CHAPTER III- RIZAL’S LIFE: FAMILY, CHILDHOOD AND EARLY EDUCATION

Introduction: to know the kind of family of he has, their status in the community, his
childhood experienced, and the kind of education he received. This chapter focuses on the early
years of Rizal as a child, his experiences, and his formal schooling, which contributed much in
shaping his values and character as an individual.
Intended Learning Outcome
At the end of the Lesson, the student should be able to;
1. Analyze Evaluate the people and events and their influence on Rizal’s early life.
2. Compare and contrast the life of Rizal in Ateneo and UST.

Stimulating Learning
1. Are you familiar with your family tree?
2. Do you have any idea as to where your family name comes from?
3. What were some memorable experiences do you remember when you were a child?

Inculcating Concepts (Lesson Proper)

Rizal’s Life, Family, Childhood and Early Education
Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 in the town of Calamba, province of Laguna. Calamba, then a town with
around three to four thousand inhabitants, is located 54 kilometres south of Manila. It is found in the heart of
a region known for its agricultural prosperity and is among the major producers of sugar and rice, with an
abundant variety of tropical fruits. On the southern part of the town lies the majestic Mount Makiling and on
the other side is the lake called Laguna de Bay. The wonders of creation that surrounded Rizal made him love
nature from an early age.

The Rizal Family Tree

Rizal’s father, Francisco Mercado, was a wealthy farmer who leased lands from the Dominican
friars. Francisco’s earliest ancestors were Siang-co and Zun-nio, who later gave birth to Lam-co.
Lam-co is said to have come from the district of Fujian in southern China and migrated to the
Philippines in the late 1600’s. in 1697, he was baptized in Binondo, adopting ‘’Domingo” as his
first name. He married Ines dela Rosa of a known entrepreneurial family in Binondo. In 1731,
they had a son whom they named Francisco Mercado. The surname “Mercado,’’ which means
“market,’’ was a common surname adopted by many Chinese merchants at that time.
Francisco Mercado became one of the richest in Biñan and was also active in local politics and
was elected as capitan del pueblo in 1783. He had a son named Juan Mercado who was also
elected as capitan del pueblo in 1808, 1813, and 1823.
Juan Mercado married Cirila Alejandra, a native of Biñan. They had 13 children, including
Francisco Engracio, the father of Jose Rizal. Following Governor General Narciso Claveria’s
decree in 1849 which ordered the Filipinos to adopt Spanish surnames, Francisco Engracio
Mercado added the surname “ Rizal,” from the word “ ricial” meaning “ green field,” as he later
settled in the town of Calamba as a farmer growing sugar cane, rice, and indigo.
Being in a privileged family, Francisco Engracio had a good education that started in a Latin
school in Biñan. Afterwards, he attended the College of San Jose in Manila. He married Teodora
Alonso who belonged to one of the wealthiest families in Manila. Teodora, whose father was a
member of the Spanish Cortes, was educated at the College of Sta. Rosa.
Because of Francisco and Teodora’s industry and hardwork, their family became a prominent
member of the principalia class in the town of Calamba. Their house was among the first
concrete houses to be built in the town.
 The Rizal Home in Calamba
Jose Rizal is the seventh among the eleven children of Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso.
The other children were: Saturnina (1850-1913); Paciano (1851-1930); Narcisa (1852-1939);
Olympia ( 1855-1887); Lucia ( 1857-1919); Maria ( 1859-1945); JOSE ( 1861-1896);
Concepcion ( 1862-1865); Josefa ( 1865-1945); Trinidad ( 1868-1951); and Soledad ( 1870-
1929).
Rizal was affectionate to all his siblings. However, his relation with his only brother Paciano was
more than that of an older brother. Paciano became Rizal’s second father. Rizal highly respected
him and valued all his advice. It was Paciano who accompanied Rizal when he first went to
school in Biñan. It was also him who convinced Rizal to pursue his studies in Europe.

