Ilustrado
A nineteenth-century term for educated Filipinos, often with European schooling. It names a social position, not a single political program.
Glossary · Sixteen terms
A vocabulary
for reading Rizal.
Colonial categories, political movements, and literary titles carry histories. These short entries give you a place to start—not a final definition.
16 termsIllustratedLinked to sources
Words are
part of the evidence.
Rizal wrote in Spanish for readers shaped by colonial categories. Translating those categories into English can hide as much as it explains.
Propaganda Movement
The reform campaign of Filipino expatriates in Spain, associated with La Solidaridad and demands for representation and equality.
La Solidaridad
The newspaper of the Propaganda Movement, edited at different times by Graciano López Jaena and Marcelo H. del Pilar.
La Liga Filipina
A mutual-aid and reform association founded by Rizal in Manila on July 3, 1892. It was dissolved by colonial authorities within days.
Katipunan
The revolutionary society founded by Andrés Bonifacio in 1892. It sought independence through armed revolution.
Friar power
The disproportionate social and political influence of religious orders in the Spanish Philippines, a central target of the novels’ satire.
Indio
A colonial category used for indigenous Filipinos. Its casual use in Spanish records reveals the racial hierarchy the novels criticize.
Mestizo
A person of mixed ancestry. Status depended on legal classification, wealth, and local context, not ancestry alone.
Peninsular
A Spaniard born in Spain. Peninsular officials often held authority over creoles born in the colonies.
Creole
A Spaniard born in the colonies. Creole identity could align with local interests while still benefiting from colonial privilege.
Noli Me Tangere
Rizal’s 1887 novel. The Latin title echoes the words spoken to Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of John: “touch me not.”
El Filibusterismo
Rizal’s 1891 sequel. The title refers to sedition or subversion; the novel explores the consequences of failed reform.
Bagumbayan
The public execution ground outside Manila’s walls, now part of Rizal Park. Rizal was executed there on December 30, 1896.
Dapitan
The town in Zamboanga del Norte where Rizal lived in exile from 1892 to 1896.
Reform vs. revolution
Reform seeks change within existing institutions; revolution seeks to replace them. The novels stage the tension rather than resolve it.
Interpretation
A reasoned reading of evidence, open to disagreement. It is different from a fact, a rumour, or a fictional scenario.
Definitions are written for this exhibition and are deliberately brief. For contested terms, consult the cited scholarship and your course readings.
See the terms in context
The timeline, characters, and Then & Now pages show these concepts doing work in specific arguments.