He was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime ofrebellion after thePhilippine Revolution broke out; the revolution was inspired by his writings. Though he was not actively involved in its planning or conduct, he ultimately approved of its goals, which eventually resulted inPhilippine 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.[9] He wrote the novelsNoli Me Tángere (1887) andEl filibusterismo (1891), which together are taken as a national epic, in addition to numerous poems and essays.[10][11]
José Rizal was born on June 19, 1861, toFrancisco Rizal Mercado andTeodora Alonso Realonda y Quintos in the town ofCalamba inLaguna as their seventh child.[8][12] He was baptized into theRoman Catholic Church on June 22, 1861, at theCalamba Church by the Fr. Rufino Collantes.[13] Both their families had adopted the additional surnames ofRizal andRealonda in 1849 after Governor GeneralNarciso Clavería y Zaldúa decreed the adoption ofSpanish surnames among theFilipinos through a catalogue; the surname "Rizal" was not included in the list.[14] His parents were leaseholders of ahacienda and an accompanying rice farm held by theDominicans.[15] Like many families in the Philippines, the Rizals were ofmestizo origin. José's patrilineal lineage could be traced toFujian in China through his father's ancestor Lam-co, aChinese merchant who immigrated to Calamba in 1697.[16][note 1] On his mother's side, Rizal's ancestry included Chinese andTagalog. His mother's lineage can be traced to the Florentina family ofChinese mestizo families originating inBaliuag, Bulacan. She also hadSpanish ancestry through the Ochoa family inCavite.[17] José Rizal's maternal great-great-grandfather, Eugenio Ursua, was of Japanese ancestry.[18]
From an early age, Rizal showed a curious intellect. He learned the alphabet from his mother at 3 and could read and write at age 5.[8] Teodora taught Rizal how to compose poems, pray, and to contribute to household chores. His family lived in abahay na bato: a house style which prominent families incorporate in their houses. The house was situated near the town plaza, described by historian John Ray Jamos as an indicator of the family's influence.[19] In 1865, his 3-year-old sister, Conception, died. He was described as "curious": he liked to learn profusely and ask questions. He had thousands of books in his home and talked with hisyaya Aquilina.[20] Rizal was close to his brotherPaciano, who had once been mentored by Fr.José Burgos: the former would ask Paciano questions while he would tell him stories. Rizal had pets: a black dog named Usman and a pony named Alipato, given by his father when he turned seven.[21] Historians described Rizal's childhood as happy and showed equal treatment between him and his siblings.[22]
Rizal first studied under Justiniano Aquino Cruz inBiñan due to the death of his private tutor.[23] 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."[24] 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.[25] 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 toRafael Palma, he felt humiliated and humbled.[23] 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.[26]
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. Then, he left school at 10:00 a.m. for lunch. Subsequently, 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.[27] Upon receiving a letter from his family, Rizal left Biñan in 1870 using a steamboat namedTalim. After spending Christmas with his family, it was decided that he would not return to Biñan, but enroll in secondary school in Manila.[26]
Rizal's family was prominent, being connected with the local friars, theAlcalde of Laguna. Nobody in Calamba owned land; the owners were theDominican friars. When the residents were having financial problems, the friars raised the rent—a decision Francisco Mercado opposed.[28] On February 17, 1872, theGomburza priests were executed. Due to the family opposing the government, Rizal's brother,Paciano, was connected to the execution.[29] As Rizal was waiting for July, the month he would study in Manila, Jose Alberto, the cousin of Teodora, alleged that the latter 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.[note 2] This caused Rizal to lose trust in men.[31][32] After the case continued for two and a half years, Teodora was finally released.[33]
He enrolled at theAteneo Municipal de Manila after his brother sought help from one of his friends; the school originally rejected him since the academic term already started.[34] 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, thus 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!"[35]
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 of his stay 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 theSanta 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, once 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 again 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.[36]
Rizal went to theUniversity 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 as well, being an officer of the Marian Congregation while being 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.[37][38] Upon learning that his mother was going blind, he decided to switch to medicine at themedical school of Santo Tomas during his second year in the university. He stayed in Santo Tomas for an additional four years.[38]
Family tree made by Rizal while in exile at Dapitan,c. 1890s
Without his parents' knowledge and consent but secretly supported by his brother Paciano and his uncle Antonio, he traveled alone to Spain in May 1882 to study.[40] 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.[41][42] After switching carromatas twice, Rizal arrived in Manila. On May 2, he visited his friends, then was escorted to thePasig River the next day.[43] Rizal boarded the steamshipSalvadora which was directed to Singapore. Upon arriving at the country, he embarked on the French shipDjemnah, headed to Europe. The ship made stopovers atColombo, Sri Lanka and traversed theSuez Canal.[44] On June 12, the ship docked inMarseille. Rizal then boarded a train directed to Spain, where he arrived on June 16.[45]
In November 1882, he enrolled at theUniversidad 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.[45] While in Spain, Rizal joined the Circulo Hispano-Filipino—a reform organization composed of Filipinos and Spaniards—and created the poemMe Piden Versos upon their request.[46][47] 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.[48]
In summer vacation, Rizal went toParis, France and stayed from June 17 to August 20, 1883. He visited numerous landmarks, including thePlace de la Concorde and theBois de Boulogne, and spent hours in museums and botanical gardens.[46] On June 24, 1884, Rizal attended a celebratory party forJuan Luna andFélix Resurrección Hidalgo after they won medals in the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes (transl. National Exposition of Fine Arts) in Madrid.[49] 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 theLos Dos Mundos magazine, a popular one. Through this, Rizal became famous as Spaniards supporting the independence of Filipinos validated his speech.[50]
AtHeidelberg, the 25-year-old Rizal completed his eye specialization in 1887 under the professorOtto Becker. There he used the newly inventedophthalmoscope (invented byHermann von Helmholtz) to later operate on his mother's eye. From Heidelberg, Rizal wrote his parents: "I spend half of the day in the study of German and the other half, in the diseases of the eye. Twice a week, I go to the bierbraueriei, or beerhall, to speak German with my student friends." He lived in a Karlstraße boarding house then moved to Ludwigsplatz. There, he met Reverend Karl Ullmer and stayed with them inWilhelmsfeld. There he wrote the last few chapters ofNoli Me Tángere, his first novel, published in Spanish later that year.
Rizal was skilled in both science and the arts. He painted, sketched, and made sculptures and woodcarving. He was a prolific poet, essayist, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels,Noli Me Tángere (1887) and its sequel,El filibusterismo (1891).[note 3] These social commentaries during theSpanish colonial period of the country formed the nucleus of literature that inspired peaceful reformists and armed revolutionaries alike.
Rizal's numerous skills and abilities was described by his German friend,Adolf Bernhard Meyer, as "stupendous."[note 6] Documented studies show Rizal to be a polymath with the ability to master various skills and subjects.[51][53][54] He was an ophthalmologist, sculptor, painter, educator, farmer, historian, playwright and journalist. Besides poetry and creative writing, he dabbled, with varying degrees of expertise, in architecture,cartography, economics,ethnology, anthropology, sociology,dramatics, martial arts, fencing andpistol shooting. Skilled in social settings, he became aFreemason, joining Acacia Lodge No. 9 during his time in Spain; he became aMaster Mason in 1884.[55] José, as "Rizal", soon distinguished himself in poetry writing contests, impressing his professors with his facility with Castilian and other foreign languages, and later, in writing essays that were critical of the Spanish historical accounts of the pre-colonial Philippine societies.
