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Documente Cultură
Jos Rizal
Born
Died
Cause of
death
Monuments
Other names
Pepe[3][4]
Alma mater
Organization
Spouse(s)
Children
Parents
Signature
Jos Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (June 19, 1861 December 30, 1896) was
a Filipino nationalist, novelist, poet,ophthalmologist, journalist, and revolutionary. He is widely
considered as one of the greatest heroes of the Philippines.[6] He was the author of Noli Me
Tngere,[7] El Filibusterismo,[8] and a number of poems and essays. He was executed on December
30, 1896 by a squad of Filipino soldiers of the Spanish Army.[9][10]
Contents
[hide]
1 Early life
2 Education
3 Personal life, relationships and ventures
o 3.1 Association with Leonor Rivera
o 3.2 Relationship with Josephine Bracken
4 In Brussels and Spain (1890-1892)
5 Return to Philippines (1892-1896)
o 5.1 Exile in Dapitan
o 5.2 Arrest and trial
6 Execution
7 Works and writings
o 7.1 Novels and essays
o 7.2 Poetry
o 7.3 Plays
o 7.4 Other works
8 Reactions after death
o 8.1 Retraction controversy
o 8.2 "Mi ltimo adis"
o 8.3 Later life of Bracken
o 8.4 Polavieja and Blanco
9 Criticism and controversies
o 9.1 National Hero status
9.1.1 Made National Hero by colonial Americans
9.1.2 Made National Hero by General Aguinaldo
o 9.2 References to the Catholic Church
o 9.3 Critiques of Books
o 9.4 Rizal's role in the Philippine revolution
10 Legacy
o 10.1 Species named after Rizal
11 Historical commemoration
12 Rizal in popular culture
o 12.1 Adaptation of his works
o 12.2 Biographical films
o 12.3 Others
13 See also
Early life
Jose Rizal was born to the wealthy Mercado-Rizal family in Calamba, Laguna of the Philippines. The
Mercado-Rizals were considered one of the most prestigious Filipino families during their time. Jose
Rizal came from the 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco Mercado II and Teodora
Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother. His parents were leaseholders of
a hacienda and an accompanying rice farm by the Dominicans.[11][12]
From an early age, Jose Rizal Mercado showed a precocious intellect. He learned the alphabet from
his mother at 3, and could read and write at age 5.[12] Upon enrolling at the Ateneo Municipal de
Manila, Jos dropped the last three names that make up his full name, on the advice of his
brother, Paciano Rizal, and the Mercado-Rizal family, thus rendering his name as "Jos Protasio
Rizal". Of this, Rizal writes: "My family never paid much attention [to our second surname Rizal], but
now I had to use it, thus giving me the appearance of an illegitimate child!"[13] This was to enable him
to travel freely and disassociate him from his brother, who had gained notoriety with his earlier links
to Gomburza. From early childhood, Jos and Paciano were already advancing unheard-of political
ideas of freedom and individual rights which infuriated the authorities.[note 1][note 2] Despite the name
change, Jos, as "Rizal" soon distinguished himself in poetry writing contests, impressing his
professors with his facility with Castilian and other foreign languages, and later, in writing essays that
were critical of the Spanish historical accounts of the pre-colonial Philippine societies. Indeed, by
1891, the year he finished his El filibusterismo, this second surname had become so well known
that, as he writes to another friend, "All my family now carry the name Rizal instead of Mercado
because the name Rizal means persecution! Good! I too want to join them and be worthy of this
family name...".[13]
Education
Rizal first studied under Justiniano Aquino Cruz in Bian, Laguna before he was sent to Manila. As
to his father's request, he took the entrance examination in Colegio de San Juan de Letran and
studied there for almost three months. He then enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila and
graduated as one of the nine students in his class declared sobresaliente or outstanding. He
continued his education at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila to obtain a land surveyor and assessor's
degree, and at the same time at the University of Santo Tomas where he did take up a preparatory
course in law.[15] Upon learning that his mother was going blind, he decided to switch to medicine at
the medical school of Santo Tomas specializing later in ophthalmology.
Without his parents' knowledge and consent, but secretly supported by his brother Paciano, he
traveled alone to Madrid, Spain in May 1882 and studied medicine at the Universidad Central de
Madrid where he earned the degree, Licentiate in Medicine. Also, he also attended medical lectures
at the University of Parisand the University of Heidelberg. In Berlin he was inducted as a member of
the Berlin Ethnological Society and the Berlin Anthropological Society under the patronage of the
famous pathologist Rudolf Virchow. Following custom, he delivered an address in German in April
1887 before the Anthropological Society on the orthography and structure of the Tagalog language.
He left Heidelberg a poem, "A las flores del Heidelberg", which was both an evocation and a prayer
for the welfare of his native land and the unification of common values between East and West.
At Heidelberg, the 25-year-old Rizal, completed in 1887 his eye specialization under the renowned
professor, Otto Becker. There he used the newly invented ophthalmoscope (invented by Hermann
von Helmholtz) to later operate on his own mother's eye. From Heidelberg, Rizal wrote his parents: "I
spend half of the day in the study of German and the other half, in the diseases of the eye. Twice a
week, I go to the bierbrauerie, or beerhall, to speak German with my student friends." He lived in a
Karlstrae boarding house then moved to Ludwigsplatz. There, he met Reverend Karl Ullmer and
stayed with them in Wilhelmsfeld, where he wrote the last few chapters of Noli Me Tngere.
