José Rizal's Biography: Family

• José Rizal’s biography includes his family, childhood, education, time in Europe, exile in Dapitan, and his trial and execution.

Rizal's Family

• José Rizal was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna.
• Rizal's father was Francisco Engracio Mercado, a wealthy farmer who leased land from Dominican friars.
• Francisco's earliest ancestors were Siang-co and Zun-nio, who had a son named Lam-co.
• Lam-co came from Fujian and migrated to the Philippines in the 1600s.
• In 1697, Lam-co was baptized and changed his name to Domingo.
• Domingo married Ines de la Rosa of Binondo and they had a son in 1731, named Francisco Mercado.
• Francisco Mercado became one of the richest people in Biñan.
• His son, Juan Mercado, married Cirila Alejandra, and one of their 13 children was Francisco Engracio Mercado (1818-1898).
• Francisco Engracio Mercado married Teodora Alonso (1826-1911), from one of Manila's wealthiest families.
• Francisco and Teodora's industry made their family one of the most prominent principalia families in Calamba.
• José Rizal (1861-1896) was the seventh of Francisco and Teodora's 11 children.
• José greatly respected his only brother, Paciano (1851-1930), and valued his advice.

Childhood and Early Education

• Rizal had fond childhood memories of Calamba.
• The Rizal family prayed the Angelus together.
• Rizal had a personal servant because of his poor health who told him legends and fairy tales.
• Doña Teodora was Rizal's first teacher.
• Later, he had private tutors, like the children of the principalia.
• His private tutors were Maestro Celestino, Maestro Lucas Padua, and Maestro Leon Monroy.
• At nine years old, Rizal left Calamba with his brother to study in Biñan.
• Rizal excelled in Latin and Spanish in Biñan.
• He studied painting under Maestro Juancho.
• Rizal returned to Calamba on December 17, 1870, after one and a half years of schooling in Biñan.

Student of Manila

• Don Francisco sent Rizal to Ateneo Municipal to study Bachiller en Artes (Bachelor of Arts).
• Rizal took the entrance exam on June 10, 1872, four months after Gomburza was executed.
• Rizal used the name Jose Rizal instead of Jose Mercado, upon Paciano’s advice.
• Ateneo offered the best education for boys and was managed by Jesuits who were not considered friars.
• Ateneo students were divided into the Romans (boarding students) and the Carthaginians (non-boarding students).
• Within a month, Rizal became "emperor," or the most outstanding student in class.
• Rizal studied at the Ateneo from 1872 to 1877 and graduated in 1877 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and the highest honors (sobresaliente).
• After finishing his Bachelor of Arts, Don Francisco sent Rizal to UST.
• Rizal studied Philosophy and Letters (1877-1878) at UST, while taking a surveying course at Ateneo.
• After learning his mother was going blind, Rizal shifted to Medicine in his second year at UST and took Pre-Medical and Medical courses at the same time.
• Compared to his performance at Ateneo, Rizal's academic performance at UST was less impressive.
• Rizal was still one of seven students who made it to his last year of the Medicine course at UST, out of the original 24.

