Why Was Jose Rizal Exiled in Dapitan?
Due to his association with the members of Katipunan, Jose Rizal was implicated as one of its founders and was tried for sedition, rebellion and conspiracy before a military court. Rizal was already in the Mediterranean when he was arrested en route and brought back to Manila for trial. He was convicted as guilty of all three charges. He was sentenced to death and was exiled to Dapitan in 1893.
Rizal was arrested by the Spanish authorities on several grounds, including founding a society, publishing books and newspapers that spread rebellious and seditious ideas to the public, possessing a bundle of handbills that violated the Spanish orders, criticizing the religion spread by the Spaniards and spreading filibusterism in the Philippines.
Even though Rizal was sent to Dapitan as a prisoner, his years of stay in the province served as one of the most fruitful periods of his career as a doctor, agriculturist, businessman, engineer, teacher, scientist and linguist. He used his remaining days in Dapitan to improve his literary and artistic skills. It was also in Dapitan that Rizal met and married Josephine Bracken, the daughter of a retired Hong Kong engineer. The two had one son, who died shortly after birth.
