Source: Jose Rizal
Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide
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There are a lot of events that happened not
just in the Philippines but also in the other
parts of the world.
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During the times of Rizal, the Filipino people
agonized beneath the yoke of the Spanish
misrule.
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1. Instability of colonial administrationThe political instability in Spain adversely
affected Philippine affairs because it brought about
periodic shifts in colonial policies and periodic
rigodon of colonial officials.
The frequent change in colonial
officials hampered the political and
economic development of the Philippines.
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No chief executive, no matter how able and
energetic he was, could accomplish much for
the colony
2. Corrupt Colonial Officials
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Many colonial officials became rich by
illegal means or by marrying the heiresses of
rich Filipino families.
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Mostly ignorant and profligate, they
conducted themselves with arrogance
because of their alien white skin and tall
noses.
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3. Philippine Representation in Spanish
Cortes
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Motive of Spain -gain the support of her
overseas colonies
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However, it was abolished in 1837 and the
Philippine conditions worsened because there
was no means b which the Filipino people
could expose the anomalies perpetrated by
the colonial officials
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4. Human rights denied to Filipinos
Filipinos did not enjoy the freedom of
speech, freedom of the press, freedom of
association, and other human rights.
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5. No Equality before the law
To the imperialist way of thinking, brown
Filipinos and white Spaniards may be equal to
God, but not before the law and certainly not
in practice.
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6. Maladministration of JusticeThe courts of justice in the Philippines
during Rizal’s time is notoriously corrupt.
Justice was costly, partial, and slow.
Wealth, social prestige, and color of skin
were predominant factors in winning a case in
court.
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7. Racial DiscriminationDuring Rizal’s time a white skin, high
nose and Castilian lineage were a badge of
vaunted superiority.
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8. Frailocracy- “ a government owned by
friars”
The colonial authorities, from governor
general down to the alcaldes mayores, were
under control of the friars.
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9.Forced Labor- known as polo; it was
compulsory labor imposed by the Spanish
colonial authorities on adult Filipino males in
the construction of churches, schools,
hospitals, and etc.
Originally : 16-60, 40 days a year
Later: 18-60, 15 days
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10. Haciendas owned by friars- During
Rizal’s times the Spanish friars were the
richest landlords, for they owned the best
haciendas.
The rural folks (including Rizal’s family) who
have been living in the haciendas and
cultivating them generation after generation
became tenants.
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11. The Guardia CivilRole: Maintaining internal peace and order in
the Philippines
They become infamous for their rampant
abuses.
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Unlike Bonifacio and Aguinaldo, Rizal waged
a non-violent crusade against the oppressors
and proved that, “Pen is mightier than the
sword.” Not even the armies of Spain and
America can stop the Ideas Rizal fought and
died for.
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Aside from the park being built in Australia,
he said there are monuments in Rizal’s honor
in Madrid, Spain; Wilhelmsfeld, Germany;
Jinjiang, Fujian, China; Cherry Hill Township,
New Jersey; San Diego, California; and Seattle,
Washington; Reforma Avenue in Mexico City,
Mexico; La Molina in Lima, Peru; Litomerice,
Czech Republic; and Singapore.
Source:globalnation.inquirer.net/
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Dr. Rizal is a unique example of a many
splendored hero of a nation.
Physician
Poet
Dramatist
Essayist
Novelist
Historian
Architect
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Painter
Sculptor
Educator
Linguist
Musician
Naturalist
Ethnologist
Surveyor
Engineer
The Birth of a Hero:
Rizal was born on a moonlit of Wednesday,
June 19, 1861, in the lakeshore town of
Calamba, Laguna Province, Philipppines.
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His mother almost died during the delivery
because of his big head.
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He was baptized in the catholic church of his
town on June 22, aged three days old, by the
parish priest, Father Rufino Collantes.
His godfather was Father Pedto Casanas.
His name “Jose” was chosen by his mother
who was a devotee of the Christian saint San
Jose.
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“ Take care of this child, for someday he will
become a great man.”
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Jose Rizal was the seventh of the eleven
children of Francisco Mercado Rizal and
Teodora Alonso Realonda.
The hero’s father, Francisco (1818-1898) was
born in Biñan, Laguna.
He studied Latin and Philosophy at the
College of San Jose in Manila.
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Following his parent’s death, he moved to
Calamba and become a tenant-farmer of the
Dominican owned hacienda
Rizal affectionately called him “a model of
fathers”.
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Doña Teodora, the hero’s mother was born in
Manila and was educated at the College of
Santa Ana, a well-known college for girls in
the city.