Rizal in Europe

• In 1882, Rizal and Paciano decided Rizal should go to Europe to complete his medical studies and he left the Philippines for Spain on May 3.
• Rizal arrived in Barcelona on June 16, 1882.
• His Ateneo classmates organized a welcome party at a coffee house in Plaza de Cataluña.
• Rizal wrote the essay “El Amor Patrio” in Barcelona.
• It was published on August 20, 1882, in Diariong Tagalog, where he used the pen name Laong Laan.
• Rizal moved to Madrid and enrolled in Medicine and Philosophy and Letters at the Universidad Central de Madrid on November 3, 1882.
• He took painting and sculpture lessons at the Academia de San Fernando.
• He took French, English, and German classes at the Madrid Ateneo.
• He enrolled in fencing at the schools of Sanz and Carbonell.
• Rizal earned a Licentiate in Medicine in June 1884 after passing medical exams, which allowed him to practice medicine.
• Rizal continued taking courses toward a Doctorate in Medicine but did not receive the degree due to unpaid thesis defense fees.
• Rizal obtained a Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters from the Universidad Central de Madrid on June 19, 1885, with a rating of sobresaliente (excellent).
• Rizal spent time with fellow Filipinos in Madrid who were known as ilustrados.
• They formed the Circulo Hispano-Filipino, which held poetry readings and debates.
• Rizal proposed writing a novel about Philippine society at a reunion of Filipinos in Pedro Paterno’s Madrid home on January 2, 1884.
• Rizal wrote the first half of Noli Me Tangere in Madrid.
• Rizal was exposed to liberal ideas through the masons in Madrid, which impressed him.
• He admired their views on knowledge, reasoning, and brotherhood, and joined the Lodge Solidaridad on November 15, 1890.
• Rizal was attracted to Consuelo, Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey's daughter, but did not pursue her due to his commitment to Leonor Rivera.
• Rizal specialized in ophthalmology and trained under Europe's leading ophthalmologists, including Dr. Louis de Wecker of Paris (October 1885-March 1886).
• In Germany, he worked with ophthalmologists Dr. Javier Galezowsky and Dr. Otto Becker in 1886 and Dr. R. Schulzer and Dr. Schwiegger in 1887.
• In Germany, Rizal befriended scholars Fredrich Ratzel, Ferdinand Blumentritt, Feodor Jagor, and Hans Virchow.
• Rizal wrote Tagalische Verkunst (Tagalog Metrical Art).
• Rizal finished Noli Me Tangere in Berlin and published it on March 21, 1887, with a loan from Maximo Viola.
• Rizal returned to Calamba on August 8, 1887, spent time with his family, opened a medical clinic, and cured the sick.
• He was known as Doctor Uliman because people mistook him for a German.
• Rizal's vacation was interrupted by the friars' negative reaction to Noli Me Tangere, and he left the Philippines for the second time on February 16, 1888.

Rizal in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, and the United States

• Rizal met Jose Ma. Basa and Balbino Mauricio in Hong Kong, who were exiled after the events of 1872 and he visited Macau.
• Rizal arrived in Yokohama on February 28, 1888, and stayed in Tokyo, finding Japan beautiful and admiring the industrious, clean, honest, and polite Japanese people, particularly the women.
• Rizal met and was attracted to Usui Seiko (Osei San), who worked at the Spanish Consulate in Tokyo.
• Rizal left Japan on April 13, 1888, and arrived in San Francisco on April 28, 1888.
• He landed in San Francisco on May 5, 1888.
• He arrived in New York City on May 13, 1888, after crossing the continent.
• Rizal believed the United States was a land of great opportunity, especially for immigrants, although he complained about the racial prejudice of Americans: “America is the land par excellence of freedom but only for the whites.”
• Rizal left New York on May 16, 1888, and arrived in Liverpool on May 24, 1888.

Rizal's Second Trip to Europe and Propaganda Movement

• During his second trip to Europe, Rizal joined the Propaganda Movement with other ilustrados like Marcelo H. Del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Antonio Luna, and Mariano Ponce.
• They advocated for making the Philippines a province of Spain, giving Filipinos the same rights as Spaniards, representation in the Spanish Cortes, and secularization of parishes.
• Rizal published articles and essays in the Propaganda Movement's newspaper, La Solidaridad, including Sobre La Indolencia de los Filipinos and Filipinas Dentro de Cien Años.
• Rizal published his annotation of Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.
• Rizal completed his second novel, El Filibusterismo, in Brussels by July 1891, and it was published in Ghent on September 18, 1891, with Valentin Ventura’s help.

