Organization created in Spain in 1888 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
La Solidaridad (lit. The Solidarity) was an organization created in Spain on December 13, 1888. Composed of Filipino liberals exiled in 1872 and students attending Europe's universities, the organization aimed to increase Spanish awareness of the needs of its colony, the Philippines, and to propagate a closer relationship between the Philippines and Spain.[1]
| |
| Type | Bi-weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Editor | Graciano López Jaena Marcelo H. del Pilar |
| Founded | February 15, 1889 |
| Political alignment | Independent |
| Language | Spanish |
| Ceased publication | November 15, 1895 |
Headed by Galicano Apacible, it also issued a newspaper of the same name which was published in Barcelona, Spain on February 15, 1889. It was edited by Graciano López Jaena and later on by Marcelo H. del Pilar.[2] The social, cultural, and economic conditions of the colonial Philippines were published in La Solidaridad. Speeches of the Spanish liberals about the Philippines were also featured in the newspaper.
Some friends of the Propaganda Movement also contributed.
La Solidaridad was established to express the goal of the Propaganda Movement towards achieving assimilation with Spain.[3] The first issue of La Solidaridad came out on February 15, 1889. A fortnightly and a bi-weekly newspaper, La Solidaridad serves as the principal organ of the Reform Movement in Spain.[2]
Comite de Propaganda in the Philippines funded the publication of the La Solidaridad. The editorship for the newspaper was first offered to José Rizal. However, he refused because during that time he was annotating Antonio de Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas in London. After Rizal, Graciano López Jaena was offered the editorship of La Solidaridad and he accepted.[2]
On April 25, 1889, La Solidaridad published the letter entitled "The aspirations of the Filipinos", which was written by the Asociación Hispano-Filipina de Madrid (English: Hispanic Filipino Association of Madrid).[3] It pursued desires for:[4]
On December 15, 1889, Marcelo H. del Pilar replaced Graciano López Jaena as the editor of La Solidaridad.[2][3] Under del Pilar's editorship, the aims of the newspaper expanded. His articles caught the attention of Spanish politicians like overseas minister Manuel Becerra.[3] Using propaganda, it pursued desires for:
After years of publication from 1889 to 1895, funding of the La Solidaridad became scarce. Comite de Propaganda's contribution to the newspaper stopped and del Pilar funded the newspaper almost on his own. Penniless in Spain, del Pilar stopped the publication of La Solidaridad on November 15, 1895, with 7 volumes and 160 issues. In del Pilar's farewell editorial, he said :
Facing the obstacles that the reactionary persecutions bring in opposition to the circulation of this newspaper in the Philippines, we have to suspend our publication for some time. Nowadays, when there are ways to curb difficulties, we will not stop working to overcome them. We are persuaded that no sacrifices are too little to win the rights and the liberty of a nation that is oppressed by slavery. We work within the law and thus will we continue publishing this newspaper whether here or abroad, depending on the exigencies of the fight wherein Filipino reactionaries have come to impress upon all Filipinos that in its soul there beats some sentiment of dignity and shame. Whether here or abroad, we will continue developing our program.[5]
Several writers contributed to La Solidaridad over its six years of existence, like Antonio Luna, Anastacio Carpio, Mariano Ponce, Antonio María Regidor, José María Panganiban, Isabelo de los Reyes, Eduardo de Lete, José Alejandrino, and Pedro Paterno. One of the most prolific contributors though was Rizal's confidant Ferdinand Blumentritt, whose impassioned defense of the Filipino interests was said to have been inspirational to the other writers and the readers of the newspaper alike.[3]
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