HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF RIZAL’S FAMILY

Jose Rizal Family

The Jose Rizal family was a wealthy family in Calamba, Laguna and considered one of
the largest families in those times. The 13 member of Jose Rizal family consisted of his
father Francisco Mercado II and his mother Teodora Alonso Realonda. Jose Rizal had
nine sisters and one brother. The Jose Rizal family’s paternal ascendant was Domingo
Lam-co, a full-blooded Chinese who lived in Amoy,China and arrived in the Philippines
in the closing years of the 17 th century. Domingo Lam-co was married to a Chinese half-
breed named Ines de la Rosa. The Mercado-Rizal family had also Japanese, Spanish,
Malay and Negrito blood aside from theirChinese blood.
Jose Rizal’s father was the youngest of 13 children of Juan and Cirila Mercado. He was
born in Binan, Laguna, studied in San Jose College of Manila and died in Manila. The
mother of Jose Rizal was a business -minded, religious and hard working individual who
was born in Santa Cruz,Manila on November 14, 1827 and died in Manila in 1913. She
studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa and was the second child of Brijida de Quintos
and Lorenzo Alonso.
Saturnina Rizal was the eldest of the offsprings of Francisco Mercado and Teodora
Alonso Realonda. She married Manuel Hidalgo who hailed from Tanauan, Batangas.
The only brother ofJose Rizal was Paciano Rizal and was the second child. Paciano
studied at the San Jose College in Manila and worked as a farmer and later as a
general of the Philippine Revolution.
The other sisters of Jose Rizal were Narcisa,Olympia, Lucia, Maria, Concepcion,
Josefa, Trinidad and Soledad. Soledad was the youngest child and later was married to
Pantaleon Quintero.
The parents of Jose Rizal were both farmers who were granted by the Dominicans with
the lease of a hacienda together with a rice farm. The mother of Jose Rizal, Teodora,
had Spanish and Japanese ancestors while the father of Teodora was a half Spaniard
engineer known as Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo.
The Rizal surname was obtained by Francisco Mercado as suggested to him by a
provincial governor after the Governor General of the Philippines, Narciso Claveria,
issued a decree in 1849 by which native Filipino and immigrant families were to adopt
Spanish surnames from a list of Spanish family names. Jose Rizal also obtained the
surname Rizal after dropping three other names that made up his full name. Jose Rizal
also retained Protacio as his other family name. His family never actually recognized his
Rizal surname but Jose Rizal was forced to use it so that he can travel freely and
disassociate him from his brother who was known to be notorious due to Paciano’s links
with native priests who were executed after they were found to be subversives.
The Rizals is considered one of the biggest families during their time. Domingo Lam-co,
the family's paternal ascendant was a full-blooded Chinese who came to the Philippines
from Amoy, China in the closing years of the 17th century and married a Chinese half-
breed by the name of Ines de la Rosa.
Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of Japanese,
Spanish, Malay and Even Negrito blood aside from Chinese.
Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco Mercado
II and Teodora Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.
The Mercado - Rizal Family
FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898)
Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offsprings of Juan and Cirila Mercado.
Born in Biñan, Laguna on April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose College, Manila; and died
in Manila.
TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913) Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of
Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos. She studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. She
was a business-minded woman, courteous, religious, hard-working and well-read. She
was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827 and died in 1913 in Manila.
SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)
Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan,
Batangas.
PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)
Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in Manila;
became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.
NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)
The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician.
OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)
The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.
LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)
The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.
MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)
The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)
The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on
December 30,1896.
CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)The eight child. Died at the age of three.
JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.
TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family
to die.
SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero.
 CHILDHOOD DAYS IN CALAMBA
Jose Rizal, just like Filipino boys, had many beautiful memories of childhood. • He have
a happy
home, filled with parental affection, impregnated with family joys, and sanctified by
prayers. • In the midst of such peaceful, refined, God-loving family, he spent the early
years of his childhood.
 Calamba, the Hero’s Town
• Calamba was an hacienda town which belonged to the Dominican Order.
• It is a picturesque town nestling on a verdant plain covered with irrigated rice fields
and sugar-lands.
• A few kilometers to the south looms is the legendary Mount Makiling in somnolent
grandeur.
 Beyond this mountain is the province of Batangas.
• East of the town is the Laguna de Bay.
• In the middle lake towers is the storied island of Talim and beyond it towards north is
the distant Antipolo, famous mountain shrine of the miraculous Lady of Peace and Good
Voyage.
•In 1876 when he was 15 years old and was a student in the Ateneo de Manila he
