INTRODUCTION OF HISTORY AND CHILDHOOD OF DR.

JOSE RIZAL (SUMMARY)

● The word history comes from the Latin word, “historia” which means an “inquiry” or
“investigation”.
● History is defined as “the branch of social science which deals with the study of the
past in relation to the present and the future”.
● 3 important elements of history
○ As a branch of Science - Science is defined as the study of facts based on
observation and experimentation. Sciences are divided into physical, natural and
social science. It is social science where history belongs.
○ Study of the past - People and events and places and even civilizations are
one of the main concerns in the study of history.
○ Relation to the present to future - History is the study of the past in relation to
the present and the future.
● Sources of History
○ Primary Sources – These are the physical evidence in history such as artifacts,
relics, remains and even oral tradition.
○ Secondary Sources – These may be published or unpublished materials.
■ Published materials either in hard and soft copies in newspaper,
magazines, journals, encyclopedia, pamphlets, handouts, books, circulars
and others.
■ Unpublished materials are the letters, biographies, autobiography, thesis
and dissertations and other papers written by scholars.
● Teodoro Agoncillo, “no documents, no history...” which had given the “documentary
evidence” more weight than “sabi-sabi” on hearsay.
● Historical imagination examines the threshold or baseline between what historians
consider to be proper, that is, an imagination-free history and the improper, which on the
other hand is the use of excessive imagination.
● Dimensions of History
○ Historical Space / Geographical Dimension. It pertains to the location or place
of events.
○ Time/Chronological/Dimension. Time element is the barometer of historical
events.
● Wenceslao Retana is known to be one of Rizal’s contemporaries who was critical of
Rizal’s nationalistic fervor.
○ Retana attacked Rizal in the newspaper “La Epoca”, so Rizal challenged him to
a fist fight. He apologized to Rizal and the two became friends.
○ Believed that Spain was “wrong” when they executed Rizal (Medina, 1998)
● Carlos Quirino is one of the great biographers of Dr. Jose Rizal who wrote Rizal’s
biography because of a “writing contest”.
○ His work entitled “The Great Malayan” won the 3rd prize.
○ He described Rizal in the biography he wrote as an “ordinary person” with a
great love for his country and his compatriots and who searched for the truth.
● Rafael Palma was one of the important biographers of Rizal.

Summarization by Cruz, Julienn Camille

 ○ Biografia de Rizal (Biography of Rizal) was one of the greatest and finest
biographies of the National hero.
○ Palmas’ writing can be considered as the primary source
● Austin Coates (1922-1997) is known for his detailed work on Rizal’s biography, entitled
“Rizal, Philippine Nationalist and Martyr” which was published in 1968 by Oxford
University Press.
○ Coates discussed Jose Rizal as one of the greatest patriots ever generated in his
time which is the 19th century.
● Lea\on Ma. Guerrero (1853-1935) was one of the popular writers of Rizal’s biography.
○ One of the most reliable biographies of Rizal was the work of Leon Ma. Guerrero
which is entitled “The First Filipino”.
○ He described the two types of Spain; one was great and the other was evil.
● Ambeth Ocampo
○ One of the modern historians who discussed history in a “telling to a friend”
approach.
○ His work on Rizal’s biography is “Rizal Without an Overcoat”.
○ He talked of Rizal as a person with big ambitions for his countrymen. He believed
that education was the best weapon to expel the evil Spanish tyranny.

LESSON 2

● Rizal’s family was considered one of the largest families in Calamba, Laguna.
● It was a 13-member family that consisted of his father Francisco Mercado II and his
mother Teodora Alonso Realonda, Jose, his nine sisters, and one brother.
● Jose’s paternal ascendant was Domingo Lam-co, a Chinese from Amoy, China who
arrived in the Philippines at the end of the 17th century and was married to a half
Chinese Ines de la Rosa. Aside from their Chinese blood, Japanese, Spanish, Malay,
and Negrito blood also ran in theirs.
● Francisco Mercado ll, the father, was born in Biñan, Laguna
● Teodora Aloso Realondo, the mother, who had Spanish and Japanese ancestors, was
born in Sta. Cruz, Manila in 1827.
● In 1849, the then Governor General of the Philippines, Narciso Claveria, issued a
decree that native Filipinos and immigrant families must adopt Spanish surnames from
the given list of Spanish family names.
● The family never actually recognized the surname Rizal. But Jose had to use this
surname for him to travel freely.
● Jose Rizal’s Siblings:
○ Saturnina Rizal (1850-1913) was the eldest child. She was nicknamed Neneng,

○ Paciano Rizal (1851-1930) was the second child. He was a confidant of Jose
Rizal. After the execution of Jose, he joined the Philippine Revolution and
became a combat general.

Summarization by Cruz, Julienn Camille

 ○ Narcisa Rizal (1852-1939), the third child, became a teacher and musician. Sisa ̧
her pet name was married to Antonio Lopez, a teacher from Morong, Bataan who
was a nephew of Father Leoncio Lopez.

○ Olympia Rizal (1855-1887) whose pet name was Ypia, was married to Silvestre
Waldo, a telegraph operator from Manila. She bore five children and died when
Rizal was in Europe. She was a schoolmate of Segunda Katigbak, Jose’s first
love. She served as the mediator between Jose and Segunda.