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She was a remarkable woman possessing
refined culture, literary talent, business
ability, the fortitude of Spartan women.
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Rizal lovingly said of her: My mother is a
woman of more than ordinary culture; she
knows literature and speaks in 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.
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1. Saturnina (1850-1913)- oldest of the Rizal
children, nicknamed Neneng
2. Paciano (1851-1930)- older brother and
confidant of Jose Rizal.
3. Narcisa- her pet name was Sisa and she
married Antonio Lopez
4. Olimpia (1855-1887) – Ypia was her pet
name; she married Silvestre Ubaldo
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5. Lucia (1857- 1919)- She married Mariano
Herbosa of calamba, who was a nephew of
Father Casanas.
6. Maria (1859-1945)- Biang was her
nickname; she married Daniel Faustino.
7. Jose (1861-1896)- The greatest Filipino
hero and peerless genius; his nickname is
Pepe.
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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.
9. Josefa (1865- 1945)- Her nickname is
Panggoy; she died an old maid at the age of
80.
10. Trinidad (1868-1951)- Trinidad was her
pet name; she also died an old maid.
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11. Soledad (1870- 1929)- youngest of the
Rizal children; her pet name is Choleng.
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Sibling relationship among the Rizal children
was affectionately cordial.
Years later when he grew to manhood, he
always called them Doña of Señora(if married)
and Señorita ( if single).
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Rizal relation with his only brother Paciano,
who was ten years his senior, was more than
that of younger to older brother.
In his letter to Blumentritt on June 23, 1888,
he regarded Paciano as the “most notable of
Filipinos”
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As a typical Filipino, Rizal was a product of
mixture races.
In his veins flowed the blood of both East and
West- Negrito, Indonesian, Malay, Chinese,
Japanese, and Spanish.
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Predominantly, he was a Malayan and was a
magnificent specimen of Asian manhood.
Rizal’s great-great grandfather on his
father’s side was Domingo Lameo, a Chinese
immigrant from Fukien city of Changchow,
who arrived in Manila about 1690.
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He married a well-to-do Chinese Christian
girl of Manila named Ines de la Rosa, and
assumed in 1731 the surname Mercado which
was appropriated for him because he was a
merchant.
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One of their sons, Juan Mercado (Rizal’s
grandfather), married to Cirila Alejandro, a
Chinese-Filipina mestiza.
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It is said that Doña Teodora’s family
descended from Lakan-Dula, the last native
king of Tondo.
Her great-grandfather was Eugenio Ursua (of
Japanese ancestry), who married a Filipina
named Benigna.
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Their daughter Brigida, who married Manuel
de Quintos, a Filipino-Chinese lawyer of
Pangasinan.
One of the daughters of Attorney Quintos and
Brigida was Regina, who married Lorenzo
Alberto Alonso, a prominent Spanish-Filipino
mestizo of Biñan. Their children were Narcisa,
Teodora, Gregorio, Manuel and Jose.
In 1849, Governor Claveria issued a decree
directing all Filipino families to choose new
names from a list of Spanish names.
Don Francisco chose his own surname, Rizal.
The term Rizal came the Spanish word ricial
which means “green field” or “new pasture”
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The Rizal family was one of the richest
families in Calamba during the times prior to
its persecution by the friars.
Rizal’s parents, by their industry and
frugality, were able to honestly build a large
fortune.
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They were the first to build a large stone
house in Calamba, the first carruaje , the first
to have a home library, and the first to
educate their children in the colleges of
Manila.
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The Rizal family raised rice, corn, and sugar
on large tracts of land rented from the
Dominican estate of Calamba.
It operated a sugar mill, a flour mill, a homemade ham press. It engaged successfully in
the dye and sugar business and in the barter
trade.
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Teodora, the hero’s mother, owned a store in
town and sold many articles of trade needed
by the people.
She was a successful businesswoman, and the
profits of her store augmented the family
income.
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Not only was the Rizal family one of
Calamba’s richest families, it was, highly
esteemed and respected.
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Don Francisco and Dona Teodora were
gracious hosts to all visitors.
Beneath the Rizal roof, all guests, irrespective
of their color, social position, or economics
status, were treated equally- with all courtesy
and hospitality.
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The house of the Rizal family was one of the
distinguished stone housed in Calamba
during the Spanish times.
It was rectangular in shape, “of adobe stone
and hardwood with a red-tiled roof.
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Behind it were the poultry yard full of turkeys
and chickens and the garden of tropical fruit
trees.
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It was a happy home where parental affection
and children’s laughter reigned.
By day, it hummed with the jubilant noises of
the children at play. By night, it echoed with
the dulcet notes of family prayers.