Jose Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings PDF

JOSE RIZAL: Life, Works and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist and National Hero Second Edition Gregorio F. Zaide, Ph.D. Sonia M. Zaide, Ph.D  TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE …………………………………………………………….....

JOSE RIZAL: Life, Works and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist and National Hero Second Edition Gregorio F. Zaide, Ph.D. Sonia M. Zaide, Ph.D  TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE …………………………………………………………….. ix PREFACE …………………………………………………………….. xi Prologue: Rizal and His Times ………………………………… xiv 1 Advent of a National Hero …………………………………….. 1 2 Childhood Years in Calamba..................................................... 7 3 Early Education in Calamba …………………………............... 16 4 Scholastic Triumphs at Ateneo de Manila, (1872-1877) …………………………………………................ 21 5 Medical Studies at the University of Santo Tomas (1877-1882) …………………………….............. 36 6 In Sunny Spain (1882-1885) …………………………............. 44 7 Paris to Berlin (1885-1887) ………………………….............. 59 8 Noli Me Tangere Published in Berlin (1887) ………………... 67 9 Rizal’s Grand Tour of Europe with Viola (1887) …………………………………………………. 79 10 First Homecoming (1887-1888) …………………………….. 85 11 In Hong Kong and Macao …………………………………... 93 12 Romantic Interlude in Japan ………………………………... 96 13 Rizal’s Visit to the United State (1888) ……………………. 102 14 Rizal in London ……………………………………………. 106 15 Rizal’s Second Sojourn in Paris and the  Universal Exposition of 1889 ………………………………. 114 16 In Belgian Brussels (1890) …………………………………. 124 17 Misfortunes in Madrid (1890-1891) ……………………….. 131 18 Biarritz Vacations and Romance With Nelly Boustead (1891) ……………………………….. 136 19 El Filibusterismo Published In Ghent (1891) …………………………………………….. 141 20 Ophthalmic Surgeon in Hong Kong (1891-92) ……………………………………… 150 21 Second Homecoming and the Liga Filipina ……………………………………………….. 157 22 Exile in Dapitan (1891-96) ………………………………… 161 23 Last Trip Abroad (1896) …………………………………… 180 24 Last Homecoming and Trial ……………………………….. 186 25 Martyrdom at Bagumbayan ………………………………... 195  PREFACE This new book on Rizal is primarily written to replace the previous college textbooks on Rizal by the senior author, namely, Jose Rizal: Life, Works and Writings and Rizal: Asia’s First Apostle of Nationalism, published in 1957 and 1970, respectively. While these two Rizal books have been widely used both here and abroad, the present authors feel that there is a need to write a new Rizal book on account of the fact that new material on the national hero’s life have surfaced in the history’s limelight, making the older editions rather obsolete or inaccurate in certain passage. For instance, the International Congress on Rizal, which was held in Manila on December 4-8, 1961 to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the national hero’s birthday, uncovered many hitherto unknown facts on Rizal. Since then, more Rizal materials have been researched by Rizalist scholars in foreign countries, particularly Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, England, Spain, and Germany. It is delightful to know and to write the biography of Rizal for two reasons. He was an exceptional man, unsurpassed by other Filipino heroes in talent, nobility of character, and patriotism. And, secondly, his life is highly documented, the most documented in fact, of all the heroes in Asia. Possessing a keen sense of history and an aura of destiny, Rizal himself kept and preserved for posterity his numerous poetical and prose writings, personal and travel diaries, scientific treatises, and hundreds of letters written to, and received from, his parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, friends, and enemies. With these preserved documentary sources, any biographer, with not much difficulty may weave his life story. To climax his heroic life, Rizal welcomed his execution on December 30, 1896 with serene courage, knowing that he was going to die in a blaze of glory --a martyr for his people’s freedom. This book is a product of more than three decades of extensive research work on Rizal’s life, works, and writings in the Philippines and in foreign countries where he sojourned. We have included in this book certain episodes or incidents in the hero’s life which other Rizal biographers have either missed in their works or mentioned casually without proper documentation. Among these interesting Rizalian episodes are the following: 1. Rizal’s pilgrimage in 1881 to Pakil, Laguna, where he witnessed and was fascinated by the turumba, a religious spectacle of the people publicity dancing and singing during the procession of the Birhen Maria de los Dolores. 2. The full story of the Rizal-O-Sei-San romance in 1888, including O-Sei-San’s real name, how Rizal met her, and what happened to her after Rizal had left her. 3. The friendship between Rizal (a Filipino patriot) and the Tetcho (a Japanese patriot). ix  4. The Hibiya Park incident in March 1888, in which Rizal discovered that the principal members of the Imperial Regimental Band giving the weekly public concerts, performing exquisite Western classical music, were actually Filipino musician—an early case of “brain drain” (export of talents foreign countries). 5. Rizal as a student activist participated in the bloody and violent student demonstrations in Madrid, November, 1884. 6. Rizal did not bother to obtain the diploma as Doctor of Medicine. He practiced medicine using his diploma as Licentiate in Medicine. 7. Rizal supported Spain in the bitter Spain-Germany Controversy (1885) over the ownership of the Carolinas and Palau archipelagoes in the Pacific. 8. Rizal worked as a proof-reader in a German publishing company in Leipzig (1886). 9. Rizal was almost deported from Germany in 1887 because he was suspected by the Berlin police as a French spy. 10. Rizal and the secret society, R.D.L.M. (Redemption of the Malays). 11. The near duel between Rizal and Lardet ( Frenchman) in Dapitan, 1893. In conclusion, we express our gratitude to the prestigious Rizalist biographers (including Retana, Craig, Palma, Guerrero, Jose Hernandez, Carlos Quirino, Esteban A, de Ocampo, and Jose Baron Fernandez), whose works we consulted in the preparation of this book. Of special mention is Professor Ocampo for his valuable suggestions and the use of his Rizaliana Collection. With his kind permission, we use as APPENDIX A his definitive essay “Who Made Jose Rizal Our Foremost National Hero, and Why?” to blast the myth that Rizal was “an American-made national hero.” GREGORIO F. ZAIDE SONIA M. ZAIDE Pagsanjan, Laguna June 19, 1983  x PREFACE TO THE CENTENNIAL EDITION In celebration of the Centennial of Philippine Nationhood (1896-1996), the martyrdom of Jose Rizal (December 30, 1896-1998), we are issuing a Special Edition of this textbook for the many librarians, teachers and researchers who have requested for a copy that will have a longer shelf life than the previous news print edition. Due to the economic conditions of the book publishing market in our country, the previous popular edition used lower-priced paper, so as to make available the information contained in the Rizal book accessible to the widest possible number of students and the general public. Since this biography of Jose Rizal is the most popular textbook in the market, we were pressed on every side by pirated editions which were sold at bargain basement costs, which we were constrained to compete with by cutting down costs. The National Hero would probably have been happily surprised by how much demand a mere biography of his life, times and writings could demand. Here we are a hundred years from the time of our revolutionary heroes, celebrating the memory of their heroism in this era of growing national freedom and global development. At last, we are able to see, in comparison to what they experienced and suffered, how much we have benefited from their sacrifices. Surely, no new nation is forged without the noble sacrifices rendered by heroic men and women, who, in the face of terrible odds and great persecutions, labored, fought and even died—all without the expectation of material gain, personal benefit, or chariots of glory preceding their entrances and exits. Today, we enjoy more freedoms and material advantages, all thanks to the revolutionary heroes like Jose Rizal, our National Hero, who led them all in the nobility of his character and life, the application of his talents, and the utmost sacrifice of his life. In an act of political martyrdom which he faced with serenity and dignity that converted even some of his enemies to his cause, Rizal destroyed the moral authority of the Spanish Empire in the Philippines. The outpouring of national and international outrage at his execution in Manila, on December 30, 1896, would be paralleled only, a hundred years hence, by the assassination of Senator Benigno (Ninoy) Aqiuno Jr., in August 21, 1983. Hence, it is simply not true, as some revisionist historians have suggested, that Rizal “was an American-made hero.” Such a foolish statement shows no sensitivity for the hero’s life and acts, belittles the wisdom of the Filipinos who themselves raised Rizal to heroism, and denies the international glory that accompanied Rizal’s frame, which eventually helped the Filipinos to win the respect of the world. Even today, Rizal is acknowledge to be “The Greatest Malayan,” and to this end, the Malaysian government feted the National Hero with an International Conference on Rizal in 1996 and other nations continue to hold him in high esteem. Hence, the honor accorded to Rizal by foreigners also accords honor to our people. The anti-heroic writers, who wish to denigrate Rizal and other heroes by indecently dwelling on their human frailties, by questioning their motives, by maliciously fabricating false  xi stories about them, can sow their snide and clever remarks to the wind, but they will inherit only a whirlwind. Heroes will stand tall because of the recognition of their worth by their contemporaries and countrymen, and time will measure the validity of their ideas and sacrifices. My late father, Dr. Gregorio F. Zaide, wrote most of this book over a period of time, dating especially to the 1960’s, when in celebration of Rizal’s birth centenary, he, along with other writers, made researches and wrote about hero. These special centennial editions, along with a Filipino language translation of this book, are our offering for the Philippine Centennial. I hope it will enlighten many readers who have not yet known or heard about Rizal, who was a unique hero in the world, since he was not a military leader. I also wish to correct some wrong impressions about Rizal, which titillate the imagination of college undergrads and which I have often been asked in classes or seminars about the hero, namely: 1. That Adolf Hitler was really the illegitimate son of Rizal, because he had with a hotel chambermaid while in Austria. Rizal could have had his pick of many European women whom he met and befriended during his sojourn in Europe, but he avoided liaisons with them all (until his exile in Dapitan and his marriage to Josephine Bracken) because he wanted to live an uncomplicated life, in the service of his country. Furthermore, Rizal traveled in Vienna with Maxino Viola, who was his patron at the time. The only incident with a chambermaid noted in his diary was the story of how, at the Hotel Krebs in Leitmeritz, Blumenttrit’s hometown, a chambermaid had found his watch and Blumentritt returned it to follow him at the Hotel Metropole in Vienna (see pages 2. That Bonifacio or Aguinaldo should be the National Hero, because they fought in the Revolution, while Rizal had cautioned against it. It is really difficult to compare heroes; one might as well compare oranges and apples. But, even using different yardsticks, like who would have been a better military leader, or who was the one that succeeded in fighting for our freedom. Then we shall have to admit that both Bonifacio and Aguinaldo failed against the stronger armies of Spain and America, respectively. Not many people know that Bonifacio lost all of his 29 battles, and, as every schoolchild knows, Aguinaldo surrendered to the Americans in 1901. Now, as for Rizal, who used the pen (a weapon mightier than the sword), he waged a non-violent crusade and suffered political martyrdom. But, in the end, this proved more effective in destroying both the Spanish Empire and the American absolutism in the Philippines. Not even the armies of Spain and America could stop the ideas that Rizal fought and died for. In the end, Bonifacio was repudiated by his countrymen, and Aguinaldo surrendered. But Rizal won over all of them—Filipinos, Spaniards and Americans. 