the MERCADO RIZAL family

FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898) TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)

1. SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913) 2. PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930) 3. NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939) 4. OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887) 5. LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919) 6. MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945) 7. JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896) 8. CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865) 9. JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945) 10. TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951) 11. SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)

the MERCADO RIZAL family

birth and early age

19 June 1861 - JOSE RIZAL, the seventh child of Francisco Mercado
Rizal and Teodora Alonso y Quintos, was born in Calamba, Laguna.

22 June 1861 - He was baptized JOSE RIZAL MERCADO at the

Catholic of Calamba by the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casaas as the sponsor. canonical books, including the book in which Rizals baptismal records were entered, were burned. mother.

28 September 1862 - The parochial church of Calamba and the

1864 - Barely three years old, Rizal learned the alphabet from his

1865 - When he was four years old, his sister Conception, the eight child
in the Rizal family, died at the age of three. It was on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed real tears for the first time.

birth and early age

1865 1867 - His mother taught him how to read and write.
Leon Monroy - taught Rizal the rudiments of Latin. Uncle Manuel Alberto - concerned himself with the physical development of Jose; and developed in him a great admiration for the beauty of nature Uncle Gregorio - instilled into the mind of the boy love for education. He advised Rizal:

"Work hard and perform every task very carefully; learn to be swift as well as thorough; be independent in thinking and make visual pictures of everything.

6 June 1868 - With his father, Rizal made a pilgrimage to Antipolo to

fulfill the vow made by his mother to take the child to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of delivery which nearly caused his mothers life.

1869 - At the age of eight (8), Rizal wrote his first poem entitled "Sa
"Love of Ones Language."

Aking Mga Kabata. The poem was written in tagalog and had for its theme

Early Education + experiences (Binan, Laguna)

1870 - His brother Paciano brought Rizal to Bian, Laguna. He
was placed under the tutelage of Justiniano Aquino Cruz, studying Latin and Spanish. In this town he also learned the art of painting under the tutorship of an old painter by the name of Juancho Carrera. Rizal returned to Calamba on board the motorboat TALIM. His parents planned to transfer him to Manila where he could continue his studies. allegedly poisoning the wife of her cousin Jose Alberto, a rich property owner of Bian and brother of Manuel and Gregorio. which his father forbid the members of his family to utter, including such names as Cavite and Burgos. (It must be remembered that

17 December 1870 - Having finished his studies in Bian, 1871 -His mother was imprisoned in Sta. Cruz, Laguna for

1872 - For the first time, Rizal heard of the word filibustero

because of the Cavite Mutiny on January 20, 1872, Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora were garroted at Bagumbayan Field on February 17, 1872.)

the ATENISTA @ THOMASIAN

in Ateneo:
classes were divided into groups of interns and externs: the first constituted the Roman Empire and the second, the Carthaginian Empire. In each empire there were five dignitaries: Emperor, Tribune, Decurion, Centurion, and Standard-Bearer. These dignities were won by means of individual competitions in which it was necessary to catch ones adversary in error three times. As a newcomer, Jose was at first put at the tail of the class, but he was soon promoted and kept on being promoted so that at the end of one month he had attained to the rank of Emperor. At the end of school years, he obtained marks of excellent in all the subjects and in the examinations. In 1877, at the age of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an average of "excellent.

the ATENISTA @ THOMASIAN

in UST:
- in the same year (1877), 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 Surveyors 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.

Universidad Central de Madrid

May 3, 1882 - he sailed for Spain where he June 21, 1884 - at the age of 23, he was
conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine

continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid;

June 19,1885 - at the age of 24, he finished

his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of "excellent."

travels
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, cartoonists, educator, economist, ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian, inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist, nationalist, naturalist, novelist, ophthalmic surgeon, poet, propagandist, psychologist, scientist, sculptor, sociologist, and theologian; He was an expert swordsman and a good shot;

travels
While in Europe, he published several works with highly nationalistic and
revolutionary tendencies like: March 1887 - his daring book, NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical novel exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy, was published in Berlin;

1890 - he reprinted in Paris Morgas 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; 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.

exile
due to 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; 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; 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;

DAPITAN

exile
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 contracted water dam and a relief map of Mindanao- both considered remarkable engineering feats.

exile
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.
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 heros 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;

execution

 LAST HOURS
Dec. 29, 1896.

6:00 7:00 a.m. -Capt. Dominguez read

death sentence to Rizal; 7:00 8:00 a.m. -Rizal was transferred to his death cell. Fr. Saderra talked briefly with Rizal. Fr. Viza presented statue of the Sacred hearth of Jesus and medal of Mary; 8:00 10:00 a.m. -Rizal shared his milk and coffee with Fr. Rosell. Lt. Andrade and chief of Artillery came to visit Rizal who thanked each of them; 10:00 11:00 a.m. - Fr. Faura persuaded Rizal to put down his rancours and ordered to marry Josephine canonically;

execution

LAST HOURS
Dec. 29, 1896. 7:00 8:00 p.m. - Fr. Faura returned to console Rizal and persuaded him once more to trust him and the other professors at the Ateneo. Rizal was emotion-filled and, after remaining some moments in silence, confessed to Fr. Faura; 8:00 9:00 p.m.-Rizal raked supper; 9:00 11:00 p.m. -Rizal manifested strange reaction, asked guards for paper and pen; 11:00 12:00 midnight - Rizal took time to hide his poem inside the alcohol burner. It has to be done during night rather than during daytime because he was watched very carefully. He then wrote his last letter to brother Paciano; 12:00 4:00 a.m. Rizal slept restfully because his confidence in the goodness of God and the justness of his cause gave him astounding serenity and unusual calmness