Rednaxela Terrace, where Rizal lived during his self-imposed exile in Hong Kong (photo taken in 2011)
José Rizal's life is one of the most documented of 19th-century Filipinos due to the vast and extensive records written by and about him.[56] Almost everything in his short life is recorded somewhere. He was a regular diarist and prolific letter writer, and much of this material has survived. His biographers have faced challenges in translating his writings because of Rizal's habit of switching from one language to another.
Biographers drew largely from his travel diaries with his comments by a young Asian encountering the West for the first time (other than in Spanish manifestations in the Philippines). These diaries included Rizal's later trips, home and back again to Europe through Japan and the United States,[57] and, finally, through his self-imposedexile in Hong Kong.
Shortly after he graduated from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila (nowAteneo de Manila University), Rizal (who was then 16 years old) and a friend, Mariano Katigbak, visited Rizal's maternal grandmother inTondo, Manila. Mariano brought along his sister, Segunda Katigbak, a 14-year-old Batangueña fromLipa, Batangas.
It was the first time Rizal had met her, whom he described as
"rather short, with eyes that were eloquent and ardent at times and languid at others, rosy-cheeked, with an enchanting and provocative smile that revealed very beautiful teeth, and the air of a sylph; her entire self diffused a mysterious charm."
His grandmother's guests were mostly college students and they knew that Rizal had skills in painting. They suggested that Rizal should make a portrait of Segunda. He complied reluctantly and made a pencil sketch of her. Rizal referred to her as his first love in his memoirMemorias de un Estudiante de Manila, but Katigbak was already engaged to Manuel Luz.[58]
Business card showing José Rizal is an ophthalmologist in Hong Kong
From December 1891 to June 1892, Rizal lived with his family in Number 2 ofRednaxela Terrace, Mid-levels, Hong Kong Island. Rizal used 5 D'Aguilar Street, Central district,Hong Kong Island, as his ophthalmology clinic from 2 pm to 6 pm. In this period of his life, he wrote about nine women who have been identified: Gertrude Beckett of Chalcot Crescent,Primrose Hill,Camden,London; wealthy and high-minded Nelly Boustead of an English-Iberian merchant family; Seiko Usui (affectionately called O-Sei-san), last descendant of a noble Japanese family; his earlier friendship with Segunda Katigbak; Leonor Valenzuela, and an eight-year romantic relationship withLeonor Rivera, a distant cousin (she is thought to have inspired his character ofMaría Clara inNoli Me Tángere).
In one account detailing Rizal's 1887 visit toVienna,Maximo Viola wrote that Rizal had succumbed to a 'lady of the camellias'. Viola, a friend of Rizal's and an early financier ofNoli Me Tángere, was alluding toDumas's 1848 novel,La dame aux camelias, about a man who fell in love with acourtesan. While noting Rizal's affair, Viola provided no details about its duration or nature.[59][60][note 7]
Leonor Rivera is thought to have inspired the character ofMaría Clara inNoli Me Tángere andEl Filibusterismo.[61] Rivera and Rizal first met in Manila when Rivera was 14 years old and Rizal was 16. When Rizal left for Europe on May 3, 1882, Rivera was 16 years old. Their correspondence began after Rizal left a poem for her.[62]
Their correspondence helped Rizal stay focused on his studies in Europe. They employed codes in their letters because Rivera's mother did not favor Rizal. In a letter from Mariano Katigbak dated June 27, 1884, she referred to Rivera as Rizal's "betrothed". Katigbak described Rivera as having been greatly affected by Rizal's departure, and frequently sick because ofinsomnia.
Before Rizal returned to the Philippines on August 5, 1887, Rivera and her family had moved back toDagupan, Pangasinan. Rizal's father forbade the young man to see Rivera in order to avoid putting her family in danger. Rizal was already labeled by thecriollo elite as afilibustero orsubversive[62] because of his novelNoli Me Tángere. Rizal wanted to marry Rivera while he was still in the Philippines because she had been so faithful to him. Rizal asked permission from his father one more time before his second departure from the Philippines, but he never met her again.
In 1888, Rizal stopped receiving letters from Rivera for a year, although he continued to write to her. Rivera's mother favored an Englishman named Henry Kipping, arailway engineer who fell in love with Rivera.[62][63] The news of Leonor Rivera's marriage to Kipping devastated Rizal.
His European friends kept almost everything he gave them, including doodlings on pieces of paper. He had visited Spanish liberal, Pedro Ortiga y Pérez, and impressed the man's daughter, Consuelo, who wrote about Rizal. In her diary, she said Rizal had regaled them with his wit, social graces, and sleight-of-hand tricks. In London, during his research onAntonio de Morga's writings, he became a regular guest in the home ofReinhold Rost of theBritish Museum, who referred to him as "a gem of a man."[56][note 8] The family of Karl Ullmer, pastor ofWilhelmsfeld, and the Blumentritts in Germany saved even napkins that Rizal had made sketches and notes on. They were ultimately bequeathed to the Rizal family to form a treasure trove of memorabilia.
Josephine Bracken was Rizal'scommon-law wife whom he reportedly married shortly before his execution.
In February 1895, Rizal, 33, metJosephine Bracken, an Irish woman fromHong Kong. She had accompanied her blind adoptive father, George Taufer, to have his eyes checked by Rizal.[64] After frequent visits, Rizal and Bracken fell in love. They applied to marry but, because of Rizal's reputation from his writings and political stance, the local priest Father Obach would hold the ceremony only if Rizal could get permission from theBishop of Cebu. As Rizal refused to return to practicing Catholicism, the bishop refused permission for an ecclesiastical marriage.[6]
After accompanying her father to Manila on her return to Hong Kong, and before heading back toDapitan to live with Rizal, Josephine introduced herself to members of Rizal's family in Manila. His mother suggested acivil marriage, which she believed to be a lesser sacrament but less sinful to Rizal's conscience than making any sort of political retraction in order to gain permission from the bishop.[65] Rizal and Josephine lived as husband and wife in a common-law marriage in Talisay in Dapitan. The couple had a son, but he lived only a few hours. Rizal named him after his father Francisco.[66]
In 1890, Rizal, 29, left Paris forBrussels as he was preparing for the publication of his annotations ofAntonio de Morga'sSucesos de las Islas Filipinas (1609). He lived in the boarding house of the sisters, Catherina and Suzanna Jacoby, who had a niece Suzanna ("Thil"), age 16. HistorianGregorio F. Zaide says that Rizal had "his romance with Suzanne Jacoby, 45, the petite niece of his landladies." Belgian Jean Paul Verstraeten, however, believed that Rizal had a romance with the 17-year-old niece, Suzanna Thil, as his other liaisons were all with young women.[67] He found records clarifying their names and ages.
