Jose Rizal: A Biographical Sketch

BY TEOFILO H. MONTEMAYOR
JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the Philippines and pride of the Malayan race, was born on
June 19, 1861, in the town of Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh child in a family of 11
children (2 boys and 9 girls). Both his parents were educated and belonged to distinguished
families.

His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, an industrious farmer whom Rizal called "a model of
fathers," came from Biñan, Laguna; while his mother, Teodora Alonzo y Quintos, a highly
cultured and accomplished woman whom Rizal called "loving and prudent mother," was born in
Meisic, Sta. Cruz, Manila. At the age of 3, he learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, while
learning to read and write, he already showed inclinations to be an artist. He astounded his
family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and by his moldings of clay. At the age
8, he wrote a Tagalog poem, "Sa Aking Mga Kabata," the theme of which revolves on the love of
one’s language. In 1877, at the age of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an
average of "excellent" from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In the same year, he enrolled in
Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas, while at the same time took courses
leading to the degree of surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo. He finished the latter course
on March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyor’s examination on May 21, 1878; but because of his
age, 17, he was not granted license to practice the profession until December 30, 1881. In 1878,
he enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but had to stop in his studies when he
felt that the Filipino students were being discriminated upon by their Dominican tutors. On May
3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid.
On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23, he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on
June 19,1885, at the age of 24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of
"excellent."

Having traveled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22 languages. These
include Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese,
Latin, Malayan, Portuguese, Russian, Sanskrit, Spanish, Tagalog, and other native dialects. A
versatile genius, he was an architect, artists, businessman, cartoonist, educator, economist,
ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian, inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist,
nationalist, naturalist, novelist, opthalmic surgeon, poet, propagandist, psychologist, scientist,
sculptor, sociologist, and theologian.

He was an expert swordsman and a good shot. In the hope of securing political and social
reforms for his country and at the same time educate his countrymen, Rizal, the greatest apostle
of Filipino nationalism, published, while in Europe, several works with highly nationalistic and
revolutionary tendencies. In March 1887, his daring book, NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical
novel exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy, was published in Berlin; in
1890 he reprinted in Paris, Morga’s SUCCESSOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS with his
annotations to prove that the Filipinos had a civilization worthy to be proud of even long before
the Spaniards set foot on Philippine soil; on September 18, 1891, EL FILIBUSTERISMO, his
second novel and a sequel to the NOLI and more revolutionary and tragic than the latter, was
printed in Ghent. Because of his fearless exposures of the injustices committed by the civil and
clerical officials, Rizal provoked the animosity of those in power. This led himself, his relatives
and countrymen into trouble with the Spanish officials of the country. As a consequence, he and
those who had contacts with him, were shadowed; the authorities were not only finding faults but
even fabricating charges to pin him down. Thus, he was imprisoned in Fort Santiago from July 6,
1892 to July 15, 1892 on a charge that anti-friar pamphlets were found in the luggage of his sister
Lucia who arrive with him from Hong Kong. While a political exile in Dapitan, he engaged in
agriculture, fishing and business; he maintained and operated a hospital; he conducted classes-
taught his pupils the English and Spanish languages, the arts.

The sciences, vocational courses including agriculture, surveying, sculpturing, and painting, as
well as the art of self defense; he did some researches and collected specimens; he entered into
correspondence with renowned men of letters and sciences abroad; and with the help of his
pupils, he constructed water dam and a relief map of Mindanao - both considered remarkable
engineering feats. His sincerity and friendliness won for him the trust and confidence of even
those assigned to guard him; his good manners and warm personality were found irresistible by
women of all races with whom he had personal contacts; his intelligence and humility gained for
him the respect and admiration of prominent men of other nations; while his undaunted courage
and determination to uplift the welfare of his people were feared by his enemies.

