Chapter 4
Development
of Rizal's
Nationali_
BIRTH, ANCESTRY, CHILDHOOD
Birth. Rizal was born on 19 June family's rambling house left a deep
1861, in Kalamba, Laguna. He was bap- impression on the youthful Rizal.
tized Jose Rizal Mercado.
It was in this atmosphere that Rizal
Kalamba is a small agricultural town learnedthe early values of love, affection
nestling at the foot of Mt Makiling as it and loyaltywhich blossomed forth in his
slopesdown to Lagura de Bay. In Rizal's, mature years and won for him the esteem
time, it was a prosperous town devoted to and admiration of his people.
the production of sugar. Despite their
Rizal's
Ancestors. Like
most
hardships as tenants of the Dominican Filipinos, Rizal was of mixed racialorigin.
friars whose estate covered practically On his father's side, he descended from
the whole town, its inhabitants lived well.
an industrious and intelligent Chinese
merchant, Domingo Lamco, who married
ble. Itsscenic beauty gave theyoung Rizal |a Chinese mestiza, Ines de la Rosa. From
the right impetus forhis poetic and artis the Parian the family migrated to Biñan
tic creativity. Its share of unhappiness and became tenants in the Dominican
The soil was fertile, its climate favora
also shaped his noble and heroic spirit.
estate. Lamco's only son, Francisco, who
The surroundings of his home opened to
him the many wondersof nature. Verdant
was to be Rizal's great grandfather, was a
keen-witted and liberal young man. He
meadows all around, a fruit-laden
became quite well-to-do and popular
orchard, and the splendour of Mt Makil- enough to be appointed municipal cap
ing in the distance-all these enhanced tain ofBiñan in
1783. The family adopted
his perceptions. The elegant beauty of the| the surname "Mercado'" to free the
orchard and the gentle atmosphere of the younger generation from the
prejudices
47
that followed those with a Chinese
name. !
Francisco Mercado and his wife, Ber
narda Monicha, aChinese mestiza, were
blessed. with two children: Juan and
Clemente.Juan married Cirila Alejandra,
also a Chinese mestiza. The couple had 14
children, one of whom was Francisco,
in Rizal's tine could afford a big rectangy
lar house of adobe andtardwood as the
Mercados did. Fewer still could take pride
in having ared-tiled roof andowning car
riages and horses, symbols of wealth and
respectability among families in the
town. They enjoyed the esteem of the
local Sparish officials, too.
Rizal's father, Don Francisco Mercado,
Francisco Mercado and two of his sis was born in Biñan, Laguna. He studied
ters moved to Kalamba. Starting as a Latin and philosophy at the College of
Rizal's father.
pioneer tenant farmer at the Dominican
San Jose in Manila. Rizal described him
estate, he was promoted to overseer with
compensation, and was soon sub-leasing
as "a model of fathers." He was a man of
"solid shoulders, strong constitution,
rather tall than short, of serious and
reflective mien and with prominent
his additional allotments. His wife, Teod
ora Alonso, had a dry goods store. From
these earnings, the fortunes of the Rizal
family were built.
The family of Teodora Alonso
Realonda wasmore progressive than the
family of her husband. In those days
when professionals were scarce, the
Alonso clan could be proud of a number
of lawyers, priests, engineers and gov
ernment officials.
Rizal's maternal great grandfather,
Manuel de Quintos, a Chinese mestizo
from Lingayen, Pangasinan, was
lawyer. His wife, Regina Ursua (Ochoa),
was ofJapanese ancestry. Their daughter
Brigida married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso,
an engineer. Lorenzo's mother belonged
forehead and large dark eyes.'
2
Doña Teodora Alonso, Rizal's mother,
was born in Meisik, Sta Cruz, Manila. She
came from adistinguished and talented
family. Doña Teodora was a remarkable
woman. Rizal always spoke of her with
warmth and admiration:
My mother is not a woman of
ordinary culture. She knows literature
and speaks Spanish better than Ido.
She even corrected my poems and
gave me wise advice when I was
studying rhetoric. She is
mathematician and has read many
books.
Rizal inherited his mother's literary
toa professionally prominent familytrom talent. It is said that one of Rizal's mater
Baliuag, Bulacan. Lorenzo himself was
wealthy and had a considerable invest
ment in two American companies. His
wife Brigida was well-educated and a
good mathematician. The couple had five
children, including Teodora who was to
become Rizal's mother.
Rizal's Immediate Family. Rizal's
parents were more prosperous and more
nal aunts was awell-known poetess from
Vigan.*
Both parents greatly influenced Rizal
and left their imprint on his character.
"From his father he inherited a profound
sense of dignity and self-respect, ser
iousness and self-possession; and from
his,mother the temperament of the poet
and the dreamer and bravery for sac
rifice.
renowned than their forebears.The indus
try of the couple raised thern to the
'Rafael Palma, The Pride of the Malay Race, trans
Roman Ozaeta (New York: Prentice Hall, 1940), p 1.
labors of Rizal's father yielded rather
comfortable returns. Only a few families
Commission, 1961), p 210.
privileged class, the principalia. The
'Austin Craig, Lineage, Lite and Latbors of Jose
Rizal (Manila: Philippine Education Company.
1913), pp 28-30.
48
'London, 8 November 1888, The Rizal
Blumentritt Correspondence, Part One: 1886-1889,
Vol. I| (Manila: Jose Rizal National Centennial
"Leon Ma Guerrero, The First Filipino (Manila:
National Heroes Commission, 1963), p 49.
<Palma, up cit, pp 7-8.
Don Francisco and Doña Teodora
were blessed with eleven children: two
was a fable his mother had related to him
one evening. She read "The Story of
boys and nine girls. They were, in the Moth" from a Spanish reader calledthe
El
order of birth, Saturnina, Paciano, Nar-Amigo de los Niños. The mother moth
cisa, Olimpia, Lucia, Maria, Jose, Co
warned its offspring of the danger of
cepcion, Josefa, Trinidad, and Soledad. fluttering too close to the flame. The
Rizal's only brother, Paciano, was a advice was not heeded andthe little moth
full ten years older than he. Like his was burned by the blue flame.
Theimpact
father, he pursued acollege education in of this story that impressed so much the
Manila. He was a second father to his
young Rizalwas the moth's daringand its
younger brother Jose and gave him wise attraction to the dazzling light. Rizal
counsel and advice. Hc joined General would never forget this story because it
Aguinaldo's revolutionary forces and would serve as aconstant rerninder ofthe
rose to the rank of major general. When daring risks that he would take as ayoung
peace was restored, he retired to his farm idealist. The flarne may singe but Rizal
in Los Baños and led a quiet life until his
death in 1930.
Three months before the executionof
learned later that one must suffer
any consequence if one is to succeed.
In his diary recorded years after, he
Rizal, Paciano was arrested, threatened. recounted the incident:
and tortured by the Spaniards in afutile
attempt to force him tosign aconfession
that his brother was the laader of the 1896
My mother finished the fable. I
was not listening; ali my attention, all
my mind, and all my thoughts were
rebellion. He suffered extreme physical
pain but nothing could make him turn
concentrated on the fate of the moth,
young, dead, full of illusions
The
against his younger brother.
light seemed to be more beautiful,
Early Manifestations of Innate Tal
ents. Rizal learned his alphabet at the
age of three. As a boy he took avid
interest in reading and literature because
the family's extensive library provided
him with the necessary incentives. He
loved to read books while his mother lis
tened. In addition to reading, he also
manifested skills in scu!pture, sketching,
and painting. The scenic beauty of
Kalamba, his admiration of his mother,
and other people provided themes for his
literary talent and artistry. Recognizing
her son's creativity, Doña Teodora
encouraged him to express his thoughts
dazzling and attractive. Iunderstood
why the moths flutter around lights
What preoccupied me most was
the death of the moth, but at the bot
tom of my heart, Ididn't blame it.
Rizal's elder sister Narcisa reflected
on his solitude:
He was nearly always quiet and
very observant
His pastime
notions and habits were more charac
teristic of the mature than of the
young. He liked being alone; he did
not play with ordinary toys. He loved
reading and listeningto his elders dis
cuss matters of moment."
andsentiments in verse He wrote his first
Rizal's youthful observations left last
ing impressions that would shape his
social and political ideas. He recalled his
yeirs old.
boyhood experiences:
As aboy, Rizal developed acurious
'Heminiscences and Iravels of Juse Rzal, Vol |
ability to recognize things that were (Manila: Jose Rizal Centennial Commission, 1961),
worthwhile. One of his early memories p 37.
poem, SaAking MgaKabata ("To MyFel
lowChildren"), when he was only eight
Esteban Ade Ocampo, "Rizal as a Bibliophile,"
The Bibliograptical Society of the Philippines Ocas
SIorial Papers, no 2 (1960), pp 4-6.
"Austin Coates, Hizal: Philippine National1st and
Martyr(Hongkong: Oxford UniversityPress, 1968),
p 15.
49
Ispent many, many hours of my
childhood down on the shore of the
lake, Laguna de Bay. Iwas thinking of
what was beyond. Iwas dreaming of
what might be over on the other side of
the waves. Almost everyday, in our
tests in Christian doctrine, reading, and
arittunetic entitled him to admission at
the Ateneo where he studied from 1872 to
1877. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts
degree, with the highest honors, that enti
tled himn to admission in any university.
town, we savw the Guardia Civil
At the start of classes at the Ateneo,
lieutenant caning and injuring some Rizal was quiet and, being new,
observed
unarmed and inoffensive villager. The the activities of his class. He
understood
villager'sonly fault was that while at a Spanish but could not yet speak the lan
distance he had not taken off his hat
and made hisbow. The alcalde treated
the poor villagers in the same way
whenever he visited us.