3. That Rizal was somehow an “American-made hero,” who was used by the Colonialists to miseducate us and suppress our national sentiments by giving us a hero who was a model of cooperating with a colonial power rather than fighting against it. Nothing could be farther from the truth, as we have shown in this book, and by including Appendix A, “Who Made Rizal Our National Hero, and Why?” As a professor Steve Ocampo, the great Rizalist writer and colleague of Dr. Gregorio F. Zaide, wrote: The answer is: all of them –Rizal himself, the Spaniards, the Filipinos and the Americans –raised Rizal to the rank of supremacy among our  xii heroes. Thus, Rizal’s life, works and martyrdom raised him to the highest place in the pantheon of our revolutionary heroes. His supremacy was acknowledged by his contemporaries (Aguinaldo, Bonifacio etc.); Spanish writers also acknowledged his fame; and so did American colonial legislators who came to admire our people through his story. It is simply not true that there ever any colonists’ meeting or plot to impose Rizal as the national Hero of the Philippines. The decision to honor him in this way was made by the Filipinos, for the Filipinos. In making this Special Centennial Edition of the Rizal biography, we dedicate it to the Filipinos who have gone abroad to work or to live away from home. Many find that, in other lands, they become homesick and come to love the Philippines more than when they were here. Truly, there is no place like home. Like Rizal in his many travels abroad, they have come to appreciate our nation more, and hopefully, they will also make their contribution from far away or when they return. I wish to acknowledge the students I taught in the Rizal and other Philippine history classes, for their making it interesting to teach the subject, and for letting me see new insights about the hero’s life and times by their questions and interest. SONIA M. ZAIDE January 30, 1999  xiii PROLOGUE Rizal and His Times To appreciate and understand the life of Dr. Jose Rizal, it is necessary to know the historical background of the world and of the Philippines during his times. The 19th century when he lived was a century of ferment caused by the blowing winds of history. In Asia, Europe, and the Americas, events surged inexorably like sea tides, significantly affecting the lives and fortunes of mankind. The World of Rizal’s Time On February 19, 1861, four months before Rizal’s birth in Calamba, the liberal Czar Alexander II (1855-1881), to appease the rising discontent of the Russian masses, issued a proclamation emancipating 22,500,000 serfs. When Rizal was born on June 19, 1861, the American Civil War (1861-65) was raging furiously in the United State over the issue of Negro slavery. This titanic conflict, which erupted on April 12, 1861, compelled President Lincoln to issue his famous Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862 freeing the Negro slaves. On June 1, 1861, just eighteen days before Rizal’s birth, Benito Juarez, a full-blooded Zapotec Indian, was elected President of Mexico. A year after his election (in April 1862) Emperor napoleon III of the Second French Empire, in his imperialistic desire to secure a colonial stake in Latin America, sent French troops which invaded and conquered Mexico. President Juarez, owing to the raging American Civil War, could not obtain military aid from his friend, President Lincoln, but he continued to resist the French invaders with his valiant Indian and Mexican freedom fighters. To consolidate his occupation of Mexico, Napoleon III, installed Archduke Maximillian of Austria as puppet emperor of Mexico at Mexico City on June 12, 1864. Finally, after the end of the American Civil War, Juarez, with U.S. support, defeated MAximillian’s French in the Battle of Queretaro (May 15, 1867) and executed Emperor Maximillian on June 19, 1867 (Rizal’s sixth birthday anniversary). Thus, fizzled out Emperor Napoleon III’s ambition to colonize Latin America. In Rizal’s times two European nations (Italians and German) succeeded in unifying their own countries. The Italian under the leadership of Count Cavour and of Garibaldi and his army of “Red Shirts” drove out the Austrians and French armies from Italy and proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel, with Rome as capital city. The Prussians led by Otto von Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor”, defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War and established the German Empire on January 18, 1871, with King Wilhelm of Prussia as first Kaiser of the German Empire. With his defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, Emperor Napoleon III’s Second Empire collapsed, and over its ruins the Third French Republic arose, with Adolph Thiers as first President. The times of Rizal saw the flowering of Western imperialism. England emerged as the world’s leading imperialist power. On account of her invincible navy and magnificent army,  xiv she was able to conquer many countries throughout the world and to establish a global colonial empire. Thus the British people during the glorious reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) proudly asserted: “Britannia rules the waves.” By winning the First Opium War (1840-1842) against the tottering Chinese Empire under the Manchu dynasty, she acquired the Island of Hong Kong (Fragrant Harbor). In the Second Opium War (1856-1860), she won again and forced the helpless Manchu dynasty to cede the Kowloon Peninsula opposite Hong Kong. In 1859, after suppressing the Indian Rebellion and dismantling the Mogul Empire, she opposed her raj (rule) over the subcontinent of India (now consisting of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh). By winning the Three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824-26, 1852, and 1885), she conquered Burma. Other lands in Asia which became British colonies were Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Maldives, Aden, Malaya, Singapore, and Egypt. Australia and New Zealand in the South Pacific also became British colonies. Other imperialist, following the Britain’s example, grabbed the weak countries in Southeast Asia and colonized them. In 1858-1863, France, with the help of Filipino troops under Spanish officers, conquered Vietnam; annexed Cambodia (1863) and Laos (1893); and merged all these countries into a federated colony under the name of French Indochina. The Dutch, after driving away the Portuguese and Spaniards from the East Indies in the 17 th century, colonized this vast and rich archipelago and named it the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia). Czarist Russia, unable to expand westward to Europe, turned eastward to Asia, conquering Siberia and later occupied Kamchatka, and Alaska (which she sold in 1867 to the U.S. for $7,200,000). From 1865 to 1884, she conquered the Muslim Khanates of Bokhara, Khiva, and Kokand in Central Asia. Expanding towards China, Czarist Russia joined England, France, and Germany in the despoliation of the crumbling Chinese Empire, acquiring Manchuria as a “Sphere of influence,” thus enabling her to build the 5,800-mile Trans-Siberian Railway, reputed to be “the world’s longest railroad” linking Vladivostok and Moscow. Only July 8, 1853, an American squadron under the command of Commodore Mathew C. Perry re-opened Japan to the world. After this event, which ended Japan’s 214-year isolation (1639-1853), Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito) modernized the country by freely accepting Western influences, including imperialism. No sooner had Japan strengthen her navy and army along Western lines, when she, joining the Western imperialist powers, began her imperialist career by fighting weak China in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and grabbed Formosa (Taiwan) and Pescadores. And later in 1910 she annexed Korea. Germany, it should be recalled became a sovereign state in January 1871, and was late in the scramble colonies in Asia and Africa. In search for colonial stakes, she turned to the islands archipelagoes of the mid-Pacific world. On August 25, 1885, a German warship, the Ilties, entered the harbor of Yap (an island in the Carolines), landing the German marines who seized the island, hoisted the German flag and proclaimed the Carolines and Palaus archipelagoes as colonies of Germany. Strangely, the Spanish governor of the Carolines (Don Enrique Capriles) was present in the island, with two Spanish ships moored at its harbor, but due to cowardice or other reasons, he did not offer resistance to the German aggression.  xv The German seizure of Yap Island enraged Spain, who claimed sovereignty over the Carolines and Palaus by right of discovery. It should be noted that the island of Yap was discovered by the Manila galleon pilot, Francisco Lezcano, who named “Carolina” in honor of King Charles II (1665-1700) of Spain, which name was applied to the other islands. Spanish- German relation grew critical. In Madrid, the Spanish populace rose in violent riots, demanding war against Germany. Top avert actual clash of arms, Spain and Germany submitted the Carolina Question to Pope Leo XIII for arbritation. The Holy Father, after careful of the study of pertinent of documents submitted by both parties, issued his decision on October 22, 1885 favoring Spain –recognizing Spain sovereignty over the Carolines and Palaus, but granting two concessions to German navy. Both Spain and Germany accepted the Papal decision, so that the Hispano-German War was aborted. It is interesting to recall that during the critical days of the Hispano-German imbroglio over the Carolines, Rizal was in Barcelona visiting his friend Maximo Viola. At the same time he wrote an article on the Carolina Question which was published in La Publicidad, a newspaper owned by Don Miguel Morayta. While the imperialist powers were enjoying the fruits of their colonial ventures and achieving global prestige, Spain, once upon a time the “mistress of the world,” was stagnating as a world power. Gone with the winds of time was the dalliance of the imperial glory of her vanished Siglo de Oro (Golden Age). She lost her rich colonies in Latin America –Paraguay (1811), Argentina (1816), Chile (1817), Columbia and Ecuador (1819), the Central American countries (Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua) in 1821, Venezuela (1822), Peru(1824), and Bolivia and Uruguay (1825). These former Spanish colonies had risen in arms against Spanish tyranny and achieved their independence. Evidently, Spain never learned a lesson from the loss of these colonies, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The Philippines of Rizal’s Times During the times of Rizal, the sinister shadows of Spain’s decadence darkened Philippine skies. The Filipino people agonized beneath the yoke of Spanish misrule, for they were unfortunate victims of the evils of an unjust, bigoted, and deteriorating colonial power. Among these evils were as follows: (1) instability of colonial administration, (2) corrupt officialdom, (3) no Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes, (4) human rights denied to Filipinos, (5) no equality before the law, (6) maladministration of justice, (7) racial discrimination, (8) frailocracy, (9) forced labor, (10) haciendas owned by the friars, and (11) the Guardia Civil. Instability of Colonial Administration. The instability of Spanish politics since the turbulent reign of King Ferdinand VII (1808-1833) marked the beginning of political chaos in Spain. The Spanish government underwent frequent changes owing to bitter struggles between the forces of despotism and liberalism and the explosions of the Carlist Wars. From 1834 to 1862, Spain had adopted four constitutions, elected 28 parliaments, and installed no less than 529 ministers with portfolios; followed in subsequent years by party strifes, revolutions, and other political upheavals.  