Rizal was a polymath, skilled in both science and the arts. He painted, sketched, and made
sculptures and woodcarving. He was a prolific poet, essayist, and novelist whose most famous
works were his two novels, Noli Me Tngere and its sequel, El filibusterismo.[note 3][7] These social
commentaries during theSpanish colonization of the country formed the nucleus of literature that
inspired peaceful reformists and armed revolutionaries alike. Rizal was also a polyglot, conversant in
twenty-two languages.[note 4][note 5][16][17]
Rizal's multifacetedness was described by his German friend, Dr. Adolf Meyer, as "stupendous."[note
6]
Documented studies show him to be a polymath with the ability to master various skills and
subjects.[16][18][18][19] He was an ophthalmologist, sculptor, painter, educator, farmer, historian,
playwright and journalist. Besides poetry and creative writing, he dabbled, with varying degrees of
expertise, in architecture, cartography, economics, ethnology, anthropology, sociology, dramatics,
martial arts, fencing and pistol shooting. He was also a Freemason, joining Acacia Lodge No. 9
during his time in Spain and becoming a Master Mason in 1884.
Rednaxela Terrace is where Dr. Jos Rizal lived during his self-imposed exile in Hong Kong (photo taken in 2011)
Jos Rizal's life is one of the most documented of 19th century Filipinos due to the vast and
extensive records written by and about him.[20] Almost everything in his short life is recorded
somewhere, being himself a regular diarist and prolific letter writer, much of the material having
survived. His biographers, however, have faced difficulty in translating his writings because of Rizal's
habit of switching from one language to another.
They drew largely from his travel diaries with their insights of a young Asian encountering the West
for the first time. They included his later trips, home and back again to Europe through Japan and
the United States,[21] and, finally, through his self-imposed exile in Hong Kong.
Shortly after he graduated from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila (now Ateneo de Manila University),
Rizal (who was then 16 years old) and a friend, Mariano Katigbak, came to visit Rizal's maternal
grandmother in Tondo, Manila. Mariano brought along his sister, Segunda Katigbak, a 14-year old
Batanguea from Lipa, Batangas. It was the first time they met and Rizal described Segunda as
"rather short, with eyes that were eloquent and ardent at times and languid at others, rosycheeked,
with an enchanting and provocative smile that revealed very beautiful teeth, and the air of a sylph;
her entire self diffused a mysterious charm." His grandmother's guests were mostly college students
and they knew that Rizal had skills in painting. They suggested that Rizal should make a portrait of
Segunda. He complied reluctantly and made a pencil sketch of her. Unfortunately for him, Katigbak
was engaged to Manuel Luz.[22]
From December 1891 to June 1892, Rizal lived with his family in Number 2 of Rednaxela Terrace,
Mid-levels, Hong Kong Island. Rizal used 5 D'Aguilar Street, Central district, Hong Kong Island as
his ophthalmologist clinic from 2 pm to 6 pm. This period of his life included his recorded affections
of which nine were identified. They were Gertrude Beckett of Chalcot Crescent (London), wealthy
and high-minded Nelly Boustead of the English and Iberian merchant family, last descendant of a
noble Japanese family Seiko Usui(affectionately called O-Sei-san), his earlier friendship
with Segunda Katigbak, Leonor Valenzuela, and eight-year romantic relationship with a distant
cousin, Leonor Rivera (popularly thought to be the inspiration for the character of Mara
Clara in Noli Me Tngere)
Leonor Rivera is thought to be the inspiration for the character of Maria Clara in Noli Me
Tngere and El Filibusterismo.[23] Rivera and Rizal first met in Manila when Rivera was only 14 years
old. When Rizal left for Europe on May 3, 1882, Rivera was 16 years of age. Their correspondence
began when Rizal left a poem for Rivera saying farewell.[24]
The correspondence between Rivera and Rizal kept Rizal focused on his studies in Europe. They
employed codes in their letters because Rivera's mother did not favor Rizal. A letter from Mariano
Katigbak dated June 27, 1884 referred to Rivera as Rizal's "betrothed". Katigbak described Rivera
as having been greatly affected by Rizal's departure, frequently sick because of insomnia.
When Rizal returned to the Philippines on August 5, 1887, Rivera and her family had moved back
to Dagupan, Pangasinan. Rizal was forbidden by his father Francisco Mercado to see Rivera in
order to avoid putting the Rivera family in danger because at the time Rizal was already labeled by
the Spaniards as a filibustero or subversive[24] because of his novel Noli Me Tngere. Rizal wanted to
marry Rivera while he was still in the Philippines because of Rivera's uncomplaining fidelity. Rizal
asked permission from his father one more time before his second departure from the Philippines.
The meeting never happened. In 1888, Rizal stopped receiving letters from Rivera for a year,
although Rizal kept sending letters to Rivera. The reason for Rivera's year of silence was the
connivance between Rivera's mother and the Englishman named Henry Kipping, a railway
engineer who fell in love with Rivera and was favored by Rivera's mother.[24][25] The news of Leonor
Rivera's marriage to Kipping devastated Rizal.
His European friends kept almost everything he gave them, including doodlings on pieces of paper.
In the home of a Spanish liberal, Pedro Ortiga y Prez, he left an impression that was to be
remembered by his daughter, Consuelo. In her diary, she wrote of a day Rizal spent there and
regaled them with his wit, social graces, and sleight-of-hand tricks. In London, during his research
on Morga's writings, he became a regular guest in the home of Dr. Reinhold Rost of the British
Museum who referred to him as "a gem of a man."[20][note 7] The family of Karl Ullmer, pastor
of Wilhelmsfeld, and the Blumentritts saved even buttonholes and napkins with sketches and notes.