We savW no restraint put upon bru
guage well. However, in a week's time, he
was promoted and after a month, he
became the top student of his class. He
was a consistent medalist and his grades
in all subjects were excellent.
tality. Acts of violence and other
At the Ateneo, he discovered the wis
excesses were committed daily. The dom of books and its influences on his
officers whose duty it was to protect search for knowledge. He pursued his
the people and keep the public peace
were the real outlaws. Against such
lawbreakers, our authorities were
tory, philosophy, science and the
imaginative world of poetry. At 16 after
five years of dedicated study, he stepped
powerless. I asked myself if, in the out of the college halls into a world of
lands which lay across the lake, the intrigue and challenge that was to give
people Iived in this same way. I won him boundless opportunity to help the
dered if there they tortured any coun
oppressed Filipinos. Rizai gradually
tryman with hard and cruel whips
merely on suspicion. Did they there
gained proficiency both in the art of
rhetoric and in the art of philosophical
also, in order to live in peace, would
one have to bribe tyrants?9
KNOW
him that the mind would achieve its pur
pose as long as one sought truth in a spirit
of love and understanding of one's fel
Hometown Education. Soon Rizal's
refined his artistic sensibility, resulting in
respect the home? Or over wonder independent thinking. Ateneo had taught
FORMAL SEARCH FOR
LEDGE
lowrnen.
Rizal's formal lessons at the Ateneo
passion for knowledge superseded his the further development of his skills in
home studies. At nine years, he was sent writing and in sculpture. In the plastic
by his parents to study in Biñan. He con arts, tWo pieces of beauty are still pre
centrated on his studies assiduously and|served at the Ateneo. One is the figure of
he excelled in all subjects. Besides taking|Our Lady carvec in batikulin, ! and the
formal lessons in Latin and Spanish, Rizalother is the image of the Sacred Heart. His
developed his painting skills from a local literary pieces at this stage of his life were
painter. Later, Rizal referred to himself as events.
mostily 12 poems inspired by historical
a "fashionable'" painter.
Ateneo
Education:
Refinement
of
Rizal's Skills. On 10 June 1872, Rizal took
the entrance examination at San Juan de
Letran College.!° Passing all qualifying
"Austin Craig, trans Rizal's Own Story of His Life
(Manila: National Book Co, 1918), pp 59-60.
50
He expressed his ideals on the value
°Competitive entrance examinations for admis
sion to secondary schools were administered by
San Juan de Letran College indicating its seniority
to Ateneo.
"Batikulin is a soft wood which can easily be
carved.by a knife.
CtChapter V"ldealism in the Poetry."
of education in later poems while a stu
inadequate for his academic curiosity.
dent of the Ateneo. One poem, Por la
Paciano advised him to go to Europe
Educacion Recibe Lu::tre la Patria
to broaden his perspective and to seek
("Through Education The
Country outlets for his talents. Prodded by his
Receives Light'") expressed the potential growing sense of nationalism, Rizal had
benefits that can be de:ived from educat
ingthe citizenry. He stressed that respon
also thought of going to Europe to seek
sible education instills in the youth noble
opportunity. They seemed to have made
ideas and sublime virtues.
Learning
more knowledge of western wisdom and
asecret agreement on what Rizal was to
infuses truth and discipline brings peace, accomplish abroad with the moral and
glory, and tranquility to the nation. In
another poem, Alianza Intima Entre la
Religion y la Buena Educacion ("Intimate
financial support of Paciano. In his first
letter to his brother, Paciano implied
references to their previous understand
Aiiiance Between Religion and Good Jose
ing that
besides continuing his studies,
Some
had an important mission
Education'"), Rizal elucidated the concept
that faith and belief in truth and love of thing he (Jose) was most interestd in
and to which Paciano was also commit
God are discovered in dedicated study
and the cultivation of the human mind.
The academic excellence of Rizal and
his literary prowess qualified him for
membership in two exclusive societies at
the Ateneo: the Academy of Spanish Literature, and the Academy of Natural Science. He also joined the Marian Congre-
gation (Sodality ofOurLady) andtheApos
the
tleship of Prayer. He later became
secretary of the Marian Congregation and
ted
to find ways by which he (Jose)
could help the Filipino cause.l
Racial Discrimination Inspired a
Lifetime Research. His greatest resent
ment during his student days that moti
vated years of research and hard work
was the pervading racial discrimination.
As a boy he knew he was looked down
upon simply because he was a native, an
While at the Ateneo, he observed
the prefect of the Academy of Spanish indio.'s
and analyzed the source of such discrimi
Literature.
At the University of Santo Tomas: A
Crucial Decision. After graduating from
the Ateneo, he enrolled in courses in
nation. The Jesuit teachers treated the
students equally. Recognition was
achieved through skill. But outside the
classroom, the Spanish boys were arro
and insolent towards their brown
gant
of
University
the
at
letters
philosophy and
classmates. At times the Filipino boys
surveying
up
took
also
He
Tomas.
Santo
provoked into fights. Rizal felt that
were
he
Before
Ateneo.
at the
the
and agriculture
sur
was 21 years old, he completed the
a
with
veyor and expert assessor's course
grade of "excellent."!
such an attitude was an imitation of
harshness and hubris of their elders
the "miserable indio" attitude all over
again.
He finally decidedtotake up medicine
In spite of his resentment Rizaldid not
at the University of ^anto Tomas because
of
he wanted to treat the failing eyesightthat
his mother. The academic freedom
was
he had enjoyed while at the Ateneo
dampened by prejudicial limitations at
the University. His general average was
creditable but he found the classroom
Guerrero, op cit, p 56; cf Leon Ma Guerrero, trans
Co, 1950),
The Young Rizal (Manila: Bardavon Book
p 53.
violence,
seek to get even through
although at times he was caught in
fistfights over racial issues. He sought
mental
equality through the mastery of
European
skills.
Rizal was second to no
"Coates, op cit, pp 59, 69-70.
Diferencia de
Ferdinand Blumentritt, "Sobre la
Rizal, tomo VIll
las Razas, " Escritos Varios por Jose
Nacional del Cen
segundaparte (Manila: Comision
tenario de Jose Rizal, 1961), p 643.
51
and to no other student at the Ateneo. He him believe that educating the masses
proved that despite the use of Spanish, was the answer to the worsening misery
the language of the white boys, as a of his countrymen. The uphill struggle
medium of instruction, a brown boy would be long and tedious but he knew
could equal them and still emerge the that the only way to emancipate his peo
winner under the same circumstances.
ple was through education.
While at the University of Santo
The oppressive racial discrimination
Tomas he showed his literary prowess. at the University of Santo Tomas gave
He joined a literary contest among mes Rizalan idea for his one-act play, Junto al
tizos and Filipinos sponsored by the Liceo Pasia. He had just turned 19 when he
Artistico Literario de Manila in 1879. He
wrote it for the Academia de Literatura
submitted his poem ALa JuventudCastel.ana of the Ateneo Municipal. He
Filipina("To the Filipino Youth") and won satirized the priest in the person of a devil
the first prize, a feathershaped silver pen who sought adoration, and he described
decorated with a gold ribbon. The follow- Spain as impious and pictured her as the
ing year the Liceo sponsored another cause of the unhappiness of his once rich
competition celebrating the centenary of and happy country. " When the play was
the death of Miguel de Cervantes, the staged, the Jesuits simply laughed at the
national poet of Spain. Again he won the clever satire, but sume friars took it as a
first prize for his play El Consejo de los
Dioses ("The Council of the Gods").
These two prize winning
works.
grave insult.
Education in Europe: Professional
proved that an indio could write as wellas Skills Developed. Rizal left for Europe
a Spaniard, or even better. ALa Juventud aboard the ss "Salvadora'" on 3May 1882
Filipina was an open avowal of and arrived at Barcelona by the middle of
nationalism thatevoked ideas of freedom June.
and independence for one nation and one
After a few months he moved to Mad
people. El Consejo de los Dioses pre rid because medical education was repor
sented adiscussion among the Olympian tedly cheaper there. He folowed a sys
gods and goddesses as to who the tematic and well organized schedule of
greatest poet was-Homer,Virgil, or Cer- much
study within
because
he wanted to learn so
a short time. He enrolled at
vantes. Jupiter was the final judge who
measured the values of each poet's mas the Central University of Madrid for the
terpiece. His evaluation showed that all licentiate in medicine. To further acquire
three works were of equal value. Critics wisdom and culture, he enrolled in
and readers praised the work lavishly philosophy and letters. To enhance his
until they discovered that its author was
artistic talents, he also took up lessons in
an indio. They suddenly turned their painting and sculpture at the Academia
attention and compliments to the second| de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, as well
place winner, a Spaniard by birth. Rizal as lessons in French and German at the
free hours,
was indignant at this absurd behavior Ateneo de Madrid. During his
which was a clear evidence of the irra he attended lectures and frequented the
tional racial prejudice at the time.
Rizal derived a personal satisfaction
from his education and he felt proud that
theater.
Although time was limited for the
numerous studies of Rizal, he acquired
he could prove himself equal, if not two
proficiency
in various fields of learning, in
years. By 21 June 1884, his assiduous
superior, in intellectual acumen to the
Spaniards. His solemn determination to devotion to his studies yielded its first
use his intelligence to save his people
iPoems of Jose Rizal (Manila: Jose Rizal
from the quagmire of ignorance made National Contennial Commission, 1961), p123.
52
fruit. Re completed the course for the
licentiate in medicine with satisfactory
grades. The next year he proceeded to a
doctorate'? in medicine but he did not
interested in Rizal's true purpose for the
proposed project. Disgusted, Rizal
decided to write the books by himself.
