Jose Rizal: A Biographical Sketch
BY TEOFILO H. MONTEMAYOR
JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the Philippines and pride of the Malayan race, was born on June 19,
1861, in the town of Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh child in a family of 11 children (2 boys and 9
girls). Both his parents were educated and belonged to distinguished families.
His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, an industrious farmer whom Rizal called "a model of fathers," came
from Biñan, Laguna; while his mother, Teodora Alonzo y Quintos, a highly cultured and accomplished
woman whom Rizal called "loving and prudent mother," was born in Meisic, Sta. Cruz, Manila. At the age
of 3, he learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, while learning to read and write, he already showed
inclinations to be an artist. He astounded his family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches
and by his moldings of clay. At the age 8, he wrote a Tagalog poem, "Sa Aking Mga Kabata," the theme
of which revolves on the love of one’s language. In 1877, at the age of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of
Arts degree with an average of "excellent" from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In the same year, he
enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas, while at the same time took courses
leading to the degree of surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo. He finished the latter course on
March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyor’s examination on May 21, 1878; but because of his age, 17, he
was not granted license to practice the profession until December 30, 1881. In 1878, he enrolled in
medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but had to stop in his studies when he felt that the Filipino
students were being discriminated upon by their Dominican tutors. On May 3, 1882, he sailed for Spain
where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid. On June 21, 1884, at the age of
23, he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on June 19,1885, at the age of 24, he
finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of "excellent."
Having traveled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22 languages. These include
Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Malayan,
Portuguese, Russian, Sanskrit, Spanish, Tagalog, and other native dialects. A versatile genius, he was an
architect, artists, businessman, cartoonist, educator, economist, ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian,
inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist, nationalist, naturalist, novelist, opthalmic surgeon,
poet, propagandist, psychologist, scientist, sculptor, sociologist, and theologian.
He was an expert swordsman and a good shot. In the hope of securing political and social reforms for his
country and at the same time educate his countrymen, Rizal, the greatest apostle of Filipino nationalism,
published, while in Europe, several works with highly nationalistic and revolutionary tendencies. In
March 1887, his daring book, NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical novel exposing the arrogance and despotism
of the Spanish clergy, was published in Berlin; in 1890 he reprinted in Paris, Morga’s SUCCESSOS DE LAS
ISLAS FILIPINAS with his annotations to prove that the Filipinos had a civilization worthy to be proud of
even long before the Spaniards set foot on Philippine soil; on September 18, 1891, EL FILIBUSTERISMO,
his second novel and a sequel to the NOLI and more revolutionary and tragic than the latter, was printed
in Ghent. Because of his fearless exposures of the injustices committed by the civil and clerical officials,
Rizal provoked the animosity of those in power. This led himself, his relatives and countrymen into
trouble with the Spanish officials of the country. As a consequence, he and those who had contacts with
him, were shadowed; the authorities were not only finding faults but even fabricating charges to pin him
down. Thus, he was imprisoned in Fort Santiago from July 6, 1892 to July 15, 1892 on a charge that anti-
friar pamphlets were found in the luggage of his sister Lucia who arrive with him from Hong Kong. While
a political exile in Dapitan, he engaged in agriculture, fishing and business; he maintained and operated
a hospital; he conducted classes- taught his pupils the English and Spanish languages, the arts.
The sciences, vocational courses including agriculture, surveying, sculpturing, and painting, as well as the
art of self defense; he did some researches and collected specimens; he entered into correspondence
with renowned men of letters and sciences abroad; and with the help of his pupils, he constructed water
dam and a relief map of Mindanao - both considered remarkable engineering feats. His sincerity and
friendliness won for him the trust and confidence of even those assigned to guard him; his good
manners and warm personality were found irresistible by women of all races with whom he had
personal contacts; his intelligence and humility gained for him the respect and admiration of prominent
men of other nations; while his undaunted courage and determination to uplift the welfare of his people
were feared by his enemies.