They were ultimately bequeathed to the Rizal family to form a treasure trove of memorabilia.
Josephine Bracken was Rizal's common-law wife whom he reportedly married shortly before his execution
soles of my shoes for running to the mailbox to see if there is a letter from you. There will never be
any home in which you are so loved as in that in Brussels, so, you little bad boy, hurry up and come
back"[29] In 2007, Slachmuylders' group arranged for an historical marker honoring Rizal to be
placed at the house.[29]
The content of Rizal's writings changed considerably in his two most famous novels, Noli Me
Tngere, published in Berlin in 1887, and El Filibusterismo, published in Ghent in 1891. For the
latter, he used funds borrowed from his friends. These writings angered both the Spanish colonial
elite and many educated Filipinos due to their symbolism. They are critical of Spanish friars and the
power of the Church. Rizal's friend Ferdinand Blumentritt, an Austria-Hungary-born professor and
historian, wrote that the novel's characters were drawn from real life and that every episode can be
repeated on any day in the Philippines.[30]
Blumentritt was the grandson of the Imperial Treasurer at Vienna in the former Austro-Hungarian
Empire and a staunch defender of the Catholic faith. This did not dissuade him from writing the
preface of El filibusterismo after he had translated Noli Me Tngere into German. As Blumentritt had
warned, these books resulted in Rizal's being prosecuted as the inciter of revolution. He was
eventually tried by the military, convicted and executed. Teaching the natives where they stood
brought about an adverse reaction, as thePhilippine Revolution of 1896 took off virulently thereafter.
Leaders of the reform movement in Spain: Left to Right: Rizal, del Pilar, and Ponce (c. 1890).
As leader of the reform movement of Filipino students in Spain, Rizal contributed essays, allegories,
poems, and editorials to the Spanish newspaper La Solidaridad in Barcelona (in this case Rizal used
a pen name, Dimasalang). The core of his writings centers on liberal and progressive ideas of
individual rights and freedom; specifically, rights for the Filipino people. He shared the same
sentiments with members of the movement: that the Philippines is battling, in Rizal's own words, "a
double-faced Goliath"corrupt friars and bad government. His commentaries reiterate the following
agenda:[note 8]
The colonial authorities in the Philippines did not favor these reforms. Such Spanish intellectuals as
Morayta, Unamuno, Pi y Margall, and others did endorse them.
Wenceslao Retana, a political commentator in Spain, had slighted Rizal by writing an insulting article
in La Epoca, a newspaper in Madrid. He implied that the family and friends of Rizal were evicted
from their lands in Calamba for not having paid their due rents. The incident (when Rizal was ten)
stemmed from an accusation that Rizal's mother, Teodora, tried to poison the wife of a cousin, but
she said she was trying to help. With the approval of the Church prelates, and without a hearing, she
was ordered to prison in Santa Cruz in 1871. She was made to walk the ten miles (16 km) from
Calamba. She was released after two-and-a-half years of appeals to the highest court.[19] In 1887,
Rizal wrote a petition on behalf of the tenants of Calamba, and later that year led them to speak out
against the friars' attempts to raise rent. They initiated a litigation which resulted in the Dominicans'
evicting them from their homes, including the Rizal family. General Valeriano Weyler had the
buildings on the farm torn down.
Upon reading the article, Rizal sent a representative to challenge Retana to a duel. Retana
published a public apology and later became one of Rizal's biggest admirers, writing Rizal's most
important biography, Vida y Escritos del Jos Rizal.[31][note 9]
Rizal was implicated in the activities of the nascent rebellion and in July 1892, was deported
to Dapitan in the province of Zamboanga, a peninsula ofMindanao.[32] There he built a school, a
hospital and a water supply system, and taught and engaged in farming and horticulture.[citation
needed]
Abaca, then the vital raw material for cordage and which Rizal and his students planted in the
thousands, was a memorial.[citation needed]
The boys' school, which taught in Spanish, and included English as a foreign language (considered
a prescient if unusual option then) was conceived by Rizal and antedated Gordonstoun with its aims
of inculcating resourcefulness and self-sufficiency in young men.[citation needed] They would later enjoy
successful lives as farmers and honest government officials.[citation needed] One, a Muslim, became
a datu, and another, Jos Aseniero, who was with Rizal throughout the life of the school, became
Governor of Zamboanga.[citation needed]
In Dapitan, the Jesuits mounted a great effort to secure his return to the fold led by Fray Snchez,
his former professor, who failed in his mission. The task was resumed by Fray Pastells, a prominent
member of the Order. In a letter to Pastells, Rizal sails close to the ecumenism familiar to us today.[33]
"We are entirely in accord in admitting the existence of God. How can I doubt his when I am
convinced of mine. Who so recognizes the effect recognizes the cause. To doubt God is to doubt
one's own conscience, and in consequence, it would be to doubt everything; and then what is life
for? Now then, my faithin God, if the result of a ratiocination may be called faith, is blind, blind in the
sense of knowing nothing. I neither believe nor disbelieve the qualities which many attribute to him;
before theologians' and philosophers' definitions and lucubrations of this ineffable and inscrutable
being I find myself smiling. Faced with the conviction of seeing myself confronting the supreme
Problem, which confused voices seek to explain to me, I cannot but reply: 'It could be; but the God
that I foreknow is far more grand, far more good: Plus Supra!...I believe in (revelation); but not in
revelation or revelations which each religion or religions claim to possess. Examining them
impartially, comparing them and scrutinizing them, one cannot avoid discerning the human
'fingernail' and the stamp of the time in which they were written... No, let us not make God in our
image, poor inhabitants that we are of a distant planet lost in infinite space. However, brilliant and