As a man of ideals obsessed with
submit his thesis. The degree of Doctor of
Medicine was conferred on him post
humouslyin 1961 during the centenary of
his birth.
freedom and liberty for the Filipino peo
In 1885 he received his licentiate in
trymen. But Rizal did not lose hope. He
philosophy and letters which entitled him
to a university professorsthip.
ple, he felt compassion for the helpless
victims of tyranny. He scorned those who
would not help their less fortunate coun
envisiorned that the Filipinos would one
day realize the significance of human
He went toParis for advanced studies dignity and that they wouid take positive
in ophthaimology. Together with other
foreigners, he worked as an assistant in
the clinic of Dr. Louis de Weker, a tead
ing French ophthalmologist. After four
months ofconcentrated study he learned
the medical techniques of an eye opera
action conditioned to the ideal of nation
hood and independence.
Using his foremost talent he started
writing one of his masterpieces, Noli Me
Tangere. His desire for more mature con
tacts and his search for enlightenment to
complete his book led him to join the
tion.
His limited allowance and his desire to
Brotherhood of Masons and seek the
learn more about eye ailments prompted
him to go to Germany where the cost of
friendship of eminent scholars. Among
his colleagues were liberal and republi
can stalwarts, Spanish national leaders
living was cheaper. He practiced in a hos
pital of Heidelberg under the supervision and statesmen, sedate and broad-mnind
of the hospital director himself, Dr. Otto ed men of wisdom. Their liberal ideas
Becker, arenowned German doctor. Rizal showed him how much change was
needed in the Philippines.
Despite his many scholarty activities,
an assistant in the clinics of Dr. Schultzer
and Dr. Xavier Galezowski, eminent Ger-: he sought time to finish the first half of the
'man ophthalmologists.
Noli in Madrid. He continued writing in
proceeded to Berlin where he worked as
Rizal's observations in Europe opened Paris where the immortal declaration of
his mind to the imperative needs of his the rights of man had been passeda cen
cOuntry and the ways that meet these
tury before. He finished his book in Ger
needs.
many where
THE RESOLUTE PROPAGANDIST
State control.
scientific research and
philosophy were free from Church and
Running short of funds, he found the
New Directions TowardsAccomplish- cheapest book printer, the Berliner
Buchdruckerei-Actien-Gesseischaft,
ingHis Mission. Apart from his personal
endeavors,Rizal proposed a book writing
Setzerinnen-Schule de Lette Vereins in
culo Hispano-Filipino. T he books would
P300.00 for 2,000 copies. His friend, Max
When details were discussed at a meet
ing, most of the members wanted to write
and the book was finally released in
project to the Filipino members of the Cir- Berlin to print the book. He was charged
dealon various aspects of Philippine life. imo Viola offered to lend him the amount
about the character and activities of the
Filipino women and were scarcely
"At that time, a licentiate in eledicine qualified
one to practice. A doctorate was necessary to qual
ify for the faculty in medicine. Rizal had no plans to
teach medicine.
March 1887.
Rizal planned to visit other European
countries to study the people's way of
life, and adopt ideas and programs that
would benefit his countrymen. Before he
went to Paris, he studied French well
53
enough to speak and write French with because of his ear.mest interest in the his
the same facility and ease that he had tory ofthe Philippines. Dr Virchow spon
with Spanish. For further nastery of the sored Rizal's membership to the Berlin
language, he enrolled in the class of a Anthropological Society.'" As a member,
well-known teacher in Paris, Madame
Lucille Cerdolle, the French teacher of the
Rizal was asked by the society to deliver a
lecture on the Tagalog people and cul
imperial family. He mastered the lan- ture, for which he Was warmly
guage so
wellthat he could have trans
lated the Noli Me Tangere into French. He
knew that France was a free country and
applauded.
In Dresden, he met Dr A B Meyer,
director of the Royal Saxony Ethnog
that the people would recognize the raphical Institute. Years before Rizal's
merits of the book.
He studied Hebrew to enable him to
interpret the Bible in its original text and
be better prepared to defend any con
departure for Europe, Dr Meyer had vis
ited the Philippines to make a study of the
Filipino people. He had written a book
about the lgorots, a copy of which he
troversial religious issue that Noli Me gave Rizal. Rizal later became a member
Tangere might arouse. In fact, he trans
lated some passages from the Bible that
he used in the Noli.
While an assistant at
of the Geographical and Ethnological
Society of Berlin, an organization com
posed
Dr. Becker's
clinic, Rizal could speak only asmattering
of
scholars
of
different
nationalities. Mermbership was granted
to an applicant only after presentation of
of German but in three months of diligent an original work. For this requirement,
study and practice, he spoke the lan
guage with ease. Besides German, he
Rizal submitted Tagalische Verskunst
("The Tagalog Art of Versification'") writ
also studied English by means of the
ten in German.20 He also wrote an article,
German grammar and likevwise studied
"Ars Poetica Tagala'" published in the
Italian by means of the English gram- Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie (Journal for
mar. lN
His knowledge of German enabled
him to understand the works of German
writers on the Philippines and to
associate with German scholars. Rizal's
sojourn in Germany gave him the oppor
tunity to meet Dr Ferdinand Blumentritt
who became his most cherished friend.
Ethnology). Dr Blumentritt sent him a
copy of thejournal when Rizalwas back in
Kalamba.
After reading accounts about the
Philippines in German books, Rizal was
gratified to learn that foreigners who
made scientific studies about the Philip
pines had ahigher regard for the Filipinos
They corresponded and exchanged opin
ions on political, racial and social issues.
than most of the Spanish writers whose
Blumentritt guided Rizal in his research
judices. He wanted his educated coun
trymen to knowthat foreigners were tak
on the Philippines at European libraries.
Early in 1887, Rizal met Dr Feodor
Jagor whose works had inspired him
when he was still a student at the Ateneo.
Dr Jagor invited him to attend a meeting
Conclusions were based on unjust pre
ing avid ihterest in their country's way of
life.
He studied and translated
Blumen
tritt's Ethnography of the Island of Min
in Berlin of the Geographic Society,
danao. He planned to use some of its
Virchow, a famous scientist and a
schools that he planned to publish. Using
where he was introduced to Dr Rudolf
statesman of intense democratic ideals.
Rizal became his favorite colleague
*The other languages he knew were Greek,
Latin, Arabic, Dutch, Catalan, Portuguese and
Swedish, besides Tagalog.
54
importánt data in ageography book for
Blumerntritt's map, he corrected the 1852
map of Mindanao which he brought with
"Craig, op cit, pp 129-130.
2°Rerminiscenses and Travels, op cit, pp 315-316.
him to Europe.2 After reading Blumen
and his study of the configuration of the
tritt's book, he planned to study the places once aroused the government's
Tirurays for a better understanding of the suspicion that he was aFrench spy. He
primitive peoples of his country. To com
pare the primitive peoples of other lands
of the Philippines, he studied the ethnog
raphical works of Gaerlan Waitz and Rat
zel and Wilkins and the historical publica
tions of Lipper and Helwald." He trans
lated Waitz's books, Anthropology of
Primitive Peoples and General Ethnography. After translating one third of the
book he left Europe for the Philippines. He
drew inspiration from these scientific
studies and was consoled to know that
his people were not of the anthropoid
race as the Spaniards had asserted.
was almost deported for this charge but
he explained to the authorities that his
actions were purely educational.
To complete his ideas and observa
tions on racial differences and the alleged
superiority of the white man, he
researched in psychology while he was at
Leipzig
He concentrated his studies on
the comparison of race characteristics
as influenced by environment, history
and language. His research convinced
him mnore than ever that "we are all
human and we can improve ourselves
through education and culture as other
Besides attending to patients in the people did which only some centuries
clinic of Dr Becker, studying several lan
ago were stillsavages." Our race has its
guages, and attending coriferences and
faults and virtues by the defects and vir
tues of any people are not mere
peculiarities of a race but are inherited
qualities that have become affected by
climate and history.26
meetings of the scientific organizations
he had joined, he pursued his course in
practical ethnology and the study of race
differences. He studied German, Spanish
and French peasant life.
His studies took him to historical and
In his study of the ethnography of a educational centers like museums, hospi
nation, Rizal always made his preliminary gardens,
tals, aquariums,
botanical and zoological
historical exhibits and libraries.
observations in the towns or smallest vil
lages wherethe customs and traditions of
the people were simple, natural and
unadulterated by the artificial culture of
the cities. The peasantry, he thought,
preserved national and race peculiarities
longer than other social classes. Sine
most of his countrymen were peasants,
he believed he ought to compare them
only with the peasants of Europe.2
Rizal stayed for weeks in some sec
luded village where he observed the peo
ple's way of life. His regular walks in
He also observed factories and shops
where he learned more and more about
conditions of the working man and the
modern methods of production which he
could adoptin the Philippines.
His desire to share with his country
men the ideals of freedom and patriotism
inSchiller's William Tell encouraged him
to translate this work into Tagalog.This is
an intenselystirring human drama of the
Swiss farmers' fight against the tyranny
of their Austrian governors. The idea he
German cities, towns and villages with expressed in his El Amor Patriowas simi
the use of a pedometer and a compass
"Ct Rizal, "Amplifacion a mi mapa de la Isla de
Mindanao por el SrD Ferdinand Blumentritt (1895) "
Escritos Varios, op cit, pp 576-586.
2"Blumentritt, "Sobre la diferer.cia de las razas,
opcit, pp 647-650.
lar to that of Schiller's; "Join your dearest
Fatherland, hold it fast with all your
hearts; here are the deep roots of your
2Leipzig then was famous for its new studies in
psychology. These studies made the science of the
as exact as that of the body.
2Maximo Viola, "My Travels with Doctor Rizal," mind
*Berlin, 12 January 1887,Rizal-Blumentritt Cor
Reminiscenses and Travels, op cit, pp 318-319.
2"Blurnentrit, op cit, p 647.
respondence, vol lI, op cit, pp 37-38.
