CHAPTER 1

The Philippines in the Nineteenth Century

The 19th century was a dynamic and creative age especially in Europe and the United States.
During this period, such concepts as industrialism, democracy, and nationalism triggered revolutionary
changes in science, technology, economics, and politics. These changes enabled men to achieve the
heights of prosperity and dignity.
Although 19th century Philippines was largely medieval, signs of progress or change were noted
in certain sectors. Its social and economic structure was based on the old feudalistic patterns of abuse
and exploitation of the Indios. Racial discriminatory practices were oppressive. Intellectual decadence
prevailed and government processes did not respect the needs of the people.

Social Structure
Philippine society was predominantly feudalistic, the result of the Spanish landholding system
imposed upon the country with the arrival of the conquistadores. An elite class exploited the masses,
fostered by the "master-slave" relationship between the Spaniards and the Filipinos. The Spaniards
exacted all forms of taxes and tributes, and drafted the natives for manual labor. Consequently, the
poor became poorer and the rich, richer.
The pyramidal structure of the 19th century Philippine society favored the Spaniards. Its apex
was occupied by the Spanish officials, the peninsulares, and the friars; its base, by the Filipino majority,
the indios; and its middle area, by a small middle class which consisted of favored natives, mestizos,
and creoles. Racial discrimination was prevalent as the Spanish-born peninsulares were given the
highest offices and positions in society, while the creoles, the Philippine-born Spaniards, the half-breed
or mestizos, enjoyed second priority, and the natives or indios were looked down upon.

Political System
Spain governed the Philippines through the Ministro de Ultramar (Ministry of the Colonies)
established in Madrid in 1863. This body helped the Spanish monarchs manage the affairs of the
colonies and governed the Philippines through a centralized machinery, exercising executive,
legislative, judicial, and religious powers.
The Governor General appointed by the Spanish monarch headed the central administration in
Manila. He was the king’s representative in all state and religious matters, and as such, he exercised
extensive powers.
He issued executive orders and proclamations and had supervision and disciplinary powers over
all government officials. He was commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He had
supreme authority in financial matters until 1784.
 The Governor General was theoretically responsible for all government and religious activities
during his term, including petty official negligence and faulty administration of justice.
Next to the central government in the hierarchical structure were the provincial governments
or alcaldias led by alcaldes mayors (civil governors); and the city governments called cabildo or
ayuntamiento administered by two alcaldes en ordinario (mayor and vice mayor). The gobernadorcillo,
fondly called captain by his constituents, was the chief executive and chief judge of a town. He was
elected at the beginning of every year by a board composed of members of the town principalia, a
body of citizens of high standing, usually made up of the incumbent or ex cabeza de barangay.
The smallest unit of government was the barangay or barrio. Each barangay was controlled by a
cabeza de barangay, whose main responsibility was to maintain peace and order and to collect tributes
and taxes in his barrio.
The guardia civil and cuadrilleros performed police duties and helped maintain peace and
order. The Alferez (second lieutenant), usually a Spaniard, headed the corps of guardia civil in each
town.