sublime our intelligence may be, it is scarcely more than a small spark which shines and in an
instant is extinguished, and it alone can give us no idea of that blaze, that conflagration, that ocean
of light. I believe in revelation, but in that living revelation which surrounds us on every side, in that
voice, mighty, eternal, unceasing, incorruptible, clear, distinct, universal as is the being from whom it
proceeds, in that revelation which speaks to us and penetrates us from the moment we are born until
we die. What books can better reveal to us the goodness of God, his love, his providence, his
eternity, his glory, his wisdom? 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth
his handiwork'."[34]
His best friend, professor Ferdinand Blumentritt, kept him in touch with European friends and fellowscientists who wrote a stream of letters which arrived in Dutch, French, German and English and
which baffled the censors, delaying their transmittal. Those four years of his exile coincided with the
development of the Philippine Revolution from inception and to its final breakout, which, from the
viewpoint of the court which was to try him, suggested his complicity in it.[20] He condemned the
uprising, although all the members of the Katipunan had made him their honorary president and had
used his name as a cry for war, unity, and liberty.[35]
He is known to making the resolution of bearing personal sacrifice instead of the incoming
revolution, believing that a peaceful stand is the best way to avoid further suffering in the country
and loss of Filipino lives. In Rizal's own words, "I consider myself happy for being able to suffer a
little for a cause which I believe to be sacred [...]. I believe further that in any undertaking, the more
one suffers for it, the surer its success. If this be fanaticism may God pardon me, but my poor
judgment does not see it as such."[36]
In Dapitan, Rizal wrote "Haec Est Sibylla Cumana", a parlor-game for his students, with questions
and answers for which a wooden top was used. In 2004, Jean Paul Verstraeten traced this book and
the wooden top, as well as Rizal's personal watch, spoon and salter.
Execution
Moments before his execution on December 30, 1896 by a squad of Filipino soldiers of the Spanish
Army, a backup force of regular Spanish Army troops stood ready to shoot the executioners should
they fail to obey orders.[37] The Spanish Army Surgeon General requested to take his pulse: it was
normal. Aware of this the Sergeant commanding the backup force hushed his men to silence when
they began raising "vivas" with the highly partisan crowd of Peninsular and Mestizo Spaniards. His
last words were those of Jesus Christ: "consummatum est",--it is finished.[16][38][note 10]
He was secretly buried in Pac Cemetery in Manila with no identification on his grave. His sister
Narcisa toured all possible gravesites and found freshly turned earth at the cemetery with guards
posted at the gate. Assuming this could be the most likely spot, there never having any ground
burials, she made a gift to the caretaker to mark the site "RPJ", Rizal's initials in reverse.
His undated poem, Mi ltimo adis believed to be written a few days before his execution, was
hidden in an alcohol stove, which was later handed to his family with his few remaining possessions,
including the final letters and his last bequests.[39]:91 During their visit, Rizal reminded his sisters in
English, "There is something inside it", referring to the alcohol stove given by the Pardo de Taveras
which was to be returned after his execution, thereby emphasizing the importance of the poem. This
instruction was followed by another, "Look in my shoes", in which another item was secreted.
Exhumation of his remains in August 1898, under American rule, revealed he had been uncoffined,
his burial not on sanctified ground granted the 'confessed' faithful, and whatever was in his shoes
had disintegrated.[19]
In his letter to his family he wrote: "Treat our aged parents as you would wish to be treated...Love
them greatly in memory of me...December 30, 1896."[20] He gave his family instructions for his burial:
"Bury me in the ground. Place a stone and a cross over it. My name, the date of my birth and of my
death. Nothing more. If later you wish to surround my grave with a fence, you can do it. No
anniversaries."[40]
In his final letter, to Blumentritt Tomorrow at 7, I shall be shot; but I am innocent of the crime of
rebellion. I am going to die with a tranquil conscience.[20] Rizal is believed to be the first Filipino
revolutionary whose death is attributed entirely to his work as a writer; and through dissent and civil
disobedience enabled him to successfully destroy Spain's moral primacy to rule. He also
bequeathed a book personally bound by him in Dapitan to his 'best and dearest friend.' When
Blumentritt received it in his hometown Litomice(Leitmeritz) he broke down and wept.
Poetry
A La Juventud Filipina
El Canto Del Viajero
Briayle Crismarl
Canto Del Viajero
Canto de Mara Clara
Dalit sa Paggawa
Felictacin
Kundiman (Tagalog)
Me Piden Versos
Mi primera inspiracion
Mi Retiro
Mi Ultimo Adis
Por La Educacin (Recibe Lustre La Patria)
Sa Sanggol na si Jesus
To My Muse (A Mi Musa)
Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo
A Man in Dapitan
Plays
Other works
Rizal also tried his hand at painting and sculpture. His most famous sculptural work was "The
Triumph of Science over Death", a clay sculpture of a naked young woman with overflowing hair,
standing on a skull while bearing a torch held high. The woman symbolized the ignorance of
humankind during the Dark Ages, while the torch she bore symbolized the enlightenment science
brings over the whole world. He sent the sculpture as a gift to his dear friend Ferdinand Blumentritt,
together with another one named "The Triumph of Death over Life".
The woman is shown trampling the skull, a symbol of death, to signify the victory the humankind
achieved by conquering the bane of death through their scientific advancements. The original
sculpture is now displayed at the Rizal Shrine Museum at Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. A
large replica, made of concrete, stands in front of Fernando Caldern Hall, the building which
houses the College of Medicine of the University of the Philippines Manila along Pedro Gil Street in
Ermita, Manila.