When the Philippine Revolution started on August 26, 1896, his enemies lost no time in pressing
him down. They were able to enlist witnesses that linked him with the revolt and these were
never allowed to be confronted by him. Thus, from November 3, 1986, to the date of his
execution, he was again committed to Fort Santiago. In his prison cell, he wrote an untitled
poem, now known as "Ultimo Adios" which is considered a masterpiece and a living document
expressing not only the hero’s great love of country but also that of all Filipinos. After a mock
trial, he was convicted of rebellion, sedition and of forming illegal association. In the cold
morning of December 30, 1896, Rizal, a man whose 35 years of life had been packed with varied
activities which proved that the Filipino has capacity to equal if not excel even those who treat
him as a slave, was shot at Bagumbayan Field.

Marcelo Hilario Del Pilar Facts

Marcelo H. Del Pilar (1850-1896) was a Philippine revolutionary propagandist and satirist.
He tried to marshal the nationalist sentiment of the enlightened Filipino ilustrados, or
bourgeoisie, against Spanish imperialism.

Marcelo Del Pilar was born in Kupang, Bulacan, on Aug. 30, 1850, to cultured parents. He
studied at the Colegio de San José and later at the University of Santo Tomas, where he finished
his law course in 1880. Fired by a sense of justice against the abuses of the clergy, Del Pilar
attacked bigotry and hypocrisy and defended in court the impoverished victims of racial
discrimination. He preached the gospel of work, self-respect, and human dignity. His mastery of
Tagalog, his native language, enabled him to arouse the consciousness of the masses to the need
for unity and sustained resistance against the Spanish tyrants.
In 1882 Del Pilar founded the newspaper Diariong Tagalog to propagate democratic liberal ideas
among the farmers and peasants. In 1888 he defended José Rizal's polemical writings by issuing
a pamphlet against a priest's attack, exhibiting his deadly wit and savage ridicule of clerical
follies.

In 1888, fleeing from clerical persecution, Del Pilar went to Spain, leaving his family behind. In
December 1889 he succeeded Graciano Lopez Jaena as editor of the Filipino reformist periodical
La solidaridadin Madrid. He promoted the objectives of the paper by contacting liberal Spaniards
who would side with the Filipino cause. Under Del Pilar, the aims of the newspaper were
expanded to include removal of the friars and the secularization of the parishes; active Filipino
participation in the affairs of the government; freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly;
wider social and political freedoms; equality before the law; assimilation; and representation in
the Spanish Cortes, or Parliament.

Del Pilar's difficulties increased when the money to support the paper was exhausted and there
still appeared no sign of any immediate response from the Spanish ruling class. Before he died of
tuberculosis caused by hunger and enormous privation, Del Pilar rejected the assimilationist
stand and began planning an armed revolt. He vigorously affirmed this conviction: "Insurrection
is the last remedy, especially when the people have acquired the belief that peaceful means to
secure the remedies for evils prove futile." This idea inspired Andres Bonifacio's Katipunan, a
secret revolutionary organization. Del Pilar died in Barcelona on July 4, 1896.

Del Pilar's militant and progressive outlook derived from the classic Enlightenment tradition of
the French philosophes and the scientific empiricism of the European bourgeoisie. Part of this
outlook was transmitted by Freemasonry, to which Del Pilar subscribed.

Graciano Lopez Jaena Biography

There are a number of different memorable people that are renowned for literary ability; however
Graciano Lopez Jaena is a man that is well known and respected for a variety of achievements.
Jaena is recognized as being an integral part of the Philippine Revolution. This revolution, which
is also known as the Tagalog War, helped to release the Philippines from Spanish rule. Graciano
Lopez Jaena helped to spur this revolution with his variety of literary works that helped to create
the need and desire for independence. Jaena along with two other propagandists are instrumental
for their works with the Filipino people.

Graciano Lopez Jaena

Although Graciano Lopez Jaena is considered to be one of the greatest orators in Filipino history,
Jaena was a man who came from very humble beginnings.

