Portuguese Jesuit, Diogo de Mesquita, is widely credited for planting the first western trees in Japan. In his letters to Padre Juan de Ribera he requested the following trees: fig, pear, peach, quince (main ingredient of the Tagalog spread called membrillo) and olive trees. Padre Ribera (d. 1622, Manila), the Rector of the Jesuit College […]
Tag: philippine jesuits
Having visited Rizal’s reconstructed house in Calambâ recently (biking all the way there from Muntinglupà!), I became interested again in the circumstances that led to his execution. I reread “The Trial of Rizal” (a book almost forgotten today) and saw some interesting facts that are often glossed over by our history teachers. For example, not […]