Rizal: A Scientist

A Project Paper

Presented to the

Faculty of the Institute of Arts and Sciences

Department of Maritime Transportation

Our Lady of Fatima University

In Partial Fulfilment

Of the Requirement for the Degree of

Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation

By

Padriquez, Felix G. Jr.

Manuel Deligente

Faculty Adviser

March 19, 2019

Introduction

Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born on June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna. The

seventh of eleven children born to a relatively well-off family in a Domican-owned tenant land in

Calamba, Laguna. Jose Rizal lived and died during the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines.

In his early childhood, Jose has mastered the alphabet and learned to write and read. His early

readings included the Spanish version of the Vulgate Bible. At a young age, he already showed

inclinations to thearts. He amazed his family by his pencil drawings, sketches, and moldings of clay. Later

in his childhood, he showed special talent in painting and sculpture, wrote a Tagalog play, which was

presented at a town fiesta.

He was a man of many talents and interests. For a man who lived only 35 years, his achievement are

remarkable and numerous. Although Rizal is wellknown for his literary works, perhaps his

accomplishments as a scientist are not well publicized. At this age where science and technology play a

major role in economic development, his scientific achievements are relevant and inspiring. To talk about

Rizal as a scientist, it is difficult to separate Rizal the natural scientist from Rizal the social scientist and

political reformer because he believed that knowledge should be used for enlightenment and liberation

and not for oppression. In his choice of medicine as a career and during his education in Europe, he

never lost sight of his goal: to serve his people and liberate them from years of oppression and injustice

by the Spaniards.

In the scientific aspect of his teachings Rizal ranked high in public appreciation, higher indeed in

other countries than at that time he was allowed to rank here. He was recognized for his scientific work

in ethnology, in zoology, and in botany in England and in the leading universities of Germany.

He is widely considered one of the greatest heroes of 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.

Body

Rizal was drawn to the sciences because of its immutable laws, consistency, and predictive

characteristic unlike the caprices and arbitrariness of a government of flawed individuals.

Rizal’s passion for Nature first took root during his childhood. Some of his sweetest reminiscences

were of the fruit trees that shaded the nipa hut in their garden at Calamba, or of the birds that

frequented their garden: the maria-capra, the culiauan, the maya, culae, and different kinds of pipit.

Later, as a college student at the Ateneo, his knowledge of Nature deepened through his academic

studies:

“Physics, lifting up the veil that covers many things, showed me a wide stage where the divine drama

of nature was performed.”

There were moments when the need to study nature in the taxonomic way as taught at school

conflicted with his spontaneous appreciation of nature. For him classifying plants and animals seemed

to diminish nature’s beauty.

His study of ophthalmologic medicine had been thorough. His mother, who lost her eyesight in 1887,

encouraged him to take advanced training in the field. Thus, even after finishing his medical degree at

the University of Madrid in 1885, he traveled extensively throughout Europe and trained under the

leading ophthalmologist of his time.

He visited Paris in 1885. There he apprenticed under Dr. Louis de Wecker, a famous eye surgeon who,

as Rizal wrote to his parents in 1886, can set in position crossed eyes in two minutes. After five years

after five in Europe, he went home to the Philippines in 1887. He operated on his mother eyes to remove
her cataract the surgery was successful and was the first of its kind ever done in the Philippines. His fame

as an eye doctor spread quickly and people began coming to him for treatment from all over the

Philippines and even from as far away as China. He opened a clinic, sent away for equipment, moderate

fees and treated the poor free.

After only six months, Rizal had to leave the country because his novel Noli Me Tangere had circulated

and the friars were out to get him. He went back to Europe via Japan and the US. Here again, Rizal made

some perceptive observations of the US then. After 15 days crossing the Pacific, their ship was

quarantined in San Francisco for a week although none of the passengers were sick and health clearance

had been given. The authorities cited smallpox as a risk. He noted that there were a number of Chinese

immigrants, the cargo silk had been unloaded without fumigation and the customs officers were not

afraid to eat aboard. Rizal discovered the real reason for the quarantine. He wrote: "America was

opposed to Chinese immigration and since it was election time, the administration appeared strict to the

Chinese to obtain the people’s votes."