He was born into a poor family with a mother that worked as a seamstress and a father that
worked as a repairman. His parents sent him away to study at a seminary where Jaena aspired to
become a doctor. Jaena would attempt to pursue medical studies at a local university but was
unfortunately denied admission because his current school did not offer a Bachelor’s degree.

Jaena was, however, able to obtain a position as an apprentice at the San Juan de Dios Hospital,
but was not able to keep it because his parents could no longer afford to send him to school.
Jaena would later return home to practice medicine in the local communities.

While practicing medicine, Jaena became very displeased with the quality of life that many of his
patients had to endure. Jaena’s displeasure with the injustices that many of his patients faced was
the beginning of a new life for him in many ways.

Graciano Lopez Jaena Was Seeking Justice

Graciano Lopez Jaena subsequently become very well known for addressing the injustices that
occurred amongst the Filipino people. His first attempt at addressing problems in local society
was through a story entitled “Fray Botod.”

This story made reference to the less-than-kind ways of the local priests. Although no one could
prove that Jaena wrote the story, he received many threats to his life as a result of his ridicule of
the unholy ways of the local priests.

Likewise, while continuing to provide medical services to the local community, Jaena also
discovered that many people were dying at the hands of the local mayor. When Jaena refused to
testify that the deceased individuals died of natural causes, he was threatened again and decided
to move to Spain to escape potential harm.

Upon arriving in Spain, Jaena would eventually become a very well-known advocate for Filipino
issues. He and two other men, Jose P. Rizal and Marcelo H. del Pilar would become the main
propagandists speaking out for Filipino reform. Thus, the biography of Graciano Lopez Jaena is
one of a man who was committed to changing the way in which the Filipino population was
treated.

Philippine Revolution
Jaena was known to publish a number of literary works that challenged the status quo. One of his
most popular works included the "La Solidaridad," which was a newspaper that played a very
significant part in the propaganda movement that helped lead to the Philippine Revolution.

In addition to being a very prolific and effective writer, Jaena was also known as a very fiery
orator. Jaena was very well known for inspiring the propaganda movement with his speeches,
which helped to move the Filipino people to demand change. Thus, in many ways, Graciano
Lopez Jaena can be credited with helping to spur the movement that would lead to the Philippine
Revolution, which would eventually allow the Philippines to get out from under Spanish control
and gain its independence.
Apolinario Mabini Facts

Apolinario Mabini (1864-1903) was a Filipino political philosopher and architect of the
Philippine revolution. He formulated the principles of a democratic popular government,
endowing the historical struggles of the Filipino people with a coherent ideological
orientation.

Apolinario Mabini was born in Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas, on July 22, 1864. His parents
belonged to the impoverished peasantry. He studied at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in 1881
and at the University of Santo Thomas, where he received the law degree in 1894. During this
time he earned his living by teaching Latin and then serving as copyist in the Court of First
Instance in Manila.

In 1896 Mabini contracted an illness, probably infantile paralysis, that deprived him of the use of
his legs. When the Katipunan revolt broke out late that year, the Spanish authorities arrested him.
Unknown to many, Mabini was already a member of José Rizal's reformist association, the Liga
Filipina. And though as a pacifist reformist, he was at first skeptical of Andres Bonifacio's armed
uprising, Mabini later became convinced of the people's almost fanatical desire for emancipation.
Subsequently, he turned out subversive manifestos appealing to all Filipinos to unite against
Spain.

In May 1898 Emilio Aguinaldo summoned Mabini to act as his adviser. Mabini formulated the
famous decree of June 18, which reorganized the local government under Filipino control. His
policy throughout the struggle can be epitomized by a statement in that decree: "The first duty of
the government is to interpret the popular will faithfully. "Mabini was also instrumental in
supervising the proper administration of justice, the election of delegates to the revolutionary
congress, and the establishment of the mechanism of the revolutionary government itself.

