Rizal’s Education

Outline
● Frailocracy
○ The Power of the Spanish Friars
○ Rizal in Latin School
○ The Teodora Alonzo Accusation
○ Jose Burgos’ Claim for the Filipino Clergy
○ The Cavite Mutiny
○ The First Liberal Governor-General
○ Execution of GomBurZa
● Rizal in Ateneo
○ The Philippines after GomBurZa execution
○ Paciano Mercado
○ The Jesuit Priests
○ Rizal at Ateneo
Objectives
● Learn about Rizal’s studies in Ateneo
● Investigate the major institutions wherein the Rizal family operates
● Understand the context of how Rizal’s education and environment shaped his
ideals of nationalism
Has religion affected your life? In what
way?
Frailocracy
In Rizal’s context
The Tea
● Teodora Alonzo (Rizal’s mother) was accused of a
crime she did not commit.
● Paciano was a student (and a lodger) of Fr. Jose
Burgos
● Francisco Mercado (Rizal’s Father) banned the
mention of the name Zamora as well as Cavite in their
home.
Frailocracy
The rule of the friars.
The Power of the Spanish Friars
● Augustinian, Dominican, and
Franciscan friars were the rulers of
the land from the day the Spanish
occupied the Philippines.
● They were in charge of the religious
and educational matters of the
land.
The Power of the Spanish Friars
● In every parish, there is a friar curate who also doubles as: “local inspector of
taxes in schools, chairman of the boards of charity, health, public works,
statistics, and urban taxation, and who are also responsible for census-taking,
certifying the identity cards (cedulas) – rendering the holder into forced labor”
(Coates, 1968)
● Back then, everyone attended mass on Sundays and regularly communed.
What school did you go to in High
School?
Rizal in Latin School
● Rizal was sent to a Latin school in Biñan when he was nine (the same school
in which his father attended) but it didn’t last long.
● The schoolmaster was strict and conservative – integrating whippings into his
teachings.
● His relatives (wherein Jose lodged at that time) were described as “sloven,
unimaginative, and disinterested” (Coates, 1968)
● Upon returning for Christmas break, it was decided that he would continue his
education at home until he was old enough for college.
● He had another tutor hence but as common to his previous teachers, the
setup didn’t last long.
Have you ever gotten in trouble in
school? How?
The Accusation of Teodora Alonzo
● In 1871, his mother’s cousin, Jose Alberto, return from Europe to find out that
his wife had left him and their children.
● Teodora heard of this and attempted to reconcile the couple. The husband
was willing however the wife wasn’t and decided to hate Teodora.
● The wife accused his husband of attempting to poison her with Teodora as an
accomplice.
What is your fondest memory of your
mother?
Teodora Alonzo’s Arrest
● The alcalde ordered for Teodora’s arrest and
imprisonment to Santa Cruz. The alferez who
carried out the sentence wanted to humiliate
Teodora further by making her walk the entire
twenty miles or so to her prison.
● This instance may have proven that the Rizal
family were suspected by the Spanish friars.
● Jose Rizal was upset by his mother’s arrest and
realized the ingratitude of those whom their
family considered as friends.
The Friars are suspicious of the Rizal Family
The two reasons why the friars held the Rizals in suspicion:

● Francisco had a small land dispute over dinner which might have caused
suspicion from the guests
● “Paciano, a student at the Dominical College of San Jose in Manila, was a
favorite pupil of one of the most brilliant Filipino intellectuals of their time,
Father Jose Burgos” (Coates, 1968)
The First (And Last) Governor-General Who Cared
for the Filipinos
● Manila was opened to foreign trade as a result of the end of Galleon trade
● British and American traders took advantage of the opening which helped
improve the Philippine economy
● The Spanish friars were on the defense due to the increasing volume of new
ideas. They resorted to restrict the education of Filipinos to the bare minimum
– even ignoring Madrid’s policy of teaching the Spanish language in schools.
○ They wanted to teach Filipinos to be educated enough to stand on their own but not too much
as to aim too high.
○ They used regional languages, Tagalog, and Latin to teach so that Filipinos wont understand
each other and stay divided.
The First (And Last) Governor-General Who Cared
for the Filipinos
● In 1868, Spain experienced an upheaval in which Isabel II was dethroned with
the Liberals taking over.