Educational System
For almost three hundred years since the Spaniards established the first settlement in the
Philippines, there was no systematic government supervision of schools. The schools were free to
administer their own curricula and prescribe the qualifications of their teachers.
The most serious criticisms against the system were: the overemphasis on religious matters, the
obsolete teaching methods, the limited curriculum, the very poor classroom facilities, and the absence
of teaching materials such as books in the elementary and high school levels. Primary education was
neglected; the absence of academic freedom, the prejudice against Filipinos in the schools of higher
learning, and the friar's control over the system were also reported.
The friars occupied a dominant position in the Philippine educational system for religion was
the main subject in schools. Fear of God was emphasized and obedience to the friars was instilled in
the minds of the people. They were constantly reminded that they had inferior intelligence and they
were fit only for manual labor. These practices resulted in a lack of personal confidence and a
development of inferiority complex
The absence of academic freedom in Spain's educational system was extended to the schools
that the Spaniards established in the Philippines. Learning in every level was largely by rote. Students
memorized and repeated the contents of books which they did not understand.
At the end of the Spanish period, the College of San Juan de Letran was the only official
secondary school in the Philippines although secondary education was also offered at the Ateneo de
Manila. Seven provinces had private colleges and Latin schools for general studies, and secondary
education for girls was furnished by five colleges in Manila - Santa Isabel, La Concordia, Santa Rosa,
Looban, and Santa Catalina.
 Up to the end of the Spanish regime, the University of Santo Tomas was the only institution of
university level in Manila. Initially established solely for Spaniards and mestizos, it opened its doors to
Filipino students decades before the end of the Spanish rule.
The Educational Decree of 1863 marked a milestone in the history of education in the
Philippines under Spain. For the first time, provisions were made for the establishment of teacher
training schools and for government supervision of the public school system.

CHAPTER 2
Birth of Rizal
On the day of June 19, 1861, in a small town in the province of Laguna, Jose Protacio Rizal
Mercado y Alonso was born, a legitimate son, according to the birth certificate, of Francisco Mercado
and Teodora Alonso. This, then is our hero born beneath the skies of the country he poetically called
“Pearl of the Orient”.
Three days after his birth, Rizal was baptized in the Catholic church of Calamba on June 22,
1861 by Fr. Rufino Collantes, a Filipino priest from Batangas. His godfather was Pedro Casañas, a native
of Calamba and friend of Rizal’s family.

Calamba, Laguna – Rizal’s Hometown

Calamba is a small town nestling at the foot of Mt. Makiling as it slopes down to Laguna de Bay.
Rizal’s town was a prosperous town devoted to the production of sugar. Despite their hardships as
tenants of the Dominican friars whose estate covered practically the whole town, its inhabitants were
happy.
Its soil was fertile; its climate favorable. Its scenic environment influenced the young Rizal for
his poetic and artistic creativity. Its share of unhappiness also shaped his noble and heroic spirit. The
surroundings of his home opened to him the many wonders of nature. Verdant meadows all around, a
fruit laden orchard, and Mt. Makiling in the distance all these broadened his perception. The beauty of
the orchard and the gentle atmosphere of the family’s rambling house left a deep impression on the
young Rizal.

Rizal’s Ancestors
Like most Filipinos, Rizal was of mixed racial origin. In his veins flowed the blood of the East and
West. Rizal’s great great grandfather was Domingo Lamco, the intelligent and industrious Chinese
merchant, who married Ines de la Rosa, a Chinese mestiza. From Parian, the family migrated to Biñan
and became tenants in the Dominican estate. Lamco’s only son, Francisco, who was to be Rizal’s great
grandfather was a keen, witty, and liberal young man. He became quite well to do and popular enough
to be appointed municipal captain of Biñan in 1783. The family adopted the surname “Mercado” to
free the younger generation from the prejudices that followed those with a Chinese name.
Francisco Mercado’s wife, Bernarda Monicha, was a Chinese mestiza. They were blessed with
two children: Juan and Clemente. Juan married Cirila Alejandra, also a Chinese mestiza. The couple had
fourteen children, including Francisco who was to be Rizal’s father. Francisco and two of his sisters
moved to a Dominican estate in Calamba and became pioneer farmers.
Materially, socially, and professionally, the family of Teodora Alonso was better off than the
family of her husband. In those days when professionals were few, the Alonso clan could boast of a
number of lawyers, priests, engineers, and government officials. Teodora, Rizal’s mother whose
parents were Lorenzo Alberto Alonso and Brigida Ochoa belonged to a professionally famous family
from Baliuag, Bulacan.

