José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (Spanish: [xoˈse riˈsal, -ˈθal], Tagalog: [hoˈse ɾiˈsal]; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer, and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered to be a national hero of the Philippines. An ophthalmologist by profession, Rizal became a writer and a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement in the 1880s, which advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain.
By the early 1890s, amidst the Calamba land dispute, Rizal grew more separatist in his stance, conflicting with several colleagues in the Propaganda Movement. On July 6, 1892, a few days after establishing the secret society La Liga Filipina within Manila, Rizal was arrested by Spanish authorities for alleged possession of a seditious document, being banished to Dapitan in the island of Mindanao. During his exile, Rizal met Josephine Bracken, an Irish woman who later became his common-law wife.
After four years in exile, Rizal left Dapitan for Cuba in August 1896 with the permission of Governor General Ramón Blanco, intending to serve as a doctor in the Spanish territory. At a stopover in Barcelona, he was arrested on October 6, 1896 after the Philippine Revolution broke out; the revolution was inspired by his writings. In December 1896, he was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion. Though he was not actively involved in its planning or conduct, he ultimately approved of its goals, which eventually resulted in Philippine independence.
Rizal is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the Philippines, and has been recommended to be so honored by an officially empaneled National Heroes Committee. However, no law, executive order or proclamation has been enacted or issued officially proclaiming any Filipino historical figure as a national hero. He wrote the novels Noli Me Tángere (1887) and El filibusterismo (1891), which together are taken as a national epic, in addition to numerous poems and essays.
Early life and education
The Mercado family adopted Rizal as a secondary surname following a decree by Governor-General Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa that mandated that Filipinos adopt Spanish surnames from a list known as the Catálogo alfabético de apellidos in 1849. The family continued to use their surname Mercado. The family's patrilineal lineage traced back to Lam-co, a Chinese merchant from Fujian who immigrated to the Philippines in 1697 and settled in Calamba.
On his mother's side, Rizal's lineage included the Florentina family, Chinese mestizos who originated in Baliuag, Bulacan, and the Ochoa family, a Spanish line from Cavite. This maternal heritage also included Japanese ancestry through his great-great-grandfather, Eugenio Ursua, as well as Rizal's native Tagalog roots. The family resided in a bahay na bato, an architectural style then associated with the Filipino elite that was situated near the town plaza, a proximity that historian John Ray Ramos states indicated the family's social and political influence.
José Mercado was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna. The seventh child of Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Alonso Realonda y Quintos, he was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church on June 22 at the town's parish by Father Rufino Collantes. His parents were leaseholders of a hacienda and a rice farm owned by the Dominican Order. Teodora taught him the alphabet at age three, and by five he could read and write. She instructed him in prayer and poetry, and required him to help with household chores.
His favorite sister was Concepcion, who died in 1865 at the age of three. Historian Austin Craig identified this event as Rizal's first experience of sorrow and his first realization that life was "a constant struggle." Rizal owned a black dog named Usman and a pony named Alipato, which was a gift from his father for his seventh birthday. He alternated between walking and riding, a habit he continued in his later travels. Despite this loss, Rizal's childhood was by most accounts a happy one, marked by the equal treatment his parents extended to all their children.
According to historian Austin Craig, the Mercado household was exposed to a world beyond Calamba that few provincial families encountered. The Mercado residence served as a frequent stopping point for civil, military, and church authorities traveling to nearby health resorts, where Rizal's mother, Teodora, attended to the guests. At age seven, Rizal went on his first pilgrimage to Antipolo, marking his first "real journey" according to Craig. His family visited the mountain shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, where Rizal obtained a print of the Virgin Mary that he kept in his wooden chest as a souvenir. Rizal developed an early curiosity, reading from the family's extensive library and learning folk stories from his nanny Aquilina.
Teodora's literary background familiarized her children with major Spanish writers, whose works she retold in ways suited to their age. She ensured the Bible featured prominently in their home. Her Vulgate was reflected in Rizal's later works. Another influence on Rizal was his association with the parish priest of Calamba, Father Leoncio Lopez, whom the writer John Foreman described as remarkable for his broad intelligence and judgment. Rizal practiced sleight-of-hand tricks that led locals to believe he had supernatural powers, a belief that persisted even after his death. He also wrote a Tagalog drama that impressed a visiting municipal captain of Paete, earning him two pesos, convincing his family to cultivate his talent. His brother Paciano, who had lived with Father José Burgos, served as an early intellectual resource for the curious Rizal.
Education
Elementary
Rizal first studied under Justiniano Aquino Cruz in Biñan due to the death of his private tutor. He did not want to go away from Calamba, with Raul Fernandez stating that a day staying back at his hometown "seemed to him as a day spent in heaven." His school was at the house of his teacher, a nipa house close to his aunt's house. His teacher was knowledgeable, yet strict. Rizal attempted to improve his knowledge in Latin and Spanish. Rizal was not fond of living in Biñan, stating that it was "large and rich, but ugly and dismal." Memorization was much used in teaching and lessons were interspersed with punishments. According to Rafael Palma, he felt humiliated and humbled. Due to one of his classmates mocking him for speaking little Spanish, Rizal was challenged to a fight, which he later won. This gave him the reputation of being a small yet strong boy.
Rizal would wake up early and attend the 4:00 a.m. mass. If there was no mass, he would study instead. After, he would eat breakfast and go to class. He left school at 10:00 a.m. for lunch. He would once again, study. He would return to school at 2:00 p.m. and leave three hours later, then play for a short moment with his friends. He would return home to eat dinner and play again. In 1870, upon receiving a letter from his family, Rizal left Biñan using a steamboat named Talim. After spending Christmas with his family, it was decided that he would not return to Biñan, but enroll in secondary school in Manila.