The Rizal Family

Rizal had good memories of childhood in Calamba. His childhood was full of love and care
shown to him by his parents and siblings. Due to his poor health, Rizal had a personal servant
who, after the daily Angelus, would tell him legends and fairy tales. These stories made him
become interested in myths and legends.
As a young boy, Rizal demonstrated intelligence and learned easily. His first teacher was Doña
Teodora who taught him how to pray. He was only three years old when he learned the alphabet.
At a very young age, he already showed a great interest in reading books. He enjoyed staying in
their library at home with his mother. Eventually, Doña Teodora would notice Rizal’s skills in
poetry. She would ask him to write verses. Later, she felt the need for a private tutor for the
young Rizal.
Just like the other children from the Principalia class, Rizal experienced education under private
tutors. His first private tutor was Maestro Celestino followed by Maestro Lucas Padua, but it was
Leon Monroy, his third tutor, who honed his skills in basic Latin, reading, and writing. This
home education from private tutors prepared Rizal to formal schooling which he first
experienced in Biñan.
At the age of nine, Rizal left Calamba with his brother to study in Biñan. After one-and-a-half
hour of travel, they reached the town on board a carromata. They went to the house of their aunt
where Rizal stayed for more than a year. Before leaving his brother, Paciano introduced Rizal to
the teacher, Justiniano Aquino Cruz, who was also Paciano’s former teacher.
In Biñan, he excelled in Latin and Spanish. He also had painting lessons under Maestro
Cruz’father-in-law, Juancho, and an old painter. Rizal’s leisure hours were mostly spent in
Juancho’s studio where he was given free lessons in painting and drawing.
After receiving a letter from his sister, Saturnina, Rizal returned to Calamba on December 17,
1870 after one-and-a-half year of schooling in Biñan. He went home on board the steamship
Talim and was accompanied by Arturo Camps, a Frenchman and friend of his father.

Student of Manila
(In Ateneo Municipal, 1872-1877)

Rizal was sent by his father to Ateneo Municipal, formerly known as Escuela Pia, for a six-year
program, Bachiller en Artes. He took the entrance exam on June 10, 1872, four months after the
execution of GOMBURZA. At first, the college registrar refused to admit Rizal because he was
undersize for his age and late for registration. But with the help of Manuel Xeres Burgos
(nephew of Fr. Burgos) Rizal was admitted to Ateneo. He followed the advice of his brother,
Paciano, to use the name Jose Rizal instead of Jose Mercado. He feared that Rizal might run into
trouble if it was known openly that they were brothers since Paciano was known to have links to
Jose Burgos, one of the leaders of the secularization movement and one of the three priests
executed.
During this time, Ateneo Municipal was known to offer the best education for boys. Like all
colleges in Manila, Ateneo was managed by priests, but with an important difference in the sense
that these religious were not friars but Jesuit Fathers.

Ateneo was also known for its rigid discipline and religious instruction that trained student’s
character.
Students in Ateneo were divided into two groups, the Romans and the Carthaginians. The Roman
Empire was composed of students boarding at Ateneo while the Carthaginian Empire was
composed of non-boarding students. This grouping was done to stimulate the spirit of
competition among the students. The best student in each group was called as the Emperor, the
second best was the Tribune, the third best was the Decurion, the fourth best was the Centurion
and the fifth best was the Standard Bearer (Zaide, 1994).
At the start, Rizal lagged behind his classmates but because of his perseverance and seriousness
in studies, he became the ‘’emperor,’’ a title given to most outstanding student in class, in just a
month’s time.
Rizal studied at Ateneo from 1872-1877. In those years, he consistently showed excellence in his
academic performance. He passed the oral examination on March 14, 1877 and graduated with a
degree Bachiller en Artes, with the highest honors (sobresaliente).
Fr. Francisco Paula y Sanchez was one of Rizal’s beloved mentors in Ateneo. He was the one
responsible in honing the boy’s skills in poetry.
Extra-Curricular Activities at Ateneo
Aside from the academics, Jose also engaged into various extra-curricualar activities like he was
part of the literary group under the guidance of Fr. Sanchez, a member of a Marian Congregation
who were devoted to Virgin Mary, a member of the club of Natural Sciences. He also continued
his painting lessons under Agustin Saez, and he also studied sculpture under the guidance of
Romualdo de Jesus.
His literary skills were also sharpened because of his passion in reading. During his Ateneo days,
he was able to read and understand complicated novels like the Count of Monte Cristo written by
Alexander Dumas. He also read books in different areas; Cesar Cantu’s Universal History and
Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor Jagor.
Literary Works of Jose Rizal in Ateneo
Along with his success in academics, he also had various achievements in writing poems, essays
and drama in Ateneo.
Mi Primera Inspiracion (My first Inspiration) - a poem dedicated for his mother and the first
literary work he had as a student of Ateneo.
Un Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo (In memory of my town) - a poem written in honor of his
birthplace.
Por La Educacion Recibe Lustre la Patria (Through Education the Country Receives
Light) - A poem of Rizal that gives the importance of education for the development of a
country.
Alianza Intima Entra la Religion y la Buena Educacion (Intimate Alliance between
Religion and Good Education) - the connection between education and religion.