xvi This political instability in Spain adversely affected Philippine affairs because it brought about frequent periodic shifts in colonial policies and periodic rigodon of colonial officials. For instance, from 1835 to 1897, the Philippines was ruled by 50 governor generals, each serving an average term of only one year and three months. At one time –from December 1853 to November 1854 –a period of less than a year, there were four governor-generals. To illustrate the confusing instability of Spanish politics and its inimical effects, an anecdote was told as follows: In the year 1850 a Spanish jurist, who was appointed oidor (magistrate) of the Royal Audiencia of Manila, left Madrid with his whole family and took the longer route via Cape of Good Hope, arriving in Manila after a leisurely trip to about six months. Much to his surprise and discomfiture, he found out that another jurist was already occupying his position. During the six months when he was leisurely cruising at sea, the ministry which appointed him fell in Madrid, and the succeeding ministry named his successor. And this new jurist traveled faster, taking the shorter route via the Isthmus of Suez and reached Manila earlier. The frequent change of colonial officials hampered the political and economic development of the Philippines. Hardly had one governor-general begun his administration when he was soon replaced by his successor. Naturally, no chief executive, no matter how able and energetic he was, could accomplish much for the colony. Corrupt Colonial Officials. With few exceptions, the colonial officials (governor- general, judges, provincial executives, etc.) sent by Spain to the Philippines in the 19 th century were a far cry from their able and dedicated predecessors of the 16 th, 17th, and 18th centuries. They were highly corrupt, incompetent, cruel, or venal. Apparently, they symbolized the decadent Spain of the 19th century –not Spain of the Siglo de Oro which produced Miguel Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Calderon de la Barca, El Greco (Domenico Theotocopuli), Velasquez, St. Theresa de Avila, and other glories of the Hispanic nation. General Rafael de Izquiordo (1871-73), a boastful and ruthless governor general, aroused the anger of the Filipinos by executing the innocent Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, the “Martyrs of 1872”. His successor, Admiral Jose Malcampo (1874-77), was a good Moro fighter, but he was an inept and weak administrator. General Fernando Primo de Rivera, governor general for two terms (1880-83 and 1897-98), enriched him by accepting bribes from gambling casinos in Manila which he scandalously permitted to operate. General Valeriano Weyler (1888- 91), a cruel and corrupt governor general of Hispanic-German ancestry, arrived in Manila a poor man and returned to Spain a millionaire. He received huge bribes and gifts of diamonds for his wife from wealthy Chinese who evaded the anti-Chinese law. The Filipino scornfully called him “tyrant” because of his brutal persecution of the Calamba tenants, particularly the family of Dr. Rizal. The Cubans contemptuously cursed him as “The Butcher” because of his ruthless reconcentration policy during his brief governorship in Cuba in 1896, causing the death of thousands of Cubans. General Camilo de Polavieja (1896-97), an able militarist but heartless governor general, was widely detested by the Filipino people for executing Dr. Rizal. Other Spanish colonial officials were of the same evil breed of men as the corrupt and degenerate governors-general mentioned above. After the loss of Mexico, Guatemala, Chile,  xvii Argentina, and other colonies in Latin America, numerous job-seeker and penniless Spanish sycophants came to the Philippines, where they became judges, provincial executives, army officers, and empleados (government employees). They were either relatives or proteges of civil officials and friars. Mostly ignorant and profligate, they conducted themselves with arrogance and superciliousness because of their alien white skin and tall noses. They became rich by illegal means or by marrying the heiresses of rich Filipino families. As early in 1810, Tomas de Comyn, Spanish writer and government official, bewailed the obnoxious fact that ignorant barbers and lackeys were appointed provincial governors, and rough sailors and soldiers were named district magistrates and garrison commanders. Philippine Representation in Spanish Cortes. To win the support of her overseas colonies during the Napoleonic invasion, Spain granted them representation in the Cortes (Spanish parliament). Accordingly, the Philippines experienced her first period of representation in the Cortes from 1810 to 1813. History demonstrates that the first Philippine delegate, Ventura de los Reyes, took active part in the framing of the constitution, and was one of its 184 signers. This constitution was extended to the Philippines. Another achievement of Delegate De los Reyes was the abolition of the galleon trade. The first period of Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes (1810-1813) was thus fruitful with beneficent results for the welfare of the colony. However, the second period of representation (1820-23) and the third period (1834-37) were less fruitful because the Philippine delegates were not as energetic and devoted in parliamentary work as De los Reyes. Unfortunately, the representation of the overseas colonies (including the Philippines) in the Spanish Cortes was abolished in 1837. Since then the Philippine conditions worsened because there was no means by which the Filipino people could expose the anomalies perpetrated by the colonial officials. Many Filipino patriots valiantly pleaded for the restoration of Philippine representation in the Cortes. One of them, the silver-tongued Graciano Lopez Jaena, implored in sonorous Castilian on October 12, 1883, during the 391 st anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus in Madrid: ‘We want representation in the legislative chamber so that our aspirations may be known for the mother country and its government.” Lamentably Spain ignored the fervent plea of Lopez Jaena and his compatriots. Their grievance was embittered by the fact that Cuba and Puerto Rico were granted representation in the Cortes by the Spanish Constitution by 1876. Until the end of Spanish rule in 1898, Philippine representation in the Cortes was never restored. No wonder, Jose Rizal, M.H. Del Pilar, Graciano Lopez de Jaena, and other youthful patriots launched the Propaganda Movement, which paved the way for the Philippine Revolution of 1896. Human rights Denied to Filipinos. Since the adoption of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 and other constitutions in succeeding years, the people of Spain enjoyed freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of association, and other human rights (except freedom of religion). The Spaniards ardently guarded these rights so that no Spanish monarch dared abolish them.  xviii Strangely enough, the Spanish authorities who cherished these human rights or constitutional liberties in Spain denied them to the Filipinos in Asia. Such inconsistency was lamented by Sinibaldo de Mas, Spanish economist and diplomat, who wrote in 1843: “Why do we fall in an anomaly, such as combining our claim for liberty for ourselves, and our wish to impose our law on remote peoples? Why do we deny to others the benefit which we desire for our fatherland?” No Equality before the Law. The Spanish missionaries, who introduced Christianity into the Philippines as early as in the 16th century, taught that all men, irrespective of color and race, are children of God and as such they are brothers, equal before God. Fascinated by this noble concept of human relations and convinced by the truths of the Christian faith, most Filipinos (except those in the hinterlands of Luzon and the Visayas and in Mindanao and Sulu) became Christians. In practice, however, the Spanish colonial authorities, who were Christians, did not implement Christ’s precept of the brotherhood of all men under the fatherhood of God. Especially during the last decades of Hispanic rules, they arrogantly regarded the browned- skinned Filipinos as inferior beings, not their Christian brothers to be protected but rather as their majesty’s subjects to be exploited. To their imperialist way of thinking, brown Filipinos and white Spaniards may be equal before God but not before the law and certainly not in practice. It is true that the Leyes de Indias (Laws of the Indies) were promulgated by the Christians monarchs of Spain to protect the rights of the natives in Spain’s overseas colonies and to promote their welfare. However, these good colonial laws, infused as they were with Christian charity and justice, were rarely enforced by the officials in the distant colonies, particularly the Philippines. Consequently, the Filipinos were abused, brutalized, persecuted, and slandered by their Spanish masters. They could not appeal to the law for justice because the law, being dispensed by Spaniards, was only for the white Spaniards. The Spanish Penal Code, which was enforced in the Philippines, particularly imposed heavier penalties on native Filipinos or mestizos and lighter penalties on white complexioned Spaniards. This legal inequality was naturally resented by the Filipinos. As Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt wrote to Dr. Jose Rizal in 1887: “The provision of the Penal Code that a heavier penalty will be imposed on the Indio or mestizo irritates me exceedingly, because it signifies that every person not born white is in fact a latent criminal. This very great injustice that seems enormous and unjust for being embodied in law.” Maladministration of Justice. The courts of justice in the Philippines during Rizal’s time were notoriously corrupt. Verily, they were courts of “injustice”, as far as brown Filipinos were concerned. The Spanish judges, fiscals (prosecuting attorneys), and other court officials were inept, venal, and oftentimes ignorant of law. Justice was costly, partial, and slow. Poor Filipinos had no access to the courts because they could not afford the heavy expenses of litigation. Wealth, social prestige, and color of skin were preponderant factors in winning a case in court. Irrespective of the weight of evidence, a rich man or a Spaniard, whose skin was white, easily achieved victory in any litigation.  