remembered his beloved town.
•He wrote a poem Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town). EarliEst
Childhood mEmoriEs.
• The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the family garden.
• Because he was frail, sickly, and undersized child, he was given the most tender care
by his parents.
 His father built a nipa cottage in the garden for him to play in the daytime. • Another
childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer. • By nightfall, Rizal related, his mother
gathered all the children at the house to pray the Angelus.
 With nostalgic feeling, he also remembered the happy moonlit nights at the azotea after
the rosary. • The aya related stories to Rizal children many stories about fairies; tales of
buried treasure and trees with blooming diamonds, and other fabulous stories.
 Sometimes, when he did not like to take his supper, the aya would treaten him that the
aswang, the nuno, the tigbalang, or a terrible bearded Bombay would come to take him
away if he would not eat his supper. • Another memory of his infancy was the nocturnal
walk in the town, especially when there was a moon.
 Recounting this childhood experience, Rizal wrote: “Thus my heart fed on sombre and
melancholy thoughts so that even still a child, I already wandered on wings of fantasy in
the high regions of the unknown. The Hero’s First Sorrow • The Rizal children were
 bound together by the ties of love and companionship. • Their parents taught them to
love one another, to behave properly in front of elders, to be truthful and religious, and
to help one another.
 They affectionately called their father Tatay, and mother Nanay. • Jose was jokingly
called Ute by his brother and sisters. The people in Calamba knew him as Pepe or
Pepito. • Of his sisters, Jose loved most little Concha (Concepcion).
 He was one year older than Concha. • He played with her, and from her, he learned the
sweetness of brotherly love. • Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in 1865 when he
was 3 years old. • Jose, who was very fond of her, cried bitterly to lose her. Devoted
Son of Church •Young Rizal was a religious boy. •A scion of a Catholic clan, born and
bred in a wholesome atmosphere of Catholicism, and possessed of an inborn spirit,
Rizal grew up a good Catholic. •At the age of 3, he began to take part in the family
prayers. •When he was five years old, he was able to read haltingly the family bible. •He
loved to go to church to pray, to take part in novenas, and to join the religious
processions.
•It is said that he was so seriously devout that he was laughingly called Manong Jose by
the Hermanos and Hermanas Terceras. •One of the men he esteemed and respected in
Calamba during his boyhood was the scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez, the town priest.
Father Leoncio Lopez Pilgrimage to Antipolo•On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left
for Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to fulfill his mother’s vow which
was made when Rizal was born. •It was the first trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay and
his pilgrimage to Antipolo
 He was thrilled, as a typical boy should, by his first lake voyage. • He did not sleep the
whole night as the casco sailed towards the Pasig River because he was awed by “ the
magnificence of the watery expanse and the silence of the night. • After praying at the
shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his father went to Manila. First Education from
Mother • Jose’s first teacher was his mother. • At the age of 3, Jose learned the
alphabet and prayers from her. • Seeing Rizal had a talent for poetry, she encouraged
him to write poems. She gave her all her love and all that she learned in college. The
Story of the Moth • Of the story told by Dona Teodora to Jose, it was that of the young
moth made the profoundest impression on him. • The tragic fate of the young moth,
which died a martyr to its illusions, left a deep impress on Rizal’s mind. Rizal’s Three
Uncles • There were 3 uncles, brothers of his mother, who played a great part in the
early education of Rizal.
 Uncle Gregorio was a lover of books. • He instilled into the mind of his nephew a great
love for books. • He taught him to work hard, to think for himself, and to observe life
keenly.
 Uncle Jose, who had been educated at Calcutta, India, was the youngest brother of
Dona Teodora. • He encouraged his nephew to paint, sketch, and sculpture.
 Uncle Manuel was a big, strong, and husky man. • He looked after the physical training
of his sickly and weak nephew. • He encourage Rizal to learn swimming, fencing,
wrestling, and other sports, so that in later years Rizal’s frail body acquired agility,
endurance, and strength. Artistic Talents • Since early childhood Rizal revealed his god-
given talents for the arts . • He drew sketches and pictures on his books of his sisters,
for which reason he was scolded by his mother.
 He carved figures of animals and persons out of wood. • Even before he learned to
read, he could already sketch pictures of birds, flowers, fruits, rivers, mountains,
animals and persons. • Jose had a soul of a genuine artist.
 Rather an introvert child, with a skinny physique and sad dark eyes, he found great joy
looking at the blooming flowers, the ripening fruits, the dancing waves of the lake, and
the milky clouds in the sky; and the listening to the songs of the birds, the chirpings of
the cicadas, and the murmurings of the breezes.
 He loved to ride on a spirited pony ( which his father bought for him) or take long walks
in the meadows for him) or take long walks in the meadows and lakeshore with his big
black dog named Usman.
 In his room, he kept many statuettes which he made out of clay and wax. • At one time,
his sisters teased him: “Ute, what are you doing with so many statuettes?” He replied: “
Don’t you know that people will erect monument and statues in my honor for the
future?” Prodigy of the Pen• Not only was little Jose skilled in brush, chisel, and pen-
knife, but also in pen.
 He was born poet. • His mother encouraged him to write poetry.