○ Lucia Rizal (1857-1919) was married to Mariano Herboza of Calamba, Laguna,

a nephew of Father Casanas (Jose’s godfather and a close friend of the family).
The couple was deported once along with some of Rizal’s family members
because they were charged with inciting the town people of Calamba not to pay
the rent for the land. Mariano was denied a Catholic burial because he did not go
to confession since he married Lucia. Lucia died during the cholera epidemic in
May 1889.

○ Maria Rizal (1859-1945) whose nickname was Biang was married to Daniel
Faustino of Biñan, Laguna with whom she had five children. It was to Maria
whom Jose talked about his plan of marrying Josephine Bracken since he knew
that most of his family members were not agreeing to this idea. In a letter Jose
wrote to her dated December 12, 1891, he wrote about his plan of establishing a
Filipino colony in North British Borneo.

○ Jose Rizal (1861-1896) the greatest Filipino and peerless genius, was the
second son and the seventh child. His nickname was Pepe. During his exile in
Dapitan he lived with Josephine Bracken, an Irish girl from HongKong. He had a
son by her but the baby died a few hours after birth. Rizal named his son
“Francisco” after his father and buried him in Dapitan. Jose who died as a martyr
through the Spanish firing squad on December 30, 1896 at 7:30 a.m. is the
foremost national hero recognized by most Filipino up to the present

○ Concepcion Rizal (1862-1865) who had the pet name Concha died of sickness
at the age of three. It is said that her death was Jose’s first sorrow in life and that
of all his sisters, it was Concha that the young Jose loved the most.

○ Josefa Rizal (1865-1945) who was the ninth child and an epileptic died at the
age of 80 as an old maid. Panggoy, her nickname, was one of those 29 original
women admitted to the Katipunan along with Gregoria de Jesus, the wife of
Andres Bonifacio. These 29 women safeguarded the Katipunan’s secret papers
and documents and would dance and sing during the society’s meetings to
deceive the civil guards that the meetings were mere social gatherings.

Summarization by Cruz, Julienn Camille

 ○ Trinidad Rizal (1868-1951) or Trining was the 10th child who also joined the
Katipunan after the death of Jose. It was she whom Rizal entrusted his last and
greatest poem. Before Jose’s execution, she and her mother visited him in Fort
Santiago. As the two were leaving the prison cell, Jose handed over to her a
lamp and whispered “There is something in it.” That something was the “Mi
Ultimo Adios” hidden in the lamp which was actually an alcohol cooking stove
gifted to Jose by the mother of Dr. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera so that he could
warm his food.

○ Soledad Rizal (1870-1929), the teacher in the family, was the youngest child,
who was also called Choleng. Jose was proud of her as she became the best
educated amongst his sisters. Her marriage though was without the consent of
their parents. So Jose’s way of reprimanding her was through his advice to her to
be a model of virtues. Soledad was married to Pataleon Quintero of Calamba
with whom she bore five children.

● Jose Rizal (Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal y Alonso Realonda) was born on June 19,
1861, a Wednesday, between eleven o’clock and midnight, in the lakeshore town of
Calamba, Laguna.
● He was baptized Jose, the chosen name of his mother being a devotee of San Jose
(St. Joseph) on June 22, three days after his birth, at the Catholic church of Calamba
by Rev. Rufino Collantes, the parish priest then. As already mentioned, his godfather
was Father Pedro Cosanas.

● Justification for Being a National Hero

○ There are several questions regarding Rizal’s heroism. According to the report
made by the National Heroes Committee (under Executive Order No. 75), these
are the elements to qualify as a national hero verbatim.
■ 1. Heroes are those who have a concept of nation and thereafter aspire
and struggle for the nation's freedom.
■ 2. Heroes are those who define and contribute to a system or life of
freedom and order for a nation.
■ 3. Heroes are those who contribute to the quality of life and destiny of a
nation.
■ 4. A hero is part of the peoples’ expression.
■ 5. A hero thinks of the future, especially the future generations.
■ 6. The choice of a hero involves not only the recounting of an episode or
events in history, but of the entire process that made this particular person
a hero.
His Early Childhood and Education
● Jose was a young boy with a “thirst for knowledge”.
● Then he was sent to Biñan in June 1869 at a young age of eight. Justiniano Aquino Cruz
was his maestro there who developed his knowledge of the Spanish language.

Summarization by Cruz, Julienn Camille

 ● Having Doña Teodora as his “first teacher”, the young Jose was being prepared for
his formal schooling.
● The Story of the Moth is in Rizal’s diary describing his childhood study under the
tutorship of his mother. The story is significant as it was like a prophecy of what can
happen to Rizal when he gets near the “light”. The young moth symbolizes Rizal as
Youth and the old moth was his mother and the light signifying “education”. Later in
Rizal’s life, as he was nearing his death, he realized that “if you know more... then
they will cut your head”.
● First Poem by Rizal - Sa aking mga kabata
● First Drama by Rizal - Jose, who was then eight years old, wrote his first dramatic work
which was a Tagalog comedy. It was staged during a Calamba festival and was
delightfully applauded by the audience.
● Rizal as a Boy Magician
○ He gained skill in manipulating marionettes (puppets worked from above by
strings attached to their limbs). His fondness for magic continued even when he
was already in his manhood.
○ In Chapters XVII and XVIII of El Filibusterismo, one could see his wide
knowledge of magic.

Summarization by Cruz, Julienn Camille