Rizal's Life: Family, Childhood and Early Education

Learning Objectives

Examine the life, family, childhood, and early education of Dr. Jose P. Rizal.
Identify the people and events that influenced Rizal's early life.
Describe the characteristics that would later define Dr. Jose P. Rizal's character from his experiences.

Guide Questions

What can you say about Rizal's childhood education?
What were Rizal's mother's influences on him?
What circumstances and events influenced Rizal's childhood?

Birth

Calamba, Laguna.
June 19, 1861, between 11:00 & 12:00 in the morning.
7th child of Don Francisco Mercado & Dona Teodora Alonso.
Father Rufino Collantes baptized the baby.
Named Jose Protacio in honor of Saint Joseph and Saint Protacio.
Dona Teodora was a devout follower of Saint Joseph, and it was their custom to commemorate him on the 19th of each month.
Saint Protacio on the other hand, is the patron saint of June 19 and he was martyred in Milan, Italy.
His family referred to him as Pepe.
Felice Prudente Santa Maria-author of the book “In Excelsis” - St. Joseph was Jesus Christ’s putative father.
- St. Joseph ‘P.P’ for Pater Putativus in Latin.
- ‘P’ is pronounced ‘peh’ in Spanish
Rizal wrote in his diary, “Memoirs of a Student in Manila,” that his mother had a difficult time giving birth to him.
It is said that Dona Teodora made a pact with Antipolo’s Patroness, Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, that she would send the child she was carrying on a pilgrimage to her shrine once she had passed through the difficult birthing process.
The baby was saved.
Donya Teodora kept her promise. She sent her 7 year old son on a journey from their hometown of Calamba to Antipolo. Don Francisco Mercado, the young rizal's father accompanied him.
Rizal was christened at the church on june 22, 1861, when he was only three days old.
He was baptized by Reverend Father Rufino Collantes and his godfather was Reverend Father Pedro Casanas.
Reverend Father Collantes told Pepe’s family that they should look after him because he predicted that José would become someone because he noticed the unusual size of his head.
Pepe's baptismal certificate was unfortunately destroyed in a fire in 1862. It was only restored with the help of eyewitnesses and under the supervision of Father Leoncio Lopez, a Filipino priest and a friend of the Mercado family. Pepe loved going to see Father Lopez because he could talk to him about anything.

Family

Despite their large family, Don Francisco and Dona Teodora were able to find joy and happiness. They have a harmonious relationship in which affections are shared among family members. Their parents loved and cared for their children in the same way that any other family would.
Despite this, they do not spoil their children. In fact they are present to discipline their children whenever they commit wrongdoing or engage in harmful activities.
They we're firm believers in the adage “spare the rod, spoil the child. ”
Everyday, especially on Sundays, they heard mass. Before going to bed they pray the Angelus and the Holy Rosary together at 6:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m.
Rizal’s family life was not always focused on religion; they were allowed to play in their backyard.
As Principalia, they where able to build a stone house near the church and even bought another one; they owned a stagecoach, a library and were able to send their children to college in Manila.
Indeed, their being prudent gave them a contented life where at times, they led social and religious activities in their house.

Parents

Don Francisco and Dona Teodora were a productive couple: they had 11 children.
Paciano was thus 10 years older than Jose, and more of a second father than an elder brother, especially since Don francisco had entrusted him with the management of the family lands.

Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandra II

Was born as the youngest of 13 children to Cirila Alejandro and who Juan Mercado on may 11, 1818, in Biñan, Laguna.
He was from the 4th generation of a Chinese immigrant named Domingo Lamco who arrived in the late 1600.
During his early education in his hometown, he studied latin, and later went on to study Philosophy and Latin at the Colegio de San Jose in Manila.
The people of Calamba held him in high regard after he was elected cabeza de barangay, or head of the barangay.
Don Francisco was a dominican state tenant and landowner in Calamba, Laguna. His rented holdings increased as a result of his hard work and dedication, and he built a stone house in the town center. However, due to his failure in the agrarian case with the friars, he was evicted from his a house in September 1899. He died in Manila on January 5, 1898 at the age of 80.
José Rizal considered his father to be a “model of father's”, and as a result, had provided them with education. He believes that his father was a strong-willed, educated and independent-minded individual, traits that he inherited.