RIZAL YEARS IN ATENEO

The Jesuits were considered the best educators of Spain, and perhaps of Europe, and
so, when they were permitted to return to the Philippines, although their power to
administer parishes was restricted except in the remote regions of Mindanao, the
privilege of founding colleges, they had to apply to the City of Manila for subsidies. That
is why the college which began to function in the year 1865, was called the Ateneo
Municipal.
To enter the Ateneo a candidate was subjected to an entrance examination on Christian
doctrine, reading, writing, grammar, and elementary arithmetic. Jose did not take his
entrance examinations Jose did not remain in Manila but returned first to his town to
celebrate the fiesta of its patron saint; it was then that his father changed his mind and
decided to send him to the Ateneo instead.
Since Mercado, the first surname of the family, had come under suspicion of the
authorities because it was the name used by Paciano when he was studying and
working with Father Burgos, in whose house he lived, Jose adopted the second
surname, Rizal.
Paciano who accompanied Jose, found him a house in Walled City, but Intramuros
looked gloomy to Jose, and he later found lodging outside, in the house of a spinster
situated on Calle Carballo, district of Santa Cruz. As if chance would furnish him data
for his future campaigns, he became acquainted in that house with various mestizos,
begotten by friars.
The Jesuitical system of instruction was considered more advanced than that of other
colleges in that epoch. Its discipline was rigid and its methods less mechanical. It
introduced physical culture as part of its program as well as the cultivation of the arts,
such as music, drawing, and painting. It also establishes vocational courses in
agriculture, commerce, and mechanics as a religious institute, its principal purpose was
to mold the character and the will of the boys to comply more easily with the percepts of
the Church. The students heard mass before the beginning of the class, which was
opened and closed with prayers.
In the first two terms the classes were divided into groups of interns and externs: the
first constituted the Roman Empire and the second, the Carthaginian Empire. In each
empire there were five dignitaries: Emperor, Tribune, Decurion, Centurion, and
Standard-Bearer. These dignities were won by means of individual competitions in
which it was necessary to catch one’s adversary in error three times. The empires
considered themselves in perpetual warfare, and when an individual of one empire was
caught in error by one belonging to the enemy empire, a point was counted in favor of
the latter. At the end of each week or two, the points in favor of each were added and
the empire, which obtained more point, was declared winner.
There was a fraternity of Mary and Saint Louis Gonzaga, to which only those who
distinguished themselves in the class for their piety and diligence could belong. This
fraternity met on Sundays and after mass held public programs in which poems were
recited or debates were held. With all these inducements it was only natural that should
be a spirit of emulation, a striving to surpass ones colleagues found in the Ateneo.
The first professor Jose had was Fr. Jose Bech, whom he describes as a man of high
stature; lean body, bent forward; quick gait; ascetic physiognomy, severe and inspired;
small, sunken eyes; sharp Grecian nose; thin lips forming an arch with its sides directed
toward the chin." He was somewhat of a lunatic and of an uneven humor;
sometimes he was hard and little tolerant and at other times he was gay and playful as
a child. Among Jose’s classmates were Peninsulares and sons of Peninsulares;
Francisco G. Oliva, very talented but not very studious; Joaquin Garrido, endowed with
a poor memory but with much talent and industry; and Gonzalo Marzano, who occupied
the throne of Emperor.
From the first days Jose learned to systematize his work; he fixed a program of what he
had to do in the twenty-four hours of the day and did not in the least deviate from it.
Thus he disciplined his will and subjected it to the commands of his reason.
As a newcomer, Jose was at first put at the tail of the class, but he was soon promoted
and kept on being promoted so that at the end of one month he had attained to the rank
of Emperor. At the end of the term he obtained marks of excellent in all the subjects and
in the examinations. He had reason to feel proud of his advancement; and so when he
went home on vacation that year, he ran alone to see his mother in the prison and tell
her the happy news.
He must have uttered this exclamation on learning from his mother that they had played
her a mean trick. The judge, who was a blind partisan of the friars having been a
domestic of theirs, told her that if she confessed her culpability he would release her at
once. With the desire to see her children again, she pleaded guilty; but the judge,
instead of releasing her, convicted her. In a few months the judge asked her forgiveness
for what he had done because according to him his conscience hurt him, but the case
had no remedy because it was already on appeal.
The second year, Jose had the same professor as in the previous year; but instead of
lodging outside the City, he resided at No. 6 Calle Magallanes. At the end of the term he
obtained a medal, and upon returning to his town, he again visited his mother in jail
alone. This was three months before her release.
The rejoicing that her release produced in his spirit had much influence on the result of
his studies in the third year, for he began to win prizes in the quarterly examinations.
About that time he devoted himself to reading novels, and one of those he enjoyed most
was Dumas’ (father) The Count of Monte Cristo. The sufferings of the hero of the twelve
years. He also asked his father to buy him a copy of The Universal History by Cesar
Cantanu, and according to himself he profited much from its perusal.
The family, who saw in Jose great aptitude for study, decided to place him as intern or
boarding student in the college the following year. In the corner of the dormitory facing
the sea and the pier Jose passed his two years of internship.
In the fourth year of his course he had Fr. Francisco Sanchez as professor. Jose
describes him as a model of rectitude, a solicitude, and love for the student, and his
studied mathematics, rhetoric, and Greek, and he must have progressed much, for at
the end of the year he-obtained five
WOMEN OF RIZAL