xix To the Filipino masses, litigation in court was a calamity. The expenses incurred even in a simple lawsuit often exceeded the value of the property at issue, so that in many instances the litigants found themselves impoverished at the end of the long tussle. Criminal cases dragged on for many years during which period either the delinquents took to fight, or the documents were lost. The judicial procedure was so low and clumsy that it was easy to have justice delayed. And justice delayed, as a popular maxim states, “is justice denied”. Thus related John Foreman, a British eyewitness of the last years of Spanish sovereignty in the Philippines: It was hard to get the judgment executed as it was to win the case. Even when the question at issue was supposed to be settled, a defect in the sentence could always be concocted to reopen the whole affair. If the case had been tried and judgment given under the Civil Code, a way was found to convert it into a Criminal Code, a flaw could be discovered under the Laws of the Indies, or the Siete Partidas or the Roman Law, orthe Novisima Recopilacion, or the Antiguos Fueros, Decrees, Royal Orders, Ordenanzas del Buen Gobierno, and so forth by which the case could be reopened. A specific instance of Spanish maladministration of justice was the infamous case of Juan de la Cruz in 1886-1898. On the night of June 7, 1886, two men were brutally killed in their sleep at the waterfront of Cavite. The next day a coxswain of a motor launch named Juan De la Cruz was arrested on mere suspicion of having perpetrated the murder. Without preliminary investigation and proper trial, he was jailed in Cavite, where he languished for twelve years. When the Americans landed in Cavite after the Battle of Manila Bay 9May 1, 1898), they found him in jail still awaiting trial. Dr. Rizal and his family were victims of Spanish injustice. Twice, first in 1871 and second in 1891, Dona Teodora (Rizal’s mother) was unjustly arrested and jailed on flimsy grounds. Rizal himself was deported in July, 1892 to Dapitan without benefit of a trial. His brother Paciano and several brothers-in-law were exiled to various parts of the archipelago without due process of law. Like Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, Rizal was executed –a noble victim of Spanish miscarriage of justice. Racial Discrimination. Into Spain introduced Christianity into the Philippines with its beautiful egalitarian concept of the brotherhood of all men under God the Father. The Spanish authorities, civil as well as ecclesiastical, zealously propagated the Christian faith, but seldom practiced its sublime tenents. They regarded the converted Filipinos not as brother Christians, but as inferior beings who were infinitely undeserving of the rights and privileges that the white Spaniards enjoyed. With this unchristian attitude, many Spaniards and their mestizo satellites derisively called the brown-skinned and flat-nosed Filipinos “Indios” (Indians). In retaliation, the Filipinos jealously dubbed their pale-complexioned detractors with the disparaging term “bangus” (milkfish). During Rizal’s time a white skin, a high nose, and Castilian lineage were a badge of vaunted superiority. Hence, a Spaniard or a mestizo, no matter how stupid or mongrelborn he was, always enjoyed political and social prestige in the community.  xx Racial prejudice was prevalent everywhere—in government offices, in the courts of justice, in the armed forces, in the social circles, and even in the educational institutions and in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. One of the shining stars of the Filipino clergy, Father Jose Burgos (1837-1872) bewailed the Spanish misconception that a man’s merit depended on the pigment of his skin, the height of his nose, the color of his hair, and the shape of his skull; and complained of the lack of opportunities for educated young Filipinos to raise in the service of God and country. “Why for instance,” he lamented, “shall a young man strive to rise in the profession of law or of theology, when he can vision no future for himself save that of obscurity and jaunty unconcern? What Filipino will aspire to the seats of the wise and will devote sleepless nights to such an ideal, when he clearly sees that his noblest feelings are crushed down in the unwelcome atmosphere of contumely and oblivion, and when he knows that among the privileged few only dispensed the sinecures of honor and profit?” Frailocracy. Owing to the Spanish political philosophy of union of Church and State, there arose a unique form of government in Hispanic Philippines called “Frailocracy” (frailocracia), so named because it was “a government by friars”. History discloses that since the days of the Spanish conquest, the friars (Augustinians, Dominicans, and Franciscans) controlled the religious and educational life of the Philippines, and later in the 19th century they came to acquire tremendous political power, influence, and riches. The friars practically ruled the Philippines through a façade of civil government. The colonial authorities, from the governor general down to the alcaldes mayors, were under the control of the friars. Almost every town in the archipelago, except in unpacified Islamic Mindanao and Sulu and in the pagan hinterlands, was ruled by a friar curate. Aside from his priestly duties, the friar was the supervisor of local elections, the inspector of schools and taxes, the arbiter of morals, and the censor of books and comedias (stage plays), the superintendent of public works, and the guardian of peace and order. So great was his political influence that his recommendations were heeded by the governor-general and the provincial officials. He could send a patriotic Filipino to jail or denounce him as a filibuster (traitor) to be exiled to a distant place or to be as an enemy of God and Spain. Rizal, M.H. del Pilar, G. Lopez Jaena, and other Filipino reformist assailed frailocracy, blaming it for the prevailing policy of obscurantism, fanaticism, and oppression in the country. Rizal, for instance, denounced the friars as the enemies of liberal reforms and modern progress in the Philippines. Like the Roman god Janus, frailocracy had two faces. Its bad face was darkly portrayed by Rizal and his contemporaries by way of retaliation against certain evil-hearted friars who persecuted them. For the sake of his historical truth, the other face of frailocracy, its good face, should be known. In the felicitous opinion of Dr. Jose P. Laurel, “it would be a gross ingratitude on the part of the Filipinos to be conscious only of the abuses of the friars and to close their eyes to the beneficent influences of the ecclesiastical element on the life of the Filipinos”. Credit must certainly be given to the Spanish friars for having introduced Christianity and European civilization into the Philippines. To them, the Filipinos owe a lasting debt of gratitude. Without their magnificent services the Filipino people would not have emerged from their past as  xxi a unique Christians nation, the only nation in Asia with an Oriental, Latin and Hispanic- American cultural heritage. Of course, it is regrettable that not all Spanish friars who came to the Philippines were good men and worthy ministers of God. Among the bad friars who were recreant to their sublime calling and the traditions of Iberian pundonor were Fray Miguel Lucio Bustamante, Fray Jose Rodriguez, Fray Antonio Piernavieja, and other renegade friars who were portrayed by Rizal in his novels as Padre Damaso and Padre Salvi and hilariously caricatured by Jaena as Fray Botod. These bad friars besmirched the noble escutcheon of Spain, tarnished the reputation of hundreds of their good brethren (including Fray Andres de Urdaneta, Fray Martin Rada, Fray Juan de Plasencia, Bishop Domingo de Salazar, Fray Francisco Blancas de San Jose, and Fray Miguel de Benavides), and arosed the bitter hatred of the Filipinos towards the Spanish religious orders. Forced Labor. Known as the polo, it was the compulsory labor imposed by the Spanish colonial authorities on adult Filipino males in the construction of churches, schools, hospitals; building and repair of roads and bridges; the building of ships in the shipyards; and other public works. Originally, Filipino males from 16 to 60 years old were obliged to render forced labor for 40 days a year. Later, the Royal Decree of July 12, 1883, implemented by the New Regulations promulgated by the Council of State of February 3, 1885, increased the minimum age of the polistas (those who performed the force labor) from 16 to18 and reduced the days of labor From 40 to 15. The same royal decree provided that not the only native Filipinos, but also all male Spanish residents from 18 years old to 60 must render forced labor, but this particular provision was never implemented in the Philippines for obvious reasons. So actually the brown Filipinos did the dirty job of building or repairing the public works. The well-to-do among them were able to escape this manual labor by paying the falla, which was a sum of money paid to the government to be exempted from the polo. The Filipinos came to hate the forced labor because of the abuses connected with it. First of all, the whit Spanish residents, contrary to law, were not recruited by the colonial authorities to perform the obligatory labor. Second, the Filipino polistas, according to law, were too received only a part of his amount and worse, they got nothing. And, thirdly, the annual forced labor caused so much inconvenience and suffering to the common people because it disturbed their work in farms and shops and also because they were sometimes compelled to work in construction projects far from their homes and towns. A true incident of the hardship suffered by the Filipinos from forced labor was related by Rizal, as follows: In the town of Los Banos a hospital was built by laborers snatched from all the towns of the province. Each laborer forced by the authorities was paid eight curators (five centavos) daily, the ordinary daily wage being two pesetas or four peales Fuertes. In addition, sale and charity bazaars were held to defray the cost of the buildings. The architect was a Franciscan brother. The hospital was erected, a palace of the captain general was constructed, agriculture and the towns suffered for their construction. Why  xxii are the people who pay their taxes compelled to work gratis? Why do they pay taxes if they are not going to be allowed to live with their families? Do they pay taxes so that they will be used to hire petty tyrants and not to attend to the demands of society? What? Is the Spanish flag perchance the flag of the slave trade? Haciendas Owned by the Friars. During Rizal’s times the Spanish friars belonging to different religious orders were the richest landlords, for they owned the best haciendas (agricultural lands) in the Philippines. The rural folks, who had been living in these haciendas and cultivating them generation after generation became tenants. Naturally, they resented the loss of their lands which belonged to their ancestors’ since pre-Spanish times; legally, however, the friars were recognized as legal