately replied. "Our people are not ready."

"What do you mean we're not ready? There's already a large number of support from the provinces. We--"

"Are their minds ready? Their hearts?" Sr. Rizal interrupted. "Do you even know what liberty truly means? We can't achieve true freedom if our people doesn't even know what 'nation' truly stands for. The people must be educated first, before they can truly desire what's best for them. That's why we fight for reforms. Revolt only brings despair, nothing more."

He's still clinging to that belief no matter how hopeless it is, I thought...

After a few minutes of discussion (or a hot debate, as Jacinto called it), Bonifacio failed to convince Rizal to help the Katipunan. The next day, December 7, Rizal headed to Calamba, his hometown, to see his family.

Back in November, the province of Laguna finally joined the revolutionary movement when Severino Taiño of Pagsanjan, and Agueda Kahabagan of San Pablo raised insurgent armies in their hometowns. They would later be joined with other insurgent groups from Bay, Los Baños, Nagcarlan, and Sta. Cruz, the province's capital.

After two days of travel Rizal, along with some escorts provided by Bonifacio, arrived at the outskirts of Calamba, only to find it a little too quiet. Rizal immediately went to his home. Teodora Alonzo, Jose's mother, almost collapsed in shock and tears after seeing her beloved son again.

It was later at night that Rizal finally learned that a rebellion had already started in their province, and Calamba is now a Katipunan territory. When he asked who is the leader, Jose was shocked when he heard the answer: his brother, Paciano [1].


---

[2] Almost a year earlier than OTL.
 
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Announcement

After reviewing the whole TL, I've realized that it had been longer than I projected it to be, meaning I've been unintentionally dragging it on by focusing too much on unnecessary (in my view) details. Another thing is, I've stumbled upon some roadblock that would cause uncertainty to this TL's direction. Thus, I decided restarted this TL again. Hope you guys understand. Cheers...
 
Just a reminder, comments are still welcome.

BTW, I've been thinking of posting the revamped TL in the next page, instead of making a new thread. What can you say guys?
 
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