○ Reforms such as freedom of religion and civil marriage were introduced
○ The friars didn’t like these reforms
● In 1869, the first Liberal Governor-General, Carlos de la Torre arrived in the
Philippines
○ He became a friend to the Filipinos when he allowed Fr. Jose Burgos to ride with him in a
carriage procession – a gesture which angered the Spanish friars and doomed de la Torre of a
short rule.
○ This also endangered Burgos and other Filipino clergymen
The First (And Last) Governor-General Who Cared
for the Filipinos
● In 1871, de la Torre was replaced by Rafael de Izquierdo whom the friars still
disapproved because of his Liberal and freemason affiliation.
● There was turbulence in the political scene due to the Spanish friars’ attempts
to subdue the public into submission
Jose Burgos and the Claims of the Filipino Clergy
● Burgos spoke for the Filipino clergy’s claim for
the right to be appointed as a parish priest.
● The Spanish friars took it as a political
statement. They were wary that this ideology
was the start of a movement for the Filipinos to
govern themselves (which might be interpreted
as a way to overthrow the Spanish rule)
● It became that anyone who supported the
Filipino clergy was an enemy of Spain (but
mostly of the Spanish friars)
Do you agree with Burgos’ claim for the
Filipino clergy?
The Cavite Mutiny
● Outside influence taught the public different mindsets contrary to the friar’s
conservative and oppressive ways.
● The Cavite mutiny was held on January 1872 but was quickly suppressed.
Inquiries on its origin pointed to many Filipino intellectuals’ expression of
liberal ideas.
The Execution of GomBurZa
● Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto
Zamora were accused of being part of the
Cavite Mutiny, were found “guilty”, and were
sentenced to death via public garroting on
February 17, 1872.
Summary
In the 19th Century Philippines, Friars were the
powerful force behind the authoritarian rule of Spain.
Despite the introduction of progressive political stands
from Spain and the governor-generals themselves, the
friars kept a tight leash on the people through education
and the law’s execution.
Jose Rizal in Ateneo
The Philippines after the execution of GomBurZa
● Public reaction and public opinion were mostly nonexistent
because the friars controlled the Filipino’s education and therefor
their way of thinking.
● Personal comments or opinions were discouraged as the 19th
century Philippines was described as a place situated in the 17th
century.
Paciano Mercado
● In 1872, he was twenty years old, slim with medium height, chinito
● He was a person of extreme self-control, and like his father, only talks when
necessary.
● He speaks about injustices to a point where his fellow-students considers him
outspoken
● He believed that those who were aware of the actual problems that the
country faced were primarily responsible for changing it. Thus he made it his
responsibility to act and find solutions.
Paciano Mercado
● Being the favorite student of Burgos, he was deeply affected by their
sentence. He resolved to be involved in making things right for Filipinos
and other victims of injustice brought about by the Friars.
● With this, he advised his brother Jose to use Rizal as their last name so
as not to be associated with him.
The Jesuit Priests
● The Society of Jesus was disbanded by
the pope in 1768 but has newly
reemerged in Rizal’s time.
● The Jesuits were intellectuals and being
just reestablished, were composed of
fresh young minds who are eager and
enthusiastic to teach.
Rizal in Ateneo
● On his first year, he stayed at a lodging
outside Intramuros in Binondo where
his fellow lodgers were bastards of
friars.
● In his later years in school, he moved in
a room inside Ateneo.
● He attended a multitude of activities
and organizations while proving to be
best in all his classes.
● He had a particular favorite in literature
and writing poetry where he found a
mentor named Father Sanchez.
Rizal in Ateneo
● Father Sanchez nourished his writing
abilities by encouraging him to write as well
as correcting his poems.
● Rizal also met with discouragement from
another teacher who told him to forget
about writing poetry.
● At the end of his years in Ateneo, he
developed his own ideals of nationalism
and expressed it through his poetry.
Summary
Jose Rizal attended the Ateneo Municipal and was
narrated to have enjoyed every moment of it. This is
where he cultivated his love for literature and honed the
start of his nationalistic ideals.
Reference:
Coates (1968), Rizal - Filipino Nationalist and Patriot. Oxford University Press.