Doña Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda y Quintos

On November 9, 1827, she was born in Manila as the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brigida de Quintos.
She attended the College of Santa Rosa.
She was a remarkable woman, with refined culture, literary talent, business acumen and the tenacity of Spartan women. Rizal penned a poem about is adoring mother. “My mother is a woman of higher culture; she is a mathematician who has read a lot of books. ”
She died on August 16, 1911, in Manila, at age of 85, in her home at San Fernando street in Binondo.
The Philippine Government offered her a life pension shortly before her death. She politely decline, saying, “My family has never been patriotic for money. ” If the government has a surplus of funds and is unsure what to do with them, it should lower taxes. ”
Jose Rizal in his letter to Blumentritt which read as follows:
- “My mother is not a woman of ordinary culture. She is more knowledgeable about literature and speaks more fluently than I do. When I was studying rhetoric, she even corrected my poems and gave me sound advice. She is a mathematician who has read a lot of books. Her father, the Philippine delegate to the Cortes, had been her teacher. ”

Siblings

Dr. Jose Rizal's parents, Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso, married on June 28, 1848. Teodora was from Meisik, Tondo, and Francisco was from Biñan, Laguna. They had 11 children, with 2 boys and 9 girls.

Saturnina (1850-1913)

Was the eldest of the siblings and was commonly referred to as Neneng. She attended La Concordia College in Manila’s Santa Ana. Manuel Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas, was her husband. In 1909, Dona Saturnina published Pascual Poblete’s Tagalog translation of Noli me Tangere. She passed away in 1913 at the age of 63.

Paciano (1851-1930)

Was our national heroes elder and only brother.
He was commonly referred to as Ciano.
Prior to enrolling at the Colegio de San Jose in Manila, he studied Latin with Maestro Justiniano Cruz. Jose referred to him as “Uto” because, in addition to his uncle's assistance, his brother sent him a monthly allowance of 50 pesos, which was later reduced to 35 pesos.
He was an ardent and dynamic katipunero. Many people thought he was the Pilosopong Tasio mentioned in Noli Me Tangere.
On June 23, 1888, Jose Rizal wrote to Ferdinand Blumentritt and expressed regret for failing to introduce his brother to him.
His dear friend Jose Taviel de Andrade said that whenever he thinks of him, he is more generous than todays Spaniards.
He was apprehended by American forces in 1900 as a result of his involvement as military commander of the Revolutionary forces in Laguna. Prior to his death, he led a simple life as a farmer. He married his common-law wife, Severina Decena, and they had two children. He died of Tuberculosis at the age of 79.

Narcisa (1852-1939)

2nd daughter and 3rd child
called Sisa by her siblings
supported her brother Jose’s studies abroad and perhaps the only amongst the siblings that could narrate the poems of Jose
married to Antonio Lopez, a teacher and musician
one of the family members who visited Jose in his prison cell the day before his execution
Rizal’s remains were buried in an unmarked grave in the Cementerio General de Paco. After a two-day search, his sister Narcisa discovered it.
She placed a marble marker given by Doroteo Ongjunco with the initials R.P.J., the inverted initials of Jose Protacio Rizal.

Olimpia (1855-1887)

called as Ypia
married to Silvestro Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from Manila
4th child
Jose loved to tease her, sometimes good-humoredly describing her as his stout sister.
schoolmate of Segunda Katigbak at the La Concordia College

Lucia (1857-1919)

married Mariano Herbosa and they had 5 children
Mariano died in 1889 as a result of an epidemic, but he was denied a Christian burial.
this was due to the fact that he was Rizal’s brother-in-law.