Return and Exile

• Rizal left Europe for good on October 18, 1891, and arrived in Hong Kong on November 20, 1891.
• He set up two medical clinics in Hong Kong.
• Rizal returned to the Philippines because he believed the struggle was in his homeland, and he encouraged his friends to join La Liga Filipina, which he established on July 3, 1892.
• Rizal was arrested on July 6, 1892, and brought to Fort Santiago.
• He was accused of bringing leaflets called Pobres Frailes (Poor Friars) from Hong Kong.
• Despite his denial, Rizal was exiled to Dapitan in Mindanao.

Exile in Dapitan

• Dapitan became Rizal's home from 1892 to 1896.
• He practiced medicine, pursued scientific studies, and continued his artistic pursuits.
• Rizal established a school for boys and engaged in farming and commerce.
• On September 21, 1892, Rizal won second prize in a lottery with Dapitan commandant Captain Ricardo Carnicero, and he used his share (6,200 pesos) to buy land in Talisay, about one kilometer from Dapitan, where he built a house, school, and hospital.
• George Taufer traveled from Hong Kong to Dapitan with his adopted daughter, Josephine Bracken, who fell in love with Rizal.
• Rizal and Josephine lived as husband and wife because Father Obach, the parish priest of Dapitan, denied them marriage due to Rizal's refusal to retract his statements against the Church.
• On June 21, 1896, Dr. Pio Valenzuela visited Rizal in Dapitan and informed him about the Katipunan and the impending revolution, but Rizal objected, emphasizing the need for a well-planned movement with sufficient arms.

Trial and Execution

• Rizal requested Governor-General Ramon Blanco review his case.
• If his request was denied, he wanted to serve as a surgeon under the Spanish army in the Cuban revolution.
• Rizal's request to go to Cuba was approved on July 30, 1896 and the next day, he left for Manila.
• On August 6, 1896, he boarded Castilla and on September 2, Rizal left onboard Isla de Panay.
• Upon arriving in Barcelona, Governor-General Despujol ordered him back to Manila and Rizal arrived in Manila on November 3, 1896, where he was immediately taken to Fort Santiago.
• The preliminary investigation of Rizal's case began on November 20, 1896.
• He was accused of leading the revolution by spreading ideas of rebellion and founding illegal organizations.
• Rizal pleaded not guilty and wrote a manifesto appealing to the revolutionaries to stop fighting.
• Spanish authorities did not approve of his manifesto.
• Rizal's lawyer, Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade, tried to defend Rizal.
• On December 26, 1896, the trial ended and Rizal was found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad.
• On December 28, 1896, Governor-General Camilo de Polavieja signed the court decision for Rizal's execution at 7:00 am on December 30, 1896.
• In his final days, Rizal wrote his longest poem, Mi Ultimo Adios, as a farewell to the Filipino people.
• On December 29, 1896, Rizal's mother and sisters visited him and he gave away his remaining possessions.
• Rizal handed his gas lamp to his sister Trinidad and said in English, “There is something inside,” and Trinidad and Maria later found a copy of Rizal's last poem inside the lamp.
• After his family left, Jesuits Father Jose Vilaclara and Father Vicente Balaguer tried to convince him to retract from freemasonry.
• Around 10:00 pm, a retraction draft from Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda arrived, and Father Balaguer showed Rizal another draft by Jesuit Father Pio Pi.
• Rizal liked Father Pi's version but added his Catholic upbringing and education.
• Rizal signed the retraction document at 11:30 pm and after, confessed with Father Vilaclara.
• On December 30, 1896, at 1:30 am, Rizal woke up, prayed, confessed again four times, and prayed the Rosary.
• He heard Mass, received Communion on his knees, ate breakfast, and autographed his books.
• Narcisa Rizal and Josephine Bracken arrived. Rizal asked for Josephine to be married and Father Balaguer married Rizal and Josephine.
• Rizal gave Josephine his autographed copy of The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.
• On December 30, 1896, at 6:30 am, Rizal walked to Bagumbayan and the execution orders were given.
• When he was shot, Rizal cried, “Consummatum est (It is finished!)”.
• Rizal died offering his life for his country and its freedom.