Secondary
Rizal's family was prominent, being connected with the local friars, the Alcalde of Laguna. Nobody in Calamba owned land; the owners were the Dominican friars. When the residents were having financial problems, the friars raised the rent—a decision Francisco Mercado opposed. On February 17, 1872, the Gomburza priests were executed. Due to the family opposing the government, Rizal's brother, Paciano, was connected to the execution. As Rizal was waiting for July, the month he would study in Manila, Jose Alberto, the cousin of Teodora, alleged that Teodora attempted to poison him. Due to Alberto being one of the richest in Biñan, the alcalde placed Teodora in prison. She had to walk 30 kilometres (19 miles) to the nearest prison barefoot. This caused Rizal to lose trust in men. After the case continued for two and a half years, Teodora was finally released.
Rizal enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila after his brother sought help from one of his friends. The school originally rejected him since the academic term already started. Upon enrolling at the school, he dropped the last three names that made up his full name, on the advice of his brother and the Mercado family, rendering his name as "José Protasio Rizal". Of this, he later wrote: "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!"
Before he joined Ateneo, his knowledge of Spanish was little. His understanding of the language improved tremendously during the academic term, giving him the title of class "emperor". His love for books also grew. During the first year in Ateneo, specifically the first semester, he won first prize in a religious picture contest. He spent his lunch break taking private lessons in Spanish at the Santa Isabel College. In the second semester, he did not try hard to retain his scholarship—often resenting some remarks of his professor—yet gained an "excellent" grade.
In his second year in Ateneo, he was again the class "emperor" and excelled in all of his subjects, causing him to be rewarded with a gold medal. In March 1874, he went back to Calamba for his summer vacation. In his third year in Ateneo, he became an "interne" while topping all of his classes and gaining five gold medals. He returned to Calamba for his summer vacation. Rizal returned to Manila in June 1876 for his last year in Ateneo and was considered as the most brilliant in his school. Rizal graduated on March 23, 1877, and gained a high school certificate as a Bachelor in Arts. He gained numerous prizes and awards.
Tertiary
Rizal went to the University of Santo Tomas for tertiary studies. In April 1877, he was officially enrolled in the school, taking a course in Philosophy and Letters. He was originally uncertain on which course he would take, but picked the course due to his father wanting him to. In the university, he joined numerous literary contests. Simultaneously, he took a vocational course in land surveying in Ateneo, excelling in all subjects.
He had numerous extracurricular activities in Ateneo, being an officer of the Marian Congregation, and part of the Society of Natural Sciences. When Rizal was 17, he passed the final examination, but the title was issued to him on November 25, 1881, due to him being underage. Upon learning that his mother was going blind, he decided to switch to medicine at the medical school of Santo Tomas during his second year in the university. He stayed in Santo Tomas for an additional four years.
Rizal wrote numerous literary works during his stay in the University of Santo Tomas and Ateneo. A La Juventud Filipina (transl. To the Filipino Youth), Rizal's submission and the winning poem of a contest held by the Artistic-Literary Lyceum of Manila in 1879, encouraged the youth to work hard and to create a bright future. El Consejo de Dioses (transl. The Council of the Gods), the winning entry of a contest held by the Lyceum of Manila in 1880, is a play located in Mount Olympus where Greek gods contend on the best moral writer. Junto Al Pasig (transl. By the Pasig River), a zarzuela performed in Ateneo, discusses a boy being tempted by Satan to leave the Catholic faith. The boy refused to give up his faith.
Travel to Europe
In May 1882, without his parents' knowledge and consent, but secretly supported by his brother Paciano and his uncle Antonio, he traveled alone to Spain to study. Rizal left on May 1: Paciano woke him up in dawn to travel to Biñan, then to Manila. He bid goodbye to his parents, who assumed he was traveling to Manila and not abroad, then left using a carromata—a two-wheeled passenger vehicle drawn by a single pony. After switching carromatas twice, Rizal arrived in Manila. On May 2, he visited his friends, then was escorted to the Pasig River the next day.
Rizal boarded the steamship Salvadora which was directed to Singapore. Upon arriving in Singapore, he embarked on the French ship Djemnah, headed to Europe. The ship made stopovers at Colombo, Sri Lanka and traversed the Suez Canal. On June 12, the ship docked in Marseille. Rizal then boarded a train to Spain, where he arrived on June 16.
In November 1882, he enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid and joined two courses: Medicine and Philosophy and Letters. He took private lessons in French, German, and English while practicing painting, sculpting, fencing, and shooting. While in Spain, Rizal joined the Circulo Hispano-Filipino—a reform organization composed of Filipinos and Spaniards—and created the poem Me Piden Versos upon their request. Rizal lived on a tight budget, purchasing books whenever he saved some money. As Rizal was instructed not to work to focus on his studies, he often relied on the allowance bestowed upon him by Paciano. The allowance was not enough, causing Rizal to sometimes become hungry. During this time, Rizal could not take a bath as bathing had a fee.
In summer vacation, Rizal went to Paris, France and stayed from June 17 to August 20, 1883. He visited numerous landmarks, including the Place de la Concorde and the Bois de Boulogne, and spent hours in museums and botanical gardens. On June 24, 1884, Rizal attended a celebratory party for Juan Luna and Félix Resurrección Hidalgo after they won medals in the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes (transl. National Exposition of Fine Arts) in Madrid. At the party, he offered a toast to the two artists, stating that greatness was not bounded by one's skin color or place of birth. He further stated that "anybody can be a genius". Rizal's speech was publicized by the Los Dos Mundos magazine, a popular one. Through this, Rizal became famous as Spaniards supporting the independence of Filipinos validated his speech.