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Ramon Ma. Despujol y Sabater (1866 - 1934) The Man Who Arrested Rizal by DR. JORGE MOJARRO Formally known as Ramón María de Despujol y Sabater, he was born in Gerona, a city in Spain on September 13, 1866. He came from an aristocratic family of Catalan military men. Many members of the Despujol family had high-ranking positions in the Spanish Army. According to the historical sources consulted, Ramón Despujol lived in Manila from 1891 to at least 1897, as his signature appears on some documents of the trial against Rizal. In 1905, King Alfonso XIII granted him the title of Marquis of Oliver and in 1912 he was made a Knight of Alcántara. In 1921, he was still active in the military and was a chief of staff with the rank of colonel, participating in the war in Morocco (1921-23). He died in Madrid on January 22, 1934. Ramón Despujol was the nephew of Eulogio Despujol y Desay (1834-1907), who was Governor-General of the Philippines between November 17, 1891 and May 3, 1893. According to his memoirs of his command that the Governor himself wrote, José Rizal sent two letters from Hong Kong to Despujol. The first of them went unanswered — as Rizal’s second novel El Filibusterismo was at the time circulating in Manila. However, in the second one, Rizal expressed his desire to found a Philippine agricultural colony on the north coast of Borneo, then under the protectorate of England, and asked for permission to travel to Manila. The Governor accepted and Rizal arrived in Manila on June 26, 1892. On June 27, the Governor granted pardon to his father and his widowed sister for the past events in Calamba. Rizal had the honor of being received by the Governor in three meetings that he held in just ten days, in which he expressed his desire to replace the friars with the secular clergy and for the Philippines to have representation in the Spanish Cortes, like Cuba and Puerto Rico. In the third of these meetings, held on July 6, 1892, due to some anticlerical papers that were found when he arrived at the port, Rizal was arrested and sent to prison in Fort Santiago, prior to his exile to Mindanao. Despujol’s arbitrary actions were not, however, approved by Maura, Spain's new liberal president, who quickly sought a replacement for him. Ramón Despujol, the owner of the daga (dagger), stayed in Manila at least from 1891 until 1896, being then first lieutenant of the infantry and his uncle's aide-de-camp. He was the person in charge of arresting José Rizal at Malacañang Palace on the occasion of his third and last visit to the Governor and accompanied him in the Governor's carriage to Fort Santiago, where Rizal was imprisoned for eight days. It was also Ramón Despujol who personally informed José Rizal on July 14, 1892 that he would be taken to Dapitan and exile the next day. The dagger would have been an appropriate gift for a military man such as Lt. Despujol, especially so since it was a traditional gift for royalty, (Despujol came from an aristocratic family.) The initials “J.M.” are probably those of the unnamed giver. Ramon Despujol, incidentally, would marry a mestiza Filipina (of Spanish / Chinese ancestry) named María Rocha Tuason, with whom he had seven children. The Marquis' Dagger by AUGUSTO MARCELINO REYES GONZALEZ III This splendid knife of engraved iron, carved carabao horn, and reticulated tortoiseshell from 1897 exemplifies the excellence of the Filipino blademaking tradition and was a valued heirloom of the aristocratic Despujol–de la Rocha family of Spain and Filipinas. The name of the original owner is engraved on the fine blade: “Al Sr Dn Ramon Despujol y Sabater Pasig 16 Dibre (Diciembre) 97 J M,” as are Greek anthemions and other floral motifs. The magnificent handle of carabao horn is carved with a bouquet of “catmon” flowers and leaves on its top side contrasted with diamond shapes on the underside (for steady handling); the edges of the handle are carved with a pattern of acanthus leaves. Both sides of the handle are decorated with silver beads reminiscent of those in antique gold “tamburin” necklaces; the terminal of the handle is embellished with a stylized pineapple and leaves in solid silver. The elegant sheath of reticulated tortoiseshell has piercework motifs of densely intertwined grape leaves underscored by a silver section chased with “catmon” flowers and leaves. The history of weaponry in Las Islas Filipinas does not only go back to the Spanish colonial times (1571–1898) and the precolonial Islamic communities (before 1571) but to the early history of the archipelago --- the Iron Age --- as the inhabitants crafted primitive hunting equipment like knives, adzes, hammers, bows and arrows as well as domestic utensils. The Islamic communities produced masterpieces of weaponry in iron, brass, bronze, silver, and gold using ancient Persian and Arabic techniques. Magnificent utilitarian knives as well as ceremonial daggers and swords were produced for the use of the Muslim royal courts and their subjects. During the Spanish era, the production of military weapons logically led to the manufacture of all manner of knives in Manila and provincial towns like Taal, Batangas and Apalit, Pampanga which became blademaking hubs. Nineteenth century Taal and Apalit blademakers produced splendid knives comparable to the Despujol–de la Rocha knife made in Manila. Today, Mr Sean Alonzo produces remarkable artisanal knives in the Filipino blademaking tradition. Ramon Despujol y Sabater, Marques de Oliver, was the son of Ramon Jose Maria Despujol y Dusay, a brother of Eulogio Despujol y Dusay. Ramon was a nephew of the Gobernador–General de Las Islas Filipinas. Ramon Despujol y Sabater married the Spanish mestiza Maria Emilia Josefa Casiana de la Rocha y Tuason of San Miguel de Tanduay, Manila in 1895. For some reason, Maria Emilia de la Rocha had been born at the Palacio de Malacanang. Her ancestors (great–great–grandparents) Don Jose Luis de la Rocha y Camina and Dona Gregoria Tuason de Zaballa were the original owners of the Palacio de Malacanang property in 1750. The de la Rochas were a branch of the aristocratic, extremely landed Antonio Maria Tuason clan, the most affluent in late 1700s Manila, and the only one with a “mayorazgo” noble estate. After a few years in Manila, the couple returned to the Despujol ancestral estate in Barcelona, Cataluna, Spain. Gobernador–General Sr Don Eulogio Despujol y Dusay married Leonor Rigalt y Muns. He was an avid athlete and he struck up a close friendship with Don Sabas del Rosario, a Catalan sportsman like himself living in a fine house on Calle Ezpeleta off Calle Gandara in Santa Cruz, Manila. The friendship resulted in the del Rosario residence becoming a second Palacio de Malacanan for the three short but eventful years of Despujol’s tenure as he frequented and enjoyed the elegant soirees hosted by Don Sabas, his beautiful and artistic wife Dona Mariquita, and their two pretty and talented daughters Francisca (“Paquita”) and Dolores (“Loleng”). In those days, Dona Mariquita and the Senoritas Paquita and Loleng became the collective arbiter elegantiarum of fashionable Manila, dazzling their social peers with their beauty, talents, and dernier cri dresses and jewelry. Paquita became the second Mrs Benito Cosme Tuason Legarda and Dolores became Mrs Leonardo Osorio, of the important political Cavite clan. (Dolores del Rosario de Osorio was the grandmother of contemporary socialite Frannie Osorio Aguinaldo–Jacinto).