LAST HOURS
December 30, 1896.
4:00 5:00 a.m. Rizal picked up Imitation of Christ, reads, meditated; 5:00 6:15 a.m. Rizal washed up, took breakfast, attended to his personal needs. Wrote a letter to his parents. Read Bible and meditated; 6:15 7:00 a.m. Rizal walked to the place of execution between Fr. March and Fr. Vilaclara with whom he conversed; kept looking around as if seeking or expecting to see someone. 7:00 7:03 a.m. Sounds of guns. Rizal vacillated, turned halfway around, fell down backwards and lied on the ground facing the sun. Silence. Shouts of vivas!!! for Spain. His last word, said in a loud voice: "It is finished /

Consummatum Est!

 There were at least nine women linked with Rizal; namely:

Segunda Katigbak Leonor Valenzuela Leonor Rivera Consuelo Ortiga O-Sei San Gertrude Beckette Nelly Boustead Suzanne Jacoby Josephine Bracken

These women might have been beguiled by his intelligence, charm and wit.

Segunda Katigbak was her puppy love. Unfortunately, his first love was engaged to be married to a town mate- Manuel Luz. After his admiration for a short girl in the person of Segunda, then came..

 After his admiration for a short girl in

the person of Segunda, then came Leonor Valenzuela, a tall girl from Pagsanjan. Rizal send her love notes written in invisible ink, that could only be deciphered over the warmth of the lamp or candle. He visited her on the eve of his departure to Spain and bade her a last goodbye.

..his sweetheart for 11 years played the greatest influence in keeping him from falling in love with other women during his travel. Unfortunately, Leonors mother disapproved of her daughters relationship with Rizal, who was then a known filibustero. She hid from Leonor all letters sent to her sweetheart. Leonor believing that Rizal had already forgotten her, sadly consented her to marry the Englishman Henry Kipping, her mothers choice.

 Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, the prettier of Don Pablo Ortigas

daughters, fell in love with him. He dedicated to her A la Senorita C.O. y R., which became one of his best poems. The Ortiga's residence in Madrid was frequented by Rizal and his compatriots. He probably fell in love with her and Consuelo apparently asked him for romantic verses. He suddenly backed out before the relationship turned into a serious romance, because he wanted to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera and he did not want to destroy his friendship with Eduardo de Lete who was madly in love with Consuelo.

O Sei San, a Japanese samurais daughter taught Rizal the Japanese art of painting known as su-mie. She also helped Rizal improve his knowledge of Japanese language. If Rizal was a man without a patriotic mission, he would have married this lovely and intelligent woman and lived a stable and happy life with her in Japan because Spanish legation there offered him a lucrative job.

While Rizal was in London annotating the Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, he boarded in the house of the Beckett family, within walking distance of the British Museum. Gertrude, a blue-eyed and buxom girl was the oldest of the three Beckett daughters. She fell in love with Rizal. Tottie helped him in his painting and sculpture. But Rizal suddenly left London for Paris to avoid Gertrude, who was seriously in love with him. Before leaving London, he was able to finish the group carving of the Beckett sisters. He gave the group carving to Gertrude as a sign of their brief relationship.

Rizal having lost Leonor Rivera, entertained the thought of courting other ladies. While a guest of the Boustead family at their residence in the resort city of Biarritz, he had befriended the two pretty daughters of his host, Eduardo Boustead. Rizal used to fence with the sisters at the studio of Juan Luna. Antonio Luna, Juans brother and also a frequent visitor of the Bousteads, courted Nellie but she was deeply infatuated with Rizal. In a party held by Filipinos in Madrid, a drunken Antonio Luna uttered unsavory remarks against Nellie Boustead. This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel. Fortunately, Luna apologized to Rizal, thus averting tragedy for the compatriots. Their love affair unfortunately did not end in marriage. It failed because Rizal refused to be converted to the Protestant faith, as Nellie demanded and Nellies mother did not like a physician without enough paying clientele to be a son-in-law. The lovers, however, parted as good friends when Rizal left Europe.

In 1890, Rizal moved to Brussels because of the high cost of living in Paris. In Brussels, he lived in the boarding house of the two Jacoby sisters. In time, they fell deeply in love with each other. Suzanne cried when Rizal left Brussels and wrote him when he was in Madrid.

 In the last days of February 1895, while still in Dapitan, Rizal met an 18-

year old petite Irish girl, with bold blue eyes, brown hair and a happy disposition. She was Josephine Bracken, the adopted daughter of George Taufer from Hong Kong, who came to Dapitan to seek Rizal for eye treatment. Rizal was physically attracted to her. His loneliness and boredom must have taken the measure of him and what could be a better diversion that to fall in love again. But the Rizal sisters suspected Josephine as an agent of the friars and they considered her as a threat to Rizals security. decision due to her responsibility to the blind Taufer. Since Taufers blindness was untreatable, he left for Hon Kong on March 1895. Josephine stayed with Rizals family in Manila. Upon her return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange with Father Antonio Obach for their marriage. However, the priest wanted a retraction as a precondition before marrying them. Rizal upon the advice of his family and friends and with Josephines consent took her as his wife even without the Church blessings. Josephine later give birth prematurely to a stillborn baby, a result of some incidence, which might have shocked or frightened her.

Rizal asked Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to make a