e Retraction of Rizal

Rizal’s Background
• Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 at Calamba, Laguna
Province.
• Rizal’s full name was ‘Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado Y Alonso
Realonda’.
• Father: Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado De Alijandro
• Mother: Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda De Quintos
Siblings: Concepcion, Jose Protacio, Josefa, Lucia, Maria,
Narcisa,Paciano Rizal, Saturnina, Soledad and Trinidad.
• Died on: December 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan, Manila
• Hailed as the greatest national hero of the Philippines. Jose was a man of
convictions who sacrifice his life for the national cause.
• Rizal was not just nationalist, he was multifaceted personality who was
qualified doctor, writer, and an artist who could draw, paint, sculpt, and
carve.
• Born into a family which value education, he was encouraged to study well
and gain knowledge about variety of subjects.
• He became involved in Propaganda movement where he joined other
Filipinos who wanted reforms.
 Education
• He enrolled at Ateneo de Municipal de Manila and graduated with a degree in land
surveying and assessment in 1877. He had a deep interest in arts and thus he went
to the Faculty of Arts and Letters for a degree in Philosophy at the University of
Santo Tomas.
• His mother was becoming blind during the time and the young man decided to
specialize in ophthalmology in order to help her. He enrolled at the Faculty of
Medical Sciences of Santo Tomas in 1878 for this purpose.
• He went to Spain to continue his studies and enrolled at the Universidad Central De
Madrid from where he earned his degree in Medicine in 1844. he completed another
degree in Philosophy and Letters from the same institute the next year.
• He had insatiable thirst for knowledge and went to France to further his knowledge
of ophthalmology at the University of Heidelberg. He completed his eye
specialization in 1887 under the tutelage of the famous professor Otto Becker.
 Later life
• In 1887, while studying medicine in the University Central de Madrid, he wrote
the novel ‘Noli Me Tangere’ He harshly criticized the Spanish colonial rule in
Philippines and wrote of the injustices and brutalities suffered by native people.
His novel was banned by the government due to its scathing contents.
• He became the leader of the reform movement of Filipino students in Spain and
wrote several articles and essays in the Spanish newspaper ‘La Solidaridad.
• He believed that the Philippines was struggling with the twin problems of corrupt
friars and bad government. Ideas of progressive ideals, peaceful reforms,
individual rights and the rights of Filipino people formed the foundation of his
writings.
• The main focus of the reforms he advocated were freedom of assembly and
speech representation in the legislature, equal rights before the law of both
Filipinos and Spanish.
• In 1891, his second novel ‘El Felibusterismo’ was published as a sequel for his
novel . The novel dealt with dark and violent themes that were considerably
different from the theme of its predecessor. The novel profoundly impacted the
Philippine society’s view about national identity and was banned in some parts
of the country for portrayal of the Spanish government’s corruption.
• He returned to the Philippines in 1892 as he felt needed to be in the country to
effectively bring about reforms. He formed a civic movement called La liga
Filipina which campaigned for social reforms through peaceful and legal means.
• By the early 1890s the government had branded Rizal an enemy of the state in
spite of the fact that he advocated peaceful reforms.
• By August 1896, a secret society Katipunan started a violent revolution. Even
though Rizal was in no way associated with the revolution, he was arrested
enroute Cuba.
• He was arrested in October 1896 and convicted on charges of sedition,
conspiracy and rebellion. He was sentenced to death. His execution was carried
out on December 30,1896 by a squad of Filipino soldiers of the Spanish army.