RIZAL POLYMATH
everywhere he went. He drew most of the
Introduction:
 Rizal, in all aspects, was a true scholar.
He enjoyed learning from different fields,
whether from the arts or the sciences. He never
limited his capacity to learn; he emphasized the
importance of education for the Filipinos.
This lesson
 aims to highlight Rizal’s education, as well as
other fields that he explored as a scholar.
Rizal’s Interests:
 He had a wide range of interests including
science and was also a poet, artist and
sculptor.
 Rizal studied to become a doctor
specializing in ophthalmology. While Rizal
served as an ophthalmologist, it eventually
led to the romance between Rizal and
Josephine Bracken
 In 1877, Rizal published his novel Noli Me
Tangere
 (‘Touch Me Not’ in Latin)
 in Berlin Germany, which satirizes the
corruption of the Spanish clergy.
 He was also a dedicated scholar who use his
spare time studying other languages and
subjects, as well as other arts such as poetry,
sculpture, painting, and martial arts
specifically fencing
Rizal’s skills and Talents
1. ACTOR
He acted as a character in one of Juan Luna’s
paintings and acted in school dramas
2. ANTHROPOLOGIST
He made researches on the physical and social make
up of man
3. ARCHEOLOGIST
Rizal studied monuments and antique-currency
monuments he saw.
4.BOOK LOVER
He had a big library and brought many books
abroad. A favorite pastime in Madrid. He stayed at
home and read until midnight
5. BUSINESSMAN
He had a partner in Dapitan in the Abaca business
there (1892-1896). One of his profitable business
ventures was the hemp industry. Rizal engaged in
business in partnership with Ramon Carreon on
May 14,1893, a Dapitan Merchant which has a
profitable business venture in fishing, copra, and
hemp industries. He invited his relative Saturnina
and Hidalgo to come to Mindanao for some
business opportunities.
6. CHESS PLAYER
He played chess and bear several Germans and
European friends and acquaintances.
7. COMMENTATOR
Rizal always expresses and publishes his personal
opinion.
8. EDUCATOR
Rizal taught in his special school in Dapitan. His
exile in Dapitan gave him the opportunity to put
into practice his educational ideas. In 1893, he
established a school which existed until the end of
his exile in July 1896. It began with three pupils and
in the course of time the enrollment increased to 16
and later 21. In his letter to Blumentritt on March
13, Rizal said that the had 16 pupils in his school
and these pupils did not pay any tuition.
9. ESSAYIST
 Reminiscence of a Student in Manila (his
first essay) The Philippines a Century
Hence, (prophesied the downfall of Spain in
Asia)
10. ETHNOLOGIST
In his travels, Rizal was able to compare different
races and he noted the differences. He became a
member of Berlin Ethnological and Anthropological
Society while under the patronage of the famous
pathologist Rudolf Virchow. June 19, 1861
11. FARMER
His total land holdings reached 70 hectares
containing 6,000 hemp plants,1,000coconut trees,
and numerous fruit trees, sugarcane, corn, coffee
and cacao. He devoted his time to agriculture and
was able to bought about 16hectares of land in
Talisay. There he was able to plant cacao, fruit trees,
sugarcane, corn and coconuts.
12. FENCER
He fenced with Europeans and Juan Luna and other
friends in Europe.
13. GRAMMARIAN
“Estudios Sobre la Tagala”
(a birthday gift for his former instructor, Father
Sanchez who visited Rizal in Dapitan)
14. HISTORIAN
His annotation of Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de
las Islas Filipinas entitled him as one
15. HORTICULTURIST
He experimented on and cultivated plants in
Dapitan.
16. ICHTHYOLOGIST
He collected 38 new varieties of fish in Dapitan.
17. JOURNALIST
He authored several published articles in Spanish
and English.
18. JUDOKA
Rizal was the first Filipino and Malay to have
practiced and in fact, taught martial arts
sport. Jiguro Kano taught him the “Way of Ju”
which means the truth of the universe.
19. INVENTOR
He invented a cigarette lighter, which he called
sulpakan, and sent it to Blumentritt in1887 as a gift.
While in Dapitan, Rizal also invented a wooden
machine for making bricks which turned out about
6,000 bricks daily.
20. LINGUIST
He spoke over 22 languages including: Tagalog
Ilokano Bisayan Subanon Spanish Latin Greek
English French German Arabic Malay Hebrew
Sanskrit Dutch Catalan Italian Chinese Japanese
Portuguese Swedish Russian.
21. MUSICIAN
He played the flute and composed pieces of
music and cultivated music appreciation.