Rizal's Brussels stay was short-lived; he moved to Madrid, giving the young Suzanna a box of chocolates. She wrote to him in French: "After your departure, I did not take the chocolate. The box is still intact as on the day of your parting. Don't delay too long writing us because I wear out the soles of my shoes for running to the mailbox to see if there is a letter from you. There will never be any home in which you are so loved as in that in Brussels, so, you little bad boy, hurry up and come back…"[67] In 2007, Jean Paul Verstraeten, after convincing the home owner in Brussels arranged for an historical marker honoring Rizal to be placed at the house (see I-Witness Little Bad Boy: Binatang Rizal sa Europe).[67]
He publishedDimanche des Rameaux (Palm Sunday), a socio-political essay, in Berlin on November 30, 1886. He discussed the significance of Palm Sunday in socio-political terms:
"This entry [of Jesus into Jerusalem] decided the fate of the jealous priests, thePharisees, of all those who believed themselves the only ones who had the right to speak in the name of God, of those who would not admit the truths said by others because they have not been said by them. That triumph, those hosannas, all those flowers, those olive branches, were not for Jesus alone; they were the songs of the victory of the new law, they were the canticles celebrating the dignification of man, the liberty of man, the first mortal blow directed against despotism and slavery".[68]
Shortly after its publication, Rizal was summoned by the German police, who suspected him of being a French spy.[69]
The content of Rizal's writings changed considerably in his two most famous novels,Noli Me Tángere, published in Berlin in 1887, andEl Filibusterismo, published in Ghent in 1891. For the latter, he used funds borrowed from his friends. These writings angered both the Spanish colonial elite and many educated Filipinos due to their symbolism. They are critical of Spanish friars and the power of the Church. Rizal's friendFerdinand Blumentritt, a professor and historian born in Austria-Hungary, wrote that the novel's characters were drawn from life and that every episode could be repeated on any day in the Philippines.[70] By 1891, his second surname had become so well known that, as he writes to another friend, "All my family now carry the name Rizal instead of Mercado because the name Rizal means persecution! Good! I too want to join them and be worthy of this family name..."[71]
Blumentritt was a staunch defender of the Catholic faith. This did not dissuade him from writing the preface ofEl filibusterismo, after he had translatedNoli Me Tángere into German. As Blumentritt had warned, these books resulted in Rizal's being prosecuted as the inciter of revolution. He was eventually tried by the military, convicted, and executed. His books were thought to contribute to thePhilippine Revolution of 1896, but other forces had also been building for it.
Leaders of the reform movement in Spain. Left to right: Rizal,del Pilar, andPonce (c. 1890).
As leader of the reform movement of Filipino students in Spain, Rizal contributed essays,allegories, poems, andeditorials to the Spanish newspaperLa Solidaridad inBarcelona (in this case Rizal used pen names, "Dimasalang", "Laong Laan" and "May Pagasa"). The core of his writings centers onliberal and progressive ideas of individual rights and freedom; specifically, rights for the Filipino people. He shared the same sentiments with members of the movement: Rizal wrote that the people of the Philippines were battling "a double-faced Goliath"—corrupt friars and bad government. His commentaries reiterate the following agenda:[note 9]
That the Philippines be made a province of Spain (The Philippines was a province ofNew Spain – now Mexico, administered from Mexico City from 1565 to 1821. From 1821 to 1898, it was administered directly from Spain.)
Equal rights before the law (for both Filipino and Spanish plaintiffs)
The colonial authorities in the Philippines did not favor these reforms. Such Spanish intellectuals as Morayta,Unamuno,Pi y Margall, and others did endorse them.
In 1890, a rivalry developed between Rizal andMarcelo H. del Pilar for the leadership ofLa Solidaridad and the reform movement in Europe.[72] The majority of the expatriates supported the leadership of del Pilar.
Wenceslao Retana, a political commentator in Spain, had slighted Rizal by writing an insulting article inLa Epoca, a newspaper in Madrid. He implied that Rizal's family and friends had been evicted from their lands in Calamba for not having paid their due rents. The incident (when Rizal was ten) stemmed from an accusation that Rizal's mother,Teodora, tried to poison the wife of a cousin, but she said she was trying to help. With the approval of the Church prelates, and without a hearing, she was ordered to prison inSanta Cruz in 1871. She was forced to walk the 10 miles (16 km) from Calamba. She was released after two-and-a-half years of appeals to the highest court.[54] In 1887, Rizal wrote a petition on behalf of the tenants of Calamba, and later that year led them to speak out against the friars' attempts to raise rent. They initiated litigation that resulted in the Dominicans' evicting them and the Rizal family from their homes. GeneralValeriano Weyler had the tenant buildings on the farm torn down.
Upon reading the article, Rizal sent a representative to challenge Retana to a duel. Retana published a public apology and later became one of Rizal's biggest admirers. He wrote the most important biography of Rizal,Vida y Escritos del José Rizal.[73][note 10]
Bust of Padre Guerrico in clay, by RizalRizal's pencil sketch of BlumentrittRegulations of the "La Liga Filipina" handwritten by Jose Rizal,c. 1890s
Upon his return to Manila in 1892, he formed a civic movement calledLa Liga Filipina. The league advocated these moderate social reforms through legal means, but was disbanded by the governor. At that time, he had already been declared an enemy of the state by the Spanish authorities because of the publication of his novel.
Rizal was implicated in the activities of the nascent rebellion and in July 1892, was deported toDapitan in the province ofZamboanga, a peninsula ofMindanao.[74] There he built a school, a hospital and a water supply system, and taught and engaged in farming and horticulture.[75]
The boys' school, which taught in Spanish, and included English as a foreign language (considered a prescient if unusual option then) was conceived by Rizal and antedatedGordonstoun with its aims of inculcating resourcefulness and self-sufficiency in young men.[76] They would later enjoy successful lives as farmers and honest government officials.[77][78][79] One, a Muslim, became adatu, and another, José Aseniero, who was with Rizal throughout the life of the school, became Governor ofZamboanga.[80][81]
In Dapitan, the Jesuits mounted a great effort to secure his return to the fold led by Fray Francisco de Paula Sánchez, his former professor, who failed in his mission. The task was resumed by FrayPastells, a prominent member of the Order. In a letter to Pastells, Rizal sails close to thedeism familiar to us today.[82][83][84]
We are entirely in accord in admitting the existence of God. How can I doubt His when I am convinced of mine. Who so recognizes the effect recognizes the cause. To doubt God is to doubt one's own conscience, and in consequence, it would be to doubt everything; and then what is life for? Now then, myfaith in God, if the result of a ratiocination may be called faith, is blind, blind in the sense of knowing nothing. I neither believe nor disbelieve the qualities which many attribute to Him; before theologians' and philosophers' definitions and lucubrations of this ineffable and inscrutable being I find myself smiling. Faced with the conviction of seeing myself confronting the supreme Problem, which confused voices seek to explain to me, I cannot but reply: 'It could be'; but the God that I foreknow is far more grand, far more good:Plus Supra!...I believe in (revelation); but not in revelation or revelations which each religion or religions claim to possess. Examining them impartially, comparing them and scrutinizing them, one cannot avoid discerning the human 'fingernail' and the stamp of the time in which they were written... No, let us not make God in our image, poor inhabitants that we are of a distant planet lost in infinite space. However, brilliant and sublime our intelligence may be, it is scarcely more than a small spark which shines and in an instant is extinguished, and it alone can give us no idea of that blaze, that conflagration, that ocean of light. I believe in revelation, but in that living revelation which surrounds us on every side, in that voice, mighty, eternal, unceasing, incorruptible, clear, distinct, universal as is the being from whom it proceeds, in that revelation which speaks to us and penetrates us from the moment we are born until we die. What books can better reveal to us the goodness of God, His love, His providence, His eternity, His glory, His wisdom? 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork.[85]
His best friend, professorFerdinand Blumentritt, kept him in touch with European friends and fellow-scientists who wrote a stream of letters which arrived in Dutch, French, German and English and which baffled the censors, delaying their transmittal. Those four years of hisexile coincided with the development of thePhilippine Revolution from inception and to its final breakout, which, from the viewpoint of the court which was to try him, suggested his complicity in it.[56] He condemned the uprising, although all the members of theKatipunan had made him their honorary president and had used his name as a cry for war, unity, and liberty.[86]
He is known to making the resolution of bearing personal sacrifice instead of the incoming revolution, believing that a peaceful stand is the best way to avoid further suffering in the country and loss of Filipino lives. In Rizal's own words, "I consider myself happy for being able to suffer a little for a cause which I believe to be sacred [...]. I believe further that in any undertaking, the more one suffers for it, the surer its success. If this be fanaticism may God pardon me, but my poor judgment does not see it as such."[87]
In Dapitan, Rizal wrote "Haec Est Sibylla Cumana", a parlor-game for his students, with questions and answers for which a wooden top was used. In 2004, Jean Paul Verstraeten traced this book and the wooden top, as well as Rizal's personal watch, spoon and salter.
