Comprehensive Study Notes on the Life and Works of Jose Rizal
National Hero and the Rizal Law
The Taft Commission selected Jose Rizal from a group of distinguished Filipinos to be recognized as the primary national hero of the people.
Republic Act , commonly referred to as the Rizal Law, was authored by Senator Claro M. Recto. It was officially signed on .
The most current full name recorded for the hero is Jose Protacio Realonda Alonso Mercado Rizal. Previously, it was documented as Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda.
The meaning of the name indicates he was a child from a respectable family.
Rizal was born on , during the late evening between the hours of and , occurring a few days prior to a full moon.
His baptism took place on . The ceremony was performed by Father Rufino Collantes, with Father Pedro Casañas serving as the godfather.
Genealogy of Jose Rizal
Genealogy is defined as the formal study of ancestry and family histories, conducted by experts known as genealogists.
Paternal Chinese Ancestry:
Domingo Lam-co was the paternal ancestor of Rizal. He was a native of the Chinchew district in China and was baptized in the Parian church of San Gabriel on a Sunday in .
Inez dela Rosa, the wife of Lam-co, was half his age. Her parents were Agustin Chinco and Jacinta Rafaela.
The Mercado Clan:
Francisco Mercado y Chinco, Rizal's father, was a prosperous landowner and a planter of sugar and rice. He was of Chinese-Filipino descent.
He was born on , in Biñan and lived to be . He was the youngest of siblings.
Francisco was well-educated, having studied Latin and philosophy at the Colegio de San Jose in Manila.
His parents were Captain Juan Mercado, who served as the gobernadorcillo (mayor) of Biñan, and Cirila Alejandra.
The Alonso Clan:
Teodora Alonso, Rizal's mother, was among the most highly educated women in the Philippines during her time.
Her heritage included Ilocano, Tagalog, Chinese, and Spanish descent, with possibilities of Japanese blood.
Born on , she lived to the age of . She attended the Colegio de Santa Rosa and was gifted in literature, art, music, and Filipino culture.
She was the daughter of Brigida de Quintos.
The maternal great-great-grandfather was Eugenio Ursua, through whom the family claims Japanese ancestry.
Surnames and the Claveria List
A new family name was adopted following the Royal Decree of , issued by Governor General Narciso Claveria y Zaldua on .
Approved family names were compiled in the "Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos".
The name "Rizal" is a shortened version of the Spanish word for "second crop," which was deemed appropriate for a family of farmers. It originates from the word "Ricial," which translates literally to mean "rice field."
The Rizal Siblings
Jose was the child in a family of children and the younger of the boys.
Saturnina: The eldest sibling; married Manuel Hidalgo. She was responsible for publishing Pascual H. Poblete’s Tagalog translation of Noli Me Tangere.
Paciano: The eldest son, senior to Jose. He served as a Major General in the revolutionary army and married Severina Decena.
Narcisa: Known as Doña Sisa; she possessed the ability to recite all of Jose Rizal’s poems from memory. She married Antonio Lopez.
Olympia: Married Silvestre Ubaldo, who worked as a telegraph operator in Manila.
Lucia: Married Mariano Herbosa. Following Herbosa's death due to cholera, he was denied a Christian burial.
Maria: Married Daniel Faustino Cruz.
Jose: The national hero.
Concepcion: Also known as Concha; she passed away at the age of .
Josefa: Remained a spinster.
Trinidad: Remained a spinster.
Soledad: The youngest sibling; married Pantaleon Quintero. She attended La Concordia College where she was classmates with Leonor Rivera.
Hereditary and Ancestral Influences
Influences from Father: A deep-seated sense of self-respect, the habit of independent thinking, and a strong love for work.
Influences from Mother: Scientific ability, a religious nature, the spirit of self-sacrifice, and a passion for arts and literature.
Malayan Ancestors: A love for freedom, an innate desire to travel, and indomitable courage.
Chinese Ancestors: A serious nature, frugality, patience, and love for children.
Spanish Ancestors: Elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult, and gallantry toward ladies.
Early Childhood and Education
Age : Jose learned the alphabet and prayers from his mother, Teodora, his first teacher. He later studied under Maestro Celestino, Maestro Lucas Padua, and Leon Monroy, who provided introductory Latin lessons. His siblings called him "Ute," while townspeople in Calamba called him "Pepe" or "Pepito."
Age : He began reading the Spanish Family Bible, known as the Historia Sagrada, though not yet fluently.
Age : For a local fiesta, he wrote a comedy that showcased his literary talent; he was rewarded with for this work.
Age : He penned the poem "Sa Aking mga Kabata."
Age : He wrote the poem "Mother's Birthday" and was sent to a boys' school in Biñan under the instruction of Dr. Justiniano Aquino Cruz.
