Comprehensive Study Notes – José Rizal

Early Life and Family Background

  • Born José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda on June (19,\,1861) in Calamba, Laguna—about (35) years before his execution (Dec 30, 1896).
  • 7th child in a brood of (11).
  • Parents
    • Francisco Mercado Rizal – prosperous tenant-farmer of Biñan, Laguna.
    • Teodora Alonso Realonda – educated, cultured woman from Sta. Cruz, Manila.
  • Grew up on Dominican-owned land, under Spanish colonial rule.
  • Early signs of precocity: mastered alphabet, read Spanish Bible, sketched, sculpted clay, wrote a Tagalog play for Calamba fiesta, a Spanish short play at school.

Education and Intellectual Formation

Ateneo Municipal de Manila (1872-1877)

  • Entered at age (11).
  • Graduated Bachelor of Arts (BA) at (16) with average “Excellent.”
  • Concurrently took a vocational course in land surveying; completed training 1877, licensing exam passed May 1882; surveyor’s license issued 1886 upon majority.

University of Santo Tomas (UST) (1877-1882)

  • Began Philosophy & Letters; shifted to Medicine (1882).
  • Experienced racial discrimination from Dominican professors ⇒ decision to leave.

Overseas Studies

  • Sailed for Spain May 3, 1882 (first “secret” departure).
  • Universidad Central de Madrid
    • Licentiate in Medicine, (June\,1884) (age 23).
    • Philosophy & Letters degree, (1885) with “Excellent.”
  • Post-graduate ophthalmology to cure mother’s blindness:
    • Paris (Clinique of Dr. Louis de Weckert).
    • Heidelberg (Uni lectures; completed eye specialization).
    • Berlin (further clinics & scientific societies).

Polymathic Capacities

  • Spoke/wrote 22 languages (claimed to know up to 25).
  • Excelled in poetry, essays, satire, natural sciences, anthropology, philology.

Artistic and Literary Pursuits

Major Novels

  1. Noli Me Tangere – published Berlin, March 1887; exposed clerical arrogance & colonial abuses.
  2. El Filibusterismo – printed Ghent, Sept 18, 1891; darker, militant sequel.

Critical Editions & Scholarship

  • Annotated Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Paris, 1890) to show pre-Spanish Filipino civilization.

Journalism & Organizations (Propaganda Movement)

  • Contributed to La Solidaridad under pen-names Laong-Laan, Dimas-Alang; advocated reforms, civil liberties, equality before the law.
  • Helped form / lead:
    • Asociación La Solidaridad
    • Indios Bravos (Paris)
    • Kidlat Club
    • Redención de los Malayos
    • La Liga Filipina (Manila, July 3, 1892) – civic league that later inspired the Katipunan.

Extensive Travels (Selected Itinerary)

  • Southeast Asia: Singapore, Saigon.
  • Europe: Marseilles, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Heidelberg, Leipzig, Dresden, Berlin, Potsdam, Leipzig, Prague, Vienna, Linz, Salzburg, Munich, Nuremberg, Ulm, Stuttgart, Rheinfall, Swiss cities (Schaffhausen, Basel, Bern, Lausanne, Geneva), Italy (Turin, Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Vatican).
  • Japan: Yokohama & Tokyo (1891) – romance with Seiko Usui ("O-Sei-San").
  • United States: San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Reno, Utah, Denver, Omaha, Chicago, Albany, New York (noted Statue of Liberty & racial inequality).
  • United Kingdom: Liverpool, London (1888-1889) – copied Morga at British Museum, stayed with Beckett family (Gertrude Beckett episode).
  • Belgium: Brussels (completed parts of Fili) & Ghent (printed Fili).
  • Hong Kong & Macau: 1891-1892 – lucrative ophthalmology clinic.
  • North Borneo (Sabah) negotiation 1892 for Filipino colony.

First Homecoming (Aug 1887 – Feb 1888)

  • Practised medicine in Calamba; dubbed “Doctor Uliman”.
  • Investigated Dominican hacienda abuses, wrote report ⇒ friar hostility; Gov-Gen Terrero advised exile.

Second Homecoming & Arrest (June 1892)

  • Returned with sister Lucia; founded La Liga Filipina.
  • Arrested July 6, 1892 on trumped-up charge (anti-friar leaflets in Lucia’s pillow).
  • Detained Fort Santiago → exiled to Dapitan (Zamboanga del Norte) beginning July 17, 1892.

Exile in Dapitan (1892-1896)

Daily Routine & Projects

  • Built octagonal house, hexagonal chicken coop, square house; ran a free school ((3 \to 40+) pupils).
  • Medical practice: treated rich & poor; fees often in kind.
  • Agriculture & Commerce: planted (> \mathbf{15}) fruit species; traded abaca in Manila; improved fishing gear.
  • Engineering: constructed gravity-fed water dam & drainage using bamboo & glass bottles; laid forest trails; collaborated with Jesuit Fr. Sánchez on Mindanao relief map.
  • Science: collected zoological/botanical specimens sent to Europe; at least 3 species named after him – Rhacophorus rizali (frog), Apogonia rizali (beetle), Draco rizali (flying lizard).

