JOSE RIZAL
LIFE, WORKS, AND WRITINGS
"My countrymen, I have given proofs,
more than anybody else, of desiring iberties
for our country and I still desire them.
But I place as premise the education of
the people so that by means of education
and of labor they might have a personality
of their 0vn and make themselves worthy
of iberties."
JoSE RIZAL
vil
CHAPTERI
A HERO IS BORN,
1861
"I was boTn in
Kalamba on the 19th of June
1861 betuween eleven and twelve o'clock at
night, a
few days before the full of the
moon."
-Jose Rizal
DR. JOSE RIZAL, the greatest hero of the
was a "many-splendored'" genius. He was richly Philipp.nes,
dowered
by God with superb intellectual, moral, and
ties. Truly, he ranks with the physical qualh-
world's geniuses. He was
an anthrôpologist,
botanist, businessman, cartographer,
dramatist, economist, educator, engineer, essayist, entomo-
logist, ethnologist, farmer, folklorist, geographer, gramma
rian, historian, horticulturist, humorist, lexicographer,
lin-
guist, musician, novelist, painter, physician, poet, philolo-
gist, philos opher, polemist, psychologist, satirist, sculptor,
sportsman, socologist, surveyor, traveler, and zoologist.
More than all these, he was a patriot, hero, and
Unike many geniuses, he consecrated his God-given
martyT
ta-
lents, and even sacrificed his own life, for the redemption
and welfare of his people. Verily, a man of his heroism
and versatility appears but once in the history of any
nation.
The World When Rizal Was Born In 1861, the year
when Rizal was born, the Philippines was browsing
redo
lently beneath the shadow of the Cross. Par lHspanica
reigned over the entire archipelago. The people, despite
their bondage to Spain, were enjoying their serene, simple,
&nd Chris tian way of life. Comparatively speaking, they
were better off than the subject peoples in the English,
Dutch, and Portuguese colonies during that agr The Spa
nish governor-general then was a good militarist, General
Jose Lemery, whose achievement worthy of historical cita-
tion was the establishment of the Politico-Military Gov
[1)
 WRITINGS
RZAL's LIFE, WORKs, AND
A HERO Is BORN 3
and Mindanao. No bloody Muslim
ernment of the Visayas Europe was in
piratical raid, no seriousnative uprising, no îrightful un turmoil. The German States were being
of foreign invasion marred forged into one nation by Bismarch, notwithstanding Aus-
surge of banditry, and noofthreat
the land. tria'soppoSItOn. South of the Alps, Cavour and Garibaldi,
the general tranquility
the world waa in defiance of Austria's might, were rallying the Italians to
Beyond the frontiers of the Philippines, unite and fight for Italia Redenta. In France, the Second
seething in the throes of political strifes, social upheavals
China was pros. Napoleonic Empire, beset by domestic and foreign troubles
and international intrigues. Gargantuan and misgoverned by Napoleon UI, was crumbling to pieces.
powers who
trate, impotent to stop the predatory Westernwith Only England, of all the Great Powers, was experiencing re-
were busy looting her riches. Her futile wars England lative peace and prosperity. Under the able rule of Queen
and France were ended by the intamous Conventiong of
Victoria she defeated Russia in the Crimean War (1853-56),
22, 1860), in which she lost more terri.
Peking" (October acquired rich colonies in the East, and attained a new
tories and was forced to grant more commerC1al concessiong
to the imperialist "foreign devils." To worsen matters for height of glory in diplomacy and literature.
the tottering Manchu dynasty, the 1aiping Rebellion (18- Spain, unlike England, fared ill under the rule of a wo
south of the man-Queen Isabela II (1833-68). She had lost her rich
50-64) was ravaging the rich provinces colonies (except Cuba and Puerto Rico) in the New World.
Y angtze.
The Imperialist Western powers, Her decadence was accelerated by the chronic Carlist War,
flushed with their
victories in China, tried to.make a repeat performance in the ruinous political squabbles, and the bungling policies ot
Japan, whose door was unlocked in 1854 to the world by the her inept monarch.
American commodore, Matthew C. Perry. Their efforts Such was the global situation at the time of Rizal's ad-
were, however, foiled by the valiant Japanese people, whose vent.
Bushido spirit outmatched the intruders superior fire The Birth of A Hero. Near midnight of Wednesday,
power.
June 19, 1861, when the Philippines was in deep slumber, a
In Indo-China, the French troops of Emperor Napoleon frail baby-boy was born to the Rizal family in Calamba, La-
II, strangely aided by Filipino soldiers from Manila, were
guna. it was a moonlit night, being "a few days before
the
smashing down Annamese resistance. In 1858 Saigon was
full of the moon." The delivery was exceedingly difficult,
captured by the combined Filipin0-French forces, 8nd four
and the mother aimost died. Her seemingiy miraculous sur-
years later France acquired Cochin OChina.
vival was attributed to Our Lady of Peace and Good Vo-
By fire and sword, the British East India Conmpany ar- his boyhood me-
yage. Y ears later Jose Rizal recorded in
mies were establishing the British raj (rule) all over the X0oirs: "It was a Wednesday, and my arrival in this valley
sub-continent of India and beyond the western frontiers to
Burma. The destructive Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, last serious of tears would have cost my mother her life had she not
resistance to British imperialism in India, was suppressed vOwed to the Virgin of Antipolo that she would take me on
at a staggering cost of money and human lives. a pilgrimage to that shrine."
Englandd
Wars (1824-26; The baby boy was baptized by Rev. Rufino Collantes
had to fight three Burmese
1885-86) to subdue Burma.
1862-63; and in the Catholic church of Calamba on June 22, 1861, three
In January, 1861, Benito Juarez, Indian-blooded hero, days after his birth. His godfather was Rev. Pedro Casa-
entered Mexico City, at the head of his victorious Indian fñas. He was named "Jose" by his pious mother, in honor
and Mexica troops, and proclaimed the restoration of of St. Joseph. It was customary for Catholic parents to
ican independence. Archduke Maximilian of Mex-
Austria, who name their children after the saints.
had dreamed of ruling Mexico with the
yonets, was executed. help of French ba de Un Ëstudiante de Mania, 1861-1881. This is
1 Vids P. Jacinto, Memorias
the memoirs of Dr. Rizal during his student dayE
in
anils. He wrote it in Spanieh
March of 1861 saw the pseudonym P. cinto."in An incomplete
Russia by Czar Alexander II. ernancipation
the
of the serfs in on 42 pages of ruled paper, under
pubisned by AUstin Craig
1927. A comn
The nglish veraion o? the emorias wa8 Alberto and Tomas F.
War following
exploded in the United States over the
month of Civl plete vereion in the originel Spanish was
San Migue
edited DySenores