By 1896, the rebellion fomented by theKatipunan, a militant secret society, had become afull-blown revolution, proving to be a nationwide uprising.[88][self-published source?] Rizal had earlier volunteered his services as a doctor in Cuba and was given leave by Governor-GeneralRamón Blanco to serve in Cuba to minister to victims ofyellow fever. Rizal and Josephine left Dapitan on August 1, 1896, with letter of recommendation from Blanco.
Rizal was arrested en route to Cuba via Spain and was imprisoned inBarcelona on October 6, 1896. He was sent back the same day to Manila to stand trial as he was implicated in the revolution through his association with members of theKatipunan. During the entire passage, he was unchained, no Spaniard laid a hand on him, and had many opportunities to escape but refused to do so.
While imprisoned inFort Santiago, he issued amanifesto disavowing the current revolution in its present state and declaring that the education of Filipinos and their achievement of a national identity were prerequisites to freedom.
A photographic record of Rizal's execution in what was thenBagumbayan
Moments before his execution on December 30, 1896, by a squad of Filipino soldiers of the Spanish Army, a backup force of regular Spanish Army troops stood ready to shoot the executioners should they fail to obey orders.[89] The Spanish Army Surgeon General requested to take his pulse: it was normal. Aware of this, the sergeant commanding the backup force hushed his men to silence when they began raising "vivas" with the highly partisan crowd of Peninsular and Mestizo Spaniards. Hislast words were those ofJesus Christ: "consummatum est" – "it is finished."[51][90][note 11]
A day before, Rizal's mother pleaded with the authorities to have Rizal's body placed under her family's custody as per Rizal's wish; this was unheeded but was later granted by Manuel Luengo, the civil governor of Manila. Immediately following the execution, Rizal was secretly buried inPacòCemetery (nowPaco Park) in Manila with no identification on his grave, intentionally mismarked to mislead and discourage martyrdom.
His undated poemMi último adiós, believed to have been written a few days before his execution, was hidden in an alcohol stove, which was later handed to his family with his few remaining possessions, including the final letters and his last bequests.[91]: 91 During their visit, Rizal reminded his sisters in English, "There is something inside it", referring to the alcohol stove given by the Pardo de Taveras which was to be returned after his execution, thereby emphasizing the importance of the poem. This instruction was followed by another, "Look in my shoes", in which another item was secreted.
Rizal's execution, as well as those of other political dissidents (mostly anarchist) in Barcelona was ultimately invoked byMichele Angiolillo, an Italian anarchist, when he assassinated Spanish Prime MinisterAntonio Canovas del Castillo.[92]
An undated photo, with the date written in Spanish
The grave after its renovation, with the date repainted in English and the bust added with some lampposts
Rizal's sister Narcisa toured all possible gravesites only for her efforts to end in vain. On one day, she visited Paco Cemetery and discovered guards posted at its gate, later finding Luengo, accompanied by two army officers, standing around a freshly-covered grave, which she assumed to be that of her brother's, on the reason that there had never been any ground burials at the site. After realizing that Rizal was buried in the spot, she made a gift to the caretaker and requested him to place a marble slab inscribed with "RPJ", Rizal's initials in reverse.
In August 1898, a few days after the Americans took Manila, Narcisa secured the consent of the American authorities to retrieve Rizal's remains. During the exhumation, it was then revealed that Rizal was not buried in a coffin but was wrapped in cloth before being dumped in the grave; his burial was not on sanctified ground granted to the 'confessed' faithful. The identity of the remains further confirmed by both the black suit and the shoes, both worn by Rizal on his execution, but whatever was in his shoes had disintegrated.
Following the exhumation, the remains were brought to the Rizal household inBinondo, where they were washed and cleaned before being placed in an ivory urn made by Romualdo Teodoro de los Reyes de Jesus. The urn remained in the household until December 28, 1912.
The funeral march transferring Rizal's urn to Bagumbayan (present-dayRizal Park), Manila, on December 30, 1912
On December 29, 1912, the urn was transferred from Binondo to the Marble Hall of theAyuntamiento de Manila, the municipal building, in Intramuros where it remained on public display from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., guarded by the Caballeros de Rizal. The public was given the chance to see the urn. The next day, in a solemn procession, the urn began its last journey from the Ayuntamiento to its last resting place in a spot in Bagumbayan (now renamed as Luneta), where theRizal Monument would be built.[54] Witnessed by his family, Rizal was finally buried in fitting rites. In a simultaneous ceremony, the corner stone for the Rizal monument was placed and the Rizal Monument Commission was created, headed by Tomas G. Del Rosario.
A year later, on December 30, 1913, the monument, designed and made by Swiss sculptorRichard Kissling, was inaugurated.
Rizal wrote mostly in Spanish, thelingua franca of theSpanish East Indies, though some of his letters (for exampleSa Mga Kababaihang Taga Malolos) were written in Tagalog. His works have since been translated into a number of languages including Tagalog and English.
Sketch by Rizal imitating Japanese art, made during his trip in Japan,c. 1888
Rizal also tried his hand at painting and sculpture. His most famous sculptural work wasThe Triumph of Science over Death, a clay sculpture of a naked young woman with overflowing hair, standing on a skull while bearing a torch held high. The woman symbolized the ignorance of humankind during the Dark Ages, while the torch she bore symbolized the enlightenment science brings over the whole world. He sent the sculpture as a gift to his dear friend Ferdinand Blumentritt, together with another one namedThe Triumph of Death over Life.