When the Philippine Revolution started on August 26, 1896, his enemies lost no time in pressing him
down. They were able to enlist witnesses that linked him with the revolt and these were never allowed
to be confronted by him. Thus, from November 3, 1986, to the date of his execution, he was again
committed to Fort Santiago. In his prison cell, he wrote an untitled poem, now known as "Ultimo Adios"
which is considered a masterpiece and a living document expressing not only the hero’s great love of
country but also that of all Filipinos. After a mock trial, he was convicted of rebellion, sedition and of
forming illegal association. In the cold morning of December 30, 1896, Rizal, a man whose 35 years of
life had been packed with varied activities which proved that the Filipino has capacity to equal if not
excel even those who treat him as a slave, was shot at Bagumbayan Field.
The Mercado - Rizal Family
Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of Japanese, Spanish, Malay and
Even Negrito blood aside from Chinese.
FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898)
Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offsprings of Juan and Cirila Mercado. Born in Biñan,
Laguna on April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose College, Manila; and died in Manila.
TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)
Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos. She studied at
the Colegio de Santa Rosa. She was a business-minded woman, courteous, religious, hard-working and
well-read. She was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827 and died in 1913 in Manila.
SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)
Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.
PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)
Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in Manila; became a farmer
and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.
NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)
The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician.
OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)
The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.
LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)
The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.
MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)
The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)
The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on December 30,1896.
CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)
The eight child. Died at the age of three.
JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)
The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.
TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)
The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to die.
SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)
The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero.
In Calamba, Laguna
19 June 1861
JOSE RIZAL, the seventh child of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso y Quintos, was born in
Calamba, Laguna.
22 June 1861
He was baptized JOSE RIZAL MERCADO at the Catholic of Calamba by the parish priest Rev. Rufino
Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casañas as the sponsor.
28 September 1862
The parochial church of Calamba and the canonical books, including the book in which Rizal’s baptismal
records were entered, were burned.
1864
Barely three years old, Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother.
1865
When he was four years old, his sister Conception, the eight child in the Rizal family, died at the age of
three. It was on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed real tears for the first time.
1865 – 1867
During this time his mother taught him how to read and write. His father hired a classmate by the name
of Leon Monroy who, for five months until his (Monroy) death, taught Rizal the rudiments of Latin.
At about this time two of his mother’s cousin frequented Calamba. Uncle Manuel Alberto, seeing Rizal
frail in body, concerned himself with the physical development of his young nephew and taught the
latter love for the open air and developed in him a great admiration for the beauty of nature, while
Uncle Gregorio, a scholar, instilled into the mind of the boy love for education. He advised Rizal: "Work
hard and perform every task very carefully; learn to be swift as well as thorough; be independent in
thinking and make visual pictures of everything."
6 June 1868
With his father, Rizal made a pilgrimage to Antipolo to fulfill the vow made by his mother to take the
child to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of delivery which
nearly caused his mother’s life.
From there they proceeded to Manila and visited his sister Saturnina who was at the time studying in
the La Concordia College in Sta. Ana.
1869
At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem entitled "Sa Aking Mga Kabata." The poem was written in
tagalog and had for its theme "Love of One’s Language."
Early Education in Calamba and Biñan
Rizal had his early education in Calamba and Biñan. 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
tedious memory method aided 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. It may be said that Rizal, who was born a physical weakling, rose to become an intellectual
giant not because of, but rather in spite of, the outmoded and backward system 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 tutor, Doña 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 lighten the
monotony of memorizing the ABC’s 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
former 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 lived long. He died five months later.
After a Monroy’s death, the hero’s parents decided to send their gifted son to a private school in Biñan.
Jose Goes to Biñan
One Sunday afternoon in June , 1869, Jose, after kissing the hands of his parents and a tearful parting
from his sister, left Calamba for Biñan. 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.
That same night, Jose, with his cousin named Leandro, went sightseeing in the town. Instead of 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, in spite of the fact that was not as wealthy as Biñan."
First Day in Biñan School
The next morning (Monday) Paciano brought his younger brother to the school of Maestro Justiniano
Aquino Cruz. The 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 noises and begun the lessons of the day.