When the revolutionary congress was convoked in Barasoain, Malolos, Bulacan, on Sept. 15,
1898, Mabini found himself opposed to the plans of the wealthy bourgeoisie to draft a
constitution. He believed that, given the emergency conditions of war, the function of the
congress was simply to advise the president and not to draft a constitution. Defeated by the
majority, Mabini then submitted his own constitutional plan, based on the Statutes of Universal
Masonry. It was rejected in favor of a composite draft submitted by Felipe G. Calderon, which
became the basis of the Malolos Constitution of the first Philippine Republic.

Mabini's conflict with the conspiracy of property owners and the landlord class in the congress
led to his eclipse in 1899 as Aguinaldo's trusted adviser—the only competent thinker and
theoretician in the Aguinaldo Cabinet. Mabini succeeded in exposing the vicious opportunism of
the Paterno-Buencamino clique, who were trying to gain control over, and to profit from, the
financial transactions of the revolutionary government. When the Aguinaldo camp fled from the
advancing American forces, Mabini was captured on Dec. 10, 1899. Still refusing to swear an
oath of allegiance to the U.S. government and continuing to support the insurgents in their
ideological struggle, he was deported to Guam in 1901. He died on May 13, 1903.

Mabini's chief work, La Revolution Filipina, a reasoned analysis and cogent argument
concerning the ideological implications of the revolution against Spain and the resistance to the
American invaders, reveals the progressive and democratic impulse behind his thinking. He
always tried to mediate between the people's will and the decisions of their leaders. He was a
selfless and dedicated patriot.

Andres Bonifacio Facts

Andres Bonifacio (1863-1897), a Filipino revolutionary hero, founded the Katipunan, a
secret society which spearheaded the uprising against the Spanish and laid the groundwork
for the first Philippine Republic.

Andres Bonifacio was born in Tondo, Manila, on Nov. 30, 1863. He grew up in the slums and
knew from practical experience the actual conditions of the class struggle in his society.
Orphaned early, he interrupted his primary schooling in order to earn a living as a craftsman and
then as clerk-messenger and agent of foreign commercial firms in Manila. Absorbing the
teachings of classic rationalism from the works of José Rizal, Victor Hugo's Les Miserables,
Eugène Sue's The Wandering Jew, books on the French Revolution, and the lives of the
presidents of the United States, Bonifacio acquired an understanding of the dynamics of the
sociohistorical process. This led him to join the Liga Filipina, which Rizal organized in 1892 for
the purpose of uniting and intensifying the nationalist movement for reforms.

When the Liga was dissolved upon the arrest and banishment of Rizal, Bonifacio formed the
Katipunan in 1892 and thus provided the rallying point for the people's agitation for freedom,
independence, and equality. The Katipunan patterned its initiation rites after the Masonry, but its
ideological principles derived from the French Revolution and can be judged radical in its
materialistic-historical orientation. The Katipunan exalted work as the source of all value. It
directed attention to the unjust class structure of the colonial system, the increased exploitation
of the indigenous population, and consequently the need to affirm the collective strength of the
working masses in order to destroy the iniquitous system.

When the society was discovered on Aug. 19, 1896, it had about 10,000 members. On August 23
Bonifacio and his followers assembled at Balintawak and agreed to begin the armed struggle.
Two days later the first skirmish took place and a reign of terror by the Spaniards soon followed.

Conflict split the rebels into the two groups of Magdiwang and Magdalo in Cavite, on Luzon.
Bonifacio was invited to mediate, only to be rebuffed by the clannish middle class of Cavite.
Judging Bonifacio's plans as divisive and harmful to unity, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the elected
president of the provisional revolutionary government, ordered the arrest, trial, and execution for
"treason and sedition" of Bonifacio and his brothers. On May 10, 1897, Bonifacio was executed.

