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Bonifacio's Education


        Although he never finished high school, Andres Bonifacio was very smart. He knew Spanish
    and spoke a little English, which he learned while working for the Fleming company. He read
    foreign novels, as well as books about the French revolution, politics, law, and religion. Books
    opened his mind to new worlds. Andres learned that common people had rights and that
    freedom was a valuable thing to have. The Philippines had been a colony ruled by Spain since
    the sixteenth century. But the Filipino people did not have the same rights as the Spaniards.
    Inspired by new ideas, Andres began to dream that a better life was possible for his fellow
    Filipinos.
 
        On July 3, 1892, a man named Jose Rizal started a group 
    called La Liga Filipina. The group was made up mostly of 
    Filipinos from the middle class. The educated middle class 
    believed that Spain would grant much needed reforms if the 
    Philippines were made a province of Spain and Filipinos
    became Spanish citizens. 

        Bonifacio admired Rizal. He had read his novels Noli Me 
    Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Andres joined La Liga Filipina 
    and worked hard to spread its teachings of charity and 
    brotherhood. 

  

           Dr. Jose Rizal