Retraction controversy
Several historians report that Rizal retracted his anti-Catholic ideas through a document which
stated: "I retract with all my heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and conduct have
been contrary to my character as a son of the Catholic Church."[note 11] However, there are doubts of
its authenticity given that there is no certificate of Rizal's Catholic marriage to Josephine
Bracken.[46] Also there is an allegation that the retraction document was a forgery.[47]
After analyzing six major documents of Rizal, Ricardo Pascual concluded that the retraction
document, said to have been discovered in 1935, was not in Rizal's handwriting. Senator Rafael
Palma, a former President of the University of the Philippines and a prominent Mason, argued that a
retraction is not in keeping with Rizal's character and mature beliefs.[48] He called the retraction story
a "pious fraud."[49] Others who deny the retraction are Frank Laubach,[16] a Protestant minister; Austin
Coates,[25] a British writer; and Ricardo Manapat, director of the National Archives.[50]
Those who affirm the authenticity of Rizal's retraction are prominent Philippine historians such
as Nick Joaquin,[note 12]Nicolas Zafra of UP[51] Len Mara Guerrero III,[note 13] Gregorio
Zaide,[53] Guillermo Gmez Rivera, Ambeth Ocampo,[50]John Schumacher,[54] Antonio Molina,[55] Paul
Dumol[56] and Austin Craig.[19] They take the retraction document as authentic, having been judged as
such by a foremost expert on the writings of Rizal, Teodoro Kalaw (a 33rd degree Mason) and
"handwriting experts...known and recognized in our courts of justice", H. Otley Beyer and Dr. Jos I.
Del Rosario, both of UP.[51]
Historians also refer to 11 eyewitnesses when Rizal wrote his retraction, signed a Catholic prayer
book, and recited Catholic prayers, and the multitude who saw him kiss the crucifix before his
execution. A great grand nephew of Rizal, Fr. Marciano Guzman, cites that Rizal's
4confessions were certified by 5 eyewitnesses, 10 qualified witnesses, 7 newspapers, and 12
historians and writers including Aglipayan bishops, Masons and anti-clericals.[57] One witness was the
head of the Spanish Supreme Court at the time of his notarized declaration and was highly
esteemed by Rizal for his integrity.[58]
Because of what he sees as the strength these direct evidence have in the light of the historical
method, in contrast with merelycircumstantial evidence, UP professor emeritus of history Nicolas
Zafra called the retraction "a plain unadorned fact of history."[51]Guzmn attributes the denial of
retraction to "the blatant disbelief and stubbornness" of some Masons.[57]
Supporters see in the retraction Rizal's "moral courage...to recognize his mistakes,"[53][note
14]
his reversion to the "true faith", and thus his "unfading glory,"[58] and a return to the "ideals of his
fathers" which "did not diminish his stature as a great patriot; on the contrary, it increased that
stature to greatness."[61] On the other hand, senator Jose Dioknostated, "Surely whether Rizal died
as a Catholic or an apostate adds or detracts nothing from his greatness as a Filipino... Catholic or
Mason, Rizal is still Rizal - the hero who courted death 'to prove to those who deny our patriotism
that we know how to die for our duty and our beliefs'."[62]
claimed a nobler victim?"[63] Subsequently, the US Congress passed the bill into law which is now
known as the Philippine Organic Act of 1902.[64]
This was a major breakthrough for a US Congress that had yet to grant equal rights to African
Americans guaranteed to them in the US Constitution and the Chinese Exclusion Act was still in
effect. It created the Philippine legislature, appointed two Filipino delegates to the US Congress,
extended the US Bill of Rights to Filipinos, and laid the foundation for an autonomous government.
The colony was on its way to independence.[64] The Americans, however, would not sign the bill into
law until 1916 and did not recognize Philippine Independence until the Treaty of Manila in 1946fifty
years after Rizal's death.This same poem which has inspired liberty-loving peoples across the region
and beyond was recited (in its Indonesian translation by Rosihan Anwar) by Indonesian soldiers of
independence before going into battle.[65]
Rizal Shrine in Calamba City, Laguna, the ancestral house and birthplace of Jos Rizal, is now a museum housing
Rizal memorabilia.
Jos Rizal's original grave at Paco Park in Manila. Slightly renovated and date repainted in English.