owners of said lands because they obtained royal titles of ownership from the Spanish crown. No wonder, these friar haciendas became hotbeds of agrarian revolts, in as much as the Filipino tenants regarded the friar owners as usurpers of their ancestral lands. One of these bloody agrarian revolts was the agrarian upheaval in 1745-1746. As early as in 1768 Governor Anda, realizing the danger of the Friar-owned haciendas to Filipino-Spanish relations, strongly recommended to the Madrid government the sale of the friar estates. Unfortunately, his wise recommendation was ignored. Filipino odium towards the friars, who turned hacienda owners, persisted unabated until the end of Spanish rule. Rizal, whose family and relatives were tenants of the Dominican Estate of Calamba, tried to initiate agrarian reforms in 1887, but in vain. His advocacy of agrarian reforms ignited the wrath of the Dominican friars, who retaliated by raising the rentals of the lands leased by his family and other Calamba tenants. According to Rizal, the friar ownership of the productive lands contributed to the economic stagnation of the Philippines during the Spanish period. In his famous essay “Sobre la Indolencia de los Filipinos” (Indolence of the Filipinos), he wrote: The fact that the best plantations, the best tracts of land in some provinces… are in the hands of the religious corporations… is one of the reasons why many towns do not progress inspite of the effort of their inhabitants. We will be met with the objection, as an argument on the other side, that those which do not belong to them. They surely are! Just as their brethren in Europe, in founding their convents, knew how to select the best valley, the best uplands for the cultivation of the vine or the production of beer, so also the Philippine monks have known how to select the best towns, the beautiful plains, the well-watered fields, to make of them rich plantations. For some time the friars have deceived many by making them believe that if these plantations were prospering, it was because they were under their care, and the indolence of the native was thus emphasized; but they forgot that in some provinces where they have not been able to get possession of the best tracts of land, their plantations, like Buan and Liang, are inferior to Taal, Balayan and Lipa, regions cultivated entirely by the natives without any monkish interference whatsoever. The Guardia Civil. The last hated symbol of Spanish tyranny was the Guardia Civil (Constabulary) which was created by the Royal Decree of February 12, 1852, as amended by the  xxiii Royal Decree of March 24, 1888, for the purpose of maintaining internal peace and order in the Philippines. It was patterned after the famous and well-disciplined Guardia Civil in Spain. While it is true that the Guardia Civil in the Philippines had rendered meritorious services in suppressing the bandits in the provinces, they later became infamous for their rampant abuses, such as maltreating innocent people, looting their carabaos, chickens, and valuable belongings, and raping helpless women. Both officers (Spaniards) and men (natives) well illtrained and undisciplined, unlike the Guardia Civil in Spain who were respected and well-like by the populace. Rizal actually witnessed the atrocities committed by the Guardia Civil on the Calamba folks. He himself and his mother had been victims of the brutalities of the lieutenant of the Guardia Civil. It was natural that Rizal directed hi stinging satire against the hated Guardia Civil. Through Elias in Noli Me Tangere, he exposed the Guardia Civil as a bunch of ruthless ruffians good only “for disturbing the peace” and “persecuting honest men”. He proposed to improve the military organization by having it be composed of good men who possessed education and good principles and who were conscious of the limitations and responsibility of authority and power. “So much power in the hands of men, ignorant filled with passions, without moral training, of untried principles,” he said through Elias, “is a weapon in the hands of a madman in a defenseless multitude.” *****  xxiv Chapter 1 Advent of A National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal is a unique example of a many-splendored genius who became the greatest hero of a nation. Endowed by God with versatile gifts, he truly ranked with the world’s geniuses. He was a physician (ophthalmic surgeon), poet, dramatist, essayist, novelist, historian, architect, painter, sculptor, educator, linguist, musician, naturalist, ethnologist, surveyor, engineer, farmer businessman, economist, geographer, cartographer, bibliophile, philologist, grammarian, folklorist, philosopher, translator, inventor, magician, humorist, satirist, polemicist, sportsman, traveler, and prophet. Above and beyond all these, he was a hero and political martyr who consecrated his life for the redemption of his oppressed people. No wonder, he is now acclaimed as the national hero of the Philippines. The Birth of a Hero. Jose Rizal was born on the moonlit night of Wednesday, June 19, 1861, in the lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna Province, Philippines. His mother almost died during the delivery because of his big head. As he recounted many years later in his student memoirs: “I was born in Calamba on 19 June, 1861, between eleven and midnight, a few days before full moon. It was a Wednesday and my coming out in this vale of tears would have cost my mother her life had she not vowed to the virgin of Antipolo to take me to her sanctuary by way of pilgrimage. He was baptized in the Catholic church of his town on June22, aged three days old, by the parish priest, Father Rufino Collantes, who was a Batangueno. His godfather (ninong) was Father Pedro Casanas, native of Calamba and close friend of Rizal family, his name “Jose” was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the Christian saint San Jose (St. Joseph). During the christening ceremony Father Collantes was impressed by the baby’s big head, and told the members of the family who were present: “Take good care of this child, for someday he will become a great man.” His words proved to be prophetic, as confirmed by subsequent events. The baptismal certificate of Rizal reads as follows: “I, the undersigned parish priest of Calamba, certify that from the investigation made with proper authority, for replacing the parish books which were burned September 28, 1862, to be found in Docket No.1 of Baptisms, p. 49, it appears by the sworn testimony of competent witnesses that JOSE RIAZAL MERCADO is the legitimate son, and of lawful wedlock, of Don Francisco Rizal Mercado and Dona Teodora Realonda, having been baptized in the parish on the 22 nd day of June in the year 1861, by the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes, Rev. Pedro Casanas being his godfather. –Witness my signature. (Signed): LEONCIO LOPEZ 1  It should be noted that at the time Rizal was born, the governor general of the Philippines was Lieutenant-General Jose Lemery, former senator of Spain (member of the upper chamber of the Spanish Cortes). He governed the Philippines from February 2, 1861 to July 7, 1862. Incidentally, on the same date of Rizal’s birth (June 19, 1861), he sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Ultramar in Madrid, denouncing Sultan Pulalun of Sulu and several powerful Moro datus for fraternizing with a British consul. Among his achievements as a governor general were (1) fostering the cultivation of cotton in the provinces and (2) establishing the politico-military governments in the Visayas and in Mindanao. Riza’s Parents. Jose Rizal was the seventh of the eleven children of Frncisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonzo Realonda. The hero’s father, Francisco (1818-1898) was born in Binan, Laguna, on May 11, 1818. He studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila. In early manhood, following his parent’s death, he moved to Calamba and became a tenant-farmer of the Dominican-owned hacienda. He was a hardly an independent-minded mind, who talked less and worked more, and was strong in body and valiant in spirit. He died in Manila on January 5, 1898, at the age of 80. In his student memoirs, Rizal affectionately called him ‘a model of fathers”. Dona Teodora (1826-1911), the hero’s mother, was born in Manila on November 8, 1826 and was educated at the College of Santa Rosa, a well-known college for girls in the city. She was a remarkable woman, possessing refined culture, literary talent, business ability, and the fortitude of Spartan women. Rizal lovingly said her: “My mother is a woman of more than ordinary culture; she knows literature and speaks Spanish better than I. she corrected my poems and gave me good advice when I was studying rhetoric. She is a mathematician and has read many books.” Dona Teodora died in Manila on August 16, 1911, at the age of 85. Shortly before her death, the Philippine government offered her a life pensioned. She courteously rejected it saying, “My family has never been patriotic for money. If the government has plenty of funds and does not know what to do with them, better reduce the taxes,” Such remarks truly befitted her as a worthy mother of a national hero. The Rizal Children. God blessed the marriage of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Toedora Alonso Realonda with eleven children –two boys and nine girls. These children were as follows: 1. Saturnina (1850-1913) –oldest of the Rizal children, nicknamed Neneng; she Married Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanawan, Batangas. 2. Paciano (1851-1930) –older brother and confident of Jose Rizal; after his younger brother’s execution, he joined the Philippine Revolution and became a combat general; after the Revolution, he retired to his farm in Los Banos, where he lived as a gentleman farmer and died on April 13, 1930, an old bachelor aged 79. He had two children by his mistress (Severena Decena) –a boy and a girl. 3. Narcisa (1852-1939) –her pet name Sisa and she married Antonio Lopez (Nephew of Father Leoncio Lopez), a school teacher of Morong. 4. Olimpia (1855-1887) –Ypia was her pet name; she married Silvestre Ubaldo 2  a telegraph operator from Manila. 5. Lucia (1857-1919) –she married Mariano Herbosa of Calamba, who was a nephew of Father Casanas. Herbosa died of cholera in 1889 and was denied Christian burial because he was a brother-in-law of Dr. Rizal. 6. Maria (1859-1945) –Biang was her nickname; she married Danniel Faustino Cruz of Binan, Laguna. 7. JOSE (1861-1896) –the greatest Filipino hero and peerless genius; his nickname was Pepe; during his exile in Dapitan he lived with Josephine Bracken, Irish girl from Hong Kong; he had a son by her, but this baby-boy died a few hours after birth; Rizal named him “Francisco” after his father and buried him in Dapitan. 8. Concepcion (1862-1865) –her pet name was concha; she died of sickness at the age of 3; her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in life. 9. Josefa (1865-1945) –her pet name was panggoy; she died an old maid at the age of 80. 10. Trinidad (1868-1951) –Trining was her pet name; she died also an old maid in 1951 aged 83. 