Source: Jose Rizal

Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide

 There are a lot of events that happened not ju
st in the Philippines but also in the other part
s of the world.
 During the times of Rizal, the Filipino people
agonized beneath the yoke of the Spanish mi
srule.
 1. Instability of colonial administration-
The political instability in Spain adversely affec
ted Philippine affairs because it brought about peri
odic shifts in colonial policies and periodic rigodon
of colonial officials.
 The frequent change in colonial officia
ls hampered the political and economic dev
elopment of the Philippines.

 No chief executive, no matter how able and

energetic he was, could accomplish much for t
he colony
2. Corrupt Colonial Officials
 Many colonial officials became rich by illeg
al means or by marrying the heiresses of rich
Filipino families.

 Mostly ignorant and profligate, they condu

cted themselves with arrogance because of th
eir alien white skin and tall noses.
 3. Philippine Representation in Spanish Corte
s

Motive of Spain -gain the support of her ov
erseas colonies
 However, it was abolished in 1837 and the P
hilippine conditions worsened because there
was no means b which the Filipino people cou
ld expose the anomalies perpetrated by the c
olonial officials
 4. Human rights denied to Filipinos
 Filipinos did not enjoy the freedom of speec
h, freedom of the press, freedom of associati
on, and other human rights.
 5. No Equality before the law

 To the imperialist way of thinking, brown Fi

lipinos and white Spaniards may be equal to
God, but not before the law and certainly not
in practice.
 6. Maladministration of Justice-
 The courts of justice in the Philippines dur
ing Rizal’s time is notoriously corrupt.

 Justice was costly, partial, and slow.

 Wealth, social prestige, and color of skin we

re predominant factors in winning a case in c
ourt.
 7. Racial Discrimination-
 During Rizal’s time a white skin, high n
ose and Castilian lineage were a badge of vau
nted superiority.
 8. Frailocracy- “ a government owned by friar
s”
 The colonial authorities, from governor g
eneral down to the alcaldes mayores, were un
der control of the friars.
 9.Forced Labor- known as polo; it was compu
lsory labor imposed by the Spanish colonial a
uthorities on adult Filipino males in the const
ruction of churches, schools, hospitals, and e
tc.

 Originally : 16-60, 40 days a year

 Later: 18-60, 15 days
 10. Haciendas owned by friars- During Rizal’
s times the Spanish friars were the richest lan
dlords, for they owned the best haciendas.

 The rural folks (including Rizal’s family) who

have been living in the haciendas and cultivati
ng them generation after generation became
tenants.
 11. The Guardia Civil-

 Role: Maintaining internal peace and order in

the Philippines

 They become infamous for their rampant abu

ses.
 Unlike Bonifacio and Aguinaldo, Rizal waged
a non-violent crusade against the oppressors
and proved that, “Pen is mightier than the sw
ord.” Not even the armies of Spain and Ameri
ca can stop the Ideas Rizal fought and died fo
r.
 Aside from the park being built in Australia, h
e said there are monuments in Rizal’s honor i
n Madrid, Spain; Wilhelmsfeld, Germany; Jinjia
ng, Fujian, China; Cherry Hill Township, New J
ersey; San Diego, California; and Seattle, Was
hington; Reforma Avenue in Mexico City, Mex
ico; La Molina in Lima, Peru; Litomerice, Czec
h Republic; and Singapore.
Source:globalnation.inquirer.net/
 Dr. Rizal is a unique example of a many splen
dored hero of a nation.

 Physician
 Poet
 Dramatist
 Essayist
 Novelist
 Historian
 Architect
 Painter
 Sculptor
 Educator
 Linguist
 Musician
 Naturalist
 Ethnologist
 Surveyor
 Engineer
The Birth of a Hero:
Rizal was born on a moonlit of Wednesday, J
une 19, 1861, in the lakeshore town of Calam
ba, Laguna Province, Philipppines.
 His mother almost died during the delivery be
cause of his big head.
 He was baptized in the catholic church of his
town on June 22, aged three days old, by the
parish priest, Father Rufino Collantes.

 His godfather was Father Pedto Casanas.

 His name “Jose” was chosen by his mother wh

o was a devotee of the Christian saint San Jos
e.
 “ Take care of this child, for someday he will
become a great man.”
 Jose Rizal was the seventh of the eleven childr
en of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Al
onso Realonda.

 The hero’s father, Francisco (1818-1898) was

born in Biñan, Laguna.

 He studied Latin and Philosophy at the Colleg

e of San Jose in Manila.
 Following his parent’s death, he moved to Cal
amba and become a tenant-farmer of the Do
minican owned hacienda

Rizal affectionately called him “a model of fat

hers”.
 Doña Teodora, the hero’s mother was born in
Manila and was educated at the College of Sa
nta Ana, a well-known college for girls in the
city.
 She was a remarkable woman possessing refi
ned culture, literary talent, business ability, th
e fortitude of Spartan women.
 Rizal lovingly said of her: My mother is a wom
an of more than ordinary culture; she knows l
iterature and speaks in Spanish better than I.
She corrected my poems and gave me good a
dvice when I was studying rhetoric. She is a m
athematician and has read many books.
 1. Saturnina (1850-1913)- oldest of the Rizal
children, nicknamed Neneng

2. Paciano (1851-1930)- older brother and co

nfidant of Jose Rizal.

