El Filibusterismo

"El Filibusterismo" or in English "The Filibustering" is the second novel by Philippine national hero José Rizal, which is the sequel to his first novel "Noli Me Tángere" or "Touch me Not." The main character of the first novel, Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra returns as Simoun, a rich jeweler, to the Philippines after a thirteen year absence. At the center of the story is the conflict against Spanish colonialism. The Philippines, which is named after King Philip II of Spain, was ruled by the Spanish empire as a colony from 1565 until the Philippine Revolution ended this rule in 1898. For his part in the Philippine Revolution, José Rizal was tried and convicted for rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy. His sentence was to be death by firing squad. "El Filibusterismo" is contrasted against Rizal's previous novel which has a more hopeful tone. Ibarra believes in that first work that reforms to the Spanish system can be made peacefully, however this hope is gone here as he deceitful plots to incite a revolution. José Rizal's novels are exceptional firsthand documents of the real struggles faced by the Philippine peoples at the end of the 19th century.