Brewery aniia)
in 1949. The first co
Barreto and published by . in 1960 and w&
tion and the issue of slavery quebr Dhete English trønslstion was writen
Dy Leoni. errero,
in 1961.
secession. pubüshed by the Berdavon Book
Company (snila)
 AND WRITINGS
RIZAL'S LIFs, WORKS, A HERO Is BORN b
of the baby boy, who was
destined to
he retired to his farm in Los Baños and
The full name of the Philippines, wa led the Hfe of a
become the grestest
genius and hero
Alonso Realonda.
gentleman farmer. He died an old bachelor, though ne
Mercado y bad & common-lavw wife.
Jose Protasio Riza of the eleven children
Parents Jose was the seventh
and Teodora Alonzo Realonda
3. Narcisa (1852-1939). She
married Antonino Lopez,
Rizal
of Francisco Mercado model Flipino parentsde
8 school teacher of Morong, Rizal
Both father and mother wereindustrious, affectionate but 4. Olympla (1855-1887). She married silvestre Ubal-
voutly religious, educated, do, atelegraph operator îrom Manilas
and civic-spirited. 5. Lucda (1857-1910). She married Mariano Herbosa
strict, hospitsble, was born in
The hero's father, Francisco
(1818-1898), of Calambs.
on May 11, 1818
and died in Manila on
Biñan, Laguna, was an educated faIm-
6. Maris (1859-1845). Bhe married Daniel Faustin0
at the age of 80. He
January 5, 1898, the College of
Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
er having
studied Latin and Philosophy at 7. JOSE (1861-1896). The "ucky seven" in a 1amily
In early manhood, after his mother's
San Jose in Manila.
of eleven children. He marrled Josephine Bracken, a
Calamba and became a tenant-farmer pretty Irish îrom Hongkong.
desth, he moved to
Dominican estate. He married a college-bred Manj- 8. Concepclon (1862-1865). She died at the age o
of the
on June 28, 1848. Dr. Rizal three.
leña, Teodora Alonzo Realonda, 9. Joseta (1865-1945). She did not mairy; she died
him "a model of fa-
his greatest child, affectionately called
quiet, serious, frugal man, taller than the an old maid.
thers." He was a