The woman is shown trampling the skull, a symbol of death, to signify the victory the humankind achieved by conquering the bane of death through their scientific advancements. The original sculpture is now displayed at theRizal Shrine atFort Santiago inIntramuros, Manila. It has replicas inside theUniversity of the Philippines Manila campus and inAlabang,Muntinlupa.
Rizal is also noted to be a carver and sculptor who made works from clay,plaster-of-Paris, and baticulingwood, the last being his preferred medium. While in exile in Dapitan, he served as a mentor to threePaete natives including José Caancan, who in turn taught three generations of carvers back in his hometown.[107]
Rizal is known to have made 56 sculptural works, but only 18 of these are known to be still existing as of 2021.[107]
Several historians report that Rizal retracted his anti-Catholic ideas through a document which stated: "I retract with all my heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and conduct have been contrary to my character as a son of the Catholic Church."[note 12] However, there are doubts of its authenticity given that there is no evidence Rizal ever entered into acanonical Catholic marriage with his common-law wife, Josephine Bracken.[108] Also there is an allegation that the retraction document was a forgery.[109]
After analyzing six major documents of Rizal, Ricardo Pascual concluded that the retraction document, said to have been discovered in 1935, was not in Rizal's handwriting. SenatorRafael Palma, a former President of theUniversity of the Philippines and a prominentMason, argued that a retraction is not in keeping with Rizal's character and mature beliefs.[110] He called the retraction story a "pious fraud."[111] Others who deny the retraction areFrank Laubach,[51] a Protestant minister;Austin Coates,[63] a British writer; andRicardo Manapat, director of the National Archives.[112]
Historians also refer to 11 eyewitnesses when Rizal wrote his retraction, signed a Catholic prayer book, and recited Catholic prayers, and the multitude who saw him kiss thecrucifix before his execution. A great-grandnephew of Rizal, Fr.Marciano Guzman, cites that Rizal's 4confessions werecertified by 5 eyewitnesses, 10 qualified witnesses, 7 newspapers, and 12 historians and writers including Aglipayan bishops, Masons and anti-clericals.[119] One witness was the head of the SpanishSupreme Court at the time of his notarized declaration and was highly esteemed by Rizal for his integrity.[120]
Because of what he sees as the strength thesedirect evidence have in the light of thehistorical method, in contrast with merelycircumstantial evidence, UP professoremeritus of history Nicolas Zafra called the retraction "a plain unadorned fact of history."[113] Guzmán attributes the denial of retraction to "the blatant disbelief and stubbornness" of some Masons.[119] To explain the retraction Guzman said that the factors are the long discussion and debate which appealed to reason and logic that he had with Fr. Balaguer, the visits of his mentors and friends from the Ateneo, and the grace of God due the numerous prayers of religious communities.[119]
Supporters see in the retraction Rizal's "moral courage...to recognize his mistakes,"[115][note 15] hisreversion to the "true faith", and thus his "unfading glory,"[120] and a return to the "ideals of his fathers" which "did not diminish his stature as a great patriot; on the contrary, it increased that stature to greatness."[123] On the other hand, lawyer and senatorJosé W. Diokno stated at a human rights lecture, "Surely whether Rizal died as a Catholic or an apostate adds or detracts nothing from his greatness as a Filipino... Catholic or Mason, Rizal is still Rizal – the hero who courted death 'to prove to those who deny our patriotism that we know how to die for our duty and our beliefs'."[124]
The poem is more aptly titled "Adiós, Patria Adorada" (literally "Farewell, Beloved Fatherland"), by virtue of logic and literary tradition, the words coming from the first line of the poem itself. It first appeared in print not in Manila but in Hong Kong in 1897, when a copy of the poem and an accompanying photograph came to J. P. Braga who decided to publish it in a monthly journal he edited. There was a delay when Braga, who greatly admired Rizal, wanted a good facsimile of the photograph and sent it to be engraved in London, a process taking well over two months. It finally appeared under "Mi último pensamiento," a title he supplied and by which it was known for a few years. Thus, theJesuit Balaguer's anonymous account of the retraction and the marriage to Josephine was published in Barcelona before word of the poem's existence had reached him and he could revise what he had written. His account was too elaborate for Rizal to have had time to write "Adiós."
Six years after his death, when thePhilippine Organic Act of 1902 was being debated in the United States Congress, RepresentativeHenry Cooper of Wisconsin rendered an English translation of Rizal's valedictory poem capped by the peroration, "Under what clime or what skies has tyranny claimed a nobler victim?"[125] Subsequently, the US Congress passed the bill into law, which is now known as the Philippine Organic Act of 1902.[126]
This was a major breakthrough for a U.S. Congress that had yet to grant the equal rights to African Americans guaranteed to them in theU.S. Constitution and at a time theChinese Exclusion Act was still in effect. It created the Philippine legislature, appointed two Filipino delegates to the U.S. Congress, extended the U.S. Bill of Rights to Filipinos and laid the foundation for an autonomous government. The colony was on its way to independence.[126] The United States passed theJones Law that made the legislature fully autonomous until 1916 but did not recognize Philippine independence until theTreaty of Manila in 1946—fifty years after Rizal's death. This same poem, which has inspired independence activists across the region and beyond, was recited (in itsIndonesian translation byRosihan Anwar) by Indonesian soldiers of independence before going into battle.[127]
Josephine Bracken, whom Rizal addressed as his wife on his last day,[128] promptly joined therevolutionary forces inCavite province, making her way through thicket and mud across enemy lines, and helped reloading spent cartridges at the arsenal inImus under the revolutionary General Pantaleón García. Imus came under threat of recapture that the operation was moved, with Bracken, toMaragondon, the mountain redoubt in Cavite.[129]
She witnessed theTejeros Convention prior to returning to Manila and was summoned by theGovernor-General, but owing to her stepfather's American citizenship she could not be forcibly deported. She left voluntarily returning to Hong Kong. She later married another Filipino, Vicente Abad, amestizo acting as agent for theTabacalera firm in the Philippines. She died oftuberculosis in Hong Kong on March 15, 1902, and was buried at the Happy Valley Cemetery.[129] She was immortalized by Rizal in the last stanza ofMi Ultimo Adios: "Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, my joy...".
Polavieja faced condemnation by his countrymen after his return to Spain. While visitingGirona, inCatalonia, circulars were distributed among the crowd bearing Rizal's last verses, his portrait, and the charge that Polavieja was responsible for the loss of the Philippines to Spain.[130] Ramon Blanco later presented his sash and sword to the Rizal family as an apology.[131]
The confusion over Rizal's real stance on the Philippine Revolution leads to the sometimes bitter question of his ranking as the nation's premier hero.[132][133] But then again, according to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) Section Chief Teodoro Atienza, and Filipino historianAmbeth Ocampo, there is no Filipino historical figure, including Rizal, that was officially declared a national hero through law or executive order,[134][135] although, there were laws and proclamations honoring Filipino heroes.