Maria (1859-1945)

married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Binan, Laguna, and they had 5 children
Mauricio Cruz, became a student of Rizal in Dapitan and was known to be one of his uncle’s favorites.
During Jose’s lifetime, Maria was known recipient of many his letters.

Concepcion (1862-1865)

called as Concha
died at the age of 3

Josefa (1865-1945)

unmarried and lived with sister Trinidad until death
was said to have suffered from epilepsy

Trinidad (1868-1951)

remained single and shared a home with her sister Josefa.
the one who received from Jose an alcohol lamp in which he secretly hid the “Last Farewell,” also known as “Mi Ultimo Adios,” a poem Rizal Wrote on the eve of his death in 1896.

Soledad (1870-1929)

youngest of Rizal siblings
married Pantaleon Quintero and they had 5 children
Rizal's sisters did not become prominent in the sense of holding important government positions.
The fact that there was never a resistant voice in the family of 13 members, not to mention the sons-in-law, advising Rizal to stop his political activities, nor and ideological differences, despite the persecution and deportation that they suffered as a result of him, is an example of family solidarity.
Manuel Hidalgo was deported to Bohol solely because he was Rizal's brother-in-law.
The care and attention that Rizal sisters lavished on him during his deportation in Dapitan and stay in Hongkong are difficult to match.
And one can't help but notice Narcisa’s unwavering determination to find her brother’s tomb in the afternoon of his execution.
Rizal was closed to all of his siblings. His relationship with his only brother paciano, was, however, more than that of an older brother.
Paciano accompanied Rizal to his first day of school in Biñan.
Paciano also persuaded Rizal to pursue higher education in Europe.
He was sending Rizal his allowance while he was studying abroad (Obias 2018, page 43)

Ancestors

Jose had Chinese ancestors on his father’s side and Japanese ancestors on his mother’s side.
His mother is from Rajah Lakandula. His ancestry can also be traced back to Malayan and indonesian genes
Domingo Lamco, a native Chinese of Sionggue, City of Changchow, Province of Fukien, was Rizal’s great-great grandfather on his patrilineal side.
- arrived in manila around 1690
- became a Christian because he wished to be a Catholic
- married Ines de la Rosa, a wealthy Chinese Christian lady from Manila
- decided to change his surname to “Mercado” in 1731
- Mercado= “market”
- their union produced 2 children, Francisco and Josefa, who died 5 days after her birth.
Francisco Mercado was Jose’s great grandfather, named after an uncle and a friar scholar in Manila.
- In Hacienda San Pedro Tunasan, he married Cirila Bernancha (Bernarda Monicha), a Chinese-Filipino mestiza.
- Francisco Mercado lived in Binan and was eventually elected as the town’s Gobernadorcillo.
- had 2 children before his death in 1801, Juan and Clemente
Juan Mercado, Jose’s grandfather, was also elected as Gobernadorcillo, and was affectionately known as Kapitan Juan by many.
- elected 3 times, in 1808, 1813, & 1823, and served as Hermano Mayor on several occasions.
- married Cirila Alejandra, the daughter of Lamco’s grandson Siongco.
- had 12 children, the youngest of whom was Jose’s father, Francisco Mercado
Jose Rizal’s matrilineal descent can be traced back to Lakandula, the last native king of Tondo and a Bornean Muslim.
Eugenio Ursua, Dona Teodora’s great-great grandfather, was a Japanese ancestry and married a Filipina named Benigna.
had a daughter named Regina, who married a Chinese lawyer named Manuel de Quintos from Pangasinan.
Brigada, one of their daughters, married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, a deputy for the Philippines in the Spanish Cortes, and was a prominent bian Spanish-Filipino mestizo.
Teodora, Gregorio, Manuel, and Jose were born to Brigada and Lorenzo
According to Craig, the Lamco family was not used to taking their godparents’ names.
He named his son Sangley, which translates to the same thing in that Mercado
The surname would relieve him of the discrimination caused by those Chinese names, but he still believes it will remind him of his ancestors.
According to Russell and Rodriguez, Governor-General Claveria issued a decree changing the last names of each family in order to survey the number of people in his encomendero and tax them.
He provided a list of Spanish names taken from Spain, but due to the large number of names, Francisco Mercado evaded the decree and instead used a Spanish term that sounded like sleaze word racial that means a green field or grazing land
In a letter to his friend Bluementritt, Jose explained why he used Rizal’s last name and why others continued to use Mercado. Because of his brother Paciano’s strong attachment to Father Burgos, who was then thought to be the cause of the Cavite Mutiny?
His brother advised Jose to use Rizal because it is safe for him and will not interfere with his studies because his brother may associate him with Mercado. There were numerous Mercados in the Philippines who are unrelated to them. There was even a family friend who was an Alcalde Mayor who used Rizal, perhaps to stand out, but his who said didn't mind. In fact, jose is the only one who uses the surname Rizal.

