The Outside World when Rizal was

Born
• Europe (born from the Congress of Vienna in
1814) was undergoing political upheaval.
• The seeds of democracy planted by Napoleon
Bonaparte was either taking root or had
broken though the sod of subjugation.
• Spain was loosing her colonies in the new
world.
• Mexico became independent (1821)
• Galleon trade ended its voyage (1815)
• Chile, Colombia, and Peru where no longer a
colony of Spain
• Only had Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the
Philippines.
• American civil war (1861-65)
• Mutsohito inaugurated the Meiji Era (1867)
• 8 years after he was born, Philippine ports was
opened to foreign trade.
• Travel for the well-to-do was by carriages on
roads and by launches in rivers and bays.
• Governor-General Jose Lemery E. Ibararola
Ney y Gonzales – Gov.gen. When Rizal was
born
• Isabella II – reigning monarch of Spain when Rizal
was born

Social Classification:
• Peninsulares – Spaniards born in Spain
• Insulares – Spaniards born in the Philippines
• Mestizos – Spanish and Chinese
• Principalia – wealthy native families
• Indios – lowly natives
* Illustrados – new Philippine middles class
• Separate schools for boys and girls
• Colegio de San Ignacio (1621) first university
• University of Santo Tomas – oldest existing
university (founded in 1611 by Fr. Miguel de
Benavidez (College of Our Lady of the Rosary)
renamed into Colegio de Santo Tomas untill it
became a university in 1645.
The Advent of a Hero
Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso
Realonda is a unique example of a many-
splendored genius who
became the greatest
hero of the nation.
Endowed by God with
versatile gifts, he truly
ranked with the world’s
geniuses.
WHAT IS A HERO?
WHAT MAKES A HERO?
What is a Hero?
• A hero (heroine in its feminine form) is a real
person or a main fictional character who, in
the face of danger, combats adversity through
feats of ingenuity, courage or strength.

• Someone who inspires us by their example.

Someone who moves us emotionally to
connect with them at some level in order for
us develop a connection with them.
• A person of distinguished valor or enterprise
in danger, or fortitude in suffering
• A person who is revered by the public after his
or her death because of his or her exceptional
service to mankind.
 WHO
MADE
RIZAL
OUR
NATIONAL
HERO?
• Emilio Aguinaldo- first
proclamation was
declaring Dec. 30 as
Rizal Day

• -newspapers,
magazines, and other
periodicals throughout
the civilized world
published accounts of
Rizal’s martyrdom to
render homage to his
greatness.
Made-to-order hero – some believe because
Civil Governor William Howard Taft made the
decision to make Rizal our national hero.

Other candidates were: Marcelo H. Del Pilar,

Graciano Lopez-Jaena, General Antonio Luna,
Emilio Jacinto, and Andres Bonifacio
 Why was he chosen by Gov. Taft?
• Towering figure in the
propaganda
movement.
• Rizal’s Noli Me
Tangere influenced
the Filipino masses to
a great extent.
• Without Rizal, there
would have been no
Bonifacio, who
founded the
Katipunan.
WAS RIZAL A CONSCIOUS
HERO??
 WAS RIZAL A CONSCIOUS HERO?
• Very conscious about his looks.
• “My dreams have always guided my actions.”
• Planned his entire life down to the last detail.
• He could have lived beyond Dec. 30, 1896 if he
had simply stayed and remained in Hong
Kong.
• Quiet, peaceful man who willfully and calmly
walked to his death for his convictions.
• Before his execution, his pulse rate was
reputedly normal.
• Left 2 sealed letters (1892) “to be opened and
published after my death.”
WHY IS RIZAL THE GREATEST FILIPINO
WHO EVER LIVED?
• The greatest man the Malayan
race has produced;
• The man most honored after
death by public worship due
to his exceptional service to
the Filipino people
 FINAL ANALYSIS
• There is no single person or group of persons
who was responsible for proclaiming the
greatest Malayan the no. 1 hero of his people.
• Rizal himself, his own people, and all the
foreigners who knew him intimately all
together contributed to proclaiming him the
greatest hero and martyr of his people.