55
strength, "27
Six-Month Sojourn in the Philip
pines. After publishing the Nofi in March
1887, Rizal decided to come home, with
riotic and subversive to public order." It
felt that the book would be harmful to
these islands,2*
As the controversy on his novel raged,
Rizal got involved in the Kalamba
some misgivings on the reactionto his agrarian controversy. The bold expose
plans and ideas. He arrived in Manila on 5 Rizal made infuriated the friars and the
August 1887. A warm and cordial recep townwas againastir over landownership
tion avwaited him in Kalamba. He was
besieged with well-meaning admoni
tions and innumerable questions by his
disputes. Security for the Rizal family
became a problem and Rizal was advised
to leave the country. He secretly departed
family, friends, and acquaintances. But on 3February 1888 after asix-rnonth stay.
even before he settled down he wrote to He traveied through Hongkong, Japan
Dr Blumentritt that he felt the pressures
from the friars were heavy and that he
and the United States, always studying
and observing. He deplored the racial
would soon leave the Philippines again. discrimit1ation
against the Negroes in the
United States and noted the absence of
He felt the pressure of the groups that he
had antagonized in his novel. Meanwhile, true civil liberty.
he opened a medical clinic, successfully
Rizal Becomes An Active Propagan
operated on his mother's eyes and estab
lished a gymnasium.
By this time, the Noli had already
aroused a great dealof discussion, specu
dist. Free from
Spanish
prosecution
Rizal continued his fight to free his coun
trymen from ignorance and exploitation.
He wanted to vindicate his race from the
lation, and apprehension. Despite the insults levied by prejudiced Spanish writ
protection of the liberal-minded Gover ers; he annotated Sucesos de las Islas
nor Emilio Terrero, Rizal's activities had Filipinas written by
Antonio de Morga,
to be limited because he received daily
threats from his oppositors. He was not
allowed by his parents to dine in other
which was an objective presentation of
16th century Philippine culture and civili
zation. Rizal showed that the past of the
houses. Awhispering smear campaign Philippines revealed that even before the
was launched by both the Spaniards and
some of his compatriots. They wanted to
break down hismorale and drive him out
of his country. In the wake of all this
coming of the Spaniards the Filipinos
already had a developed culture." Rizal
believed that Spanish government would
not ban a historical account of events in
insecurity, Governor Terrero had to the Philippines written by a responsible
assign Jose Taviel de Andrade, a lieuten- Spaniard.
ant of the guardiacivil, as Rizal's personal
By the time the annotated Sucesos got
escort.
published in 1890, the Propaganda
Meanwhile, the special committee Movement's activities were in full swing.
that reviewed the Noli recommended
Rizal wented the book to be read by
"theabsolute prohibition of the importa- members of the Filipino intelligentsia to
tion, reproduction and circulation of this
pernicious book." The committee found
the book "heretical, impious, and scan
inspire them into working for retorms.
They could draw materials from it to
refute prejudiced comments on the
dalous in its religious aspect, and unpat- Filipinos. He also hoped that the book
"Pfarrar Gottlieb Weber, "Influences of German
2"Wenceslao E Retana, Vida y escritos del Dr Jose
Education and Science on Rizal,"Proceedings of the Rizal (Quezon City: RMartinez and Sons, 1960), pp
International Congress on Rizal, 4-8 December 196 1 128-129.
(Manila: Jose Rizal National Centennial Commis
sion, 1962), p 111.
56
"Cf chapter Il, "Bith of a Filipino National Con
sciousness.
would cause a psychological effect to
bring back their pride in their ancestors. a
necessary component in the formation of
national consciousness.
them more dete rmined to ask for
reforms. Rizal knew that the Filipinos'
fight for their rights had commenced and
there was no turning back. He concluded
While he was annotating Sucesos, he his letter with these words: "The fight has
was also writing El Filibusterismo. Like a begun; he who wavers shall fall. Let us
fearless knight of freedcmhe wielded his now show the world and our enemies
pen as he travelled through Europe. He that we are not afraid of the friars'
wrote "The Philippines Within a Century"|threats."
and "The Indolence of the Filipino Peo
He eventually learned about the rusti
Filipinosand their culture. In several arti
to Mindoro and the abandonment of the
ple to answer criticisms against the cation of Paciano and his brothers-in-law
cles and numerous letters to his friends family estate. On 29 March 1891 he wrote
he staunchly defended the rights of his
to Dr Blumentritt about the persecution of
their faults as in his "Letter to the Women
propagandist. His heart ached over their
people. At the same time he admitted his family because of his activities as a
of Malolos,'" and emphasized the impera-misfortune but his spirit was not discour
tive need to enlighten his people.
He finally completed the Fili manus
cript in July 1891 while he was in Brus
sels. But penniless and suffering from
privations he could not publish the book
aged. He was notsorry that he had started
the propaganda campaign and if he were
to be bornagain: "l would do first what
have done... it was the duty of any man.
and God might ask me why | had not
until financial assistance came from Val- fought evil and injustice when I saw
entin Ventura. Members of his familythem."0
He wanted to go home and seek vindi
could not extend financial help to him
because they were anmong those perse cation but his friends and family advised
was published
cuted by the government as a result of the nim againstit. After the Fili
Kalambaagrarian unrest of 1888. Besides nis desire to g0 home grew much
Stronger. Undecided whether to settie in
the government imposed stringent rules Hongkong
or go back to the Philippines.
mail censorship to prevent financial|
on
and
aid from reaching the propagandists he wrote Blumentritt that his country join
through the mails. He had to shorten the tamily needed him and that he must
and hardly
book to match his dwindling financial them. He set sail for Hongkong
city when his father.
resources. The Fili finally came out in
nad he settled in that
brother and a brother-in-law arrived as
September of the same year.
fugitives from the Spaniards in the
EL Filibusterismo is a strong inaicr Philippines. Shortly after, he wrote Dr
ment of Spanish colonialism and orBlumentritt that his mother, and his sis
native supporters and defenders- of the ters, Lucia, Josefa and Trinidad, had
SVstem. It portrayed a society On tne arrived. In the same letter he wrote that:
verge of a revolution.
As the news and stories of the oppres
Life in the Philippines has become
sion in the Philippines spread, Rizal has
impossible without courtesy, without
tened to reassure his fellow reformists in
virtue, withoutjustice...I believethat
a letter dated 2 April 1889, that such per
secution would only serve tÍ stir more
discontent among the people and make
La Solidaridad is no longer our bat
tlefield; now it is a new struggle
the fight is no longer in Madrid
31
s"Biarritiz, 29 Marcn 1891, The Rizal-Blumentritt
Reunited with his family, he opened a
Correspondence, 1890-1896, vol Il part 2 (Manila: clinic. practiced medicine and started to
Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, 1961),
p 395.
"Hongkong, 30 December 1891, ibid, p 189.
57
write another book, while Paciano trans
lated the Noli into Tagalog. His family
objected to his going home but his fellow
propagandists kept writing to himto help
and the protection of their rights. Rizal
envisioned a colony complete with cities,
towns, districts, schools, churches, and a
structure, determined by
them. They offered their sympathies for governmental
the people's own customs arnd laws. The
what happened in Kalamba and asked colony was
to be under the protectorate
him to resume leadership of a progres of the
sive movement in Spain. Antonio Luna's pany, North Borneo Development Com
the same conditions as
letter of January 1892 and those of Edil those following
given in
berto Evangelista in March and April1892 Bornean iulers.3the treaty with the local
encouraged him to fight actively for jus
However, the plan was disapproved
tice and, eventually, independence.
by Governor Eulogio Despujol because
Meantime the appointment of a new the Philippines was short of
manpower,
governor general in the Philippines and he considered it improper
and
encouraged Rizal to write a letter to the
new governor on 23 December 1891offering his services "in helping heal the open
wounds of recent injustices,"' to which he
got no reply.
Constantly preoccupied wih the wel
impracti:al for the natives to cultivate
other lands while the Philippines itself
was still underdeveloped.
Rizal Comes Home. The compulsion
to come home took the better of Rizal, He
fare of his countrymen and how he could knew he was taking a big risk so he wrote
letters both dated 20 June 1892
muster cooperation and understanding two
addresSSed to his parents and to the peo
among them, he planned La Lioa Filipina|
disclosed post
and a Filipinocommunity in Borneo while PIe, tne contents to be the two letters to
entrusted
still in Hongkong. He wrote Dr Blumentritt numously. He
aclose friend, Dr. Lorenzo Pereira Mar
that"if it is not possiblefor me to give my ues
of
Against the wishes of his
country liberty, Ishould like to give t at family heMacao.
took the risk and came home. In
least tothese noble countrymenof mine
his letter to his parents he stated that he
inother
lands. That is why lam thinking ot wanted to bringhis work to a
climax and
emigrating to Borneo.'"32
he
implied
that
he
was
ready
to die for
He negotiated with the representa
duty and conviction.
tives of the North Borneo Company for
In his letter"To the Filipinos" he wrote
permission to establish a Filipino colony
the final decision he made was verv
in Borneo. He was granted permissIon bY that
risky but he had to come home partly
the British governor to found a settlement because "I also want to show those who
on a 190,000-acre property in North Bor deny or patriotism that we know howto
neo. His choice of location must have
doirg our duty and for our convic
been motivated by the proximity of the die
matter if one dies
territory to the Philippines and the simi tions.What does death
what one loves, forone's country and
larity of the climate and physical condi- or
loved ones .Ishall die blessing her and
tions of the land to the Philippines.
When he drafted the plan, he pre
sumed that the Filipino settlement would
be a free and independent entity entering
into an agreement with the British Gov
ernment on the basis of equality. The
agreement guaranteed the liberty of
Filipino settlers, the security of their
lands, the right to retain their citizenship,
Hongkong, 23 February 1892, ibid, p 436.