Contrary to the popular view, the cause of Bonifacio's tragic death at the hands of other Filipino
rebels cannot be solely attributed to his own personal pride. Rather, the correlation of class
forces and the adventurist tendency of Bonifacio's group led to his isolation and subsequently to
Aguinaldo's compromises with the American military invaders.
 Graciano López Jaena

17 December 1856
Jaro, Iloilo, Captaincy
Born General of the
Philippines, Spanish
Empire
20 January 1896 (aged
Died 39)
Barcelona, Spain
Cause of
Tuberculosis
death
Fossar de la Pedrera,
Resting place Montjuïc Cemetery,
Barcelona, Spain
St. Vincent Ferrer
Education Seminary
University of Valencia
Writer, journalist, orator,
Occupation
propagandist
Known for La Solidaridad
 José Rizal

José Protasio Rizal Mercado (y) Alonso[1]

June 19, 1861[2]
Born
Calamba, Laguna, Captaincy General of the
Philippines[2]
December 30, 1896 (aged 35)[3]
Died Bagumbayan, Manila, Captaincy General of the
Philippines[3]
Cause of death Execution by firing squad
Luneta Park, Manila,
Monuments Calamba, Laguna,
Daet, Camarines Norte
Other names Pepe, Jose (nicknames)[4][5]
Ateneo Municipal de Manila, University of
Alma mater
Santo Tomas, Universidad Central de Madrid
Organization La Solidaridad, La Liga Filipina
Religion Roman Catholic
Josephine Bracken (1896)
Spouse(s) [6]
Francisco Mercado Rizal (father)
Parent(s)
Teodora Alonso Realonda (mother)
Signature

Marcelo H. del Pilar

 Marcelo H. del Pilar ca. 1889
Marcelo Hilario y Gatmaytán
August 30, 1850
Born
Bulacán, Bulacan, Captaincy General
of the Philippines
July 4, 1896 (aged 45)
Died
Barcelona, Spain
Cause of death Tuberculosis
Marcelo H. del Pilar National Shrine,
Resting place
Bulakan, Bulacan, Philippines
Nationality Filipino
Colegio de San José
Alma mater
Universidad de Santo Tomás
Occupation Writer, lawyer, journalist
Organization La Solidaridad
Religion Roman Catholicism
Spouse(s) Marciana H. del Pilar
(1878–1896; his death)
Sofía H. del Pilar
Children
Anita H. del Pilar de Marasigan
Julián H. del Pilar (father)
Parent(s)
Blasa Gatmaitán (mother

Apolinario M. Mabini
 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines
In office
January 23, 1899 – May 7, 1899
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded
Pedro Paterno
by
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
January 23, 1899 – May 7, 1899
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded
Felipe Buencamino
by
Personal details
Apolinario Mabini y Maranan
23 July 1864 [1]
Born
Tanauan, Batangas, Captaincy General of the
Philippines
May 13, 1903 (aged 38)
Died
Manila, Philippine Islands
San Juan de Letran College
Alma mater
University of Santo Tomas
Profession Politician
Signature
 Andrés Bonifacio

The single known extant photograph of Bonifacio.[1]

President of the Tagalog Republic
Unofficial President of the Philippines
In office
August 24,2016 – March 22 or May 10, 1897
Post established (Deodato Arellano and Roman Basa, as
Preceded by
Supreme Leader of the Katipunan)
Succeeded by Emilio Aguinaldo (as President of Tejeros Convention)
Personal details
Andrés Bonifacioducusin
November 30, 1863
Born
Tondo, Manila,
Captaincy General of the Philippines
May 10, 1897 (aged 33)
Died Maragondon, Cavite,
Captaincy General of the Philippines
Resting place Remains Lost
Nationality Filipino
Political La Liga Filipina
party Katipunan
Monica (c. 1880–1890, her death)
Spouse(s)
Gregoria de Jesús (1893–1897, his death)
Andres Bonifacio y de Jesús (born on early 1896-died in
Children
infancy)
Education Self-educated.
Profession Craftsman, Employee, Revolutionary,
Known for Philippine Revolution
Religion Roman Catholicism

Signature