Childhood

They lived on the Laguna Lake’s shore and at the foot of Mt. Makiling. He enjoyed seeing the magnificent beauty of Laguna de Bay.
Because he was frail and sickly, his parents lavished him with tender loving care.
He was well guided, particularly by his mother, who serves as his first teacher. When he was 3 years old, his mother taught him the alphabet and how to pray. His mother noticed that he could write poems at a young age and encouraged him to keep writing.

“In Memory of My Town” (Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo)

A poem about his love for his hometown, reminiscing about his beautiful memories as a young boy and cherishing the scenic beauty of his hometown.
His father built him a small nipa hut to served as both a sanctuary for him to play with his siblings and a resting place for him.
He was also intended to buy an Aya (nurse maid) hired by his father to look after his needs. His nursemaid told him ghost stories, treasure stories, legends, and folktales . When little Jose refused to eat his evening meal, she would scare him with stories about aswang, nuno sa punso, and tikbalang.
He often enjoyed playing alone and listening to the different birds sing, such as the culiawan, maya, maria capra, martini, and pipit.
His mother, as a teacher, not only taught him to write poems, but also to pray on a daily basis, including the recitation of the holy rosary.
His uncle Jose was in charge of teaching him on a regular basis.
His uncle Manuel worked on his physique until he had a silk and breeze body.
His uncle Gregorio instilled in him to desire to do more and work harder in order to achieve his goals in life .
Jose also owned a pony, which he used to ride around his hometown’s beautiful scenery.
He used to be able to draw a bird flying without removing his pencil from his paper until the picture he drew was finished. He can also draw a horse chasing a dog and his favorite activity was molding animals out of clay and wax.
Another happy memory was his nocturnal walk with Usman, his big black dog.
He used to play with his neighbors’ doves.
He could also perform magic tricks such as disappearing a coin, falsely cutting a thin rope, and untying a handkerchief. His sisters giggle at him once while he was playing with his friends but he didn't say anything; instead he silently told them that when he died, people would build monuments and images of him.
Jose’s happiest memory from his childhood was a trip with his father to Antipolo to fulfill his mother's vow to perform Pilgrimage to the Virgin of Antipolo. They boarded a barge and sailed to the Pasig river.
After paying their respects to the virgin they travel to Manila to see his sister Saturnina.
Jose experienced his first grief when he was 4 years old, as a result of the death of his younger sister Concepcion.
Jose exhibited a poetic mind, and because his mother was well-versed in literature and rhetoric, he developed an interest in writing short verses. His mother told him a story about a moth one night. The tragic fate of the left on inedible memory of sacrificing for a worthy cause in exchange for something valuable.