Education at Ateneo Municipal
On , Paciano accompanied Jose to Manila to matriculate at Ateneo Municipal (formerly Escuela Pia).
The registrar, Father Magin Ferrando, initially refused Jose's admission for two reasons: he arrived late for registration, and he was physically undersized and appeared sickly for his age. He was ultimately admitted through the intercession of Manuel Xerez-Burgos, the nephew of Father Burgos.
Jose first boarded at a house on Caraballo Street, which was a walk from the school. The house was owned by a spinster named Titay, who owed the Rizal family .
His first professor was Jose Bech.
The students were organized into two empires competing for academic supremacy: the Roman (internos/boarders) and the Carthaginian (externos/non-boarders). Jose eventually became the "Emperor of Carthaginian."
He was celebrated as a creative scholar, original thinker, and natural leader. His favorite teacher was Father Francisco de Paula Sanchez, whom he regarded as the "best professor" at the institution.
He took private Spanish lessons at Santa Isabel College during noon recesses, paying per session.
During his time at Ateneo, his mother was imprisoned.
Formative Reading: The first foreign book he read was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. He was also deeply moved by Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor Jagor, a book that criticized the Spanish regime and inspired him to educate his fellow Filipinos.
He gained the reputation of being the "Pride of the Jesuits."
Education at the University of Santo Tomas (UST)
Jose enrolled as both a philosophy and a medical student. However, he did not achieve the same level of academic success at UST as he had in Ateneo and failed to obtain high academic records.
Selected Literary Works and Writings
A La Juventud Filipina (To the Philippine Youth): A poem that won a special prize while he was still at Ateneo.
Por La Educacion Recibe Lustre la Patria (Through Education Our Motherland Receives Light): Written during his Ateneo years, suggesting education is vital to national character.
Alianza intima la religion y la educacion (The Intimate Alliance between Religion and Education): An expression of the necessity of religion in the educational process; he believed education without God was not true education.
A la Virgen Maria (To the Virgin Mary): His first identified "sad" poem.
Al Niño Jesus (To the Child Jesus): A short ode consisting of only verses, classified as an octava real.
In Memory of my Village: A nostalgic poem recalling his happy childhood in Calamba.
Council of the Gods: An award-winning allegory that initially took first place in a competition, though the decision was later reversed.
Mi Primera Inspiracion (My First Inspiration): Dedicated to his mother.
The Philippines a Century Hence (Filipinas dentro de cien años): An essay predicting the future of the nation.
Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell): An untitled elegy written before his death; the title was later assigned by his friend Mariano Ponce.
Journeys to Europe
On , Jose secretly departed the Philippines on the S.S. Salvadora.
He enrolled in medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid on , under Professor Marquis Busto.
He furthered his artistic skills by studying painting and sculpture at the Academy of San Carlos and drawing at the Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando under Professor Haes.
He joined Freemasonry at the Acacia Lodge No. , adopting the symbolic name "Dimasalang" (meaning untouchable).
He was inspired to fight for Filipino rights after reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and The Wandering Jew by Eugene Sue.
In , he moved to Paris to study ophthalmology under the French specialist Dr. Louis de Wecker.
He moved to Germany to master the German method of diagnosis, training under Dr. Otto Becker. In Heidelberg, he attended lectures at the University of Heidelberg and lived with Dr. Karl Ullmer.
He completed his first novel, Noli Me Tangere, in Berlin, Germany, on .
Maximo Viola, known as the savior of the Noli, funded the printing; one of the first copies was sent to Ferdinand Blumentritt.
He departed from Marseilles on a ship bound for the Philippines on .
Romantic Interests of Jose Rizal
Segunda Katigbak: His first love. At age , he fell for her; she was from Lipa, Batangas, and was his junior. She was a friend of his sister Olympia at La Concordia College. The romance ended because she was already engaged to Manuel Luz.
Leonor Valenzuela: Known as "Orang," she was a tall, graceful neighbor. He sent her love notes in invisible ink made of water and salt, which she read by heating the paper over a lamp.
Leonor Rivera: Considered his "great love." She was his cousin from Camiling and daughter of his uncle Antonio Rivera. They were engaged, and she signed letters as "Taimis." She eventually married Henry Kipping.
Consuelo Ortiga y Perez: Daughter of a Spanish official. Rizal stopped the pursuit because he was still engaged to Leonor Rivera and did not want to conflict with his friend Eduardo de Lete, who also liked her.
O Sei San: Real name Seiko Usui; the daughter of a Japanese nobleman. Their relationship in Japan was one of his happiest times. He briefly considered staying in Japan for her.
Gertrude Beckett: The oldest daughter of his landlord in London. He called her "Gettie" and she called him "Pettie." It was a flirtatious, innocent pastime.