58
wishing for her the dawn of her redemp
tion, "34
Together with his sister Lucia, he
arrived in thePhilippines on Sunday, 26
June 1892. The follcwing day his friends
Jose
Rizal, "Proyecto De Colonizacion Del
British North Borneo Por Filipinos," Escritos
Politicos e Historicos Por Jose Rizal, ed del cen
tenario (Miunila: Comision Nacional del Centenario
de Jose Rizal, 1961), pp 318-320.
*Retana, Vida y Escritos, op cit, pp 242-244
and admirers took him for a visit to
Malolos, San Fernando, Tarlac and
Bacolor, where he exhorted his country
treasure of our Holy Catholic Faith, the
unbreakable keystone of national unity of
this land. "37
men to join La Liga Filipina. The favorable
reaction to his efforts encouraged him to
organize the league on 3 July 1892.
Within eleven days after his arrivai,
Thus was Rizal accused, judged and
condemned without a trial. The Spanish
administration had again demonstrated
its conspiracy to bring about Rizal's
the Governor Generai received him at
least five times and during their meetings
downfall. After an eight-day confinement
in Fort Santiago he was surreptitiously
escorted under heavy guard to the
he was able to obtain pardon for his
father and family. 35
Rizal Is Arrested and Deported to
Dapitan. On 6July Rizal was summoned
to Malacañang Palace. He was con
steamship Cebufor deportation to Dapi
tan in Mindanao.
THE NATIONALIST IN EXILE
Practical Nationalism In Dapitan.
fronted with the charge of having brought
with him from Hongkong leaflets entitled While in Dapitan, Rizal demonstrated
Pobres Frailes ("Poor Friars'"). This article how much a citizen could to to help his
is a satire by "P Jacinto" against the rich community. He arrived on the night of 17
Dominican friars who thad violated their July 1892 and found a lonely anddesolate
town. Having lived all his life in a big town
Vow of poverty.
In spite of his protestations of inno
and in cosmopolitan areas now he had to
be exiled to Dapitan in Mindanao the
as a doctor, farmer, teacher, business
evening of the same day. He was being
deported for having written and smug
engineer, and scientist. He also found
cence, he was arrested and brought tu the make adjustments before he finally set
Royal Fortress of Santiago for detention6 tled down to useful, quiet activity.
Soon he was practicing his profession
On 14 July he was notified that he would
man, community development leader,
time to study the Malayan language and
mocked the friars and maligned the Pope. several Philippine dialects. He continued
He was summarily accused of dedicating his artistic pursuits in sculpture, painting,
his second novel, El Filibusterismo, to the sketching, and writing poetry. Eventually
gled into the count:y leaflets which
memory of the three priests who had
been proven traitors to the nation but
whom he extolled as martyrs. He was
also accused of advocating sepaiation
from Spain as the only means of salvation
for the Philippines. The decree of depor
tation further charged Rizal with seeking
to "de-catholicize, which is equivalent to
denationalize this Philippine land which
will always be Spanish and as such,
always Catholic. Likewise the decree
declared that the purpcse of his works
and writings was "nothing else but to
uproot from loyal Filipino breasts the
he won the respect and admiration not
only of the townspeople but also of the
military governor.
Dapitan rests between a beautiful bay
and a hill. It has a good harbor, vast fertile
virgin lands, brooks, and abundant
flora and fauna. It was then a swampy
town with unplanned streets, no potable
water and lighting system, and no provi
sions for medical services. The people
still practiced primitive agricultural
methods, the fishing industrywas under
developed, and the trade was controlled
by afew Chinese inhabitants.
Captain Ricardo Carnicero, the
politico military governor, gave Rizal a
was printed by Augustinian friars at Guadalupe. Cf
Retana, op cit, p259. For an excellent resumé and free rein with his ingenuity to help
analvsis of events and circumstances attendant to improve the community and allowed him
"Guerrero, op cit, pp 327-331.
it was found out later that the seditious article
his
Guerrero, op cit, Chapter XVI.
"Retana, Vida y Escritos, op cit, pp 253-256.
59
all the liberties except leaving the place.
renowned ophthalmologist. He was
After weeks of adjustment, Rizal had accompanied by his adopted daughter,
organized a busy systematic schedule,
living in peacefulquietude. He purchased
aparcel of land near the town plaza and
16 hectaresof agricultural land in Talisay
where he built a house, a school and a
Josephine Bracken. Wealthy patients
whose eyesight he was able to restore
were only too gladto pay amounts rang
ing fromP500.00 to P3,000.00.*" He con
structed small houses which he called
clinic.* His property totaled 70 hectares casitas de salud where his patients and
where, with the help of his pupils, he their families stayed during the treatment
planted coconuts, sugar cane, corn, cof
fee, cacao, and fruit trees of different var
ieties.
He woke up early in the moring at
period. Shortly before he left Dapitan, he
already had plans of establishinga hospi
tal.
He applied some of his nodern educa
five. He would visit his plants, feed his tional ideas to agroup of 16 selected boys
chickens, and have breakfast at half past
seven, after which he would attend to his
patients. He would then board his baroto
(banca) to attend to his patients in town.
whom he accommodated in ahouse near
his own. He gavethe boys vocational and
academic trainingto integrate their edu
cation toward home and conmunity
He would hold his two-hour academic developmert. He rmade their learning
sessions with his pupils. In the afternoon
and the rest of the hours before sunset, he
would devote his time to farming. Retir
functional, relating the pupils' activities
tothe actual life situations in Dapitan and
Talisay. He taught the boys to earn their
ing late at night, he would spend the rest living from their labor and skill. He
of the day reading and studying." He charged no tuition fees, but the boys
continued his study and analysis of the helped him in his clinic and worked in his
Tagalog dialect to simplify its alphabet in farm where they were taught better
order to make its writing and pronuncia methods of agriculture andstock raising.
tion as easy as possible. He had planned Apart of their training was to heip Rizal
to write a simplified Tagalog grammar carry out his community development
which he hoped would be adopted bythe projects, thereby actively participating in
people as the basis of a national tongue.
While he charged hiswealthy patients
fees proportionate to their capacity to
constructive community life.
Formal classes were held daily from 2
to 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The pupils
pay, he rendered free medical services to were taught reading, writing, arithmetic,
geometry, languages (Spanish and
Enalish), geography, history, and good
times he provided them with medicine conduct. On one day the lessons were
and drugs which he himself concocted conducted in English, the next day in
from his knowledge of the curative value Spanish. As in the Ateneo, the brightest
of local medicinal plants. His wealthier pupils was called"emperor" and he sat at
patients came from other parts of Min
the poor. Many of his patients in Talisay
and Dapitan were too p0or to pay and at
the head of the bench; the poorest
danao, from Laguna, Cebu, Panay, Neg occupied the foot of the bench. The les
ros, and even from far away Hongkong. sons were supplemented with field trips
Mr George Taufer ofHongkong used his to the mountains, caves, and seashore
savings to come for treatment by the which gave the pupils a working know
"Members of his family who took turns visiting
f the flora and fauna of Zam
him were his mother. sisters Trinidad, Maria Cruz,
and Narcisa Lopez, and his nephews Mauricio (Moris)
Cruz, and Teodosio (Osio) and Estanislao (Tanis) Her
bosa.
sDapitan, 19 December 1893, Rizal-Biumenn
Correspondence, Vol. Il, op cit, p 475.
60
boanga. Believing in the dictum that a
sound bodv makes a sound mind, Rizal
wA landowner of Aklan, Don Florencio AZcar
raga, reporedly paid Rizal a cargo of sugar.
also taught his boys boxing, swinging on
parallel bars and tings, swimming,
wrestling, and arnis, a kind of native fenc
which consisted of coconut oil lamps
Ing.
and Baden, Germany, he invented a
wooden machine for making bricks. He
With his project to improve and
beautify Dapitan, he nade a big relief
map of Mindarnao in tlhe main plaza. The
map which still exists served several pur
poses. It was used by Rizal as a motivat
placed in dark streets.
Recalling what he learned in Belgium
wrote Dr Blumentritt about this feat and
asked for additional information on a bet
ter method so that he would not waste
too much heat in the baking process. He
ing devise in the teactngof geographyto proposed to establish a manufacturing
his pupils. With the aia of the map, he dis
cussed with the towns people and visitors
the position of Dapitan and its relation to
the rest of Mindanao. !!
Applying his knowledge asaland sur
veyor (perito agrimensor), he planned
new street layouts and constructeu them
through the cooperative labor of the peo
ple. With a limitei knowledge .of
engineering, he conceived the idea of
providingthe town with a water system
plant or brick factory that would produce
at least 6,000 bricks a day. He also intro
duced a hemp stripping machine to
improve the abaca industry thus increas
ing the output of the abaca planters.
In spite of the abundance of fish in the
sea, the people of Dapitan and the sur
roundingareas did not have enough fish
because the fishermen did not know how
to make and use fishing nets. In a letter to
his brother-in-law Manuel Hidalgo on 19
which was completed in 1895 through the January 1893, Rizal requested him to buy
helpof his pupils and the townspeople. A a big net for trawl fishing and to send him
stream from the mountain heights sev two good Kalamba fishermen who could
eral kilometers avway supplied the water. teach the Dapitan people better fishing
Adam and aqueduct- pipes and founda
tions were built out of dicarded roof tiles,
methods. The nets came but the fisher
men could not. Rizal trained the local
bricks, gin bottlesand stones. The mortar fishermen in the use of the new fishing
they used was made out of burned
seashells and corals.
gear and then taught them net weaving.
