RIZAL'S CHILDHOOD

José's mother taught him his letters learned at three and his uncles and an aunt interested
themselves in his, training until a young man named Monroy who had studied for the priesthood
but never taken the final orders, came into the house as José's tutor.

The impression of his first reading lesson, which was the story of the foolish butterfly in Abbé
Sabatier's "Children's Friend", was prophetic of a martyr’s fate, for the child envied the insect
which had died for the sake of the light. Early the injustices and abuses daily to be seen Kalamba
attracted his attention and he wondered if in the land across the lake, which to him then seemed a
distant country, the people were happier and the officials less cruel than they were on the shore
where his house was.

No small part of his childhood training came from listening to the Spaniards officials and priests,
who generally were guests in the Rizal home when they visited Kalamba. The parish priest,
Father Leoncio Lopez, also made the boy the companion of his walks, and the confidant of views
on the injustices done the Filipino clergy.

On his pony or root with his dog Usman, José explored all the picturesque region which lies
about Kalamba, but his first journey from house was at seven when his family visited Antipolo
during the festival in honor of the Virgin "of Peace and Safe Travel" which had been brought
from America by an early Spanish governor.

Until he went away to school, and then during his holidays at home, entertainments were given
the neighbors of Sleight-of-hand tricks and shadow moving pictures. These shadowgraphs were
made by paper figures moved by his clever fingers between a lamp and a white curtain. Their
novelty and his skill were the subject of village talk that magnified them as it repeated the stories
until the boy came to be involved in a sort of mystery. As he became more than a local hero,
these tales spread through the archipelago abreast with his growing reputation and were
doubtless the foundation for the belief in his miraculous powers which existed the illiterate of his
countrymen.

Life Story of Jose Rizal:

José Rizal was born to Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado Alejandra II and Teodora Morales Alonso
Realonda Quintos. He hailed from a family of prosperous farmers. Rizal was the seventh of eleven
children. José's father adopted the family name 'Rizal' from 'Ricial', which meant 'green fields'. Even as a
child, José advocated political ideas ahead of the time. He spoke of freedom and citizen rights, issues
that brought on the ire of the authorities. He actively participated in poetry and essay writing and made
notable contributions to Philippine literature. He openly criticized Spanish colonization of the
Philippines.

Rizal graduated from Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He obtained a Land Surveyor and Assessor Degree.
He also studied Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters. And, this was
not all; he registered for the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery course in
ophthalmology, but did not complete the course on account of indiscriminate behavior against Filipino
students. Instead, he opted for Licentiate in Medicine from the Universidad Central de Madrid.

Rizal also attended the University of Paris and Heidelberg for a second doctorate. His induction as a
member of Berlin's Ethnological and Anthropological Society is immortalized in his poem, 'A las flores
del Heidelberg'. He strongly advocated unification of Oriental and Occidental values. Rizal is fondly
remembered as a multi-faceted scholar. He displayed facets of his persona as a polymath,
ophthalmologist, educator and historian, alongside artistic pursuits like painting, sculpting and creative
writing. Rizal is remembered for authoring two popular novels: Noli me Tangere and El filibusterismo.

Rizal advocated a political system that presented scope for Philippine's participation in the Cortes,
freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and equal rights for all citizens. In 1892, he legalized these
social reforms, at the expense of being disbanded. He was openly declared 'enemy of the state' by the
Spanish due to his rebellious nature and ideologies promoted in his novels. He was imprisoned in 1896,
while his brother, Paciano, was tortured by the Spanish authorities. Due to his participation in the
nascent rebellion in 1892, Rizal was deported to Zamboanga. There, he not only helped the locals to
build a school and hospital, but also led the effort towards incorporating a better water supply system.

He was supportive of self sufficiency of the youth and resourcefulness of farmers. The four years of exile
were also ones that witnessed the development of the revolution back home. Inspite of being elected as
Honorary President of the Katipunan, he condemned the revolution. Rizal courted Josephine Bracken, an
Irish woman. He did not marry her since marriage would require him to embrace Catholicism, which was
against the revolution. 1896 witnessed a nationwide uprising in the Philippines, resulting in the
proclamation of a democratic republic. Rizal chose to serve in Cuba, to help victims of yellow fever.
Enroute, Rizal was arrested in Barcelona and sent back to Manila. He was tried before a court-martial on
the charges of 'rebellion' and 'conspiracy'. Rizal was convicted and sentenced to death.