He took the train across the US and made a number of stops along the way. He wrote about his

impressions of the US: "Undoubtedly America is a great country but it still has many defects. There is no

real civil liberty. In some states the Negro cannot intermarry. Because of the hatred toward the Chinese,

other Asians like the Japanese, being confused with them are likewise disliked by the ignorant

Americans."

In London, he undertook a project that he had wanted to do. As a boy, one of his uncles told him

about a book written in the 16th century by a Spaniard that gave a truthful picture about early Philippine

history. All accounts he had read thus far were written by prejudiced Spaniards seeking to justify Spain’s

colonial rule on the ground that the natives were "child-like savages." The book Sucesos de las Islas

Pilipinas written by Antonio de Morga and published in Mexico in 1609 was available only in a few
libraries, and a copy was in the British Museum in London! His plan was simple. He would study Morga

and other writers who dealt with pre-Spanish Philippine history, compare them all and publish a new

edition of Morga, with notes and comments by himself. Thus the truth about the Philippines would

become available to his people and the Europeans who had learned about the early Filipinos through the

prejudiced eyes of the Spanish colonizers.

Going through Morga’s volumes, Rizal found that the Filipino people had been historically wronged. In

the coastal regions where most of the islanders lived, their arts, industries and energy had been at a high

level when the Spaniards arrived. Morga described their skills in weaving, in metal work, in agriculture,

in commerce, in navigation, in government, their fine ships (better than Spain’s), their busy

marketplaces. It was a civilization that Rizal and the Filipino people could be proud of. More, it cut away

the basis for Spain’s claim to colonial rule. Rizal wanted to give the Filipino people back their past for he

believed that a people without a proper understanding of their past was a people without a future.

As a respected man of science, Rizal wrote his Austrian friend and mentor, Prof. Ferdinand Blumetritt,

the following words in 1980: I have a big library; I shall have a house built on a hill. Then I shall dedicate

myself to the sciences

So keen was his interest in the sciences that Rizal tried hashish as an “experiment" in 1879. Hashish is

a hallucinogenic drug created from the resin of cannabis plants – a preparation known to be more potent

than marijuana. But Rizal was no pothead. In a letter to scientist Adolf Bernard Meyer (A.B. Mayer in

Rizal’s letters) dated 1890, Rizal admitted to taking the drug and explained why he did so. “[I] did it for

experimental purposes and I obtained the substance from a drugstore," Rizal wrote.

Science in his novels Rizal went on to finish his licentiate in medicine in 1884 and later, a licentiate in

Philosophy while at the same time writing Noli Me Tangere. His knowledge in science would later surface

in his second novel, the "El Filibusterismo."

 The last major episode of his life was spent in exile in Dapitan, in northern Mindanao, where he was

sent by Spanish authorities after he returned to the Philippines in 1892. As one author wrote, it was one

of the most extraordinary exiles in human history. In Dapitan, there was no water system, no school, no

street lighting, no hospital, the land was fertile but farming techniques were primitive. But Rizal with his

characteristic creativity and self-discipline, tackled these problems. He proved that his life need not be

paralyzed by isolation. He filled his days with varied activities: he treated patients with eye problems

and opened a school for boys; he built a water system and engaged in trade; he studied the local

ethnology and embarked on the preparation of a Tagalog grammar. And he became a dedicated

naturalist, collecting and sending animal and plant samples to his European friends. Among the fauna

that interested him were reptiles, birds, mammals, insects, fish, and shellfish.

In Dapitan, as everywhere he stayed, Rizal followed a disciplined schedule. He had a brilliant mind,

but the key to his productivity was planning and self-disciplined execution. He wrote to his Austrian

friend Blumentritt how he spent a typical day in Dapitan: "I get up early at 5:00, visit my fields, feed the

chickens, I wake up my people and start them moving. At 7:30 we take breakfast. Afterwards I treat my

poor patients who come to my land. Then I dress up and go to town to treat the people there and return

at 12 noon for lunch. Afterwards I teach the boys until 4:00 and I spend the afternoon farming. Evenings

are used for studying and reading."