Rizal observed that the Filipinos in
Adecade later, HF Cameron, a distin- | Dapitan did not engage in
business. Set
guished American engineer, commented ting an example of self-help to curb
about the wateworks: When one con Chinese control of domestic trade, he and
siders that Dr Rizal had no dynamite with a business partner, Ramon Carreon, ven
which to blast the hard rocks, and no tured into the hemp and copra trade and
resources except his own ingenuity, one into the fishing business. Trade was luc
cannot help but render homage to a man rative and he encouraged his eldest sister
whounder the adverse circumstances had
the temerity and perseverance to con
struct the system."*2
Ever conscious of public welfare, Riz
al, with the labor of the town residents,
also drained the marshes to mininize the
dangers of malaria. He likewise set about
providing the townwith a lighting system
*i"Amplificacion a Mi Mapa de la lsla de Min
danao," Escritos Varios po Jose Rizal, op cit, pp
376-381.
*Camilo Osias, Jose Rizal: His Lite and iimes
(Manila: Oscol Educational Publisher, Inc, 1948), pp
342-343.
Saturnina de Hidalgo, her husband, and
other relatives to go to Mindanao and
engage in retail business. He promoted
the establishment of a Dapitan farmers
cooperative association,"* managed by
the people themselves, to improve tarm
products, promote cooperative market
Rizal acquired assets estimated by. the gov
ernment at close to a million pesos. CfHoracio de la
Costa, S J, trans and ed, The Trial of Rizal(Manila:
Ateneo de Manila Press, 1961), pp 142-145.
44"Contrato de Sociedad Entre Rizal y Ramon
Carreon Para Construir un Calero," Escritos Varios,
op cit, p 317.
61
ing, and extend protection to its mem
bers.
These work experiences in Dapitan
enhanced Rizal's concept of practical
nationalism. He was more than ever fully
convinced that self improvement and
community improvement were an
impetus to national governance, respect
and integrity.
grant the reforms they were fighting for.
Tornbetween his conviction and his suf
fering people, he instructed Valenzuela to
get the support of the rich and the influen
tial sectors of Manila for stronger unity.
However, if they failed to do this they
should make sure that this group
remairned neutral in case the revolution
broke out. He also suggested that
Rizal's Reaction to the Katipunan. On Antonio Luna be appointed to direct their
the eve of 21June 1896, Dr Pio Valenzuela
visited Rizal in Dapitan to inform him
military maneuvers.
of the Philippines from Spain by means of
a revolution. Dr Valenzuela stres9sed that
he was sent to Dapitan to obtain Rizal's
impulsiveness. Before the two men
He knew that his countrymen stood a
about the foundingof the Katipunan on 7 slim chance of winning but he could not
July 1892 which aimed at the separation blame them for their impatience and
approval of the resolutions passed in a
ended theirconference, according to Val
enzuela, Rizal said with a tinge of sad
ness: "To die and conquer is pleasant but
generalassembly held in Pasig on 1May to die and be conquered is painful."a7
He informed Valenzuela of his pend
which included the objectives of the
revolutionary association. Rizal considered the resolutions just and, patriotic
but when Valenzuela informed him that
the revolution might break out prematurely even without sufficient arms, Rizal
ing application as volunteer surgeon in
the Spanish army fighting the Cutban
revolution. The latter objectedto this plan
because Weyler who was the general in
chief of the Spanish troops in Cuba might
vigorously objected, stating that this shoot him. Rizal assured Valenzuela that
would be veritable suicide. Citing Cuba as this would not happen and he revealed
an example, he reminded Valenzuelathat his reason for wanting to go to Cuba. He
despite the fact that Cubans could count said that once in Cuba he could study the
on the helpand protection of the United War in a practical way: mix with the
States, the first and second attempts to|Cuban soldiers so he could find solutions
overthrow Spain had been tragic and to the Philippine situation.
costly and that the Cubans were still
End of Rizal's Exile. Inspite of the
fighting for their freedom.45
liberties extended to him by the Spanish
Rizal stressed that the principal
government within the confines of Dapi
organizers should do everything possible tan,
Rizal was not content because he was
toprevent the "premature flow of blood.
not a free man. Twice he wrote
When the generals donot command, the General Ramon Blanco: the firstGovernor
letter in
soldiers stay stilI." To this reminder Val
1894 sought his pardon, and the second
enzuela countered: "The case Or tne in
1895 asked for his release anda review
Katipunan is different; if the generals do of his case. If these were
not possible, he
not give orders, the soldiers will order tne
to
serve as a surgeon in the
others. If the Katipunan is discovered, the voluntered
Spanish
army
fighting the Cuban revolu
revolution will inevitably break out.'"aa
tion.
Rizalunderstood the sentiments of his
On 30
1896 the long awaited
oppressed people. In fact he wasaware of answer of July
the Governor to his request
this possibility when Spain rerused to
finally arrived. His request to go to Cuba
Minutes of the Katipunan, English ed (Manila: was approved. The
next day, after a
National Heroes Commission, 1964), pp 3-8, 16-18,
91-99, 150-160, 227-231.
4bid, pp 95-96.
82
sedate four-year exile, he left for Manila
"bid, p 97.
on board the steamer ""España'". Upon
arrival in Manila Bay he learned that the
boatfor Spain had left the day before, so
he was transferred to the Spanish cruiser
"Castilla'" and held incommunicado
except to his family, until about a month
later when he boarded a Spanish warship
that set sailfor Spain.* Rizalwas not sur
prised when he learned through the
newspapers about the outbreak of the
later, without any doubt, I shall be
given justice, and become one martyr
more s0
On 3 November 1896, the ss Colon'"
reached Manila and Rizal was brought
directly to Fort Santiago under heavy
guard.
THE TRIAL AND EXECUTION
Philippine Revolution.
His Last Trip Home. On 3 September
1896, Rizal left for Barcelona on boardthe
"Isla de Panay." On the last day of the
On the early morning of 29 December
1896, Rizal was formally notified of the
COurt'sverdict: DEATH. He was to be shot
at sunrise of the next day. The news of the
samemonth asthe ship was nearing Malta verdict spread like wildfire. Tension grip
Island,the captain of the ship notified him
that he was under arrest and was to be
confined to his cabin. He had heard
rumors on board the ship that he was
being blamed for the outbreak of the
ped Manila as the Spaniards feared that
the rebels would enter the city and liber
ate Rizal.
The verdict had been reached after an
unprecedented one day trial held the day
revoiution in the Philippines. The shipafter Christmas by a military court com
docked at Barcelona harbor on the early
afternoon of 6 October 1896 and after a
posed of six officers and presided over by
Colonel Jose Tagores Arjona. The Aux
few hours' stay at cell no11 at Montjuich iliary Advocate General himself, Enrique
Castie, he was brought to the ss "Colon"
de AlcOcer, was prosecutor. Rizal was
soldiers
tions and of promoting and inducing
rebellion, the first being the necessary
bound for Manila which was carrying |condemned for "founding illegal associa
to
fight
the
Filipino
revolutionists.9
Allthrough the trip, Rizal jotteddown
means to the second.'" Rizal was
his
thoughts and kept a record of his defended by Lieutenant Luis Taviel de
activities. Before his diary was
confiscated, he wrote an accurate prog-
Andrade, brother of his body guard in
Kalamba in 1887-1888.
nosis:
Preliminary Investigation. "Proofs"
Ithink that God is doing me good of Riza's quilt had been gathered by Cap
by allowing me to return tothe Pniip- tain Francisco de Olive and the prelimi
pines in order to disprove so many nary investigation was conducted by a
charges against me. Either they will
Specialjudge, Colonel Rafael Dominguez.
give me justice and acknowledge my
On 20 November, the farcical prelimi
innocence, and then Ishall have all my narv investigation began. Rizal was made
rights restored, or they will condemn
as "friendly," "not
me to death and then | shall have to classify persons
Suspicious, "" or "hostile" from a list of
the
in
crime
supposed
expiated my
names. Then he was subjected to a con
eyes of society. She will forgive me tinuous two-day inquisitorial interroga
""Documentos Rizalinos Regalados por el Pueblo
without benefit of counsel. He was
Esparnol al Pueblo Filipino, nu 17 de la serie (Mania: tion
not even allowed to confront those who
Imprenta Publica,1953). pp 48-56, 73-74.Rizal kupt a
diary from the day he left Dapitan on 31 July 1896, in testified against him. In two short days,
which he recorded his arrest and trip back home.
The last entry was dated 2 November.
bid, pp 63-69, for Rizal's account of his arrest
and subsequent events.
Rizal was forced to make rapid iden
sbid, pp 68-69, entered in his diary 9 October
1896.
63
tification from a "line-up'" of some 27
characters whose faces he did not see
and whose voices he could not hear but
ordered ihe investigating officer to begin
the corresponding confiscation proceed
ings to he amount of at least a million
whose vwords would be utilized to convict pesos. 52
At the trial, attended mostly by
him.
He was questioned on several items, Spaniards, Alcocer addressed the judges
among them his participation in various inan overflowing courtroom, concealing
political activities, his association with his empty logic with his bombastic elo
certain people,and his knowldege of cer quence. Every sentence stirred vengeful
taincirCumstances. The investiyators had
atmosphere of the courtroom. Alcocer
to trump up evidence from Rizal's corres
opened with a description of the bloody
war in the Philippines and in Cuba. Then
he traced the Spanish education of Rizal
pondence, written six to eight years prior
to the organization of La Liga Filipina
which the Spaniards alleged to be the
and his activities abroad. He cited Rizal's
cause of the revolution,from his poems literary works, fron his prize-winning
To Talisay and Kundiman, and from the
speeches of Katipuneros that ended with:
poems to the two novels andother publi
cations which supposedly showed his
"Long Live the Philippines! Long Live separatist tendency. Alcocer attermpted to
show that Rizal's writings were designed
Liberty! Long Live Dr Rizal!"