Student of Manila
(Universidad de Santo Tomas 1877-1882)

After finishing Bachiller en Artes, Rizal was sent by Don Francisco to the University of Santo
Tomas. Initially, Doña Teodora opposed the idea for fear of what had happened to
GOMBURZA. Despite this, Rizal still pursued university education and enrolled in UST. During
his freshman year (1877-1878), he attended the course Philosophy and Letters. Also in the same
year, he took up a vocational course in Ateneo that gave him the title Perito Agrimensor (expert
surveyor) issued on November 25, 1881.
In his second year at UST, Rizal shifted his course to Medicine. He felt the need to take up this
course after learning about his mother’s failing eyesight.
Rizal’s academic performance in UST was not as impressive as that in Ateneo. He was a good
student in medicine but not as gifted as he was in Arts and Letters. Despite this, he was still one
of the seven students who remained in the course in his last year at UST out of the original batch
of twenty-four.
Some of the historians who ventured in the life of Jose Rizal commented that Rizal had lower
grades in UST than when he studied in Ateneo and they attributed his low grades to the
discrimination that he experienced in UST. However, according to Villaroel and De Viana, Jose
Rizal was not discriminated in UST because first among other students, he was able to get higher
grades. Second the story of Placido Penitente in Physics class did not happen in UST because
personally Rizal took Ampliacion so he did not take physics in UST, third, the reason why Rizal
got lower grades in UST was the different distraction that he experienced while studying in UST
like his love life and group that he established (Compadrenismo).
The Literary Triumph of Rizal in UST
Like in Ateneo, Jose Rizal also had various literary works in UST. In 1879, Rizal joined the
Liceo Artistico-Literario of Manila and won the competition. He wrote the La Juventud Filipina
(To the Filipino Youth), this poem encouraged and inspired the Filipino youth to stand up and
work harder to attain the highest objectives
In April 1880, Jose joined the competition which commemorated the 400th death anniversary of
Miguel Cervantes. He wrote a play entitled, El Consejo de los Dioses (The council of the god’s),
a play which recognized Cervantes as equal to Homer and Virgil and even if the jury was
composed of Spaniards, they awarded Rizal the highest prize. Rizal’s triumph on the said literary
award was contested by the Spaniards who could not accept that the winner came from the
natives but the judges stood by their decision and on the time of the awarding the crowd which
was composed of the Spaniards did not applaud Rizal.
In 1882, Rizal and Paciano made a secret pact- Rizal would go to Europe to complete his
medical studies there and prepare himself for the great task of liberating the country from
Spanish Tyranny.
There were two reasons as to why Rizal decided to leave the country upon the advice of his
brother Paciano; 1.) To pursue his medical course and 2.) To observe the political situation in
Madrid.
The Loves of Rizal during his Teenage Years

Segunda Katigbak- Rizal experienced his first sweet poison of love in the personality of
Segunda Katigbak. He first met Segunda in Manila; she was with her fiancée and cousin Manuel
Luz. Because Segunda came from the richest family in Lipa, she was destined to marry her
cousin manuel who was also part of the wealthiest family of Lipa. In their first meeting, Rizal
noticed the charming personality of Segunda and to justify the feelings of Rizal to Segunda in
spite of his knowledge that she was already engaged, he said that Segunda showed to him her
provocative smile. For a year Rizal visited Segunda in her dormitory and she would make flower
roses for him. Jose could not express his true feeling for Segunda because of her engagement.
When the parents of Segunda found out about the constant visit of Rizal to their daughter they
asked Segunda to go back to Lipa. According to the Rizal diary, he bore the heartache that
Segunda brought him for two years-the feelings that he had no courage to admit.
Ms. L- another girl that Rizal courted after Segunda. The girl’s identity is not known even until
today. She was described by Rizal as having fair and seductive eyes.
Leonor Valenzuela- Jose also had a girl best friend named Leonor “Orang” Valenzuela which
according to Rizal “She is more of a friend”. However, the intriguing thing about Orang and Jose
was that they used invisible ink in their letters. And during the departure of Rizal going to
Europe, Orang knew of his departure while Leonor Rivera was not aware that Jose would leave
for Europe.
Leonor Rivera- During his education in UST, he and his other friends used to live in Casa
Tomasina at No. 6 Calle Santo Tomas, Intramuros. This place was owned by his uncle Antonio
Rivera, the father of Leonor Rivera. Jose Rizal fell in love with his thirteen year old cousin. He
used the name Taimis to call Leonor who, according to Rizal, had an oval face, charming and
had a sweet voice. In one conflict that they had against the Spaniards, Jose got hurt and Leonor
nursed him. Leonor and Jose were engaged and the reason why Jose did not have a serious
relationship with other women when he travelled to Europe was because he was committed to
Leonor. For eight years, Leonor waited for Jose and because her mother did not want Jose for
Leonor, she intercepted the letters of Leonor to Jose and the letters of Jose to Leonor. Leonor
thought that Jose had forgotten her and Jose also thought of the same thing. She decided to marry
an Englishman named Charles Kipping because of her mother but she had never forgotten Rizal.