Suzanne Jacoby: A Belgian woman he met in Brussels. Her presence coincided with his work on El Filibusterismo.
Nellie Boustead: An intellectual woman with strong religious beliefs. Rizal considered proposing to her after learning of Leonor Rivera’s marriage.
Josephine Bracken: His "wife" and "dulce estranjera." They met in Dapitan when she was . They lived together as a couple because of church restrictions. They had a son named Francisco (after Rizal's father) who lived only . She later married Vicente Abad and died of tuberculosis in Hong Kong.
Major Novels and Unfinished Works
Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not):
Depicts the conditions of the Philippines during the last decades of Spanish rule.
Inspired by Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Published in Berlin, Germany, with financial help from Dr. Maximo Viola.
Contains a deleted chapter titled "Elias and Salome."
El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed / The Subversion):
Dedicated to the martyred priests GomBurza.
Published in Ghent, Belgium.
The savior of the novel was Valentin Ventura.
Makamisa: An unfinished Tagalog novel written in a light, sarcastic style. Only chapters were completed.
Dapitan: An unfinished novel written in ironic Spanish during his exile to describe town customs.
Characters of Noli Me Tangere
Crisóstomo Ibarra: Full name Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin. Studied in Europe for ; son of Don Rafael Ibarra. He changed his surname from Eibarramendia to Ibarra.
Elías: A mysterious master boater and fugitive who wants revolution. His family was ruined by Ibarra's grandfather.
María Clara: Ibarra's sweetheart and the illegitimate daughter of Father Dámaso and Pía Alba.
Father Dámaso: Full name Dámaso Verdolagas; a Franciscan friar and biological father of María Clara.
Don Filipo: A relative of Ibarra and a Filibuster.
Linares: The would-be fiancé of Maria Clara and nephew of Don Tiburcio.
Captain General: The highest official; a friend of Ibarra who dislikes corrupt officials and secular priests.
Captain Pablo: Rebel leader whose family was destroyed by the Spanish.
Tarcilo and Bruno: Brothers seeking revenge for their father's death.
Sisa: The mother of Basilio and Crispin; she loses her mind after the loss of her sons.
Basilio: Sisa's elder son.
Crispin: Sisa's younger son; died from punishment following false accusations of theft.
Padre Sibyla: Hernando de la Sibyla; a short, fair-skinned Filipino friar.
Kaptain Tiago: Don Santiago de los Santos; the presumed father of María Clara who lives in Binondo.
Padre Salví: Bernardo Salví; a friar with a secret attraction to María Clara.
Pilosopo Tasyo: Don Anastasio; considered mad by the town but is actually a cynical scholar.
The Alférez: Chief of the Guardia Civil; enemy of the local priests.
Don Tiburcio: Submissive Spanish husband of Doña Victorina; he pretends to be a doctor.
Doña Victorina: Victorina de los Reyes de De Espadaña; an India who pretends to be a Peninsular Spaniard.
Doña Consolación: Wife of the Alférez; abusive toward Sisa and also poses as a Peninsular.
Pedro: Abusive husband of Sisa who is obsessed with cockfighting.
Old Tasio: A wise elder from whom Ibarra seeks counsel.
Characters of El Filibusterismo
Simoun: Crisóstomo Ibarra in disguise as a wealthy, vengeful jeweler aiming to start a revolution.
Basilio: Sisa's son, now a student aspiring to be a doctor.
Isagani: A poet and Basilio's best friend. He was dumped by Paulita Gómez for Juanito Peláez.
Kabesang Tales: Telesforo Juan de Dios; a former barangay head turned bandit leader known as "Matanglawin."
Don Custodio: Custodio de Salazar y Sánchez de Monteredondo; a journalist who married into high society. He was tasked with deciding on the students' proposal for a Spanish Academy.
Paulita Gómez: Isagani's girlfriend and niece of Doña Victorina. She eventually marries Juanito Peláez.
Father Florentino: Isagani's godfather; a secular priest who chose the priesthood over marriage.
Huli: Juliana de Dios; Basilio's girlfriend and daughter of Kabesang Tales.
Ben Zayb: Real name Abraham Ibañez; a self-important journalist.
Placido Penitente: A frustrated student at UST who struggles with his temper.
Quiroga: A Chinese businessman aspiring to be a consul; he hid Simoun's weapons.
Old Man Selo: Father of Kabesang Tales; died after being shot by his grandson Tano, a guardia civil.
Father Fernandez: A priest friendly to Isagani who promised to help with student demands.
Attorney Pasta: A prominent lawyer in mid-Hispanic Manila.
Padre Sibyla: Now the vice-rector of the University of Santo Tomas.