They questionedhim on his member- to incite anti-friar and anti-Spanish feel
ship in the Masonic lodges, on Dr Valen- ings; that he planned to workthrough the
zuela's visit to Dapitan, on his appoint- masonic lodges so that the friars might be
ment as honorary presiderit of the expelledfrom the Philippines; and that the
Katipunan, on the use of his picture to centers of his activities were Hongkong,
adorn the secret session room of the Madrid and Manila.53 The prosecutor
Katipuneros, and on the testimonies of depicted Rizal as a "dedicated agitator of
the nativemasses' and as a man lacking in
apprehended Katipuneros.
The prefabricated evidences they dug sincerity, "obsessed by an overwhelming
up yielded nothing but flimsy deductions hatred tor Spain, whose 'Machiavellian
which could not definitely prove that Rizal cunning' directed the Supreme Councilof
favored and plotted arebelion. Desper- the Katipunan." He denounced Rizal as
ate for more proofs of Rizal's guilt,Cap- having resorted to excuses and evasions
tain Olive had Paciano tortured to uncon
sciousness. Paciano adamantly denied
to escape punishment.
Concluding his turgid allegations,
his brother's guilt and silently endured Alcocer exposed Rizal as the "'soulof the
one torture after another. He matched his rebellion," considere dby his countrymen
younger brothers courage
in facing as a superior being whose commands
death and in defying Spanish tyranny. ' | had to be obeyed without question. Con
When the authorities were throughwith sequently, Alcocer asked for the death
the almnost-dead Paciano, he had to be
penalty. In case of pardon and unless all
carried home on a stretcher. He was
sZHoracio de la Costa, S J trans The Trial of Rizal
paralyzed and speechless for several (Manila: Aleneo de Manila University Press, 1961),
pp 142-145. In Dapitan, the government confiscated
days.
Rizal'spropertiesconsisting of 35 hectares planted to
The Trial. Inconclusive as the evi abaca; 18 hectares of hilly and stony land on which
were his nipa house, a banboo shed, coconut,
dences were, Judge Rafael Dominguez bamb00 andfruit trees, avessel with abaca cable,a
recommended a speedy trial, which the pile of lumber, buri mats for the sail, and an anchor;
Governor and Judge Advocate General| his assets of a pair of gold cuftlinks with little pearls
and two arnethysts, and a gold and silver tie pin in
Nicolas de la Peña approved. The lauer the form of abee. He had no property in Laguna.
suggested a trial by the military court and
bid, pp 104-113. A summary of the text of the
SCoates, op cit, pp 295-296.
64
prosecution sent to the defense counsel, pp 114-120.
other penalties were remitted with it, he
asked that the prisoner be absolutely and
permanently deprived of civi! rights and
subjected to police surveillance for life.
He should also be compelled to pay an
indemnity of P20,000.
For the defense, Taviel de Andrade
4
Andrade argued that the statutes of the
organization which Rizal wrote did not
show any evidence of illegality. He also
called the court's attention to the fact that
Rizal had not written anything or discus
sed with anyone on any subject con
nected with politics since 1892. Valenzue
appealed to the fairness of the judges la's visit to Dapitan should have been
who should not be carried away by the
prejudice caused by the
strong currentof
cU
insurrection. He arguedthat the incidents
presented as an argumernt in Rizal's favor,
for Rizal actually told Valenzuela that he
presented by the prosecutor occurred
Andrade concluded that Rizal's guilt had
disapproved of the uprising. Taviel de
several years before the rebellion broke
not been proven legally: therefore, the
out and that had Rizal been accused
before 19 August of that year, no court
Would convict him on tt.e same evi
accused should be acquitted and all his
rights should be restored in the name of
dences.
Referring to Rizal's works, Taviel de
Andrade argued that the prosecutor's
justice, ss
This brilliant argument was ineffective
in a hostile courtroom. Rizal was given a
chance to speak in his defense. Impecca
impression on Rizal's writings was a mis- bly dressed he took the floor and read his
conception and that Rizal only asked for
the recognition of and respect for the
rights of the people. A person, he argued,
"Additions to My Defénse."5s It was a
refutation
of the
connections
and
activities imputed to him.
He called the court's attention to the
could not be condemned for voicing the
sentiments of his people. Neither could fact that the Liga died shortly after it was
he be condemned for organizing the Liga organized because of his exile to Dapitan
because its aim was to unite the people
andthat it was revived without his know
forthe promotion of commerce, industry. ledge. To prove that the Ligadid not serve
agriculture, and the arts. He further said
that the Ligawas shortlived kecause Rizal
was deported to Dapitan before it could
be fully organized.
the revolutionists' purposes, Rizal
showed that they disregarded it and
organized the Katipunan. In other words,
if the Liga aimed at a revolution, the
Taviel de Andrade bolstered the
revolutionists would not have abolished
law: that Rizal's guilt had not been proven
bythe confession of the accused, by reliable witnesses, by expert testimony, by
Referring to the organizational meeting
of the Liga which lasted only for a night,
official documents, by visual proof, or
Can anyone believe that I could
have organized this whole rebellion in
defense by citing the technicality of the the said society in favor of the Katipunan.
even by definite and conclusive indica
tions. Taviel de Andrade proceeded to
explain that the witnesses presented by
the prosecution were biased against Rizal
for they were actually co-accused on the
same case, having been apprehended
Rizal asked the court:
a single night, in a single meeting
where the discussion centered on
when the Katipunan was discovered.
If
commerce and similar topics?
the few who were present at the meet
ing had taken me seriously they would
not have let the Liga die."
presenting Rizal as the only instigator and
/bid, pp 121-131.
They naturally had to save their necks by
promoter of the revolution.
Referring to the Liga, Taviel de
s/bid, p 113.
sCt Politicaland Historical Writings of Jose Rizal
(Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission,1961),
pp 342-345.
"/bid, p 344.
Explaining the passages of bitter heard his defense, he was brought back
criticism in his letters, Rizal asked the
court to consider that these were written
when his family had been stripped of
to his cell to await the verdict. That was
shortly after high noon of the same day.
That same afternoon the findings and
their two residential houses and their
decision of the court were forwarded to
warehouses, as well as their lands and Judge Advocate General Nicolas de la
other properties, and when his brother Peña who referred it to Governor General
and all his brothers-in-|aw Were Camilo de Polavieja for confirmation that
deported. Concerning the rebellion, Rizal same evening. The next day being a Sun
reiterated his counsel's arguments that day, the Governor's approval of the ver
he had "nothing whatsoever to do with dict and the consequent release of the
political affairs from 6 July 1892 to 1 June
of the present year." If he knew of and
favored the rebellion, he could have
easily escaped from Dapitan because he
owned a number of vessels and his
guards allowed him week-long trips.
order for Rizal's execution were deferred
to Monday.
The long Last Day. After the death
sentence
was
read
to
Rizal
December, he refused to
on
29
sign the
notification, reiterating his innocence and
Instead he had started a smal
objecting to that part that reter
purchased land, and sent for hishospital,stronaly
family. red to him
as a Chinese mestizo. His
Since his activities at Dapitan were ques
tioned, Rizal explained that he was re
signed to his exile because it gave him
time to write but not to incite rebellion as
the prosecution alleged.
Tothe testimony of one of the witnes
ses that
Rizal sent letters to the
revolutionists via his family, he called
the attention of the judges to the fact
that not a single letter had been
pre
sented in court as evidence. To further
convince the court of his innocence about
arguments werefutite. He had to sign the
document as required by law.
He had only 24 more hours to live.
With the guard's permission, he sent a
note to his family: "i should like to see
some oi youbefore l die, though it may be
very painful. Let the bravest come. Ihave
some important things to say."ss
It was a busy day for him. Visitors
came: members of his family, a news
papernnan, his defense counsel, priests,
Jesuits who were workingfor his
the rebelion, he argued that if he had mostly
retraction from Masonry.
known about the date and time of the
outbreak of the revolution he would have
In between these visits he managed to
write
his last letter tohis closest friend, Dr
avoid
to
taken the necessary precautions
possible arrest. He could have jumpedFerdinand Blumentritt:
from the ship at any of the ports of call on
his way to Cuba. He did not because "my
Çonscience was clear." Rizal reiterated
Taviel de Andrade's defense that Valen
zuela's visit to Dapitan should be an
argument in his favor because he advised
against revolution. He called attention to
the absurdity of the accusation that he
was the leader of the rebels by asking:
"What kind of achief is he whose follow
ers say 'yes' and he says 'no'?"
Death for Rizal was certain and he
knew it. But he had to make his last stand
in the name of justice. After the court had
66
When you receive this letter, I
shallbe dead. Ishallbe shot tomorrow
at seven o»clock, but Iam innocent of
the crime of rebellion. Iam going to
die with a clear conscience. Farewell
my best, my dearest friend, and never
think ill of me. s9
With this letter he se..t a book which he
himself bound when he was at Dapitan.
On the same day, he wrote Paciano:
"Documentos Rizalinos, op cit, p 88.
Rizal-3lumentritt Correspondence, Vol li, pt 2.
op cit, p s39.
My Dear Brother,
It has been four and a half years
that we have not seen each other or
have addressed one another in writing
or orally. I do not believe this is due to
lack of affection either on my part or
She had to follow up a personal plea to
the Governor General for clemency for
her son, 6!
One by one the others came. He
looked around his cell for something to
give each one: to Angelica he gave a
yours, but because knowing each handkerchief, to Narcisa he gave his
other so well, we hadro need ofwords wicker chair, to Mauricio a belt and a
to understand each other.
Now that Iam go'ng to die, it is to
watch with chain. To Trinidad, who
understood English, he gave a little
youldedicate my last wordstotell you alcohol burner saying aloud that he did
how much Iregret to leave you alone
not have anything better to give her. He
in life bearing all the weight of the had had this burner in his cellto heat his
family and of our old parents.