Some[who?] suggest that Jose Rizal was made a legislated national hero by the American forces occupying the Philippines. In 1901, the American Governor GeneralWilliam Howard Taft suggested that the U.S.-sponsoredPhilippine Commission name Rizal a national hero for Filipinos. Jose Rizal was an ideal candidate, favourable to the American occupiers since he was dead, and non-violent, a favourable quality which, if emulated by Filipinos, would not threaten the American rule or change the status quo of the occupiers of the Philippine islands. Rizal did not advocate independence for the Philippines either.[136] Subsequently, the US-sponsored commission passed Act No. 346 which set the anniversary of Rizal's death as a "day of observance."[137]
Renato Constantino writes Rizal is a "United States-sponsored hero" who was promoted as the greatest Filipino hero during the American colonial period of the Philippines – after Aguinaldo lost the Philippine–American War. The United States promoted Rizal, who represented peaceful political advocacy (in fact, repudiation of violent means in general) instead of more radical figures whose ideas could inspire resistance against American rule. Rizal was selected overAndrés Bonifacio who was viewed "too radical" andApolinario Mabini who was considered "unregenerate."[138]
On the other hand, numerous sources[139] quote that it was GeneralEmilio Aguinaldo, and not the second Philippine Commission, who first recognized December 30 as "national day of mourning" in memory of Rizal and other victims of Spanish tyranny. As per them, the first celebration ofRizal Day was held in Manila on December 30, 1898, under the sponsorship of the Club Filipino.[140]
The veracity of both claims seems to be justified and hence difficult to ascertain. However, most historians agree that a majority of Filipinos were unaware of Rizal during his lifetime,[141] as he was a member of the richer elite classes (he was born in an affluent family, had lived abroad for nearly as long as he had lived in the Philippines) and wrote primarily in an elite language (at that time,Tagalog andCebuano were the languages of the masses) about ideals as lofty as freedom (the masses were more concerned about day to day issues like earning money and making a living, something which has not changed much today).[142]
Teodoro Agoncillo opines that the Philippine national hero, unlike those of other countries, is not "the leader of its liberation forces". He gives the opinion that Andrés Bonifacio not replace Rizal as national hero, as some have suggested, but that be honored alongside him.[143]
Constantino's analysis has been criticised for its polemicism and inaccuracies regarding Rizal.[144] The historian Rafael Palma, contends that the revolution of Bonifacio is a consequence wrought by the writings of Rizal and that although the Bonifacio's revolver produced an immediate outcome, the pen of Rizal generated a more lasting achievement.[145]
Others present him as a man of contradictions.Miguel de Unamuno in "Rizal: the Tagalog Hamlet", said of him, "a soul that dreads the revolution although deep down desires it. He pivots between fear and hope, between faith and despair."[146] His critics assert this character flaw is translated into his two novels where he opposes violence inNoli Me Tángere and appears to advocate it inFili, contrasting Ibarra's idealism to Simoun's cynicism. His defenders insist this ambivalence is trounced when Simoun is struck down in the sequel's final chapters, reaffirming the author's resolute stance,Pure and spotless must the victim be if the sacrifice is to be acceptable.[147]
Many thinkers tend to find the characters of María Clara and Ibarra (Noli Me Tángere) poor role models, María Clara being too frail, and young Ibarra being too accepting of circumstances, rather than being courageous and bold.[148]
InEl Filibusterismo, Rizal had Father Florentino say: "...our liberty will (not) be secured at the sword's point...we must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it. And when a people reaches that height God will provide a weapon, the idols will be shattered, tyranny will crumble like a house of cards and liberty will shine out like the first dawn."[147] Rizal's attitude to thePhilippine Revolution is also debated, not only based on his own writings, but also due to the varying eyewitness accounts ofPío Valenzuela, a doctor who in 1895 had consulted Rizal in Dapitan on behalf of Bonifacio and theKatipunan.
Upon the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in 1896, Valenzuela surrendered to the Spanish authorities and testified in military court that Rizal had strongly condemned an armed struggle for independence when Valenzuela asked for his support. Rizal had even refused him entry to his house. Bonifacio, in turn, had openly denounced him as a coward for his refusal.[note 16]
However, years later, Valenzuela testified that Rizal had been favorable to an uprising as long as the Filipinos were well-prepared, and well-supplied with arms. Rizal had suggested that theKatipunan get wealthy and influential Filipino members of society on their side, or at least ensure they would stay neutral. Rizal had even suggested his friendAntonio Luna to lead the revolutionary forces since he had studied military science.[note 17] In the event that theKatipunan was discovered prematurely, they should fight rather than allow themselves to be killed. Valenzuela said to historianTeodoro Agoncillo that he had lied to the Spanish military authorities about Rizal's true stance toward a revolution in an attempt to exculpate him.[149]
Before his execution, Rizal wrote a proclamationdenouncing the revolution. But as noted by historian Floro Quibuyen, his final poemMi ultimo adios contains a stanza which equates his coming execution and the rebels then dying in battle as fundamentally the same, as both are dying for their country.[150]
Rizal was a contemporary ofGandhi,Tagore andSun Yat Sen who also advocated liberty through peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. Coinciding with the appearance of those other leaders, Rizal from an early age had been enunciating in poems, tracts and plays, ideas all his own of modern nationhood as a practical possibility in Asia. InNoli Me Tángere, he stated that if European civilization had nothing better to offer, colonialism in Asia was doomed.[note 18]
Government poster from the 1950s
Though popularly mentioned, especially on blogs, there is no evidence to suggest that Gandhi or Nehru may have corresponded with Rizal, nor have they mentioned him in any of their memoirs or letters. But it was documented by Rizal's biographer, Austin Coates who interviewed Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi that Rizal was mentioned, specifically inNehru's prison letters to his daughter Indira.[151][152]
As apolitical figure, José Rizal was the founder ofLa Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to theKatipunan led byAndrés Bonifacio,[note 19], a secret society which would start thePhilippine Revolution against Spain that eventually laid the foundation of theFirst Philippine Republic underEmilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of achieving Philippine self-government peacefully through institutional reform rather than through violent revolution, and would only support "violent means" as a last resort.[154] Rizal believed that the only justification for national liberation and self-government was the restoration of the dignity of the people,[note 20] saying "Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow?"[155] However, through careful examination of his works and statements, includingMi Ultimo Adios, Rizal reveals himself as a revolutionary. His image as the Tagalog Christ also intensified early reverence to him.
Rizal, through his reading of Morga and other western historians, knew of the genial image of Spain's early relations with his people.[156] In his writings, he showed the disparity between the early colonialists and those of his day, with the latter's injustices giving rise toGomburza and the Philippine Revolution of 1896.The English biographer,Austin Coates, and writer,Benedict Anderson, believe that Rizal gave the Philippine revolution a genuinely national character; and that Rizal's patriotism and his standing as one of Asia's first intellectuals have inspired others of the importance of a national identity to nation-building.[63][note 21] Rizal envisioned a Philippines where all Filipinos, regardless of their ethnic or social background, could live together in peace and harmony.[158]
The Belgian researcher Jean Paul "JP" Verstraeten authored several books about Jose Rizal:Rizal in Belgium and France,Jose Rizal's Europe,Growing up like Rizal (published by the National Historical Institute and in teacher's programs all over the Philippines),Reminiscences and Travels of Jose Rizal and Jose Rizal "Pearl of Unselfishness". He received an award from the president of the Philippines "in recognition of his unwavering support and commitment to promote the health and education of disadvantaged Filipinos, and his invaluable contribution to engender the teachings and ideals of Dr. Jose Rizal in the Philippines and in Europe". One of the greatest researchers about Rizal nowadays is Lucien Spittael.