Relations with the Jesuits

  • Courted back by Fathers Obach, Sánchez, Pastells; cordial theological debates, no retraction.

Love Life

  • Visits from family; learned of Leonor Rivera’s death (true love).
  • Met Josephine Bracken (Irish-Hong Kong woman) Feb 1895; lived as common-law wife after denied church wedding; premature son Francisco died hours after birth.

Spies & Emissaries

  • Foiled spy Florencio Namanan (alias Pablo Mercado).
  • Refused Andrés Bonifacio’s envoy Dr. Pío Valenzuela’s request to sanction revolt; argued need for arms & elite support first, naming Antonio Luna as strategist.

Lottery Windfall

  • Won second prize ((\text{P}\,20{,}000)) in Manila Lottery with Capt. Carnicero & a Spaniard (Sept 1892); his share (\text{P}\,6{,}200) funded Dapitan estate purchase ((16+) ha at Talisay).

Permission to Serve in Cuba & Final Arrest

  • Granted leave by Gov-Gen Blanco (July 1896) as volunteer physician in war-torn Cuba.
  • Departed Dapitan July 31, 1896 aboard España.
  • En route, Katipunan revolt broke out (Aug 1896).
  • Arrested in Barcelona, shipped back to Manila; imprisoned Fort Santiago.

Trial and Martyrdom

  • Charged with rebellion, sedition, illicit association; military court (kangaroo).
  • Found guilty, sentenced to death.
  • Executed December 30, 1896 – 7:03 AM at Bagumbayan Field (Luneta).
    • Refused to kneel & be blindfolded; requested to face firing squad, compromised to be shot in back so body would fall facing sky.
    • Last night wrote poem Mi Último Adiós (hidden inside alcohol burner).
  • Death triggered stronger national consciousness; immortalized as Philippine national hero.

The Rizal Bill and Rizal Law

Legislative Struggle

  • Sen. Claro M. Recto authored bill mandating Rizal course & unexpurgated reading of Noli & Fili.
  • Fierce Catholic Church opposition: threatened school closures, labeled Recto communist/anti-Catholic.
  • Compromise clause: students may request exemption from novel reading (none yet recorded).

Enactment and Provisions

  • Became Republic Act 1425 (Rizal Law) on June 12, 1956.
  • Sections:
    1. Mandatory reading of Noli & Fili in original/approved translations.
      2-3. Adequate copies in libraries; translations/publication in major Philippine languages; CHED/DepEd enforcement.
  • Related statute: RA 229 – bans cockfighting, horse-racing, jai-alai every Dec 30; creates committees for Rizal Day observance.

Implementation Orders

  • Memorandum Order 44 (Pres. Fidel Ramos, 1994) → MO 247 (DepEd, 1995) for strict compliance.

Significance of Studying Rizal (per law & scholars)

  1. Rededicates youth to ideals of freedom & nationalism.
  2. Pays tribute to hero’s sacrifice.
  3. Inspires patriotism through his writings.
  4. Offers historical insight for solving present problems.
  5. Deepens Filipino self-understanding.
  6. Teaches nationalism & patriotism conceptually & affectively.
  7. Provides moral & philosophical life lessons (education, duty over happiness).
  8. Sharpens logical & critical thinking; Rizal as philosopher-debater.
  9. Presents a model of versatility, excellence, moral uprightness.
  10. Supplies engaging real-life narratives rivaling fiction (love triangles, art modeling, manuscript theft, descendants’ trivia).

Additional Anecdotes & Trivia

  • Rizal served as model for Juan Luna’s paintings; involved in love triangle with Antonio Luna & Nellie Boustead.
  • Original Noli & Fili manuscripts were once stolen for ransom; Alejandro Roces recovered them free.
  • Modern descendants: beauty queen Gemma Cruz-Araneta (from sister Maria); sportscaster Chino Trinidad (from Segunda Katigbak line).
  • Casa ‘Cednaxela’ in Hong Kong is “Alexander” reversed.
  • Expression about hunger & bravery: “Kapag gutom, tumatapang.”
  • During Geneva stay (1887) protested live Igorot exhibit in Madrid.

Chronological Timeline (Condensed)


\begin{array}{ll}
1861 & Birth, Calamba\
1872 & Enters Ateneo\
1877 & BA graduation\
1877-82 & UST (Phil.&Letters; Medicine)\
1882 & First departure to Spain\
1884 & Licentiate in Medicine\
1885 & Philosophy & Letters degree\
1887 & Noli published; first homecoming\
1891 & Fili published\
1892 & La Liga founded; exile to Dapitan\
1896\,Jul & Leaves Dapitan; arrested\
1896\,Dec\,30 & Execution\
1956 & RA\,1425 signed\
\end{array}

Concluding Insight

José Rizal’s life demonstrates the power of intellect combined with ethical conviction: art, science, and patriotism converged in an individual who chose peaceful reform yet whose martyrdom ignited revolution. Studying him is not mere hero-worship; it is an analytical journey into colonial history, social justice, and the enduring quest for national identity.