Segunda Katigbak and Leonor Valenzuela Segunda Katigbak was her puppy love.
Unfortunately, his first love was engaged to be married to a town mate- Manuel Luz.
After his admiration for a short girl in the person of Segunda, then came Leonor
Valenzuela, a tall girl from Pagsanjan. Rizal send her love notes written in invisible ink,
that could only be deciphered over the warmth of the lamp or candle. He visited her on
the eve of his departure to Spain and bade her a last goodbye.

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

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

O Sei San O Sei San, a Japanese samurai’s daughter taught Rizal the Japanese art of
painting known as su- mie. She also helped Rizal improve his knowledge of Japanese
language. If Rizal was a man without a patriotic mission, he would have married this
lovely and intelligent woman and lived a stable and happy life with her in Japan because
Spanish legation there offered him a lucrative job.
Gertrude Beckett While Rizal was in London annotating the Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas, he boarded in the house of the Beckett family, within walking distance of the
British Museum. Gertrude, a blue-eyed and buxom girl was the oldest of the three
Beckett daughters. She fell in love with Rizal. Tottie helped him in his painting and
sculpture. But Rizal suddenly left London for Paris to avoid Gertrude, who was seriously
in love with him. Before leaving London, he was able to finish the group carving of the
Beckett sisters. He gave the group carving to Gertrude as a sign of their
brief relationship.
Nellie Boustead
Rizal having lost Leonor Rivera, entertained the thought of courting other ladies. While a
guest of the Boustead family at their residence in the resort city of Biarritz, he had
befriended the two pretty daughters of his host, Eduardo Boustead. Rizal used to fence
with the sisters at the studio of Juan Luna. Antonio Luna, Juan’s brother and also a
frequent visitor of the Bousteads, courted Nellie but she was deeply infatuated with
Rizal. In a party held by Filipinos in Madrid, a drunken Antonio Luna uttered unsavory
remarks against Nellie Boustead. This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel.
Fortunately, Luna apologized to Rizal, thus averting tragedy for the compatriots.
Their love affair unfortunately did not end in marriage. It failed because Rizal refused to
be converted to the Protestant faith, as Nellie demanded and Nellie’s mother did not like
a physicianwithout enough paying clientele to be a son-in-law. The lovers, however,
parted as good friends when Rizal left Europe.
Suzanne Jacoby
In 1890, Rizal moved to Brussels because of the high cost of living in Paris. In Brussels,
he lived in the boarding house of the two Jacoby sisters. In time, they fell deeply in love
with each other. Suzanne cried when Rizal left Brussels and wrote him when he was in
Madrid.
Josephine Bracken
In the last days of February 1895, while still in Dapitan, Rizal met an 18-year old petite
Irish girl,with bold blue eyes, brown hair and a happy disposition. She was Josephine
Bracken, the adopted daughter of George Taufer from Hong Kong, who came to
Dapitan to seek Rizal for eye treatment. Rizal was physically attracted to her. His
loneliness and boredom must have taken the measure of him and what could be a
better diversion that to fall in love again. But the Rizal sisters suspected Josephine as
an agent of the friars and they considered her as a threat to Rizal’s security.Rizal asked
Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to make a decision due to her
responsibility to the blind Taufer. Since Taufer’s blindness was untreatable, he left for
Hon Kong on March 1895. Josephine stayed with Rizal’s family in Manila. Upon her
return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange with Father Antonio Obach for their marriage.
However, the priest wanted a retraction as a precondition before marrying them. Rizal
upon the advice of his family and friends and with Josephine’s consent took her as his
wife even without the Church blessings. Josephine later give birth prematurely to a
stillborn baby, a result of some incidence, which might have shocked or frightened her.