Ithink of how you have worked to
cold meals. And as he handed the burner
to her,he whispered in English: "There is
enable me to have acareer. I believe something in it.'" He had nothing more
that Ihave tried not to waste my time.
left to aive to Maria² but he confided to
My brother: If the fruit has been bitter, her that he would marry Josephine.
it is not my fault, it is the fault of cir
This gift-giving on his last day was
cumstances. Iknow that you have sut-planned. There was no other way of
fered much because of me. l am sorry. smuggling his last message to his peo
I assure you, brother, that die ple, 6 a legacy to the future generations to
innocent of this crime of rebellion. If inspire themto continue the work he had
my former writings had been able to begun.
contribute towards it, I should not
allthe members of the family
deny absolutely, but then I believe hadWhen
left, Josephine came for a very brief
expiated my past with my exile.
visit. Not much could be said between
Tell our father that I remember them. He loved her but fate had
separated
him, but how? Iremember my whole them.
childhood, his tenderness and his
Relieved that his last poem and mes
love. Ask him to forgive me Tor tnesage was in safe hands, he lay
down to
pain Icause him unwillingly. 40
rest. He felt an inner satisfaction because
By later afternoon his mother came,
he knew he had fulfilled his mission. And
now without fear and hesitation, he was
for his countr.
cisa, his niece Angelica, and litle|Tnally otering his life
He reminisced about the past, both
Mauricio, his favorite nephew. First to
accompanied by Maria, Trinidad, Nar
enter his cell was his mother. In tears, distant and immediate. His quietude was
interrupted by voices and footsteps out
side his cell door. The priests who had
been conscientiously working for his
retraction from Masonry were back.
We have Father Vicente Balaguer's
and tenderness their tearful eyes met in
love and understanding. Then Rizal asked word for what transpired in Rizal's cell
his mother to seek the authorities' per- from dusk that day to dawn the next
mother and son rushed to each other's
arms but were separated by the guards.
He knelt and kissed ner hand. At that
moment there were no vwords. With grief
mission for the family to bury his body.
'Ct Documentos Rizalinos, op cit, pp 81-86, for
After afew minutes Doña Teodora left.
copy ofhis mother's plea addressed to the Governor
Cartas Entre Rizal y los Miembros de la Familia,
'Guerrero, The First Filipino, op cit, pp 479-480.
The alcohol burner contained a neatly folded
segunda parte, Edicion Centenario (Manila. Comi
General.
sion Nacional del Centenario de Jose Rizal, 1961),
piece of paper on which was written a fourteen
pp 558-559
stanza poem without a title.
67
morning, before the prisoner was led out
Bagumbayan. In a report sub
Ienjoin you to forgive one another
the little vexations of life and try to live
to die at
mitted to his superiors and cabled to a
in peace and harmony. Treat our old
Barcelona paper, La Juventud, where it
was printed 15 days later, Father
Balaguer said that he and his colleagues
showed Rizal the retraction drafted by
Archbishop Nozaleda. It was too long to
suit his purpose. He preferred the draft
that had been prepared by Father Pio Pi,
the Jesuit superior. He made certain
changes, wrote his own retraction, and
signed it. He went to confession and then
tried to sleep.S
On the first hour of 30Deceinber 1896,
Father Balaguer said Rizal confessed
again. AtRizal's request, Father Balaguer
said Mass and he received Holy Com
munion. After the mass, Father Jose Vil
aclara,
one
of his favorite Ateneo
teachers who had been with him a good
part of the previous day, suggested the
reading of the acts of faith, hope, and
charity. He then turned to Thomas á
Kempis' Imitation of Christ.
While
waiting for
Josephine
he
wrote a final letter to his family:
lask for your forgiveness, for the
pain Icause you, but someday lshall
have to die, and it is better that I die
now in the plenitude of my con
SCience.
Dear parents and brothers: Give
thanks to God that Imay preserve my
tranquility before my death. Idie re
signed, hoping that with my death you
will be left in peace. Ah! itis bettertodie
than to live sufering. Console your
selves.
"Afew historians and biographers of Rizal have
cast doubt on Rizal's retraction, among them Rafael
Palma and Austin Coates. They feel that Father
Balaguer's account is fraudulent. Coates even
claims that the marriage between Rizal and
Josephine did not take place the next day as
reported. He cites as proof the use of Josephine's
maiden name in the entry of her marriaye to Vicente
Abad in the Church Register of Marriages kept in the
parents as you would like to be treated
by your children later. Love them very
much in my memory.
Bury ne in the ground. Place
stone or acroSS Over it. My name, the
date of my birth and of my death.
Notning more. If later you wish to
fence in my grave, you can do so. But
no anniversary celebrations. Iprefer
Paarg Bundok. h
The report states that Josephine
arrived at five o'clock. There were no
lengthy formalities to the wedding cere
mony. The overcautious commanding
officer stood between the couple while a
guard watched Rizal closely during the
brief ceremony. Father Balaguer asked
the couple to clasp each other's hand.The
commanding officer refused to allow this
act because of the regulation not to let
any visitor touch the prisoner. But the
priest insisted that this was an important
part of the ceremony. Over the clasped
hands of Rizal and Josephine, Father
Balaguer intoned the sacramental
prayers and then pronounced themman
and wife.
After the ceremony, Rizal gave
Josephine his book, Imitation of Christ,
with the dedication: "To my dear and
unhappy wife, 30 December 1896." They
stood both quiet for a while, conscious of
the approaching hour of the execution.
They had so much to say to each other but
The text reads:"l declare myself aCatholic, and
in this religion in which Iwas born and educated
wish to lve and die. Iretract with all my heart what
every in riy words, writings, publications, and con
duct has been contrary to my condition as a son of
the Church. I believe and profess whatever she
teaches, and submit myself to whatever she com
mands. Iabhor Masonry as the enemy that it is of the
Church. The diocesan prelate, as the superior
ecclesiastical authority, can make public this mny
spontaneous declaration to repair the scandal that
my actions have caused and So that God and men
Rorman Catholic Cathedral of Hongkong. Cf Coates,
may forgive me. Manila, 29 December 1896, Jose
op cit, pp 342-343. Cf Jesus Ma Cavanna y Manso,
Rizal.'
is a compilation of argurnents and documents in
defense of the retraction.
op cit, p 562. Paang Bundok was a common ceme
CM, Rizal's Unfading Glory (Manila, 1952). The book
68
o°Cartas Entre Rizal y los Miembros de la Familia,
tery to the north of the city.
there was no time. Rizal finally managed
to ask her: "What is to become of you?"
She could not tell him in the presence of
the guard that she would join the
revolutionists, so she answered that she
would give lessons in English. 6? Time
was up and she had to leave. She bade
him a tearful goodbye. Lovingly Rizal
-looked at her for the last time: "Farewell,
him tothe Luneta de Bagumbayan. The
firing squad was composed of Filipinos
who were members of the regular army.
His last glimpse of the Ateneo glad
dened him somewhat. "I spent seven
years there," he remarked to his escorts.
At the execution square he was bless
ed and given the crucifix to kiss. The
army doctor, Dr Felipe Ruiz Castillo, felt
sweet foreigner, my crony, my delight!"
With Josephine gone, he had a few
his pulse and found it normal andsteady.
Just before the order to fire was given,
father he wrote: "Forgive me the sorrow
for he was not a traitor. But the explicit
more minutes to write his parents. To his Rizal requested that he be shot in the front
with which Irepay the anxieties and toil
orders were otherwise.
you underwent to give me an education.
| did not want this nor did Iexpect it.
request, that his head be spared, was
granted.
Farewell, father, farewell.'"
His second
The orders rang out and avolley of
His unfinished note to his mother
began:68
To my very dear mother
Sra Da Teodora Alonso
At6 in the morning of December 30, 1896
shots were fired. As the bullets pierced
him, Rizal tried to turn right about and fell.
He had proudly offered his life as a sup
reme sacrifice for his country that the
wisdom of hisexample wouldserve as an
inspiration to his fellowmen.
DISCUSSION AIDS
Jose Rizal
1 What
conditions
and
events
influenced Rizal's life? Prove this
He could not continue his note. For a
man wvho could easily write down his
thoughts, he could not express his
deepest sympathy to his beloved griev
ing mother.
The Execution. Dressed in black from
hypothesis: "Change uplifts a man's
life "
2 Write the lyrics of the song "The
Impossible Dream." Which ideas in
this song are applicable in the analysis
of Rizal's biography? Explain your
answer.
head to foot, Rizal walked out of his cell,
3 Prove any of these hypotheses: (a)
his arms loosely bound, lbow to elbow.
the makingof aleader depends on the
He was flanked by Taviel de Andrade and
needs of the people at a given time; (b)
Rizal was the product of his times.
A bugler and a drummer led the detach
ment of Filipino soldiers that escorted
4 What things did Rizal do to prepare
Fathers Vilaclara and Estanislao March.
Craig, Life, Lineage and Labor of Jose Rizal, op
cit, P 244 ct Cavanna, pp 69-92 for reports and
description of the marriage ceremony.
"Cartas Entre Rizal ylos Miembros de la Familia,
op cit, p 560.
himself for his role as a nationalist
leader? Do you think you can learn
from these things he did to prepare
yourself for your role in nationbuild
ing?
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5 Read Rizal's plan for a Borneo com
munity for Filipinos who were de
prived of their lands in the Philippines.
What concepts/principles of com
munity development are found in this
plan?
-Rizal was a scientist
---Rizal was an internationalist
Rizal was a researcher
--Rizal was ahistorian
--Rizal was a cornmunity develop
ment leader
--Rizal was an artist
6 Which of Rizal's projects in Dapitan
are similar to those encouraged by the
New Society? Which of these projects
8 Test this hypothesis: "Rizal's trial
are being carried out in your commun
ity? Why are these projects useful to
9 Which qualities of Rizal are worthy of
us?
7 Prove that:
-Rizal was an educator
was a farce."
emulation? How can the acquisition
and developrent of these qualities in
our people help the nation? Explain
your answer.