Drawings by Jose Rizal of the different species of fish found in Dapitan,c. 1890s
José Rizal was imprisoned atFort Santiago and soon after he was banished atDapitan where he plunged himself into studying nature. He was then able to collect a number of species of various classes: insects,butterflies,amphibians,reptiles,shells,snakes, and plants.
Rizal sent many specimens of animals, insects, and plants for identification to the (Anthropological and Ethnographical Museum of Dresden[164]),Dresden Museum of Ethnology. It was not in his interest to receive any monetary payment; all he wanted werescientific books, magazines andsurgical instruments which he needed and used inDapitan.
During his exile, Rizal also secretly sent several specimens offlying dragons to Europe. He believed that they were a new species. The German zoologist Benno Wandolleck named themDraco rizali after Rizal. However, it has since been discovered that the species had already been described by the Belgian-British zoologistGeorge Albert Boulenger in 1885 asDraco guentheri.[165]
There are three animal species that Rizal personally collected specimens of and that were posthumously named after him:
Apart from these, entomologistNathan Banks applied thespecific epithetrizali to a number of insect species from the Philippines (Chrysopa rizali,Ecnomus rizali,Hemerobius rizali,Hydropsyche rizali,Java rizali,Psocus rizali, etc.). Though he did not explain why, it was probably intended as a homage to Rizal as well.
Although his field of action lay in politics, Rizal's real interests lay in the arts and sciences, in literature and in his profession as an ophthalmologist. Shortly after his death, the Anthropological Society of Berlin met to honor him with a reading of a German translation of his farewell poem andRudolf Virchow delivering the eulogy.[175]
TheRizal Monument now stands near the place where he fell at the Luneta in Bagumbayan, which is now calledRizal Park, anational park in Manila. The monument, which also contains his remains, was designed by theSwissRichard Kissling of theWilliam Tell sculpture inAltdorf, Uri.[note 22] The monument carries the inscription: "I want to show to those who deprive people the right to love of country, that when we know how to sacrifice ourselves for our duties and convictions, death does not matter if one dies for those one loves – for his country and for others dear to him."[56]
TheTaft Commission in June 1901 approved Act No. 137 creating the province ofRizal out of the oldDistrict of Morong andProvince of Manila. Today, the wide acceptance of Rizal is evidenced by the countless towns, streets, and numerous parks in the Philippines named in his honor.[177]
Republic Act No. 1425, known as the Rizal Law, was passed in 1956 by the Philippine legislature requiring all high schools and colleges to offer courses about his life, works and writings.
Yearly on June 19, a special non-working holiday in commemoration of his birth is observed at his home province of Laguna.[178]
Monuments sculpted in honor of Rizal are also built at various town plazas or city parks in various towns and cities in the Philippines, usually found in thepoblacion.[192]
A Rizal bronze bust was erected atLa Molina District,Lima, Peru, designed by Czech sculptor Hanstroff, mounted atop a pedestal base with four inaugural plaque markers with the following inscription on one: "Dr. José P. Rizal, Héroe Nacional de Filipinas, Nacionalista, Reformador Political, Escritor, Lingüistica y Poeta, 1861–1896."[194][195]
A Rizal bust sits in front of the Filipino American Council of Chicago, celebrating a one-day visit Rizal made to Chicago on May 11, 1888, as seen below.
A plaque marks theWilhelmsfeld building where he trained with Professor Becker. There is a small park in Wilhelmsfeld named after Rizal with a bronze statue of Rizal, and the street where he lived on was also renamed after him. Wilhelmsfeld's local government gifted thesandstone fountain in Pastor Ullmer's house garden where Rizal lived to the Philippine government and is now located atRizal Park in Manila.[196]
InHeidelberg, a small stretch along theNeckar River is named after Rizal. In 2014, a commemorative sandstone plaque was placed there in Rizal's honor.[197]
Throughout 2011, theNational Historical Institute and other institutions organized several activities commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Rizal, which took place on June 19 of that year.
TheLondon Borough of Camden placed aBlue Plaque at 37 Chalcot Crescent, where Rizal lived for some time, with the words: "Dr. José Rizal, Writer and National Hero of the Philippines".
A monument in honor of Rizal was planned, and built in Rome.[198][199]
In the City ofPhiladelphia, the'City of Murals' firstFilipino mural in the US east coast honoring José Rizal was to unveiled to the public in time for Rizal's Sesquicentennial year-long celebration.[200]
On June 19, 2019, on Rizal's 158th birth anniversary, he was honored with aGoogle Doodle.[203]
A bronze bust of Rizal by F.B. Case was gifted to the City of Toronto by the Government of the Philippines in 1998. It is located atEarl Bales Park in the neighborhood ofLansing.[189]
A monument by Mogi Mogado was unveiled at Luneta Gardens (a similar name as that of the park where Rizal is buried—Luneta Park or now asRizal Park) in 2019 as a gift from the Filipino Canadian community of Markham to the City of Markham. It is located in theBox Grove area ofMarkham, Ontario, near Rizal Avenue, which is also named for him.[204]
AJose Rizal-class frigate of thePhilippine Navy was built byHyundai Heavy Industries. Two ships were ordered in 2016. They are the first guided missile frigate to enter service with the Philippine Navy. The lead ship, BRPJose Rizal, arrived in the Philippines on May 22, 2020.[205]
In the9th arrondissement of Paris, Place José Rizal is a small square named after Rizal. In 2022, a bust of Rizal (by sculptor Gérard Lartigue) was erected in the square which is in the Rue de Maubeuge, a street frequented by Rizal.[206][207]
Close-up image of Rizal's statue at theRizal Monument in Manila
The cinematic depiction of Rizal's literary works won two film industry awards more than a century after his birth. In the 10thFilipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards ceremony, Rizal was honored in the Best Story category forGerardo de León's adaptation of his bookNoli Me Tángere. The recognition was repeated the following year with his movie version ofEl Filibusterismo, making him the first person to win back-to-back FAMAS Awards for writing.[208]
Both novels were translated into opera by the composer-librettist Felipe Padilla de León:Noli Me Tángere in 1957 andEl filibusterismo in 1970; and his 1939 overture,Mariang Makiling, was inspired by Rizal's tale of the same name.[209]
^When José was baptized, the record showed his parents as Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Realonda."José Rizal's Lineage"
^Another source states that Teodora had to walk 30 km (19 mi) to prison.[30]
^His novelNoli was one of the first novels in Asia written outside Japan and China and was one of the first novels of anti-colonial rebellion. Read Benedict Anderson's commentary:[1].
^He was conversant in Spanish, French, Latin, Greek, German, Portuguese, Italian, English, Dutch, and Japanese. Rizal also made translations from Arabic, Swedish, Russian, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew andSanskrit. He translated the poetry ofSchiller into his nativeTagalog. In addition he had at least some knowledge ofMalay,Chavacano,Cebuano,Ilocano, andSubanun.