The veracity of both claims seems to be justified and hence difficult to ascertain. However, most
historians agree that a majority of Filipinos were unaware of Rizal during his lifetime,[78] as he was a
member of the richer elite classes (he was born in an affluent family, had lived abroad for nearly as
long as he had lived in the Philippines) and wrote primarily in an elite language (at that
time, Tagalog andCebuano were the languages of the masses) about ideals as lofty as freedom (the
masses were more concerned about day to day issues like earning money and making a living,
something which has not changed much today either)[79]
Teodoro Agoncillo opines that the Philippine national hero, unlike those of other countries, is not "the
leader of its liberation forces". He gives the opinion that Andrs Bonifacio not replace Rizal as
national hero, like some have suggested, but that be honored alongside him.[80]
Constantino's analysis has been criticised for its polemicism and inaccuracies.[81] The historian
Rafael Palma, contends that the revolution of Bonifacio is a consequence wrought by the writings of
Rizal and that although the Bonifacio's revolver produced an immediate outcome, the pen of Rizal
generated a more lasting achievement.[82]
Critiques of Books
Others present him as a man of contradictions. Miguel de Unamuno in "Rizal: the Tagalog Hamlet",
said of him, "a soul that dreads the revolution although deep down desires it. He pivots between fear
and hope, between faith and despair."[85] His critics assert this character flaw is translated into his two
novels where he opposes violence in Noli and appears to advocate it in Fili, contrasting Ibarra's
idealism to Simoun's cynicism. His defenders insist this ambivalence is trounced when Simoun is
struck down in the sequel's final chapters, reaffirming the author's resolute stance, Pure and
spotless must the victim be if the sacrifice is to be acceptable.[86]
Many thinkers tend to find the characters of Maria Clara and Ibarra (Noli me Tangere) poor role
models, Maria Clara being too frail, and young Ibarra being too accepting of circumstances, rather
than being courageous and bold.[87]
In El Filibusterismo, Rizal had Father Florentino say: "...our liberty will (not) be secured at the
sword's point...we must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it. And when a people reaches that
height God will provide a weapon, the idols will be shattered, tyranny will crumble like a house of
cards and liberty will shine out like the first dawn."[86] Rizal's attitude to the Philippine Revolution is
also debated, not only based on his own writings, but also due to the varying eyewitness accounts
of Po Valenzuela, a doctor who in 1895 had consulted Rizal in Dapitan on behalf of Bonifacio and
the Katipunan.
forces since he had studied military science.[note 17] In the event that the Katipunan was discovered
prematurely, they should fight rather than allow themselves to be killed. Valenzuela said to
historian Teodoro Agoncillo that he had lied to the Spanish military authorities about Rizal's true
stance toward a revolution in an attempt to exculpate him.[88]
Before his execution, Rizal wrote a proclamation denouncing the revolution. But as noted by
historian Floro Quibuyen, his final poem Mi ultimo adios contains a stanza which equates his coming
execution and the rebels then dying in battle as fundamentally the same, as both are dying for their
country.[89]
Legacy
Rizal was a contemporary of Gandhi, Tagore and Sun Yat Sen who also advocated liberty through
peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. Coinciding with the appearance of those other
leaders, Rizal from an early age had been enunciating in poems, tracts and plays, ideas all his own
of modern nationhood as a practical possibility in Asia. In the Noli he stated that if European
civilization had nothing better to offer, colonialism in Asia was doomed.[note 18]
Though popularly mentioned, especially on blogs, there is no evidence to suggest that Gandhi or
Nehru may have corresponded with Rizal, neither have they mentioned him in any of their
memmoirs or letters.But it was documented by Rizal's biographer, Austin Coates who interviewed
Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi that Rizal was mentioned, specifically in Nehru's prison letters to his
daughter Indira.[90]
As a political figure, Jos Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that
subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by Andrs Bonifacio,[note 19], a secret society which would
start the Philippine Revolution against Spain that eventually laid the foundation of the First Philippine
Republic under Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of achieving Philippine self-government
peacefully through institutional reform rather than through violent revolution, and would only support
"violent means" as a last resort.[92] Rizal believed that the only justification for national liberation and
self-government was the restoration of the dignity of the people,[note 20] saying "Why independence, if
the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow?"[93] However, through careful examination of his
works and statements, including Mi Ultimo Adios, Rizal reveals himself as a revolutionary. His image
as the Tagalog Christ also intensified early reverence to him.
Rizal, through his reading of Morga and other western historians, knew of the genial image of
Spain's early relations with his people.[94] In his writings, he showed the disparity between the early
colonialists and those of his day, with the latter's injustices giving rise to Gomburzaand the Philippine
Revolution of 1896. The English biographer, Austin Coates, and writer, Benedict Anderson, believe
that Rizal gave the Philippine revolution a genuinely national character; and that Rizal's patriotism
and his standing as one of Asia's first intellectuals have inspired others of the importance of a
national identity to nation-building.[25][note 21]
The Belgian researcher Jean Paul "JP" Verstraeten authored several books about Jose Rizal: Rizal
in Belgium and France, Jose Rizal's Europe, Growing up like Rizal (published by the National
Historical Institute and in teacher's programs all over the Philippines), Reminiscences and Travels of
Jose Rizal and Jose Rizal "Pearl of Unselfishness". He received an award from the president of the
Philippines "in recognition of his unwavering support and commitment to promote the health and
education of disadvantaged Filipinos, and his invaluable contribution to engender the teachings and
ideals of Dr. Jose Rizal in the Philippines and in Europe". One of the greatest researchers about
Rizal nowadays is Lucien Spittael.
Several titles were bestowed on him: "the First Filipino", "Greatest Man of the Brown Race", among
others. The Order of the Knights of Rizal, a civic and patriotic organization, boasts of dozens of
chapters all over the globe [3] [4]. There are some remote-area religious sects who claim him as a
sublimation of Christ.[96] In September 1903, he wascanonised as a saint in the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente, however it was revoked in the 1950s.[97]
Historical commemoration
Although his field of action lay in politics, Rizal's real interests lay in
the arts and sciences, in literature and in his profession as an
ophthalmologist. Shortly after his death, the Anthropological Society
of Berlin met to honor him with a reading of a German translation of
his farewell poem and Dr. Rudolf Virchow delivering the eulogy.[101]
The Rizal Monument now stands near the place where he fell at the
Luneta in Bagumbayan, which is now called Rizal Park, a national
park in Manila. The monument, which also contains his remains,
was designed by the Swiss Richard Kissling of the William
Tel sculpture in Altdorf, Uri.[note 22] The monument carries the
inscription "I want to show to those who deprive people the right to
love of country, that when we know how to sacrifice ourselves for
our duties and convictions, death does not matter if one dies for
those one loves for his country and for others dear to him."[20]
The Taft Commission in June 1901 approved Act 137 renaming the
District of Morong into the Province of Rizal. Today, the wide
acceptance of Rizal is evidenced by the countless towns, streets,
and numerous parks in the Philippines named in his honor.