Early Education

First Teacher: His Mother Teodora

She was Rizal’s first teacher.
As a loving mother and tutor, she would sit the 3 year old Pepe on her lap and devotedly taught him the alphabet and the prayers.
She also taught Pepe to read the Holy Bible.
In their moments together, Dona Teodora would tell him many stories which later if you will his strong interest in poetry. But off all the stories that his mother told him, the story of the moth touched him so deeply that he recorded it in his diary.

Doña Teodora, Pepe and the Story of the Moth

Dona Teodora always held storytelling sessions with the young Rizal in order to import important life lessons. She enjoyed reading stories from the book Amigo de los Niños (The Children's Friend) to Pepe.
She once chastised her son for drawing on the pages of the story book. She then read him a story in it to teach him the value of obedience to his parents.
In our house, as in all others in the town, kerosene oil was unknown. I had never seen a lamp in our town, nor a carriage on our streets. Yet I thought Kalamba was a very gay and lively town. One night, all the family, accept my mother and myself, went to bed early. Why, I do not know, but we two remain sitting alone. The candles had already been put out. They had been blown out in their globes by means of a curve tube often. The tube seemed to me the finest and most wonderful plating in the world. The room was dimly lighted by a single light of coconut oil. In all Filipino homes such a light burns through the night. It goes out just a daybreak to awaken people by its spluttering.
My mother was teaching me to read in a Spanish reader called “The Children's Friend. ” This was quite a rare book and an old copy. It had lost its cover and my sister had cleverly made a new one. She had fastened a sheet of thick paper over the back and then covered it with a piece of cloth.
This night my mother became impatient with hearing me read so poorly. I did not understand Spanish and so I could not read with expression. She took the book from me. First she scolded me for drawing funny pictures on its pages. Then she told me to listen and she began to read. When her sight was good, she read very well. She could recite well, and she understood versemaking, too. Many times during Christmas vacations, my mother corrected my poetical compositions, and she always made valuable criticisms.
I listened to her, full of child is enthusiasm. I marveled at the nice-sounding phrases which she read from those same pages. The phrases she read to easily stopped me at every breath. Perhaps I grew tired of listening to sounds that had no meaning for me. Perhaps I lacked self-control. Anyway, I paid little attention to the reading. I was watching the cheerful flame. About it, some little moths were circling in playful flights. By chance, too, I yawned. My mother soon noticed that I was not interested. She stopped reading. Then she said to me: “I am going to read you are very pretty story. Now pay attention. ”
On hearing the word “story” I at once opened my eyes wide. The word “story” promised something new and wonderful. I watched my mother while she turned the leaves of the book, as if she were looking for something. Then settled down to listen. I was full of curiosity and wonder. I had never even dreamed that there where stories in the old book which I read without understanding. My mother began to read me the fable of the young moth and the old one. She translated it into Tagalog a little at a time.
My attention increased from the first sentence. I looked toward the light and fixed my gaze on the moths which were circling around it. The story could not have been better timed. My mother repeated the warning of the old molth. She dwelt upon it and directed it to me. I heard her, but it is a curious thing that the light seemed to me each time more beautiful, the flame more attractive. I really envied the fortune of the insects. They frolicked so joyously in its enchanting splendor that the ones which had fallen and been drowned in the oil did not cause me any dread.
My mother kept on reading and I listened breathlessly. The fate of the two insects interested me greatly. The flame rolled its golden tongue to one side and a moth which this movemen had singed fell into the oil, fluttered for a time and then became quiet.That became for me a great event. A curious change came over me which I have always noticed in myself whenever anything has stirred my feelings. The flame and the moth seemed to go farther away and my mother's voice sounded strange and uncanny. I did not notice when she ended the fable. All my attention was fixed on the fate of the insect. I watched it with my whole soul. I gave to it my every thought. It had died a martyr to its illusions.
As she put me to the bed, my mother said: “See that you do not behave like the young moth. Don't become disobedient, or you may get burnt as it did. ” I do not know whether I answered or not. I don't know where I promised anything or whether I cried. But I do remember that it was a long time before I fell asleep. The story reveal to me things until then unknown. Moths no longer were, for me, insignificant insects. Moths talked; They knew how to warn. They advised, just like my mother. The light seemed to me more beautiful. It had grown more dazzling and more attractive. I knew why the moths circled the flame.
The advice and warnings sounded feebly in my ears. What I thought of most was the death of the heedless moth. But in the depth of my heart I did not blame it. My mother's care had not had quite the results intended.