Jose described his teacher in Biñan as follows: "He was tall, thin, long-necked, with 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 the heart the grammars by Nebrija and Gainza. Add to this severity that
in my judgement was exaggerated and you have a picture, perhaps vague, that I have made of him, but I
remember only this."
First School BrawlIn the afternoon of his first day in school, when the teacher was having his siesta, Jose
met the bully, Pedro. He was angry at this bully for making fun of him during his conversation with the
teacher in the morning.
Jose challenged Pedro to a fight. The latter readily accepted, thinking that he could easily beat the
Calamba boy who was smaller and younger.
The two boys wrestled furiously in the classroom, much to the glee of their classmates. Jose, having
learned the art of wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel, defeated the bigger boy. For this feat, he
became popular among his classmates.
After the class in the afternoon, a classmate named Andres Salandanan challenged him to an arm-
wrestling match. They went to a sidewalk of a house and wrestled with their arms. Jose, with the weaker
arm, lost the match and nearly cracked his head on the sidewalk.
In succeeding days he had other fights with the boys of Biñan. He was not quarrelsome by nature, but he
never ran away from a fight.
Best Student in School
In academic studies, Jose beat all Biñan boys. He surpassed them all in Spanish, Latin, and other
subjects.
Some of his older classmates were jealous of his intellectual superiority. They wickedly squealed to the
teacher whenever Jose had a fight outside the school, and even told lies to discredit him before the
teacher’s eyes. Consequently the teacher had to punish Jose.
Early Schooling in Biñan
Jose had a very vivid imagination and a very keen sense of observation. At the age of seven he traveled
with his father for the first time to Manila and thence to Antipolo to fulfill the promise of a pilgrimage
made by his mother at the time of his birth. They embarked in a casco, a very ponderous vessel
commonly used in the Philippines. It was the first trip on the lake that Jose could recollect. As darkness
fell he spent the hours by the katig, admiring the grandeur of the water and the stillness of the night,
although he was seized with a superstitious fear when he saw a water snake entwine itself around the
bamboo beams of the katig. With what joy did he see the sun at the daybreak as its luminous rays shone
upon the glistening surface of the wide lake, producing a brilliant effect! With what joy did he talk to his
father, for he had not uttered a word during the night! When they proceeded to Antipolo, he
experienced the sweetest emotions upon seeing the gay banks of the Pasig and the towns of Cainta and
Taytay. In Antipolo he prayed, kneeling before the image of the Virgin of Peace and Good Voyage, of
whom he would later sing in elegant verses. Then he saw Manila, the great metropolis , with its Chinese
sores and European bazaars. And visited his elder sister, Saturnina, in Santa Ana, who was a boarding
student in the Concordia College. When he was nine years old, his father sent him to Biñan to continue
studying Latin, because his first teacher had died. His brother Paciano took him to Biñan one Sunday,
and Jose bade his parents and sisters good-bye with tears in his eyes. Oh, how it saddened him to leave
for the first time and live far from his home and his family! But he felt ashamed to cry and had to
conceal his tears and sentiments. "O Shame," he explained, "how many beautiful and pathetic scenes
the world would witness without thee!"
They arrived at Biñan in the evening. His brother took him to the house of his aunt where he was to stay,
and left him after introducing him to the teacher. At night, in company with his aunt’s grandson named
Leandro, Jose took a walk around the town in the light of the moon. To him the town looked extensive
and rich but sad and ugly.
His teacher in Biñan was a severe disciplinarian. His name was Justiniano Aquino Cruz. "He was a tall
man, lean and long-necked, with a sharp nose and a body slightly bent forward. He used to wear a
sinamay shirt woven by the deft hands of Batangas women. He knew by memory the grammars of
Nebrija and Gainza. To this add a severity which, in my judgement I have made of him, which is all I
remember."The boy Jose distinguished himself in class, and succeeded in surpassing many of his older
classmates. Some of these were so wicked that, even without reason, they accused him before the
teacher, for which, in spite of his progress, he received many whippings and strokes from the ferule.