11. Soledad (1870-1929) –youngest of the Rizal’s children; her pet name was choleng; she married Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba. Sibling relationship among the Rizal children was affectionately cordial. As a little boy, Rizal used to play games with his sisters. Although he has boyish quarrels with them he respected them. Years later when he grew to manhood, he always called them Dona or Senora (if married) and Senorita (if single). For instance, he called her older sister “Dona Ypia,” his oldest sister “Senora Saturnina,” and his unmarried sisters “Senorita Josefa” and Senorita Trinidad.” Rizal’s relationship with his only brother Paciano, who was ten years his senior, was more than that of younger to older brother. Paciano was a second father to him. Throughout his life, Rizal respected him and greatly valued his sagacious advice. He immortalized him in his first novel Noli Me Tangere as the wise Pilosopo Tasio. In a letter to Blumentritt, written in London on June 23, 1888, he regarded Paciano as the “noblest Filipinos” and “though an Indio, more generous and noble than all the Spaniards put together”. And in a subsequent letter also written to Blumentritt and dated London, October 12, 1888, he spoke of his beloved older brother, as follows: “He is much finer and more serious than I am; he is bigger and more slim; he is not so dark; his nose is fine, beautiful and sharp; but he is bow-legged.” Rizal’s Ancestry. As a typical Filipino, Rizal was a product of the mixture of races. In his events flowed the blood of both East and West –Negrito, Indonesia, Malay, Chinese, Japanese 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 3 Chinese immigrant from Fukien city of Changchow, who arrived in Manila about 1690. He became a Christian; a well-to-do Chinese Christian girl of Manila named Ines de la Rosa, and assumed in 1731 the surname Mercado which was appropriate for him because he was a merchant. The Spanish term Mercado means “market” in English. Domingo Mercado and Ines de la Rosa had a son Francisco Mercado, married a Chinese-Filipino mestiza, Cirila Bernacha, and were elected gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor) of the town. One of their sons, Juan Mercado (Rizal’s grandfather), married Cirila Alejandro, a Chinese-Filipino mestiza. Like his father, he was elected governadorcillo of Binan. Capitan Juan and Capitana Cirila had thirteen children, the youngest being Francisco Mercado, Rizal’s father. At the age of eight, Francisco Mercado lost his father and grew up to manhood under the care of his mother. He studied Latin and Philosophy in the College of San Jose in Manila. While studying in Manila, he met and fell in love with Teodora Alonzo Realonda, a student in the College of Santa Rosa. They were married on June 28, 1848, after which they settled down in Calamba, where they engaged in farming and business and reared a big family. It is said that Dona Teodora’s family descend from Lakan-Dula, the last native king of Tondo. Her great-grandfather (Rizal’s maternal great-great-grandfather) was Eugenio Ursua (of Japanese ancestry), who married a Filipina named Benigna (surname unknown). Their daughter, Regina, married Manuel de Quintos, Filipino-Chinese lawyer from Pangasinan. One of the daughters of Attorney Quintos and Regina was Brigida, who married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, a prominent Spanish-Filipino mestizo of Binan. Their children were Narcisa, Teodora (Rizal’s mother), Gregorio, Manuel, and Jose. The Surname Rizal. The real surname of Rizal family was Mercado, which was adopted in 1731 by Domingo Lamco (the paternal great-great-grandfather of Jose Rizal), who was a full blooded Chinese. Rizal’s family acquired a second surname –Rizal –which was given by a Spanish alcalde mayor (provincial governor) of Laguna, who was a family friend. Thus said Dr. Rizal, in his letter to Blumentritt (without date or place): I am the only Rizal because at home my parents, my sisters, my brother, and my relatives have always preferred our old surname Mercado. Our family name was in fact Mercado, but they were many Mercados in the Philippines who are not related to us. It is said that an alcalde mayor, who was a friend of our family added Rizal to our name. My family did not pay much attention to his, but now I have to use it. In this way, it seems that I am an illegitimate son. “Whoever that Spanish alcalde mayor was,” commented Ambassador Leon Ma. Guerrero, distinguished Rizalist and diplomat, “his choice was prophetic for Rizal in Spanish means a field where wheat, cut while still green, sprouts again.” The Rizal Home. The house of the Rizal family, where the hero was born, was one of the distinguished stone houses in Calamba during Spanish times. It was a two-storey building rectangular in shape, built of adobe stones and hard-woods, and roofed with red tiles. It is described by Dr. Rafael Palma, one of Rizal’s prestigious biographers, as follows: 4  The house was high and even sumptuous, a solid and massive earthquake-proof structure with sliding shell windows. Thick of lime and stone bounded the first floor was made entirely of wood except for the roof, which was a red tile, in the style of the buildings in Manila at that time... At the back there was an azotea and a wide, deep cistern to hold rain water for home use. Behind the house were the poultry yard full of turkeys and chickens and a big garden of tropical fruit trees –atis, balimbing, chico, macopa, papaya, santol, tampoy, etc. It was a happy home where parental affection and children’s laughter reigned. By day, it hummed with the noises of children at play and the songs of the birds in the garden. By night, it echoed with the dulcet notes of family prayers. Such a wholesome home, naturally, bred a wholesome family. And such a family was the Rizal family. A Good and Middle-Class Family. The Rizal family belonged to the principalia, a town aristocracy in Spanish Philippines. It was one of the distinguished families in Calamba. By dint of honest and hard work and frugal living, Rizal’s parents were able to live well. From the farms, which were rented from the Dominican Order, they harvested rice, corn, and sugarcane. They raised pigs, chickens, and turkeys in their backyard. In addition to farming and stockraising, Dona Teodora managed a general goods store and operated a small flour-mill and a home-made ham press. As evidence of their influence, Rizal’s parents were able to build a large stone house which was situated near the town church and to buy another one. They owned a carriage, which was a status symbol of the ilustrados in Spanish Philippines and a private library (the largest in calamba) which consisted of more than 1,000 volumes. They sent their children to the colleges in Manila. Combining affluence and culture, hospitality, courtesy, they participated prominently in all social and religious affairs in the community. They were gracious hosts to all visitors and guests –friars, Spanish officials, and Filipino friends –during the town fiestas and other holidays. Beneath their roof, all guest irrespective of their color, rank, social position, and economic status, were welcome. Home Life of the Rizals. The Rizal family had a simple, contented, and happy life. In consonance with Filipino custom, family ties among the Rizals were intimately close. Don Frncisco and Dona Teodora loved their children, but they never spoiled them. They were strict parents and they trained their children to loved God, to behave well, to be obedient, and to respect people, especially the old folks. Whenever the children, including Jose Rizal, got into mischief, they were given a sound spanking. Evidently, they believed in the maxim: “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” Every day the Rizals (parents and children) heard mass in the town church, particularly during Sundays and Christian holidays. They prayed together daily at home –the Angelus at sunset and the Rosary before retiring to bed at night. After the family prayers, all the children kissed the hands of their parents. 5  Life was not, however, all prayers and church services for the Rizal children. They were given ample time and freedom to play by their strict and religious parents. They played merrily in the azotea or in the garden by themselves. The older ones were allowed to play with the children of the other families. 6  Chapter 2 Chilhood Years in Calamba Jose Rizal had many beautiful memories of childhood in his native town. He grew up in a happy home, ruled by good parents, bubbling with joy, and sanctified by God’s blessings. His natal town of Calamba, so named after a big native jar, was a fitting cradle for a hero. Its scenic beauties and its industrious, hospitable, and friendly folks impressed him during his childhood years and profoundly affected his mind and character. The happiest period of Rizal’s life was spent in this lakeshore town, a worthy prelude to his Hamlet-like tragic manhood. Calamba, the Hero’s Town. Calamba was a hacienda town which belonged to the Dominican order, which also owned all the lands around it. It is a picturesque town nestling on a verdant plain covered with irrigated ricefields and sugar-lands. A few kilometers to the south looms the legendary Mount Makiling in somnolent grandeur and beyond this mountain is the province of Batangas. East of the town is the Laguna de Bay, an inland lake of songs and emerald waters beneath the canopy of azure skies. In the middle of the lake towers the storied island of talim, beyond it towards the north is the distant Antipolo, famous mountain shrine of the miraculous Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. Rizal loved Calamba with all his heart and soul. In 1876, when he was 15 years old and was a student in the ateneo de Manila, he remembered his beloved town. Accordingly, he wrote a poem Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town), as follows: When early childhood’s happy days In memory I see once more Along the lovely verdant shore That meets a gently murmuring sea; When I recall the whisper soft Of zephyrs dancing on my brow With cooling sweetness, even now New luscious life is born in me. When I behold the lily white That sways to do the wind’s command, While gently sleeping on the sand The stormy water rest awhile; When from the flowers there softly breaths A bouquet ravishingly sweet, Out-poured the newborn dawn to meet, As on us she begins to smile. While sadness I recall... recall 7  Thy face, in precious infancy, Oh mother, friend most dear to me, Who gave to life a wondrous charm? I yet recall a village plain, My joy, my family, my boon, Besides the freshly cool lagoon, -- The spot for which my heart beats warm. Ah yes! My footsteps insecure In your dark forests deeply sank; And there by every river’s bank I found refreshment and delight; Within that rustic temple prayed With childhood’s simple faith unfeigned While cooling breezes, pure, unstained, Would send my heart on rapturous flight. I saw the Maker in the grandeur Of your ancient hoary wood, Ah, never in your refuge could A mortal by regret be smitten; And while upon your sky of blue I gaze, no love nor tenderness Could fail, for here on nature’s dress My happiness itself was written. Ah, tender childhood, lovely town, Rich fount of my felicities, Oh those harmonious melodies Which put to flight all dismal hours, Come back to my heart once more! Come back, gentle hours, I yearn! Come back as the birds return, At the budding of the flowers! Alas, farewell! Eternal vigil keep For thy peace, thy bliss, and tranquility, O Genius of good, so kind! Give me these gifts, with charity. To thee are my fervent vows, -- To thee I cease not to sigh These to learn, and I call to the sky To have thy sincerity. Earliest Childhood Memories. The first memory of Rizal of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the family garden when he was three years old. Because he was a frail, sickly, 8  And undersized child, he was given the tenderest care by his parents. His father built a little nipa cottage in the garden for him to play in the daytime. A kind old woman was employed as an aya (nurse maid) to look after his comfort. At times, he was left alone to muse on the beauties of nature or to play by himself. In his boyhood memoirs, he narrated how he, at the age of three, watched from his garden cottage, the culiauan, the maya, the maria capra, the martin, the pipit, and other birds and listened “with wonder and joy” to their twilight songs. Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer. By nightfall, Rizal related, his mother gathered all the children at the house to pray the Angelus. With nostalgic feeling, he also remembered the happy moonlight nights at the azotea after the nightly Rosary. The aya related to the Rizal children (including Jose) many stories about the fairies; tales of buried treasure and tress blooming with diamonds, and other fabulous stories. The imaginary tales told by the aya aroused in Rizal an enduring interest in legends and folklore. Sometimes, when he did not like to take his supper, the aya would threaten him that the asuang, the nuno, the tigbalang, or a terrible bearded and turbaned Bombay would come to take him away if he would not eat his supper. Another memory of his infancy was the nocturnal walk in the town, especially when there was a moon. The aya took him for a walk in the moonlight by the river, where the trees cast grotesque shadow on the bank. Recounting this childhood experience in his student memoirs, Rizal wrote: “Thus my heart fed on somber and melancholic thoughts so that even while still a child, I already wandered on wings of fantasy in the high regions of the unknown. The Hero’s First Sorrow. The Rizal children were bound together by ties of love and companionship. They were well-bred, for their parents taught them to love and help one another. Of his sister, Jose loved most of the little Concha (Concepcion). He was a year older than Concha. He played with her and from her he learned the sisterly love. Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in 1865 when she was only three years old. Jose, who was very fond of her, cried bitterly at losing her. “When I was four years old,” he said, “I lost my little sister Concha, and then for the first time I shed tears caused by love and grief...” The death of little Concha brought him his first sorrow. Devoted Son of the Church. A scion of a Catholic clan, born and bred in a wholesome atmosphere of Catholicism, and possessed of an inborn pious spirit, Rizal grew up a good Catholic. At the age of three, he began to take part in the family prayers. His mother, who was a bevout Catholic, taught him a Catholic prayer. When he was five years old, he was able to read haltingly the Spanish family Bible. He loves to go to church, to pray, to take part in novenas, and to join religious processions. It is said that he was so seriously devout that he was laughingly called Manong Jose by the Hermanos and Hermanas Terceras. 9  One of the men he esteemed and respected in Calamba during his boyhood was the scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez, the town priest. He used to visit this learned Filipino priest and listen to his stimulating opinions on current events and sound philosophy of life. Pilgrimage to Antipolo. On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to fulfill his mother’s vow which was made when Jose was born. Dona Teodora could not accompany them because she had given birth to Trinidad. It was the first trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay and his first pilgrimage to Antipolo. He and his father rode in a casco (barge). He was thrilled, as a typical boy should, by his first lake voyage. He did not sleep the whole night as the casco sailed towards the Pasig River because he was awed by “the magnificence of the watery expanse and the silence of the night.” Writing many years later of this experience, he said: “With what pleasure I saw the sunrise; for the first time I saw how the luminous rays shone, producing a brilliant effect on the ruffled surface of the wide lake. After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his father went to Manila. It was the first time Jose saw Manila. They visited Saturnina, who was then a boarding student at La Concordia College in Santa Ana. The Story of the Moth. Of the stories told by Dona Teodora to her favorite son, Jose, that of the young moth made the profoundest impression on him. Speaking on this incident, Rizal wrote: One night, all the family, except my mother and myself, went to bed early. Why, I do not know, but we two remained sitting alone. The candles had been already been put out. They have been blown out in their globes by means of a curved tube of tin. That tube seemed to me the finest and most wonderful plaything in the world. The room was dimly lighted by a single light of coconut oil. In all Filipino homes such a light burns through the night. It goes out just at day-break to awaken people by its spluttering. My mother was teaching me to read in a Spanish reader called “The Children’s Friend” (El Amigo de los Ninos). This was quite a rare book and an old copy. It had lost its cover amd my sister had cleverly made a new one. She had fastened a sheet of thick blue paper over the back and then covered it with a piece of cloth. This night my mother became impatient with hearing me read so poorly. I did not understand Spanish and so I could not read with impression. She took the book from me. First she scolded me for drawing funny pictures on its pages. Then she told me to listen and she began to read. When her sight was good, she read very well. She could recite well, and she understood verse-making, too. Many times during Christmas vacations, my mother corrected my poetical compositions, and she always made valuable criticisms. I listened to her, full of childish enthusiasm. I marveled at the nice-sounding phrases which she read from those same pages. The phrases she read so easily stopped me at every breath. Perhaps I grew tired of listening to sounds that had no meaning for 10  me. Perhaps I lacked of self-control. Anyway, I paid little attention to the reading. I was watching the cheerful flame. About it, some little moths were circling in playful flights. By chance, too, I yawned. My mother soon noticed that I was not interested. She stopped reading. Then she said to me: “I am going to read you a very pretty story. Now pay attention.” On hearing the word “story” I at once opened my eyes wide. The word “story” promised something new and wonderful. I watched my mother while she turned the leaves of the book, as if she were looking for something. Then I settled down to listen. I was full of curiosity and wonder. I had never even dreamed that there were stories in the old book which I read without understanding. My mother began to read the fable of the young moth and the old one. She translated it into Tagalog a little at a time. My attention increased from the first sentence. I looked toward the light and fixed my gaze on the moths which were circling around it. The story could not have been better timed. My mother repeated the warning of the old moth. She dwelt upon it and directed it to me. I heard her, but it is a curious thing that the light seemed to me each time more beautiful, the flame more attractive. I really envied the fortune of the insects. They frolicked so joyously in its enchanting splendor that the ones which had fallen and been drowned in the oil did not cause me any dread. My mother kept on reading and I listened breathlessly. The fate of the two insects interested me greatly. The flame rolled its golden tongue to one side and a moth with this movement had singed into the oil, fluttered for a time and then became quiet. That became to me a great event. A curious change came over me which I have always noticed in myself whenever anything has stirred my feelings. The flame and the moth seemed to go farther away and my mother’s words sounded strange and uncanny. I did not notice when she ended the fable. All attention was fixed on the face of the insect. I watched it with my whole soul... It had died a martyr to its illusions. As she put to bed, my mother said: “See that you not behave like the young moth. Don’t be disobedient, or you may get burnt as it did.” I do not know whether I answered or not... The story revealed to me things until then unknown. Moths no longer were, for me, insignificant insects. Moths talked; they knew how to warn. They advised just liked my mother. The light seemed to me more attractive. I knew why the moths circled the flame. The tragic fate of the young moth, which “died a martyr to its illusions,” left a deep, impressed on Rizal’s mind. He justified such noble death, asserting that “to sacrifice one’s life for it,” meaning for an ideal, is “worthwhile.” And, like that young moth, he was fated to die as a martyr for a noble ideal. Artistic talents. Since early childhood Rizal revealed his God-given talent for art. At the age of five, he began to make sketches with his pencil and no mould in clay and wax objects which attracted his fancy. 11  It is said that one day, when Jose was a mere boy in Calamba, a religious banner which was always used during the fiesta was spoiled. Upon the request of the town mayor, he painted in oil colors a new banner that delighted the town folks because it was better that the original one. Jose had the soul of a genuine artist. Rather an introvert child, with a skinny physique and sad dark eyes, he found great joy looking at the blooming flowers, the ripening fruits, the dancing waves of the lake, and the milky clouds in the sky; and listening to the songs of the birds, the chirping of the cicadas, and the murmurings of the breezes. He loved to ride on a spirited pony which his father bought for him and take long walks in the meadows and lakeshore with his black dog named Usman. One interesting anecdote about Rizal was the incident about his clay and wax images. One day when he was about six years old his sister laughed at him for spending so much time making those images rather than participating in their games. He kept silent as they laughed with childish glee. But as they were departing, he told them: “All right laugh at me now! Someday when I die, people will make monuments and images of me!” First Poem by Rizal. Aside from his sketching and sculpturing talent, Rizal possessed a God-given gift for literature. Since early boyhood he had scribbled verses on loose sheets of paper and on the textbooks of his sisters. His mother, who was a lover of literature, noticed his poetic inclination and encouraged him to write poetry. At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem in the native language entitled Sa Aking mga Kababata (To My Fellow Children), as follows: TO MY FELLOW CHILDREN Whenever people of a country truly love The language which by heav’n they were taught to use That country also surely liberty pursue As does the bird which soars to freer space above. For language is the final judge and referee Upon the people in the land where it holds sway; In truth our human race resembles in this way The other living being born in liberty. Whoever knows not how to love his native tongue Is worse than any beast or evil smelling fish. To make our language richer ought to be our wish The same as the mother loves to feed her young. Tagalong and Latin language are the same And English and Castilian and the angel’s tongue; And God, whose watchful care o’er