22. NOVELIST
Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo
23. OPHTHALMOLOGIST
He graduated in an ophthalmologic college in
Spain. His mother who lost her eyesight in1887,
encouraged him to take advanced training in
ophthalmology. Rizal is famous for this profession -
a practicing ophthalmologist and that he was able to
cure his own mother’s cataract.
Rizal was known to have trained under prominent
European ophthalmologists- Otto Becker and Louis
de Wecker. He did practice the professional backed
in his hometown in Calamba Laguna, while he was
in Hong Kong and while in exile at Dapitan.
24. PHILOSOPHER
Rizal not only loved wisdom but also regulated his
life and enjoyed calmness of the life at all time.
25. PHYSICIAN
He treated several patients afflicted not only with
eye diseases.
26. POET
Rizal wrote over 35 poems including his famous
Mi Ultimo Adios, To the Philippines, Our Mother
Tongue, Memories of My town, Hymn to Labor,
Kundiman, A Poem That Has No Title, Song of
Maria Clara, To the Philippines Youth, To
Josephine, Education Gives Luster to the
Motherland, To the Virgin Mary, Sa Aking mga
Kabata and others.
27. POLITICIAN
Although Rizal did not engage in politics, he
exposed the evils of the political activities of the
Spaniards in the Philippines through his writing.
28. REVOLUTIONIST
Rizal encouraged reforms; discouraged old,
impractical usage, and desired new and useful laws
to benefit his country
29. RHETORICIAN
Rizal has always practiced the art of persuasive and
impressive speaking and writing.
30. SCIENTIST
Rizal’s practice of many sciences here
and abroad made him noted scientist. Rizal does
love science and discovery. He was able to explore
the rich virgin field of Mindanao and able to collect
great specimens of lizard, insects, bats, snakes etc.
which he was able to send in a museum in Europe.
31. SCULPTOR
His works of his father and of Father Guerrico, S. J.
typified his sculptural ability.
32. TRANSLATOR
Christmas message (Hebrew to Spanish) William
Tell and Andersen Fairy Tales (German to Tagalog)
The Rights of Man (French to Tagalog) Zend-
Avesta (Arabic to Spanish)
33. TRAVELER
He traveled around the world three times.
34. TUBERCULOSIS EXPERT
For having cured himself of this disease, he became
and was recognized as an expert.
35. UNIVERSALIST
Rizal was the product of the very first synthesis
between the civilizations of the East and the West.
In his person embodied the ideals of the both.
36. ZOOLOGIST
He was fond of pets. He researched later on their
physiology, classification and habits. A regular
contributor of specimens of reptiles, mammals,
birds, fish, insects, crustaceans and other
invertebrates to the Dresden Museum. When he was
an exile in Dapitan, he collected different kinds of
species of animals. Among there were the Draco
Rizali (Wandolleck), a specie of flying dragon;
Rachophorous Rizali (Boetger), a hitherthoun
known specie of toad; and Apogonia Rizali (Heller),
a small beetle, which were later name after him.
RIZAL’S ORGANIZATION
Introduction
• Throughout Rizal’s life in his never-ending
pursuit of knowledge he had become a part
of different organizations of different goals,
visions and missions.
• We will be exploring the different
organization that he became a part and their
contributions to the Philippines history.
Organizations he became a part of
Marian Congregation Religious Society
• A religious society wherein Rizal was an
active member and later became the
secretary.
• Academy of Spanish Literature
• Location: Ateneo
• Position: Member then later became the
president
• Academy of Natural Science
• Location: Ateneo
• Position: Secretary
Circulo-Hispano Filipino
• Established by a group of Filipino students
in Madrid led by Juan Atayde
 • This organization's goal was to voice out
the concerns of the Filipinos.
Masonic Lodge-Acacia
• Rizal’s Reason for becoming a mason was
to secure Freemasonry’s aid in his fight
against the friars in the Philippines
Madrid Spain (1883)
• Jose Rizal joined the Acacia Lodge No.9
Grade Orientes de Espana with the
symbolic name of “Dimasalang or
Untouchable”.
Lodge Solidaridad
• Madrid, Spain (Nov. 15, 1890)
• Dr. Rizal became a Master Mason at the
Logia Solidaridad 53 in Madrid, and after
two years, he was designated as an
honorable and venerable master at the
Nilad Lodge, Manila, where he gave a
lecture titled, “La Masoneria”
Anthropological Society
• Berlin, Germany (February 1887)
• Dr. Jose Rizal became a member of the society
because of the recommendations of Dr. Feudor
Jagor and Dr. Hans Meyer under the presidency
of Dr. Rudolf Virchow.
