In Photos: British Museum, park where Jose Rizal wrote many great works
MANILA, Philippines — Apart from being fluent in 22 languages, reportedly involved in at least 15 professions, and not to mention being romantically linked to at least nine women from different nationalities, National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal, whose birthday is marked every June 19, was also very well-traveled, having visited at least 13 countries in his relatively short 35 years of life.
One of the countries he stayed in was the United Kingdom, specifically in its capital, London.
After hearing that London's British Museum has a rare copy of Antonio de Morga's "Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas" (Events in the Philippine Islands), following a visit to the United States of America, Rizal lived in London from May 1888 to March 1889 to study and annotate Morga's work and greatest achievement. The book is considered as among the most important works on the early history of Spanish colonization in the Philippines.
During his stay in London, Rizal aimed to improve his English and operate safely against the Spanish rule in the Philippines. It is where he received news from his country about persecution of reformists and his family. It is also where he wrote many articles for "La Solidaridad," many "voluminous" letters to his family and friend Ferdinand Blumentritt; as well as one of his most important letters, the letter to the young women of Malolos. It is believed that many of these articles and correspondences were written by Rizal at the library of the British Museum and/or its adjacent park, which both still stand today and have barely changed since Rizal's time.
Within walking distance of the British Museum, Rizal boarded in the house of the Beckett family and had a romance with Gertrude, the oldest of the three of the family's daughters. Believing that his romance with Gertrude would hamper his mission of defending the Philippines from Spanish colonizers, Rizal left London for Paris, leaving behind a carving of the Beckett sisters to Gertrude.
For those who want to retrace Rizal's London tracks, the British Museum houses millions of the world's most important artifacts, including the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies and parts of The Parthenon. A visit to the museum is free but prior booking is required via the museum's official website.