^In his essay, "Reflections of a Filipino", (La Solidaridad, c. 1888), he wrote: "Man is multiplied by the number of languages he possesses and speaks."
^ Ocampo rescued Rizal's third novelMakamisa from oblivion.
^Reinhold Rost was the head of the India Office at the British Museum and a renowned 19th-century philologist.
^In his letter "Manifesto to Certain Filipinos" (Manila, 1896), he states:Reforms, if they are to bear fruit, must come from above; for reforms that come from below are upheavals both violent and transitory.(Epistolario Rizalino, op cit)
^According to Laubach, Retana more than any other supporter 'saved Rizal for posterity'. (Laubach, op.cit., p. 383)
^Rizal's trial was regarded a travesty even by prominent Spaniards of his day. Soon after his execution, the philosopherMiguel de Unamuno in an impassioned utterance recognized Rizal as a "Spaniard", "...profoundly and intimately Spanish, far more Spanish than those wretched men—forgive them, Lord, for they knew not what they did—those wretched men, who over his still warm body hurled like an insult heavenward that blasphemous cry, 'Viva España!'" Miguel de Unamuno, epilogue to Wenceslao Retana'sVida y Escritos del Dr. José Rizal. (Retana, op. cit.)
^Me retracto de todo corazon de cuanto en mis palabras, escritos, impresos y conducta ha habido contrario á mi cualidad de hijo de la Iglesia Católica: Jesus Cavanna,Rizal's Unfading Glory: A Documentary History of the Conversion of Dr. José Rizal (Manila: 1983)
^Joaquin, Nick, Rizal in Saga, Philippine National Centennial Commission, 1996:""It seems clear now that he did retract, that he went to confession, heard mass, received communion, and was married to Josephine, on the eve of his death".
^"That is a matter for handwriting experts, and the weight of expert opinion is in favor of authenticity. It is nonsense to say that the retraction does not prove Rizal's conversion; the language of the document is unmistakable."[114]
^The retraction, Javier de Pedro contends, is the end of a process which started with a personal crisis as Rizal finished theFili.[121][122]
^Bonifacio later mobilized his men to attempt to liberate Rizal while inFort Santiago. (Laubach, op.cit., chap. 15)
^Antonio Luna denounced theKatipunan, but became a general under Emilio Aguinaldo's First Republic and fought in thePhilippine–American War.
^Also stated in Rizal's essay, "The Philippines: A Century Hence",The batteries are gradually becoming charged and if the prudence of the government does not provide an outlet for the currents that are accumulating, someday the sparks will be generated. (read etext atProject Gutenberg)
^Bonifacio was a member of La Liga Filipina. After Rizal's arrest and exile, it was disbanded and the group splintered into two factions; the more radical group formed into theKatipunan, the militant arm of the insurrection.[153]
^Rizal's annotations of Morga'sSucesos de las islas Filipinas (1609), which he copied word for word from theBritish Museum and had published, called attention to an antiquated book, a testimony to the well-advanced civilization in the Philippines during pre-Spanish era. In his essay "The Indolence of the Filipino" Rizal stated that three centuries of Spanish rule did not do much for the advancement of his countryman; in fact there was a 'retrogression', and the Spanish colonialists have transformed him into a 'half-way brute.' The absence of moral stimulus, the lack of material inducement, the demoralization--'theindio should not be separated from hiscarabao', the endless wars, the lack of a national sentiment, the Chinese piracy—all these factors, according to Rizal, helped the colonial rulers succeed in placing theindio 'on a level with the beast'. (Read English translation byCharles Derbyshire atProject Gutenberg.)
^According to Anderson, Rizal is one of the best exemplars of nationalist thinking.[157] (See alsoNitroglycerine in the Pomegranate, Benedict Anderson,New Left Review 27, May–June 2004(subscription required))
^Rizal himself translated Schiller'sWilliam Tell into Tagalog in 1886.[176]
^Marcelo H. del Pilar letter to José Rizal dated February 17, 1889, in Spanish, quoted in Norman G. Owens, "Masculinity and national identity in 19th-century Philippines,"Illes i Imperis 2 (1999), 40
^CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, Vol 7., Cultural Center of the Philippines, 2015.
^Foreman, J., 1906,The Philippine Islands, A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical, Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons
^Forbes, Cameron (1945).The Philippine Islands. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Archived fromthe original on April 2, 2015. RetrievedSeptember 3, 2013.
^Dennis Villegas (June 30, 2011)."'Saint' Jose Rizal". Philippine Online Chronicles. Archived fromthe original on November 3, 2012. RetrievedJanuary 13, 2013.
^Robillard T, Gorochov AV, Poulain S, Suhardjono YR (2014). "Revision of the cricket genusCardiodactylus (Orthoptera, Eneopterinae, Lebinthini): the species from both sides of the Wallace line, with description of 25 new species".Zootaxa.3854 (1):1–104.doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3854.1.1.PMID25284504.
^Monostra, Mike (April 13, 2017)."Throwback Thursday: The Bataan Death March Memorial in Cherry Hill".thesunpapers.com. Newspaper Media Group. RetrievedOctober 1, 2023.In Cooper River Park along Park Boulevard just across from the Donahue Avenue intersection sits a pair of memorials. Closest to the river is the Jose Rizal Monument.
Guerrero, Leon Ma. (2007).The First Filipino. Manila: National Historical Institute of The Philippines (1962); Guerrero Publishing.ISBN971-9341-82-3
Hessel, Eugene A. (1965).Rizal's Retraction: A Note on the Debate. Silliman University
Joaquin, Nick (1977).A Question of Heroes: Essays and criticisms on ten key figures of Philippine History. Manila: Ayala Museum.
Jalosjos, Romeo G. (Compiler).The Dapitan Correspondence of Dr.José Rizal and Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt. City government of Dapitan: Philippines, 2007.ISBN978-971-9355-30-4.
Mapa, Christian Angelo A. (1993).The Poem of the Famous Young Elder José Rizal
Medina, Elizabeth (1998).Rizal According to Retana: Portrait of a Hero and a Revolution. Santiago, Chile: Virtual Multimedia.ISBN956-7483-09-4
Rizal, Jose. (1889)."Sa mga Kababayang Dalaga ng Malolos" inEscritos Politicos y Historicos de José Rizal (1961). Manila: National Centennial Commission.
Runes, Ildefonso (1962).The Forgery of the Rizal Retraction'. Manila: Community Publishing Co.
Thomas, Megan C.Orientalists, Propagandists, and "Ilustrados": Filipino Scholarship and the End of Spanish Colonialism (University of Minnesota Press; 2012) 277 pages; explores Orientalist and racialist discourse in the writings of José Rizal and five other ilustrados.
Tomas, Jindřich (1998).José Rizal, Ferdinand Blumentritt and the Philippines in the New Age. The City of Litomerice: Czech Republic. Publishing House Oswald Praha (Prague).
Venzon, Jahleel Areli A. (1994).The Doorway to hell, Rizal's Biography
Zaide, Gregorio F. (2003).José Rizal: Life, Works and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist and National Hero. Manila: National Bookstore.ISBN971-08-0520-7
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