The National Historical Institute Logo for the 150th Birth Anniversary of
Jos Rizal
The Hong Kong Government erected a plaque beside Dr. Jos Rizal's
residence in Hong Kong
Biographical films
Several films were produced narrating Rizal's life. The most successful was Jos Rizal, (Directed by
Marilou Diaz Abaya, produced by GMA Films and released in 1998). Cesar Montano played the title
role.[116] A year before it was shown another movie was made portraying his life while in exile in the
island of Dapitan. Titled Rizal sa Dapitan produced by Viva Films it stars Albert Martnez as Rizal
and Amanda Page as Josephine Bracken. The film was the top grosser of the 1997 Manila Film
Festival and won the best actor and actress trophies.[citation needed] Another film that tackled particularly
on the heroism of Rizal was the 2000 film Bayaning 3rd World, directed by Mike de Leon and
starring Joel Torre as Jos Rizal.
Others
[hide]
Inez de la Rosa
Josefa
Francisco Mercado
Juan Mercado
Bernarda Monicha
Cirila Alejandro
Clemente Mercado
Juan Alonso
Lucia Rizal
Olympia Rizal
Manuel de Quintos
Lorenzo Alberto Alonso
Manuel Alonso
Narcisa Rizal
Paciano Rizal
Eugenio Ursua
Jos Rizal
Mara Rizal
Concepcin Rizal
Gregorio Alonso
Josefa Rizal
Trinidad Riz
This does not include all of the ancestor's siblings, only the notable on
See also
Notes
1. Jump up^ When Jos was baptized, the record showed his
parents as Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Realonda."Jos
Rizals Lineage"
2. Jump up^ At age 8 (in 1869) he was reputed to have written the
poem Sa aking mga Kabata and had for its theme the love of one's
native language.[14]
3. Jump up^ His novel Noli was one of the first novels in Asia written
outside Japan and China and was one of the first novels of anticolonial rebellion. Read Benedict Anderson's commentary: [1].
4. Jump up^ He was conversant in Spanish, French, Latin, Greek,
German, Portuguese, Italian, English, Dutch, and Japanese. Rizal
also made translations from Arabic, Swedish, Russian, Chinese,
Greek, Hebrew and Sanskrit. He translated the poetry
of Schiller into his native Tagalog. In addition he had at least some
knowledge of Malay, Chavacano, Cebuano, Ilocano, and Subanun.
5. Jump up^ In his essay, "Reflections of a Filipino", (La Solidaridad,
c.1888), he wrote: "Man is multiplied by the number of languages
he possesses and speaks."
6. Jump up^ Adolf Bernard Meyer (18401911) was a German
ornithologist and anthropologist, and author of the
book Philippinen-typen (Dresden, 1888)
7. Jump up^ Dr. Reinhold Rost was the head of the India Office at
the British Museum and a renowned 19th century philologist.
8. Jump up^ In his letter "Manifesto to Certain Filipinos" (Manila,
1896), he states: Reforms, if they are to bear fruit, must come from
above; for reforms that come from below are upheavals both
violent and transitory.(Epistolario Rizalino, op cit)
9. Jump up^ According to Laubach, Retana more than any other
supporter who 'saved Rizal for posterity'. (Laubach, op.cit., p. 383)
10. Jump up^ Rizal's trial was regarded a travesty even by prominent
Spaniards of his day. Soon after his execution, the
philosopher Miguel de Unamuno in an impassioned utterance
recognized Rizal as a "Spaniard", "...profoundly and intimately
Spanish, far more Spanish than those wretched menforgive
them, Lord, for they knew not what they didthose wretched men,
who over his still warm body hurled like an insult heavenward that
blasphemous cry, 'Viva Espana!'"Miguel de Unamuno, epilogue to
Wenceslao Retana's Vida y Escritos del Dr. Jos Rizal.(Retana,
op. cit.)
11. Jump up^ Me retracto de todo corazon de cuanto en mis
palabras, escritos, impresos y conducta ha habido contrario mi
cualidad de hijo de la Iglesia Catlica: Jesus Cavanna, Rizal's
Unfading Glory: A Documentary History of the Conversion of Dr.
Jos Rizal (Manila: 1983)
12. Jump up^ Joaquin, Nick, Rizal in Saga, Philippine National
Centennial Commission, 1996:""It seems clear now that he did
retract, that he went to confession, heard mass, received
communion, and was married to Josephine, on the eve of his
death".
13. Jump up^ "That is a matter for handwriting experts, and the
weight of expert opinion is in favor of authenticity. It is nonsense to
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
say that the retraction does not prove Rizal's conversion; the
language of the document is unmistakable."[52]
Jump up^ The retraction, Javier de Pedro contends, is the end of
a process which started with a personal crisis as Rizal finished
the Fili.[59][60]
Jump up^ Rizal's third novel Makamisa was rescued from oblivion
by Ocampo.
Jump up^ Bonifacio later mobilized his men to attempt to liberate
Rizal while in Fort Santiago. (Laubach, op.cit., chap. 15)
Jump up^ Antonio Luna denounced the Katipunan, but became a
general under Emilio Aguinaldo's First Republic and fought in
the PhilippineAmerican War.