Friends in science Rizal’s scientific aptitudes were set free when he was deported to Dapitan. The exile

let himself loose in the wilderness there. He went on to sketch, describe and collect samples of the

creatures he found in the area. In one instance, Rizal identified shells in Mindanao without having a

conchological library or museum at hand. The feat, noted a member of the Association of Philippine

Shell Collectors in 1960, is the hardest part in shell collecting. Rizal managed to identify the shells based

purely on memory.
 When Rizal’s friend Ferdinand Blumentritt wrote him about his son Fritz’s inclination toward the

natural sciences, Rizal wrote back, not without patriotic pride– “my country can offer him treasures yet

undiscovered. There are many species still unknown in zoology and botany, judging by the discoveries

that are being made.”

He corresponded with his scientist friends, exchanging ideas on the fauna of Dapitan. One of these

friends was Dr. Adolph B. Meyer, whom he met in Dresden in 1886. Rizal gladly accommodated his

requests for animal specimens, despite the restrictions imposed on him by authorities. Rizal wrote, “In

spite of this, I shall do everything possible to serve you…” He worried about duplicating what Meyer or

other scholars such as Dr. Schadenberg, already had in their collections: “However, I should like to know

if Dr. Schadenberg will accept any kind of animals, reptiles, and skulls, for you may already have the kind

that are here…”

For his part Meyer did not fail to acknowledge that Rizal’s help was indispensable to his work, asking

him “not to stop gathering specimens [for] one always finds something valuable”.

Writing to Blumentritt in February 1893: "I am very far from the incessant and indefatigable life of

civilized Europe where everything is discussed, where everything is placed in doubt, and nothing is

accepted without previous examination, previous analysis - the life of the societies of linguistics,

ethnography, geography, medicine, and archaeology. But on the other hand, I am nearer nature, I hear

constantly the song of the sea, the murmur of the leaves, and I see the continuous fluttering of the

palms stirred by the breeze.

According to Rizalist Jose Bantug, most of the specimens Rizal sent to his friends were sent to the

Dresden Museum. In all according to Bantug, Rizal sent specimens of “45 reptiles, 9 mammals, 13 birds,

9 fishes, and 68 crustaceans”. These were apart from his 346-species shell collection.
 While collecting did not automatically categorize Rizal as a bona fide botanist or zoologist, his efforts

to promote the study of Philippine plants and animals, though focused only on Dapitan, were

acknowledged by European and Filipino scientists.

To wit, he organized Dapitan's first association of farmers primarily to improve their farm produce

and help them find better markets. At once instance, he personally sold abaca fiber in Manila incognito

in order to find out and study its pricing system.

He was a regular contributor of specimens of reptiles, mammals, birds, fish, insects, crustaceans and

other invertebrates to the Dresden Museum. For this, he was recognized as a zoologist, leading to the

naming of Draco rizali, this is a small lizard with famous kind of flying dragon. This kind of lizard only seen

in tropical island like Southeast Asia which Philippines is part thereof. Rhacophorus rizali is a specia of a

rare frog and is an inhabitant of primary and secondary rainforest. Apogonia rizali is a specie of beetle

which is only found in the Philippines. The mentioned species are all named after him for his discovery

thereof. He also sent shells to Dr. A. B. Meyer, Director of the Royal Saxony Ethnographical Institute, in

exchange for much-needed books. Other species which he discovered are the following:

Spathomeles rizali – Fungus beetle, Cyrestis Maenalis Rizali –butterfly, Dolochopeza Rizalensis –

mosquito, Leptocorisa Acuta – paddy bug, Hydropsyche Rizali- moth, Cervus – deer, Glenochrysa Rizali –

kind of dragonfly.

Furthermore, it is well-established that Rizal was a respected member of the Anthropological and

Ethnological Society of Berlin and the Geographic Society of Berlin. The membership in science

organizations also provided the line of exchange of information that supported Dr. Rizal's medical

practice and the technological need of his varied projects

 While in exile in Dapitan, he gave full vent to his scientific expertise. Rizal scholars agreed that what

he did in his years in exile can be considered practical expressions of integrated development programs

in agriculture, ecology, and public health.