Rare was the day when he was not stretched on the bench for a whipping or punished with five or six
blows on the open palm. Jose’s reaction to all these punishments was one of intense resentment in
order to learn and thus carry out his father’s will. Jose spent his leisure hours with Justiniano’s father-in-
law, a master painter. From him he took his first two sons, two nephews, and a grandson. His way life
was methodical and well regulated. He heard mass at four if there was one that early, or studied his
lesson at that hour and went to mass afterwards. Returning home, he might look in the orchard for a
mambolo fruit to eat, then he took his breakfast, consisting generally of a plate of rice and two dried
sardines. After that he would go to class, from which he was dismissed at ten, then home again. He ate
with his aunt and then began at ten, then home again. He ate with his aunt and then began to study. At
half past two he returned to class and left at five. He might play for a short time with some cousins
before returning home. He studied his lessons, drew for a while, and then prayed and if there was a
moon, his friends would invite him to play in the street in company with other boys. Whenever he
remembered his town, he thought with tears in his eyes of his beloved father, his idolized mother, and
his solicitous sisters. Ah, how sweet was his town even though not so opulent as Biñan! He grew sad and
thoughtful. While he was studying in Biñan, he returned to his hometown now and then. How long the
road seemed to him in going and how short in coming! When from afar he descried the roof of his
house, secret joy filled his breast. How he looked for pretexts to remain longer at home! A day more
seemed to him a day spent in heaven, and how he wept, though silently and secretly, when he saw the
calesa that was flower that him Biñan! Then everything looked sad; a flower that he touched, a stone
that attracted his attention he gathered, fearful that he might not see it again upon his return. It was a
sad but delicate and quite pain that possessed him.
Philosophies in Life
PHILOSOPHY may be defined as the study and pursuit of facts which deal with the ultimate reality or
causes of things as they affect life.
The philosophy of a country like the Philippines is made up of the intricate and composite
interrelationship of the life histories of its people; in other word, the philosophy of our nation would be
strange and undefinable if we do not delve into the past tied up with the notable life experiences of the
representative personalities of our nation.
Being one of the prominent representatives of Filipino personalities, Jose Rizal is a fit subject whose life
philosophy deserves to be recognized.
Having been a victim of Spanish brutality early in his life in Calamba, Rizal had thus already formed the
nucleus of an unfavorable opinion of Castillian imperialistic administration of his country and people.
Pitiful social conditions existed in the Philippines as late as three centuries after his conquest in Spain,
with agriculture, commerce, communications and education languishing under its most backward state.
It was because of this social malady that social evils like inferiority complex, cowardice, timidity and
false pride pervaded nationally and contributed to the decay of social life. This stimulated and shaped
Rizal’s life phylosophy to be to contain if not eliminate these social ills.
Educational Philosophy
Rizal’s concept of the importance of education is clearly enunciated in his work entitled Instruction
wherein he sought improvements in the schools and in the methods of teaching. He maintained that the
backwardness of his country during the Spanish ear was not due to the Filipinos’ indifference, apathy or
indolence as claimed by the rulers, but to the neglect of the Spanish authorities in the islands. For Rizal,
the mission of education is to elevate the country to the highest seat of glory and to develop the
people’s mentality. Since education is the foundation of society and a prerequisite for social progress,
Rizal claimed that only through education could the country be saved from domination.
Rizal’s philosophy of education, therefore, centers on the provision of proper motivation in order to
bolster the great social forces that make education a success, to create in the youth an innate desire to
cultivate his intelligence and give him life eternal.
Religious Philosophy
Rizal grew up nurtured by a closely-knit Catholic family, was educated in the foremost Catholic schools
of the period in the elementary, secondary and college levels; logically, therefore, he should have been a
propagator of strictly Catholic traditions. However, in later life, he developed a life philosophy of a
different nature, a philosophy of a different Catholic practice intermingled with the use of Truth and
Reason.
Why the change?