Jump up^ Also stated in Rizal's essay, "The Philippines: A
Century Hence", The batteries are gradually becoming charged
and if the prudence of the government does not provide an outlet
for the currents that are accumulating, someday the sparks will be
generated. (read etext at Project Gutenberg)
Jump up^ Bonifacio was a member of La Liga Filipina. After
Rizal's arrest and exile, it was disbanded and the group splintered
into two factions; the more radical group formed into the Katipunan,
the militant arm of the insurrection.[91]
Jump up^ Rizal's annotations of Morga's Sucesos de las islas
Filipinas (1609), which he copied word for word from the British
Museum and had published, called attention to an antiquated book,
a testimony to the well-advanced civilization in the Philippines
during pre-Spanish era. In his essay "The Indolence of the Filipino"
Rizal stated that three centuries of Spanish rule did not do much
for the advancement of his countryman; in fact there was a
'retrogression', and the Spanish colonialists have transformed him
into a 'half-way brute.' The absence of moral stimulus, the lack of
material inducement, the demoralization--'the indio should not be
separated from his carabao', the endless wars, the lack of a
national sentiment, the Chinese piracyall these factors,
according to Rizal, helped the colonial rulers succeed in placing
the indio 'on a level with the beast'. (Read English translation
by Charles Derbyshire at Project Gutenberg.)
Jump up^ According to Anderson, Rizal is one of the best
exemplars of nationalist thinking.[95] (See also (subscription required))
Jump up^ Rizal himself translated Schiller's William Tell into
Tagalog in 1886.[102]
References
1. ^ Jump up to:a b Valdez, Valdez & Et Al 2007, p. 59.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b Valdez, Valdez & Et Al 2007, p. 7.
3. Jump up^ Nery, John (2011). "Revolutionary Spirit: Jose Rizal in
Southeast Asia", pg. 240. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies,
Singapore. ISBN 978-981-4345-06-4.
4. Jump up^ Fadul 2008, pg. 31.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b Fadul 2008, p.21.
6. Jump up^ "Selection and Proclamation of National Heroes and
Laws Honoring Filipino Historical Figures". Reference and
Research Bureau Legislative Research Service, House of
Congress. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
74. Jump up^ Constantino, Renato (30 December 1969). "Rizal Day
Lecture". Philippine Inquirer. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
75. Jump up^ Constantino, Renato (1980) [1970], "Veneration without
Understanding, Dissent and Counter-consciousness", pp. 125
145. Malaya Books, Quezon City .
76. Jump up^ "Aguinaldo's Rizal Day Decree, 1898". Philippine
Freemasons. Retrieved 3 September2013.
77. Jump up^ "General Emilio Aguinaldo decrees December 30, 1898
as a national day of mourning".El Heraldo dela Revolucion. 25
December 1898. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
78. Jump up^ Ocampo, Ambeth. "Was Jose Rizal an Americansponsored Hero?". Reflections of Jose Rizal. NHCP - National
Historical Commission of The Philippines. Retrieved 3
September2013.
79. Jump up^ Zaide, Gregorio and Sonia (1999). Jose Rizal: Life,
Works, and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist and National
Hero. Quezon City: All Nations publishing Co. Inc.ISBN 971-642070-6.
80. Jump up^ Agoncillo, Teodoro (1990) [1960], "History of the
Filipino People (8th ed.)". Garotech Publishing Inc., Quezon
City. ISBN 971-8711-06-6
81. Jump up^ Couttie, Bob (2007). "The End of Veneration".
Scribd.com. Retrieved on 2012-09-29.
82. Jump up^ Rafael Palma (1949). "Pride of the Malay Race", pg.
367. Prentice Hall, New York.
83. Jump up^ Ambeth Ocampo (1990). "Rizal without the Overcoat".
Anvil Publishing Co., Manila. ISBN 971-27-0043-7.
84. Jump up^ Ocampo, Ambeth. "Demythologizing Rizal". Retrieved
2007-01-10.
85. Jump up^ Miguel de Unamuno, "The Tagalog Hamlet" in Rizal:
Contrary Essays, edited by D. Feria and P. Daroy (Manila: National
Book Store, 1968).
86. ^ Jump up to:a b Jos Rizal, El Filibusterismo (Ghent: 1891)
chap.39, translated by Andrea Tablan and Salud Enriquez (Manila:
Marian Publishing House, 2001) ISBN 971-686-154-0. (online text
at Project Gutenberg)
87. Jump up^ Lua, Shirley (22 August 2011). "Love, Loss and the
Noli". The Philippine Inquirer. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
88. Jump up^ Agoncillo, Teodoro. The Revolt of the Masses.
89. Jump up^ Quibuyen, A Nation Aborted: Rizal, American
Hegemony, And Philippine Nationalism
90. Jump up^ Look, Wing, Kam (1997). Jose Rizal and Mahatma
Gandhi: nationalism and non- violence. Hongkong: The University
Of Hongkong.
91. Jump up^ [2]. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
92. Jump up^ Trillana III, Dr. Pablo S. "2 historical events led to birth
of modern RP". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
93. Jump up^ Jos Rizal (2007). The Reign of Greed. Echo Library.
pp. 231. ISBN 978-1-4068-3936-4.
94. Jump up^ Jos Rizal, "Indolence of the Filipino". Retrieved on
2007-01-10.
95. Jump up^ Anderson Benedict (2005). "Under Three Flags:
anarchism and the anti colonial imagination". Verso Publication,
London. ISBN 1-84467-037-6.
Sources
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Categories:
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