Two of the known invention by Rizal are the following: Sulpakan or Sulpukan and Wooden Brick

Machine. Sulpakan or Sulpukan is a cigarete lighter used air mechanism. In 1887, Rizal gave this

invention to his friend Dr. Ferdinand Blumetrit as a gift. Wooden Brick Machine is the invention by Rizal

which is capable of making 6,000 brick per day. Rizal was first to build this machine in the Philippines. “a

project anticipating perhaps what was to be the first National Housing Authority’s objective. With such a

production output the machine must been a sophisticated one,” Said by Mendoza on a newspaper

article.

Few of the contributions of Rizal is the house he built. In Talisay, he built three distinct bamboo and

nipa houses. square, hexagon, and octagonal shapes, which served as family residence, chicken coop,

and his pupils’ dormitory, respectively. In a letter to Ferdinand Bluementritt, Rizal described his typical

day in new home: “I am going to tell you how we live here. I have a square house, another hexagonal,

and another octagonal ----- all made of bamboo, wood and nipa. In the square one my mother, my sister

Trinidad, a nephew, and I live. In the octagonal my boys live --- some boys whom I teach arithmetic,

Spanish, and English ----- and now then a patient who has been operated on. In the

hexagonal are my chickens.”

He even made a water system, Rizal held the title of expert surveyor (perito agrimensor), which he

obtained from the Ateneo. In Dapitan, he applied his knowledge of engineering by constructing a

system of waterworks in order to furnish clean water to the townspeople.

He thus develop a relief map, through the help of his Jesuit teacher, Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez,

Rizal set up a public plaza and street lightning, and constructed a huge relief map of Mindanao in front of
parish church. It is now declared National Historical Landmark by the NHI and an important cultural

property by the National Museum.

He obtained from Kalamba an improved type of fishing net that helped the Dapitan fishermen improve

their catch and imported farm machinery from the US for himself and local farmers. He the subscribed to

the magazine Scientific American and ordered medicines and pharmaceuticals from the United States.

He even collaborated with foremost scientists from Europe at that time. With his students, he collected

specimens of plants, animals and ethnographic materials from Mindanao and sent them to his

colleagues in Europe.

Conclusion
 Finally, Rizal shared with us his philosophy and thinking about education and science. Within the

limits of the circumstances in Dapitan, Rizal gave his students the key elements of his educational goals:

academic knowledge, industrial training, ethical instruction, and physical development. He believed that

moral values were as important as knowledge itself; indeed, they were the only assurance that

knowledge will be used to help and enlighten, rather than oppress men.

In my opinion Rizal's greatest services to the cause of the human race were those scientific

inventions from sulpukan to the rare species of frogs which he gave to the world of his duty, and the

martyrdom which he suffered was but another example of the determination of organized society in

every age to eliminate those that by the pure processes of reason have arrived at new theories for the

conduct and welfare of mankind, when Rizal was done to death by the firing-squad at Bagumbayan, the

pages of history was full of dismay for the murder of men of science.

Bearing all these things in mind, it seems to me that we can justly appreciate Rizal's love of science

and his final martyrdom as the greatest contribution to the freedom of thought ever given by any one

man to the Filipino people. From we the youth of today Rizal live today I have no doubt he would feel

honored and blessed for his memory was to be preserved by the study of young Filipinos, men and

women.

We as a student should always stand for progress as long as the Filipino people themselves remain

progressive and as long as you will fight the battle for liberty of thought and of reason, it may not be lost

from the face of the earth.

Bibliographies
https://www.philstar.com/business/science-and-environment/2006/07/20/348367/rizal-scientist

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/content/225705/the-compassionate-scientist-in-jose-

rizal/story/

http://thelifeandworksofrizal.blogspot.com/2011/04/rizal-scientist.html

https://www.univie.ac.at/ksa/apsis/aufi/rizal/r-scient.html

http://nhcp.gov.ph/of-treasures-yet-undiscovered/

Jose Rizal: Life and Works and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist and National Hero, Second Edition,

Gregorio F. Zaide Ph.D and Sonia M. Zaide PH.D, 2014, Anvil Publishing, Inc.,

Life and Works of Rizal: Biography, Writings, and Legacies of our Bayani, Jensen D.G. Manebog, et al,

2018, Mutya Publishing House Inc.