It could have been the result of contemporary contact, companionship, observation, research and the
possession of an independent spirit.Being a critical observer, a profound thinker and a zealous reformer,
Rizal did not agree with the prevailing Christian propagation of the Faith by fire and sword. This is shown
in his Annotation of Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas. Rizal did not believe in the Catholic dogma
that salvation was only for Catholics and that outside Christianity, salvation was not possible even if
Catholics composed only a small minority of the world’s religious groups. Nor did he believe in the
Catholic observation of fasting as a sacrifice, nor in the sale of such religious items as the cross, medals,
rosaries and the like in order to propagate the Faith and raise church funds. He also lambasted the
superstitious beliefs propagated by the priests in the church and in the schools. All of these and a lot
more are evidences of Rizal’s religious philosophy.
Political Philosophy
In Rizal’s political view, a conquered country like the Philippines should not be taken advantage of but
rather should be developed, civilized, educated and trained in the science of self-government.
He bitterly assailed and criticized in publications the apparent backwardness of the Spanish ruler’s
method of governing the country which resulted in:
1. The bondage and slavery of the conquered ;
2. The Spanish government’s requirement of forced labor and force military service upon the n natives;
3. The abuse of power by means of exploitation;
4. The government ruling that any complaint against the authorities was criminal; and
5. Making the people ignorant, destitute and fanatic, thus discouraging the formation of a national
sentiment. Rizal’s guiding political philosophy proved to be the study and application of reforms, the
extension of human rights, the training for self-government and the arousing of spirit of discontent over
oppression, brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self-love.
Ethical Philosophy
The study of human behavior as to whether it is good or bad or whether it is right or wrong is that
science upon which Rizal’s ethical philosophy was based. The fact that the Philippines was under Spanish
domination during Rizal’s time led him to subordinate his philosophy to moral problems. This trend was
much more needed at that time because the Spaniards and the Filipinos had different and sometimes
conflicting morals. The moral status of the Philippines during this period was one with a lack of freedom,
one with predominance of foreign masters, one with an imposition of foreign religious worship,
devotion, homage and racial habits. This led to moral confusion among the people, what with justice
being stifled, limited or curtailed and the people not enjoying any individual rights.
To bolster his ethical philosophy, Dr. Rizal had recognized not only the forces of good and evil, but also
the tendencies towards good and evil. As a result, he made use of the practical method of appealing to
the better nature of the conquerors and of offering useful methods of solving the moral problems of the
conquered.
To support his ethical philosophy in life, Rizal:
1. Censured the friars for abusing the advantage of their position as spiritual leaders and the ignorance
and fanaticism of the natives;
2. Counseled the Filipinos not to resent a defect attributed to them but to accept same as reasonable
and just;
3. advised the masses that the object of marriage was the happiness and love of the couple and not
financial gain;
4. Censured the priests who preached greed and wrong morality; and
5. Advised every one that love and respect for parents must be strictly observed.
Social Philosophy
That body of knowledge relating to society including the wisdom which man's experience in society has
taught him is social philosophy. The facts dealt with are principles involved in nation building and not
individual social problems. The subject matter of this social philosophy covers the problems of the whole
race, with every problem having a distinct solution to bolster the people’s social knowledge.
Rizal’s social philosophy dealt with;
1. Man in society;
2. Influential factors in human life;
3. Racial problems;
4. Social constant;
5. Social justice;
6. Social ideal;
7. Poverty and wealth;
8. Reforms;
9. Youth and greatness;
10. History and progress;
11. Future Philippines.
The above dealt with man’s evolution and his environment, explaining for the most part human
behavior and capacities like his will to live; his desire to possess happiness; the change of his mentality;
the role of virtuous women in the guidance of great men; the need for elevating and inspiring mission;
the duties and dictates of man’s conscience; man’s need of practicing gratitude; the necessity for
consulting reliable people; his need for experience; his ability to deny; the importance of deliberation;
the voluntary offer of man’s abilities and possibilities; the ability to think, aspire and strive to rise; and
the proper use of hearth, brain and spirit-all of these combining to enhance the intricacies, beauty and
values of human nature. All of the above served as Rizal’s guide in his continuous effort to make over his
beloved Philippines.