The Rizal Family

The family name of Rizal’s parents did not coincide with his own as inscribed in his birth
certificate. This can be explained as follows: The name of Rizal’s mother was Teodora Alonso Quintos,
and according to some notes of Rizal’s brother, Paciano, the birth certificate of Jose bore the name
Realonda because there was a time when many Filipinos had the custom of adding the name of the
godmother or godfather to the child’s name. Thus, when his mother Teodora was baptized, the name
Realonda (her godmother’s) was added to her name, and later to Rizal’s. Rizal himself gave in a letter
to Blumentritt the complete name of his mother: Teodora Alonso Quintos Realonda.
As regards the family name, this was a matter of selection, in conformity with the order in force
about the middle of the 19th century, to the effect that the natives chose the family name they wished
from a list provided for this purpose. Rizal’s father ignored these orders and reapplied for the name
Rizal. The petition was rejected by the Spanish authorities, but despite this, the Mercado family used
the name Rizal as a second family name. Jose was the first to use the family name “Rizal” in 1872 when
he went to Manila to enroll at the Ateneo Municipal, directed by the Jesuits. There was a good reason
for the change. Only six months had elapsed since the Cavite Mutiny in 1872. This event was to have a
profound effect on the ideological genesis of Jose, despite the fact that he was only eleven years old at
that time. His brother Paciano had contacts with Father Burgos, who was executed as a consequence
of the uprisings. The name Mercado thus became subject to suspicion. Hence, the adoption of Rizal as
the first family name.
As to the members of the family, it was Teodora Alonso, the mother, who had the most striking
personality in the family circle, due to her intelligence, her upbringing, and her disposition. A well read
person, she knew how to appreciate literature, corrected her son’s verses, and had good knowledge of
mathematics. Educated in the College of Santa Rosa, she was a devout Catholic and believed in the
intercession of the saints in earthly happenings. She took great efforts to imbue her sons with the
maxims of Christian morality. Her father was a representative to the Spanish Cortes, for the islands had
been represented there for short periods: 1810-1813; 1813-1814; 1820-1822; 1822-1823; and 1834-
1837.
Francisco Mercado was forty-three years old when Rizal was born. He was older than his wife
by six years. Of more than average height, his face was serious and noble. He was a man of few words,
dignified and hospitable. Having studied in Colegio de San Jose in Manila, he possessed an elementary
education which was sufficient to successfully carry out the management of a large agricultural
property that was leased to him.
Don Francisco and Doña Teodora were blessed with eleven children: two boys and nine girls.
They were in the order of birth as follows:
1. Saturnina (1850-1913) - Oldest of Rizal children, nicknamed Neneng; married to Manuel Hidalgo of
Tanauan, Batangas,
2. Paciano (1851-1930) - Older brother of Rizal and became a general, later he retired to his farm in Los
Baños.
3. Narcisa (1852-1939) - She married Antonio Lopez, a school teacher of Morong.
4. Olympia (1855-1887) - She married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from Manila.
5. Lucia (1857-1919) – She married Mariano Herbosa, a Batangueño farmer.
6. Maria (1859-1945) – She married Daniel Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
7. Jose (1861-1896) – Greatest Filipino hero and Peerless genius.
8. Concepcion (1862-1865) – She died at the age of three.
9. Josefa (1865-1945) – She died unmarried at the age Of 80.
10. Trinidad (1868-1951) – She also died unmarried at the Age of 83
11. Soledad (1870-1919) – She married Pantaleon Quintero Of Calamba.
The sisters of Rizal did not become prominent in occupying important public positions. It would
have been in those times unusual for women to do so. But they were greatly responsible for the
solidarity of the family, giving Rizal moral and spiritual support the heroic mission that dominated their
lives.
The care and attention with which the sisters of Rizal showered him during his deportation in
Dapitan and his stay in Hong Kong are difficult to equal. Also, the determination of Narcisa to find the
tomb of her brother in the afternoon of his execution clearly shows the unifying bond of affection that
held the Rizal family.
As to the family finances, they were not really as rich as many biographers have claimed but
were just comfortably well to do. The couple was ambitious as regards to the education of their
children, desiring to give each the means to acquire a solid preparation. The lands they cultivated were
not the property of Francisco Mercado. They belonged to the Dominicans who had leased a part of the
property to the Rizals.