Ethnological Society
• Berlin, Germany (1887)
• Jose Rizal became a member of the society,
sponsored by Virchow and Jagor
Geographical Society
• Location: Germany
• Position: Member
Asocacion La Solidaridad
• December 13, 1888 (Spain)
• This is an organization that was formed in
Spain, one of its missions was to increase
the awareness of the Spaniards to one of its
colonies, Philippines.
• It was also established to propagate a closer
relationship between the Philippine colony
and Spain
• Members:
• Dr. Jose Rizal (Laong laan at Dimasalang)
• Marcelo H. Del Pilar (Plaridel)
• Graciano Lopez Jaena (Taga-ilog)
• Antonio Luna (Tikbalang, Kalipulako)
• Jose Maria Panganiban (Jomapa)
Chess Club
• July 14, 1886 (Heilderberg)
• The German Students saw how good Dr. Rizal
was in chess and decided to invite him as a
member of their club.
Organizations that he founded
El Companiorismo
• GOALS: A secret society that would fight
against the Spanish Students in diff. street
fights.
• MEMBERS: Filipino students in UST
• FOUNDED: 1880
• PLACE: Manila
Kidlat Club
• Shortly thereafter, towards the end of March
1889 Rizal organized his friends into a society
called Kidlat Club. Among the members were
Antonio and Juan Luna, Lauro Dimayuga,
Baldomero Roxas, Gregorio Aguilera, Fernando
Canon, Gregorio Pautu and Julio Llorente.
• The Kidlat Club was purely a social club of
temporary nature. It was organized by Rizal
simply to bring together the young Filipinos in
Paris so that they could enjoy their sojourn in
the city during the international exposition.
• He told his friends: "Why should we resent
being called Indios by the Spaniards. Look at
the American Indians. They were not ashamed
 of their race. Let us be like them. Let us be
proud of the name Indio and make the Spaniards
revise their conception of the term. We shall
become Indios Bravos!"
Indios Bravos
• A new society of Filipinos -- Indios Bravos -
- was born in Paris. It replaced the Kidlat
Club. They practiced with greater energy the
use of sword and pistol.
• The members pledged to excel in intellectual
and physical prowess in order to win the
admiration of the Spaniards.
• Rizal taught them jujitsu, the Japanese art of
self- defense which he learned while in
Japan
Sociedad R.D.L.M (Redencion de los Malayos)
• Aim was the propagation of all useful
knowledge in the Philippines
• Patterned after Freemasonry
• It is an unaccredited international organization
of Filipino and non-Filipino intellectuals
established in Paris, 1889 by the Czech scientist
Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt and Dr. José Rizal.
• Various degrees of membership with the
members not knowing each other
International Association of Filipinologists
• Though a self-recognized convention, it was
never accredited and recognized by the French
government leading to its dissolution in August
1889.
• Their aim:
• To study Philippines in scientific and historical
views
• The idea of an association to invest in Filipino self-
identity came upon Dr. José Rizal before the end of
1888. This was due to the incoming International
Exposition of 1889 in Paris, France where many
people will observe the beauty of Philippine culture.
According to his announcement letters written in
London on December 31, 1888:
La Liga Filipina
• Rizal founded this civic organization in
1892 with the goal of uniting Filipinos and
promoting their welfare. The members of La
Liga Filipina were composed of middle-
class Filipinos who aimed to achieve
reforms through peaceful means. The
organization was dissolved shortly after its
establishment, and Rizal was arrested and
exiled to Dapitan.
• The aims of the Liga were to be carried out
through the creation of a governing body
composed of the Supreme Council, the
Provincial Council, and the Popular Council.
The members were each to pay ten centavos
as monthly dues. Each of the members was
free to choose a symbolic name for himself.
The funds of the society were to be used in
the following manner:
• The member or his son who, while
not having the means shall show
application and great capacity, shall
be sustained;
• The poor shall be supported in his
right against any powerful person;
• The member who shall have suffered
any loss shall be aided;
• Capital shall be loaned to the
member who shall need it for an
industry or agriculture;
• The introduction of machines and
industries, new or necessary in the
country, shall be favored; and
• Shops, stores, and establishment
shall be opened where the members
may be accommodated move
economically than elsewhere.
• Innocent as the society was, the Spanish
authorities considered it dangerous and on
the night of July 6, 1892, Rizal was secretly
arrested. The following day, Governor-
General Eulogio Despujol ordered Rizal's
deportation to Dapitan.
The Selected Works of Rizal
Rizal's Annotation
of Sucesos de Las
Islas Filipinas
ANTONIO DE MORGA
was a Spanish soldier, lawyer and a
high-ranking colonial official for 43
years, in the Philippines, New Spain
and Peru, where he was president of
the Real Audiencia for 20 years.
