Rizal's Life, Works and Writings

Brief History of

Rizal's Life and His Works

Submitted to:

Ms. Sarah Relloque

Submitted by:

Maricris C. Lustañas
BSCE-CEM III

September 12, 2023

JOSÉ RIZAL (Filipino political leader and author)

Also known as: José Protasio Rizal Mercado y

Alonso Realonda
Born: June 19, 1861 (Philippines)
Died: December 30, 1896 (aged 35) in Manila,
Philippines
Founder: Liga Filipina

José Rizal was a patriot, physician, and man of letters who was an inspiration to
the Philippine nationalist movement. The son of a prosperous landowner, Rizal was
educated in Manila and at the University of Madrid. A brilliant medical student, he soon
committed himself to the reform of Spanish rule in his home country, though he never
advocated Philippine independence. Most of his writing was done in Europe, where he
resided between 1882 and 1892.

THE MERCADO - RIZAL FAMILY

The Rizals is considered one of the biggest families during their time. Domingo
Lam-co, the family's paternal ascendant was a full-blooded Chinese who came to the
Philippines from Amoy, China in the closing years of the 17th century and married a
Chinese half-breed by the name of Ines de la Rosa.

Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of Japanese,
Spanish, Malay and Even Negrito blood aside from Chinese.

Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco
Mercado II and Teodora Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.

FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898) SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)

Father of Jose Rizal who was the
youngest of 13 offsprings of Juan and
Cirila Mercado. Born in Biñan, Laguna
on April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose
College, Manila; and died in Manila.
TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)
Mother of Jose Rizal who was
the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and
Brijida de Quintos. She studied at the
Colegio de Santa Rosa. She was a
business-minded woman, courteous,
religious, hard-working and well-read.
She was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on
November 14, 1827 and died in 1913 in
Manila.
Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo
marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo
Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas.
PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)
Only brother of Jose Rizal and the
second child. Studied at San Jose
College in Manila; became a farmer and
later a general of the Philippine
Revolution.
NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)
The third child. married Antonio
Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and
musician.

OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)

 The fourth child. Married
Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from
childbirth.

LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)

JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)
The fifth child. Married Matriano
The ninth child. An epileptic,
Herbosa.
died a spinster.
MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)
TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)
The sixth child. Married Daniel
The tenth child. Died a spinster
Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
and the last of the family to die.
JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)
SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)
The second son and the seventh
child. He was executed by the Spaniards
on December 30,1896.

CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)

The eight child. Died at the age

of three.
WORKS

In 1887 Rizal published his first novel, Noli me tangere (The Social Cancer), a
passionate exposure of the evils of Spanish rule in the Philippines. A sequel, El
filibusterismo (1891; The Reign of Greed), established his reputation as the leading
spokesman of the Philippine reform movement. He published an annotated edition
(1890; reprinted 1958) of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, hoping to show
that the native people of the Philippines had a long history before the coming of the
Spaniards. He became the leader of the Propaganda Movement, contributing numerous
articles to its newspaper, La Solidaridad, published in Barcelona. Rizal’s political
program included integration of the Philippines as a province of Spain, representation in
the Cortes (the Spanish parliament), the replacement of Spanish friars by Filipino priests,
freedom of assembly and expression, and equality of Filipinos and Spaniards before the
law.

RIZAL'S FAMOUS NOVELS

NOLI ME TANGERE (Touch Me Not, EL FILIBUSTERISMO (Treason)

H'wag mo akong salingin)
 Dedicated to the martyrs of
 Dedicated to the Motherland cavite, GOMBURZA.
 Published in Berlin, Germany in  Published in Ghent, Belgium in
1887 1891

MAKAMISA (unfinished)

RIZAL'S FAMOUS POEMS

Sa Aking mga Kabata A La Juventud Filipina (To The Filipino

Youth)
 first poem, promoting lobe for
native language  Written when rizal was 18 at UST

Mi Primera Inspiraccion Mi ultimo adios (my last farewell)

 written in ateneo, dedicated to

his mother

Rizal was a prolific writer. At age 7, Rizal wrote a play, performed during fiestas
and at age of 8, Rizal wrote "Sa Aking mga Kabata", his very first poem. Rizal won
literary awards during his stay in Ateneo and UST. He wrote poems, essays, plays and
other literary pieces.

Rizal returned to the Philippines in 1892. He founded a nonviolent-reform

society, the Liga Filipina, in Manila, and was deported to Dapitan in northwest
Mindanao. He remained in exile for the next four years. In 1896 the Katipunan, a Filipino
nationalist secret society, revolted against Spain. Although he had no connections with
that organization and he had had no part in the insurrection, Rizal was arrested and
tried for sedition by the military. Found guilty, he was publicly executed by a firing
squad in Manila. His martyrdom convinced Filipinos that there was no alternative to
independence from Spain. On the eve of his execution, while confined in Fort Santiago,
Rizal wrote “Último adiós” (“Last Farewell”), a masterpiece of 19th-century Spanish
verse.