CHAPTER 3
Childhood in Calamba
In the midst of the orchard that surrounded the house in Calamba, the father of Rizal
constructed a modest nipa hut. Nature provided him with rich imagery for his future poems.
At the age of four, he could recognize the martin, the maya, multi-colored kuliawan, and many
others. In the afternoon, protected from the tropical sun by the shadow of Mount Makiling, the young
Rizal contemplated at these birds with joy. How happy he was in that communion with nature!
His mother nurtured his mind, equipped with a great capacity for assimilation and with
exceptional intelligence. She taught him how to read and write; she inculcated in him a sense of duty.
She corrected his faults, especially his obstinacy. To accomplish this, she used parables, which Jose, like
other children loved to listen to. At the end of each parable, the mother, explaining the symbolism,
brought out a moral lesson.
In his hours of leisure, he would return to the orchard where the study of insects held his
interest. Since childhood hobbies are usually those that last, Jose retained his inclination to botany and
zoology in his lifetime.
Rizal continued making progress in his studies. Before the age of three, he could recite the
alphabet; he paid great attention to the lessons that his sisters received from their tutors. This great
diligence was not forced on him by his mother. It was he, himself, who evinced an innate curiosity for
and interest in learning. In Calamba, he learned how to write. It is said that his father paid an old man
to teach him the elements of Latin. The classes lasted only five months owing to the death of the old
man.
He went to a school in Calamba, but after a short time it was clear that he had learned all there
was to learn from his school teacher. He was made to stop going to school. He was at that time seven
years old.
In 1868, shortly after the birth of Trinidad, Jose made his first trip to Manila. Part of the trip was
by boat across the Laguna de Bay and it provided him with a new and much faceted experience, which
ten years later, he captured in poetic prose. He also went to visit the Virgin of Antipolo in fulfillment of
a promise made by his mother on the day he was born.
Biñan
Rizal continued his studies at home. But the situation could not go on, so Francisco thought of
sending the boy to Biñan, his native town bigger than Calamba, along the banks of Laguna de Bay
which was an hour and a half ride away. The teachers in Biñan would be more capable to teach him.
He was at that time nine years old. It was the first time that he was separated from his family.
Accompanied by Paciano, he left for Biñan one Sunday, arriving there at sundown. They went to their
aunt's house where Rizal was to board, together with six other relatives. Paciano introduced him to his
teacher, who was his tutor before. When the teacher asked Rizal, whether he spoke Spanish, Rizal
answered, "A little sir." This prompted one of his costudents, Pedro, to make fun of him. Rizal, although
smaller and younger, challenged him to a fight after class. He himself admitted that he won by sheer
luck. He gained the reputation of being small but strong but this fame did not last long.
Occasionally, he would take a trip to Calamba, but not as often as he wished. He was not happy
in Biñan. The stronger reason was that he was homesick for his town and family.
However, being a fervent Catholic, he invoked the Virgin of Biñan to intercede for his return to
Calamba. By about the middle of 1870, he received a letter from home announcing that the boat Talim
would pass for him on his return home. Not only was he going home, but he was also going by boat, an
experience he had never had before. Rizal spent Christmas with his family and there it was decided
that he would not return to Biñan. While waiting for the month of June when he would enroll for
secondary school in Manila, they provided him with another professor, with whom he did not learn
anything except the multiplication table.