3. Narcisa- her pet name was Sisa and she ma

rried Antonio Lopez

4. Olimpia (1855-1887) – Ypia was her pet n

ame; she married Silvestre Ubaldo
 5. Lucia (1857- 1919)- She married Mariano
Herbosa of calamba, who was a nephew of Fa
ther Casanas.

 6. Maria (1859-1945)- Biang was her nickna

me; she married Daniel Faustino.

 7. Jose (1861-1896)- The greatest Filipino he

ro and peerless genius; his nickname is Pepe.
 8. Concepcion (1862-1865)- her pet name w
as Concha; she died of sickness at the age of
3; her death was Rizal’s first sorrow.

 9. Josefa (1865- 1945)- Her nickname is Pan

ggoy; she died an old maid at the age of 80.

 10. Trinidad (1868-1951)- Trinidad was her

pet name; she also died an old maid.
 11. Soledad (1870- 1929)- youngest of the Ri
zal children; her pet name is Choleng.
 Sibling relationship among the Rizal children
was affectionately cordial.

 Years later when he grew to manhood, he alw

ays called them Doña of Señora(if married) an
d Señorita ( if single).
 Rizal relation with his only brother Paciano, w
ho was ten years his senior, was more than th
at of younger to older brother.

In his letter to Blumentritt on June 23, 1888, h

e regarded Paciano as the “most notable of Fil
ipinos”
 As a typical Filipino, Rizal was a product of mi
xture races.

 In his veins flowed the blood of both East and

West- Negrito, Indonesian, Malay, Chinese, Ja
panese, and Spanish.
 Predominantly, he was a Malayan and was a
magnificent specimen of Asian manhood.

 Rizal’s great-great grandfather on his father’s

side was Domingo Lameo, a Chinese immigra
nt from Fukien city of Changchow, who arrive
d in Manila about 1690.
 He married a well-to-do Chinese Christian gir
l of Manila named Ines de la Rosa, and assum
ed in 1731 the surname Mercado which was a
ppropriated for him because he was a mercha
nt.
 One of their sons, Juan Mercado (Rizal’s gran
dfather), married to Cirila Alejandro, a Chines
e-Filipina mestiza.
 It is said that Doña Teodora’s family descend
ed from Lakan-Dula, the last native king of T
ondo.

 Her great-grandfather was Eugenio Ursua (of

Japanese ancestry), who married a Filipina na
med Benigna.
 Their daughter Brigida, who married Manuel d
e Quintos, a Filipino-Chinese lawyer of Panga
sinan.

 One of the daughters of Attorney Quintos and

Brigida was Regina, who married Lorenzo Alb
erto Alonso, a prominent Spanish-Filipino me
stizo of Biñan. Their children were Narcisa, Te
odora, Gregorio, Manuel and Jose.
In 1849, Governor Claveria issued a decree dire
cting all Filipino families to choose new name
s from a list of Spanish names.

Don Francisco chose his own surname, Rizal.

The term Rizal came the Spanish word ricial wh
ich means “green field” or “new pasture”
 The Rizal family was one of the richest familie
s in Calamba during the times prior to its per
secution by the friars.

 Rizal’s parents, by their industry and frugality

, were able to honestly build a large fortune.
 They were the first to build a large stone hou
se in Calamba, the first carruaje , the first to
have a home library, and the first to educate t
heir children in the colleges of Manila.
 The Rizal family raised rice, corn, and sugar o
n large tracts of land rented from the Dominic
an estate of Calamba.

 It operated a sugar mill, a flour mill, a home-

made ham press. It engaged successfully in t
he dye and sugar business and in the barter t
rade.
 Teodora, the hero’s mother, owned a store in
town and sold many articles of trade needed
by the people.

 She was a successful businesswoman, and the

profits of her store augmented the family inc
ome.
 Not only was the Rizal family one of Calamba’
s richest families, it was, highly esteemed and
respected.
 Don Francisco and Dona Teodora were gracio
us hosts to all visitors.

 Beneath the Rizal roof, all guests, irrespective

of their color, social position, or economics st
atus, were treated equally- with all courtesy a
nd hospitality.
 The house of the Rizal family was one of the
distinguished stone housed in Calamba durin
g the Spanish times.

 It was rectangular in shape, “of adobe stone a

nd hardwood with a red-tiled roof.
 Behind it were the poultry yard full of turkeys
and chickens and the garden of tropical fruit t
rees.
 It was a happy home where parental affection
and children’s laughter reigned.

 By day, it hummed with the jubilant noises of

the children at play. By night, it echoed with t
he dulcet notes of family prayers.