Flipino, with wide shoulders, brown complexion, 10. Trinidad (1868-1951). She died an old maid, like
8verage
and firm
prominent forehead, large dark eyes, large ears,
Josefa.
11. Soledad (1870-1929). She was the youngest of the
jaws Rizal children. She married Pantaleon Quintero of Ca-
The hero's mother, Teodora (1826-1911), was born in
Manila on November 8, 1826 and died in Manila on August lambe.
of Rizal. Jose Rizal, like a typical Filipino,
Ancestry
16, 1911, at the age of 85. A graduate of Santa Rosa Col was In his veins flowed the bloods of
of mixed ancestry.
lege, she was a talented woman with high culture, business both East and West-Negrito, Indonesian, Malay, Chincse,
ability, and literary gift. Dr. Rizal, loving her as much as Japanese, and Spanish.
his father, said of her: "My mother is more than a woman
paternal great-great-grandfather was a China-
of ordinary cuiture; she knows literature and speaks Spa- man Rizal's
named Domingo Lam-co, a native of Chinchew, "Chi-
was a great-
nish better than I. . She is a mathematician and has na's City of Spring." His father, Francisco,
read many books." Aside from helping her hushand in grandson of Lam-co. Both his father's father and grand-
Biñan.
farming and business, she looked after the education and father had been Capitanes (town mayors) of
the maternal side, Rizal's ancestor
moral training of her numerous children. It is said that on
was Lakan-Dula, last Malayan king of Tondo. A maternal
The Rizal Chikren God blessed the marriage of Japanese
Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teod ora Alonso Realonda with great-great-grandfather was Eugenio Ursua, of of
biood. Jose's mother Teodora belonged to a
clan gifted
eleven children- two boys and nine girls. These children Her brothers Gregorio, Manuel, and Jose were men
men.
were as follows:2 of unusual talents. Her father, Lorenzo Alberto Alonso,
1. Saturnina (1850-1913). She was the oldest of the awarded by Spain with the co-
was an engineer who was
Rizal children. She marrled Manuel T. Hidalgo of Order of Isabela
Tana veted decoration of "Knight of the Grand
wan, Batangas. was Manuel de
the Catholic." Her maternal grandfather
2. Paclano (1851-1930). He was the older brother of Her paternal grand-
Dr. Rizal. After his
Quintos, a prominent Manila lawyer. of Biñan. In 1849,
younger brother's execution, he joinea
father, Cipriano Alonso, was Capitan
a
the Revolutdon and hecame general. After the RevolutOn ordered the Filipino fami-
when Governor Narciso Claveris
a
a list of Spanish family
ies to choose new surnames from
2 Esteban A. de
Ocampo, The Rizal Fam ily, Mania, 1964.
 AND WRITINGS
RIZAL's LIFE, WORKs,
A HERO Is BORN
Alberto Alonso adopted the
the children of Lorenzo
names,
Hence Teodora Alonso
became Teodora Teodora, the hero's
name "Realonda."
Alonso Realonda.
which sold many articlesmother, owned a store in
of trade needed town
She was a by the people.
The Name "Rizal". The original
name of the Rizal successiul businesswoman, and the profits or
this store augmented
adopted in 1781 the
family was "Mercado." It was In due time, the Rizal family income.
a surname
Chinese ancestor. In family was able to purchase an-
by Domingo Lam-co, the paternal Lam-co liked it other stone house in Calamba.
English, it means "market". Evidently, This was another proof 0I
business nature and also because the family affluence.
because it appealed to his Not only was the Rizal
it reminded him of his Chinchew ancestors who were most. family of
was, withal, highly esteemedCalamba's
one
families; it richest
ly merchants. and respected.
In the year 1849, as mentioned above, Governor Cla-
Combining wealth and culture, hospitality and charm, 1t
veria issued a decree directing all Filipino families to choOse
participated in all social and
religious activities in the com
munity.
new surnames from a list of Spanish family names. The Don Francisco and Doña Teodora
were gracious
purpose of this gubernatorial decree was to Hispanize the to all visitors-priests, hosts
alferez (lieutenant of the Guardia
Filipino surnames which were difficult for the Spanish au- Civil), Spanish officials, and Filipinos during
thorities to pronounce, much less to remember. such as hoidays,
-

Christmas, town fiesta, and other occasions. Be-

Jose's father, Francisco, scanned the list of Spanish neath the Rizal roof, all guests,
surnames sent to Calamba, such as "Cruz", "Santos," "Ra-
irrespective of their color,
sOcial position, or economic status, were treated equally
mos", 'Rivera", etc. He did not like these surnames. Be- with all courtesy and hospitality.
ing a man of independent character, he chose his own sur The Rizal Home. The house of the Rizal
name Rizal, which was not in the list recommended one of the distinguished stone
family was
by the houses in Calamba during
Spanish authorities. He considered this new family name the Spanish times. It was
for his farming clan than Mercado which
rectangular in shape, "of adobe
&s more fitting stone and hardwood with a red-tiled roof." Behind it were
signifies "market". the poultry yard full of turkeys and chickens
and the gar
The term "Rizal" came from the den of tropical fruit trees atis, balimbing, macopa, pa
Spanish word ricial -

which means 'green field" or "new paya, 8antol, tampoy, etc.

pasture." t was a happy home where
The Rizal Family. The Rizal parental affection and
family was one of the
richest families in Calamba during the times children's laughter reigned. By day, it hummed with the
prior to its
persecution by the friars. Rizal's parents, by their jubilant noises of the children at play. By night, it echoed
try and frugality, were able to honestly build i2dus- with the dulcet notes of family prayers. Both
up a large parents and
children were harmoniously united by strong ties of affec-
fortune. By present-day standards, they were rich. They
were the first to build a tion and understanding.
first to own a
large stone house in Calamba, the Such a wholesome home, naturally, bred a wholesome
carruaje (horse-drawn carriage), the first
to have a home
library (estimated to consist of more than family. And such a family was the Rizal family.
1,000 volumes), and the first to educate their
the colleges of Manila. children in
The Rizal family raised
tracts of land rented from rice, corn, and sugar on large
the Dominican estate of
ba. It operated a Calam-
ham press. It sugar mill, a flour mill, and a
home-m8de
business and inengaged successfully in the dye and sugar
the barter trade
with other towns). (exchange of product