His Life

Jose Protacio Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 in the province of Laguna, Philippines, to a family affluent enough to provide him with formal education in Jesuit-run and Dominican-run  institutions in Manila. He went on to study medicine and liberal arts at the University of Madrid in Spain and later at universities in Paris, Heidelberg, Leipzig and Berlin. While in Europe he started to write novels. Upon his return to the Philippines he started to practice medicine.

Rizal was affectionate to his family and the women he loved, was diligent in his works, and he was passionate about his people and country. His genius is evidenced by his many talents and skills. At one time or another he practiced or otherwise dabbled as an anthropologist, botanist, businessman, cartographer, dramatist, economist, educator, engineer, essayist, entomologist, ethnologist, farmer, folklorist, geographer, grammarian, historian, horticulturist, humorist, lexicographer, linguist, musician, novelist, painter, physician, poet, philologist, philosopher, polemicist, psychologist, satirist, sculptor, sportsman, sociologist, surveyor, traveler, and zoologist.  Above all, he was a patriot, hero, and martyr.  Unlike many geniuses, he consecrated his God-given talents and sacrificed his own life for the redemption and welfare of his people. Of Rizal, historian G. Zayde observes: "a man of his heroism and versatility appears but once in the history of any nation".

His Works

During Rizal's time, the Philippines was under the rule of Spain. The use in education of the local language, Tagalog, was suppressed.  Rizal wrote in both Spanish and Tagalog.   In 1887   he published   Noli Me Tangere   (Touch Me Not),   and in 1891,        El Filibusterismo (Subversion). Both novels not only exposed the oppression of Filipinos by its foreign rulers, but more so the corruption of Spanish priests and monks who exacted heavy taxes, stole ancestral lands and sexually violated the women in their parishes. The Spanish government was agitated by the criticism and the church was outraged at its exposure.

Among his other writings are: Annotations to Morga’s 1609 Philippine History; To the Young Women of Malolos; The Indolence of the Filipino; The Philippines A Century Hence; Come se Gobiernan las Filipinas; The Council of the Gods (a Play in 1 Act); Poetry; Letters and Diary.

His Legacy

Rizal did not advocate revolution for his country for he believed in peaceful reform, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to a fair trial. For his efforts in this regard, he was exiled more than once. Fatefully, as he was preparing to go to Cuba to help in combating an epidemic of yellow fever, he was arrested and jailed for sedition. On December 30, 1896, in a place called Bagumbayan (now Rizal Park) in Manila, he was executed by firing squad. His "Ultimo Adios," or "Last Farewell," a poem he wrote the night before his death, reiterated both his love for his country and his disgust at the Spanish politicians and priesthood:

..Farewell, adored country; I leave my all with thee, Beloved Philippines,   whose soil my feet have trod, I leave with thee my life's love deep; I go where all are free; I go where there are no torturers, where the oppressor's power shall be Destroyed, where faith kills not, where he who reigns is God..

"Rizal died an anti-clerical Catholic. The Spaniards and the priests cheered his execution, but his death sparked the Philippine Revolution that they had hoped to crush - part of it led by his wife. Rizal was declared a national hero" (Ronald Bruce Meyer)

Inspiration to a people, honor to a nation and pride to a race - this is Jose Rizal's legacy.

Copyright 2008 International Federation of Knights of Rizal

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