He was also a historian. After being
reassigned to Mexico, he published the
book Sucesos de las islas Filipinas in
1609, considered one of the most
important works on the early history of
the Spanish colonization of the Philippines
Sucesos de Las Islas
Filipinas
CHAPTER 1
Magellan and Legazpi's seminal expeditions
CHAPTER 2-7
Chronological report on government administration
under Governor-
General
CHAPTER 8
Philippine Islands, the natives there, their antiquity,
custom and
government
Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas
RIZAL AND SUCESOS DE LAS ISLAS
FILIPINAS
• Rizal was an earnest seeker of truth and this
marked him as a historian.
• He had a burning desire to learn about the pre-
colonial roots of the Philippines prior to the
arrival of the Spaniards.
• His theory was that the country was
economically self-sufficient and prosperous.
• He believed that the conquest of the Spaniards
contributed in part to decline of the Philippines'
rich tradition and culture
• Both Morga and Rizal have their own views in
geography, faith, and economy during the pre-
colonial era
• Rizal agreed to some of Morga's claims, but
disagreed to some and made further connections
and comments.
• Morga was not knowledgeable on Filipino
culture and tradition that's why Rizal made it his
duty to properly annotate Morga's writings.
The 3 purposes of Rizal's Annotation
• Awaken the consciousness of the Filipinos
regarding their glorious ways of the past
• Correct what has been distorted about the
Philippines due to Spanish conquest
• Proved that Filipinos are civilized even before
the coming of the Spaniard
Importance of Rizal's annotation
• To create a sense of national consciousness or
identity
• To prove Filipinos had a culture of their own
prior to colonization, that the Filipinos were not
inferior to the white man
• To reduce those Filipinos who denied their
native tongue into rotten fish
• To embrace the generic term "Indio" or in
today's case, Filipino with all its negative
connotations, and turn it into one dignity and
nobility
To the Young Women of Malolos
Women's Role in Society during the 1800s
• During the early 1800's, women were generally
trapped in their homes and would only perform
domestic chaos and duties. Nature and the
society had given them roles as the home
keepers, ethical keepers for the home and the
entire society, as well as house wives for their
families
DECEMBER 12, 1888
• During Governor-General Valeriano Weyler’s
visit to Malolos, he requested to hold an
audience with the townsfolk.
• Upon getting word of this, Teodoro Sandiko
wrote a Spanish letter addressed to the
governor-general and asked the women he had
been teaching to sign it. The letter, a plea for
schooling, was signed by 20 women of Malolos,
 who went to the convent to present the letter to
Weyler in the afternoon. One of their leaders,
Alberta Uitangcoy, handed him the letter.
• The women then waited around for a response,
compelling the governor-general to read it on
the spot. The friars headed by Fr. Felipe Garcia,
the Spanish parish curator of the Malolos
Church (now known as the Minor Basilica of
Our Lady of Immaculate Conception or Malolos
Cathedral), highly objected to their plea, which
heavily influenced the governor- general’s
decision that turned down the petition initially.
• However, in defiance of the friar’s wrath, these
young women of Malolos bravely continued
their clamor to have proper schooling — a thing
unheard of in the Philippines in those times.
• Despite the many setbacks that they encountered
in their mission, the women ultimately
succeeded. There were of course, certain
stipulations: the women would finance their
schooling, the teacher would have to be female
(and not Sandiko), and that the classes have to
be in the daytime.
• Nevertheless, their success was a high point in
Philippine history. Although the school was
eventually closed down after only a couple of
months, the women who were so instrumental in
its establishment became active supporters of
the revolution against Spain that erupted soon
after.
• So inspiring were their actions that even the
national hero himself, Jose Rizal, wrote a
lengthy letter praising their bravery and
wisdom. He also commended their desire to be
well educated, stating that education is the most
fundamental source of liberation.