all is flung, Has given us His blessing in the speech we claim, 12  Our mother tongue, like all the highest that we know Had alphabet and letters of its very own; But these were lost –by furious waves were overthrown Like bancas in the stormy sea, long years ago. This poem reveals Rizal’s earliest nationalist sentiment. In poetic verses, he proudly proclaimed that a people who truly love their native language will surely strive for liberty like “the bird which soars to freer space above” and that Tagalog is the equal of Latin, English, Spanish, and any other language. This poem reveals Rizal’s earliest nationalist sentiment. In poetic verses, he proudly proclaimed that a people who truly love their native language will surely strive for liberty like “the bird which soars to freer space above” and that Tagalog is the equal of Latin, English, Spainish, and other language. First Drama by Rizal. After writing the poem To My Fellow Children, Rizal, who was then eight years old, wrote his first dramatic work which was a Tagalog comedy. It is said that it was staged in a Calamba festival and was delightfully applauded by the audience. A gobernadorcillo from Paete, a town in Laguna famous for lanzones and woodcarvings, happened to witness the comedy and liked it so much that he purchased the manuscript for two pesos and brought it to his home town. It was staged in Paete during his town fiesta. Rizal as Boy Magician. Since early manhood Rizal had been interested in magic. With his dexterous hands, he learned various tricks, such as making coins appear or disappear in his fingers and making a handkerchief vanish in thin air. He entertained his town folks with magic- lantern exhibitions. This consisted of an ordinary lamp casting its shadow on a white screen. He twisted his supple fingers into fantastic shapes, making their enlarged shadows on the screen resemble certain animals and persons. He also gained skill in manipulating marionettes (puppet shows). In later years when he attained manhood, he continued his keen predilection for magic. He read many books on magic and attended the performances of the famous magicians of the world. In Chapter XVII and XVIII of his second novel, El Filibusterismo (Treason), he revealed his wide knowledge of magic. Lakeshore Reveries. During the twilight hours of summertime Rizal, accompanied by his pet dog, used to meditate at the shore of Laguna de Bay on the sad conditions of his oppressed people. Years later, he related: I spent many, many hours of my childhood down on the shore of the lake, Laguna de Bay. I was thinking of what was beyond. I was dreaming of what might be over on the other side of the waves. Almost every day, in our town, we saw the Guardia Civil lieutenant caning and injuring some unarmed and inoffensive villagers. The villager’s only fault was that while at a distance he had not taken off his hat and made his bow. The alcalde treated the poor villagers in the same way whenever he visited us. 13  We saw no restrain put upon brutality. Acts of violence and other excesses were committed daily... I asked myself if, in the lands which lay across the lake, the people lived in this same way. I wondered if there they tortured any countryman with hard and cruel whips merely on suspicion. Did they there respect the home? Or ever yonder also, in order to live in peace, would once have to bribe tyrants? Young though he was, he grieved deeply over the unhappy situation of his beloved fatherland. The Spanish misdeeds awakened in his boyish heart a great determination to fight tyranny. When he became a man, many years later, he wrote to his friend, Mariano Ponce: “In view of these injustices and cruelties, although yet a child, my imagination was awakened and I made a vow dedicating myself someday to avenge the many victims. With this idea in my mind, I studied, and this is seen in all my writings. Someday God will given me the opportunity to fulfill my promise.” Influences on the Hero’s Boyhood. On the night Jose Rizal was born, other children were born in Calamba and hundreds of other children were also born all over the Philippines. But why is it that out of all these children, only one boy –JOSE RIZAL –rose to fame and greatness? In the lives of all men there are influences which cause some to be great and others not. In the case of Rizal, he had all the favorable influences, few other children in his time enjoyed. These influences were the following: (1) hereditary influence, (2) environmental influence, and (3) aid of Devine Providence. 1. Hereditary Influence: According to biological science, there are inherent qualities which a person inherits from his ancestors and parents. From his Malayan ancestors, Rizal, evidently, inherited his love for freedom, his innate desire to travel, and his indomitable courage. From his Chinese ancestors, he derived his serious nature, frugality, patience, and love for children. From his Spanish ancestors, he got his elegance of bearing, sensibility to insult, and gallantry to ladies. From his father, he inherited a profound sense of self-respect, the love for work, and the habit of independent thinking. And from his mother, he inherited his religious nature, the spirit of self-sacrifice, and the passion for arts and literature. 2. Environmental Influence: According to psychologist, environment, as well as heredity, affects the nature of a person. Environmental influence includes places, associates, and events. The scenic beauties of Calamba and the beautiful garden of the Rizal family stimulated the inborn artistic and literary talents of Jose Rizal. The religious atmosphere at his home fortified his religious nature. His brother, Paciano, instilled in his mind the love for freedom and justice. From his sisters, he learned to be courteous and kind two women. The fairy tales told by his aya during his early childhood awakened his interest in folklore and legends. His three uncles, brothers of his mother, exerted a good influence on him. Tio Jose Alberto, who had studied for eleven for British school in Calcutta, India, and had traveled in Europe inspired him to develop his artistic ability. Tio Manuel, a husky and athletic man, encouraged him to develop his frail body by means of physical exercises, including horse riding, walking, and wrestling. And Tio Gregorio, a book lover, intensified his voracious reading of good books. Father Leocio Lopez, the old and learned parish priest of Calamba, fostered Rizal’s love 14 for scholarship and intellectual honesty. The sorrows in his family, such as the death of Concha in 1865 and the imprisonment of his mother in 1871-74, contributed to strengthen his character, enabling him to resist blows of adversity in later years. The Spanish abuses and cruelties which he witnessed in his boyhood, such as a brutal acts of the lieutenant of Guardia Civil and the alcalde, the unjust tortures inflicted on innocent Filipinos, and the execution of Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora in 1872, awakened his spirit of patriotism and inspired him to consecrate his life and talents to redeem his oppressed people. 3. Aid of Divine Providence: Greater than heredity and environment in the fate of man is the aid of Divine Providence. A person may have everything in life –brains, wealth, and power –but, without the aid of Divine Providence, he cannot attain greatness in the annals of the nation. Rizal was providentially destined to be the pride and glory of his nation. God had endowed him with the versatile gifts of a genius, the vibrant spirit of a nationalist, and the valiant heart to sacrifice or a noble cause. * * * * * 15  Chapter 3 Early Education in Calamba and Binan Rizal had his early education in Calamba and Binan. It was a typical schooling that a son of an ilustrado family received during his time, characterized by the four R’s –reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion. Instruction was rigid and strict. Knowledge was forced into the minds of the pupils by means of the tedius memory method aide by the teacher’s whip. Despite the defects of the Spanish system of elementary education, Rizal was able to acquire the necessary instruction preparatory for college work in Manila and abroad. It may said that Rizal, who was born a physical weakling, rose to be an intellectual giant not because of instruction obtaining in the Philippines during the last decades of Spanish Regime. The Hero’s First Teacher. The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, who was a remarkable woman of good character and fine culture. On her lap, he learned at the age of three the alphabet and the prayers. “My mother,” wrote Rizal in his student memoirs, “taught me how to read and to say haltingly the humble prayers which I raised fervently to God. As a tutor, Dona Teodora was patient conscientious, and understanding. It was she who first discovered that her son had a talent for poetry. Accordingly, she encouraged him to write poems. To enlighten the monotony of memorizing the ABCs and to stimulate her son’s imagination, she related many stories. As Jose grew older, his parents employed private tutors to give him lessons at home. The first was Maestro Celestino and the second, Maestro Lucas Padua. Later, an old man named Leon Monroy, a farmer classmate of Rizal’s father, became the boy’s tutor. This old teacher lived at the Rizal home and instructed Jose in Spanish and Latin. Unfortunately, he did not live long. He died five months later. After Monroy’s death, the hero’s parents decided to send their gifted child to a private school in Binan. Jose Goes to Binan. One Sunday afternoon in June, 1869, Jose, after kissing the hands of his parents and a tearful parting from his sisters, left Calamba for Binan. He was accompanied by Paciano, who acted as his second father. The two brothers rode in a carromata, reaching their destination after one and one-half hours’ drive. They proceeded to their aunt’s house, where Jose was to lodge. It was almost night when they arrived, and the moon was about to rise. The same night, Jose, with his cousin named Leandro, went sightseeing in the town. Instead enjoying the sights, Jose became depressed because of homesickness. “In the moonlight,” he recounted, “I remembered my home town, my idolized mother, and my solicitous sisters. Ah, how sweet to me was Calamba, my own town, inspite of the fact, that it was not as wealthy as Binan.” 16  First Day In Binan School. The next morning (Monday) Paciano brought his younger brother to the school of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz. The first school was in the house of the teacher, which was a small nipa hut about 30 meters from the home of Jose’s aunt. Paciano knew the teacher quite well because he had been a pupil under him before. He introduced Jose to the teacher, after which he departed to return to Calamba. Immediately, Jose was assigned his seat in the class. The teacher asked him: “Do you know Spanish?” “A little, sir,” replied the Calamba lad. “Do you know Latin?” “A little, sir.” The boys in the class, especially Pedro, the teacher’s son, laughed at Jose’s answers. The teacher sharply stopped all noise and began the lessons of the day. Jose described his teacher in Binan as follows: “He was tall, thin, long-necked, with a sharp nose and a body slightly bent forward, and he used to wear a sinamay shirt, woven by the skilled hands of the women of Batangas. He knew by heart the grammars by Nebrija and Gainza. Add to this his severity, that in my judgment was exaggerated, and you have a picture, perhaps vague, that I have made of him, but