The Detention of Teodora Alonso

While Rizal, happy in his family, awaited the month of July to go to school in Manila, something
happened that darkened the life in that home. Jose Alberto, cousin of Teodora, was one of the
wealthiest in Biñan. Upon his return from a trip to Europe, he came home to find his wife gone and his
children abandoned. To all appearances, she had been unfaithful to him. Jose Alberto planned to
separate from her, but Teodora intervened for the sake of the children, and for the reasons based on
the Catholic principles she professed. They succeeded in dissuading him from his plans and the family
was reunited.
Subsequent events proved tragic. Rizal says in his memorias: “A few days later, the infamous
woman, together with a lieutenant of the guardia civil who had been a family friend, accused him (Jose
Alberto) of poisoning,” and named his mother as the accomplice. His mother was put in prison by the
alcalde, who was a fanatic, a puppet of the friars. From then on, Jose Alberto doubted all men and lost
faith in their friendship.
“One dark night,” Rizal further relates, “while taking a stroll he was assaulted and jailed, despite
his being wounded. They threatened him with deportation for the sole reason that in the darkness of
the night, he failed to lift his hat as he passed the lieutenant of the guardia civil.” He filed a suit with
the Captain General. It took two weeks before his wounds were healed. The legal action was in vain; he
was not permitted to see the captain, nor did he obtain redress for his grievances.
The restoration of the guardia civil in the Philippines was well intentioned as regards the
principal mission assigned to them namely, to fight the tulisanes. But almost all the Filipinos of that
time protested against the abuse of the authority and discrimination against the natives.
The detention of Teodora was marked by extreme cruelty and humiliation. They made her walk
barefoot to the prison which was situated 30 kilometers away. When the case reached the Audiencia,
the alcalde asked pardon for Teodora. She was finally absolved, but the case dragged on for two and a
half years before she finally gained release
The knowledge of these facts and the conclusion that can be drawn from their repercussion and
influence on the shaping of the personality of the great Malayan are very significant. He himself says in
his memorias that as a result of these, he became skeptic. This emotional trauma was very painful, to
such a sensitive boy indeed, plus the fact that he lost faith and confidence at an age when his
personality was still in crucial formative stage.

The Cavite Mutiny in 1872

To this event we attribute extraordinary importance, not only because of the events per se, but
also because of their repercussion in the creation of elite patriots who, led by Rizal, contributed greatly
towards the awakening of the political consciousness of the Filipinos.
The historical cause, or starting point, is linked with the Cavite Mutiny as a basic factor although
as always, there are other factors that motivate a conduct, more so when it is a case, as is that of Rizal.
In his clear language, he admitted the influence of the incident of Cavite, and he expressed this in a
letter to Mariano Ponce: “Without 1872, there would not be a Plaridel nor a Jaena, nor a Sancianco,
nor would there be such brave and generous Filipino communities in Europe.”
He was only 11 when the events in Cavite transpired. With his usual care, he did not speak of
confused happenings that would capture the imagination of a boy. These came alive with the ideas
imparted to him by Paciano, who was 10 years older, and had lived and witnessed the mutiny from the
beginning.
As in previous uprisings, the root cause may be found in the discrimination against the Filipinos.
Father Burgos published a manifesto in defense of the native clergy of which he was the most qualified
and courageous spokesman. He asked for the equality of rights and opportunities; he showed how the
most lucrative parishes were never granted to the Filipinos but to peninsulares, priests, or friars. In
effect, the existing rule was that the native priests should not be given the positions of parish priests.
On the 21st of January 1872, there was an insurrection which should be called a mutiny, owing
to its special significance. Two hundred men, officers, and the rank and file of the arsenal of Cavite
revolted. The military character of the rebels and the proximity to Manila and to Manila Bay drew
attention to the mutiny.
 Very soon came the repression, as it was not only limited to those who took active part in the
mutiny but was also extended to those who were known to have worked in the propaganda for the
political enlightenment of the Filipinos. Hundreds of them were imprisoned, the most prominent being
Fathers Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora, although their participation in the mutiny
was not proven. The accused were summoned before the Council of War and were condemned to
death. The execution took place in Bagumbayan, and the garrote was used. The intellectuals of the
period supported the propaganda carried out by Burgos and his colleagues to gain for the Filipino
priests the same rights as those enjoyed by the Spanish clergy. According to them, their controversy
with the friars influenced the decision of the authorities.