The Brave 20 Women of Malolos
• Elisea Tantoco Reyes (1873-1969) Juana
Tantoco Reyes (1874-1900) Leoncia Santos
Reyes (1864-1948) Olympia San Agustin
Reyes (1876-1910) Rufina T. Reyes (1869-
1909)
• Eugenia Mendoza Tanchangco (1871-1969)
Aurea Mendoza Tanchangco (1872-1958)
Basilia Villariño Tantoco (1865-1925)
Teresa Tiongson Tantoco (1867-1942)
Maria Tiongson Tantoco (1869-1912)
• Anastacia Maclang Tiongson (1874-1940)
Basilia Reyes Tiongson (1860-1925)
• Paz Reyes Tiongson (1862-1889)
• Aleja Reyes Tiongson (ca 1864-ca 1900)
Mercedes Reyes Tiongson (1870-1928)
Agapita Reyes Tiongson (1872-1937)
Filomena Oliveros Tiongson (ca 1867-1934)
Cecilia Oliveros Tiongson (ca 1867-1934)
Feliciana Oliveros Tiongson (1869-1938)
Alberta Santos Uitangcoy (1865-1953)
THE MODEL FILIPINA ACCORDING TO
RIZAL
• Rizal displayed annoyance with women who
never questioned authority, who wasted their
time on idleness and gaming and superstition,
and who, by their demands for comfort security
and honors, made cowards of their men, is an
outright condemnation of the conventions of
femininity.
• He urged on his countrywomen the practice of
so-called masculine virtues: courage,
independence of mind, strength, a thirst for
knowledge.
Femininity in the 21st century
• To be a woman in the 21st century means
having the freedom of choice especially in
regards to career and position in society
The Philippines a Century Hence
FILIPINAS DENTRO DE CIEN ANOS
• is an essay written by Philippine national hero
Jose Rizal to forecast the future of the country
within a hundred years. Rizal felt that it was
time to remind Spain that the circumstances that
ushered in the French Revolution could have a
telling effect for her in the Philippines.
THE PHILIPPINES A CENTURY HENCE
The causes of the misery of the people
according to the essay
• Spain's implementation of their military policies
• Deterioration and disappearance of Filipino
indigenous culture Passivity and submissiveness
to the Spanish colonizers
What are the possible things that Spain could do to
stop the progress of the Filipinos?
• Keep the people ignorant?
• Keep the people in poverty?
• Exterminate the Filipino race?
Rizal's Insights
1. Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant
had failed. National consciousness had still
awakened, and great Filipino minds still
emerged from the rubble.
2. Keeping the people impoverished also came
to no avail. On the contrary, living a life of
eternal destitution had allowed the Filipinos
to act on the desire for a change in their way
of life. They began to explore other horizons
through which they could move towards
progress.
3. Exterminating the people as an alternative to
hindering progress did not work either. The
Filipino race was able to survive amidst
wars and famine, and became even more
numerous after such catastrophes. To wipe
out the nation altogether would require the
sacrifice of thousands of Spanish soldiers,
and this is something Spain would not allow.
THE PHILIPPINES A CENTURY HENCE
• Spain, therefore, had no means to stop the
progress of the country. What she needs to do is
to change her colonial policies so that they are
in keeping with the needs of the Philippine
society and to the rising nationalism of the
people.
Recommended Reforms by Rizal
• Freedom of the press
• Representation of the Filipinos in the Spanish
Cortes
• Granting of Spanish citizenship
• Filling of government positions through
competitive examinations
• Commerce, agriculture, and education
• Greater security for the individual and other
reforms
The Indolence of the Filipinos
LA INDOLENCIA DE LOS FILIPINOS
• The Indolence of the Filipinos is a study of
the causes why the people did not, as was
said, work hard during the Spanish regime.
Rizal pointed out that long before the
coming of the Spaniards, the Filipinos were
industrious and hardworking.
THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINOS
• According to Rizal, whenever something
goes wrong in the Philippines, there is a
tendency the Filipinos.
• Rizal pointed out in this essay: Filipinos
were not lazy but had the tendency to
become lazy. He acknowledged that the
Filipino's indolent tendencies has something
to do with the tropical climate. In fact, Rizal
pointed out that it was the Europeans who
was the paragon of laziness, being
surrounded by servants.
Cause of Economic decline in the Philippines
1. Wars and Internal disorders that followed
Spanish conquest
2. Piratical disorders on Coastal Towns and
Villages by Muslim pirates
3. Forced Labor in Shipbuilding
4. Government's Neglect and Apathy to
Agriculture, Industry and Commerce
5. Absence of Material and Moral Incentives to
Work harder
6. The Teaching of the Spanish Missionaries for
the Poor
7. Too Much Government and Red Tape in the
Approval of Permit to Transact Business
8. Encouragement and Propagation of Gambling
9. Ownership of the Big Estate by the Friars
10. Example Set by the Spaniards in Disdaining
Manual Labor
11. Deprivation of Human Dignity
Cause of Economic decline in the Philippines
(The Filipino's Faults)
1. Feeling of Inferiority
2. Placing Hopes in Miracles
3. Lack of Spirit to Pursue Lofty Purposes
4. Lack of National Sentiment
To foretell the destiny of a nation, it is necessary to
open a book that tells of her past. -Jose Rizal