The Private Tutors

Maestro Celestino
Maestro Lucas Padua
Leon Monroy

Rizal’s First Formal Schooling in Binan

Jose left Calamba for Binan on a Sunday afternoon in June 1869
Paciano accompanied him.
After an hour and a half of driving, the 2 brothers arrived at their destination in carromata.
His brother drove him to his aunt’s house, where he was to stay, and then dropped him off after introducing him to the teacher Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz’s school the next morning.
The class as described by Rizal, was in a nipa house, about 30 meters away from his own house.
Everyday, Rizal would wake up early and either hear mass at 4:00 in the morning or studies lesson 1st and go to mass after.
After returning home he would take breakfast and go to class from which he would come out at 10:00.
He would then again go to school at 2:00 and come out at 5:00. He will pray with his cousins at 6 and then study for a while before going to sleep.
Justiniano Aquino Cruz
- “He was tall, lean, long-necked man with a sharp nose and a slightly bent forward body. ”
- he used to wear sinamay shirt woven by Batangas women’s deft hands.
- knew the grammars of Nebrija and Gainza by heart.
Jose was given his seat in the class right away. He was asked by his teacher. “Are you fluent in Spanish?” “A little, sir,” the Calamba lad replied. “Are you familiar in Latin?” “A little, sir,” (Craig 1918). Jose’s answers made the boys in the class particularly Pedro, the teacher’s son laugh.
Jose met the bully, Pedro, in the afternoon of his 1st day of school, while the teacher was taking a siesta.
He was enraged at the bully for making fun of him during his morning conversation with the teacher.
Pedro accepted Jose’s challenge to a fight.
Jose, who had learned the art of wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel, triumphed over the large boy.
Andres Salandanan, a classmate, challenged him to an arm-wrestling match after class in the afternoon. They went to a house’s sidewalk and fought.
Jose used to spend his free time with Justiniano’s father-in-law, a master painter, Juancho.
His way of life was orderly and well-organized.

The Imprisonment of Dona Teodora

Jose Rizal was only 11 yrs old when he witnessed his mother’s extraordinary bravery: the Spaniards arrested Dona Teodora and forced her to walk 50 kilometers around Laguna.
Upon arriving at Santa Cruz after more than a day of walking under the sun, the exhausted Dona Teodora was charged and imprisoned for 2 yrs w/o trial for falsehoods leveled against here, particularly an accusation that she attempted to poison her sister-in-law.
She was around 45 yrs old at the time.
The poisoning allegation stemmed from Dona Teodora attempts to mediate between her brother Jose Alberto and his estranged wife, Teodora Alberto, according to Barbara Cruz-Gonzalez, Teodora’s great-granddaughter. Dona Teodora discourage her brother from divorcing his wife in order to protect the families reputation. This in rage the wife who was allegedly sleeping with a Guardia Civil Leader.

The Death of GOMBURZA

The royal decree of 1774, which provided for the secularization of all parishes or the transfer of parochial authority to Filipino priests (“seculares”), was strongly opposed by the Spanish friars (“regulares”). It was against this charged environment that GOMBURZA were accused and found guilty of allegedly orchestrating the Cavite Mutiny of 1872, and charged with treason and sedition by Spanish authorities. They were sentenced to public execution by garrote in the same year.
Mariano Gomes de los Angeles- Bacoor priest
Jose Burgos-Manila Cathedral Priest
Jacinto Zamora-Marikina Parish Priest
February 17, 1872-day of execution