RIZAL’S LIFE

AND

WORKS

RIZAL AND HIS TIME PROLOGUE

The world of Rizal’s Times

RIZAL AND HIS TIME

 To appreciate and understand the life of Dr. Jose Rizal, it is necessary to know the historical
background of the world and of the Philippines during his times. The 19th century when he lived was
a century of ferment caused by the blowing winds of history. In Asia, Europe, and the America’s,
events surged inexorably like sea tides, significantly affecting the lives and the fortunes of man kind.

BEFORE THE BIRTH OF RIZAL

 Feb. 19, 1861 – the liberal Czar Alexander II issued a proclamation emancipating 22,500,000
serfs to appease the rising discontent of the Russian masses.
 June 19, 1861 – the birth of Rizal, the American Civil war was raging furiously in the United
states on the negro Slavery.
 April 12, 1861 – the negro slavery in the United States erupted.
 September 22, 1863 – President Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation proclamation
 June 1, 1861 – Benito Juarez, a full blooded Zapotec Indian was elected president of Mexico
 Emperor Napoleon III of the Second French Empire with this imperialistic desire to secure a
colonial stake in Latin America invaded and conquered Mexico. He installed Archduke
Maximillian of Austria as a puppet emperor of Mexico on June 12 1862
 Because of the raging American Civil War President Juarez cannot obtain military aid from his
friend president Lincoln.
 Battle of Queretaro – President Juarez with the help of US troops defeated the Maximilian
forces and executed Emperor Maximilian. Thus fizzled out Napoleon’s ambition to colonize Latin
America.

THE BIRTH OF RIZAL

 Italians and Germans succeeded in unifying their own countries

 The Italians under the leadership of Count Canvour and of Garibaldi and his army of “ Red
Shirts” drove out the Austrians and French armies from Italy and proclaimed the Kingdom of
Italy under King Victor Emmanuel with Rome as Capital
 The Prussians led by Otto von Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor defeated France in the Prussians
war and established the German Empire on January 18, 1871, with the King Wilhelm of Prussia
as the first Kaiser of the German Empire.
 With the defeat of Emperor Napoleon his Second French Empire collapsed and over its ruin the
Third French.
The times Rizal saw the flowering of Western Imperialism

 England emerged as the world’s leading imperialist power

 During glorious reign of Queen Victoria the British people asserted: Britannia Rules the Waves
 Britain won in the first Opium war (1840-1842) against the tottering Chinse Empire under the
Manchu dynasty, and acquired the island of Hongkong (Fragrant Harbor)
 In the Second Opium War (1856-1860) Britain won again and forced the Manchu Dynasty to
cede Kowloon Peninsula
 After suppressing the Indian Rebellion and dismantling the Mogul Empire, she imposed her raj
(rule) over tub-continent of India. (India, Pakistan ang Bangladesh)
 winning the Three Anglo-Burnese war, she was conquered Burma
 Other Lands in Asian that became British colonies
 Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Maldives, Aden, Malaya, Singapore and Egypt
 In South Pacific they were able to get Australia and New Zealand

Other Imperialist countries that followed Britain’s example:

 France – Vietman, annexed Cambodia and Laos. Then merged all these countries into federated
colony under the name French Indochina
 Dutch – colonized the vast and rich archipelago of the East Indies and named it the Netherlands
East Indies (now Indonesia)
 Czarist Russia – conquered Siberia, Kamchatka, Kuriles and Alaska (which she sold in 1867 to the
US for $7,200,000
 She also conquered the Muslim Khanates of Bokhara, Khiva and Kokand in central Asia
 They also acquired Manchuria and as “sphere of influence” they were able to build the 5,800
mile Trans-Siberian Railway, reputed to the “world’s longest railroad” linking Vladivostok and
Moscow
 July 8, 1853, an American squadron under the command of Commodore Mathew C. Perry re-
opened Japan to the world (214 year isolation)
 Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito) modernized Japan by freely accepting Western influences, including
Imperialism. Fought against the weak China in the Sino-Japanese War, grabbed Formosa
(Taiwan), Pescadores and later annexed Korea.
 Germany was late in the scramble for colonies in Asia and Africa, turned to the Islands in the
Mid-Pacific world
 Ilties a German warship entered the harbor of Yap (an island in the Carolines) seized the island
and hoisted the German flag.
 Strangely, the Spanish Governor of the Carolines (Don Enrique Capriles) was present in the
island but showed no resistance
 The German seizure of Yap island enraged Spain who claimed sovereignty over the Carolines and
Palaus by right of discovery by Frnacisco Lezcano who named it Carolina in Honor of King Charles
II
 To abort the brewing conflict between the two country, both submitted the Carolina Question
to Pope Leo XIII for arbitration
 The Holy Father recognized Spain’s sovereignty over the island buy gave two concessions to
Germany
 the right to trade in the disputed islands
  the right to establish a coaling station in Yap
 Riza was in Barcelona when these thing are happening and the even wrote an article in the
Carolina Question at La Publicidad, a newspaper owned by Don Miguel Morayta
 While imperialist powers were enjoying the fruits of their colonial rule Spain who was once upon
a time the “Mistress of the World”, was stagnating as a world power.
 She lost her rich colonies in Latin America (Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador)
 The Central America countries (Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua,
Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia and Uruguay)
 Colonies that remained under her rule was Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines

The Philippines of Rizal’s Times

 During the times of Rizal’s, the sinister shadows of Spain’s decadence darkened the Philippines
Skies
 Evils during the Spanish rule in the Philippines:
 Instability of Colonial administration
 Corrupt Officialdom
 No Philippines representation in the Spanish Cortes
 Human rights denied to Filipinos
 No equality before
 Maladministration of justice
 Racial Administration
 Frailocracy
 Forced labor
 Haciendas owned by the friars
 Guardia Civil

Chapter 1

ADVENT OF A NATIONAL HERO

 Dr. Jose Rizal is a unique example of a many-splendored genius who became the greatest hero of a
nation. Endowed by the God with versatile gifts, he truly ranked with the world’s geniuses. He was a
physician (ophthalmic surgeon), poet, dramatist, essayist, novelist, historian, architect, painter,
sculptor, educator, linguist, musician, naturalist, ethnologist, surveyor, engineer, farmer,
businessman, economist, geographer, cartographer, bibliophile, philologist, grammarian, folklorist,
philosopher, translator, inventor, magician, humorist, satirist, polemicist, sportsman, traveler, and
prophet. Above and beyond all these, he was a hero and political martyr who consecrated his life for
the redemption of his oppressed people. No wonder, he was now claimed as the national hero of
the Philippines.

The Birth of a Hero

  Jose Rizal was born on the moonlight of Wednesday, June 19, 1861 between eleven midnight, in
the town of Calamba, Laguna Province, Philippines.
 He baptized in the Catholic church of his town on June 22, aged three days old, by the Parish
priest, Father Rufino Collantes, who was a Batangueño.
 His Godfather was Father Pedro Casanas, native of Calamba and a close friend of the Rizal
family.
 His name “Jose” was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the Christian saint San Jose (St.
Joseph)
 Lieutenant –General Jose Lemery the governor general of the Philippines when Rizal was born
(from February 2, 1861 to July 7, 1862), former senator of Spain (member of the upper chamber
of the Spanish Cortes). Among his achievements as governor were: (1) fostering the cultivation
of cotton in the provinces (2)establishing the politico-military governments in the Visayas and in
Mindanao.

Rizal’s Parents

THE HERO’S FATHER

 Francisco Mercado Rizal was born in Biñan, Laguna on May 11, 1818
 He studied Latin and Philosophy at the college of San Jose in Manila.
 He moved to Calamba and became a tenant farmer of the Dominican owned hacienda.
 January 5, 1898 he died in Manila at the age of 80.
 A model of fathers

THE HERO’S MOTHER

 Teodora Alonso Realonda was born in Manila on November 8, 1826

 She was educated at the College of Santa Rosa
 She was a remarkable woman, possessing refined culture, literary, talent, business ability and
the fortitude of spartan women.
 She died in Manila on August 16, 1911 at the age of 85.

THE RIZAL CHILDREN

God blessed the marriage of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso Realonda with eleven children
– two boys and nine girls, these children were as follows:

 Saturnina (1850-1913)
 oldest of the Rizal children
 Neneng – nicknamed
 She married Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tawan, Batangas
 Paciano (1851-1930)
 older brother and a confidant of Jose Rizal
 Joined the Philippine Revolution and became a combat general
 He died on April 30, 1930 an old bachelor aged 79
  Had two children (boy and girl) by his mistress (Severina Decena)
 Narcisa (1852-1939)
 Her pet name was Sisa
 She married Antonio Lopez (nephew of Father Leoncio Lopez), a school teacher of
Morong
 Olympia (1855-1887)
 Ypia was her pet name
 She married Silvetre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from Manila
 Lucia (1857-1919)
 She married Mariano Herbosa of Calamba, who was a nephew of Father Casanas
 Herbosa died of cholera in 1889 and was denied Christian burial because he was a
brother-in-law of Dr. Rizal
 Maria (1859-1945)
 Biang was her nickname
 She married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna
 JOSE (1861-1945)
 the greatest Filipino hero and peerless genius
 PEPE – nickname
 During his exile in Dapitan he lived with Josephine Bracken, Irish girl from Hongkong; he
had a son by her, but this baby-boy died a few months hour after birth; Rizal named him
“ Francisco” after his father and buried him in Dapitan.
 Concepcion (1862-1896)
 Her pet name was Concha
 She died of sickness at the age of 3; her death was the Rizal’s first sorrow in life.
 Josefa (1865-1945)
 Her pet name was Panggoy
 She died an old maid at the age of 80.
 Trinidad (1868-1951)
 Trining was her pet name
 She died also an old maid in 1951 aged 83
 Soledad
 Youngest of the Rizal children
 Her pet name was Choleng
 She married Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba

 Years later when he grew to manhood, he always called them Doña or Señora (if married) and
Señorita (if single). Rizal’s relation with his only brother Paciano, who was ten years of senior,
was more than that younger to older brother Paciano was a second father to him. He
immortalized him in his first novel Noli Me Tangere as the wise Pilosopo Tasio. In a letter in
Blumentritt, written in London on June 23, 1888, he regarded Paciano as the “most noble of
Filipinos” and “through an Indio, more generous and noble than all the Spaniards put together”.
And in a subsequent letter also written in Blumentritt and dated London, October 12, 1888, he
spoke of his beloved older brother, as follows: He is much finer and more serious than I am; he
 is bigger and more slim; he is not so dark; his nose is fine, beautiful and sharp, but he is a bow-
legged”.

Rizal’s Ancestry

 Rizal was a product of the mixture of races

 In his veins flowed the blood of both East and West – Negrto, Indonesian, Malay, Chinese,
Japanese and Spanish. Predominantly, he was a Malayan ang was a magneficient specimen of
Asian manhood.
 Domingo Lameo – Rizal’s great-great-grandfather on his father side. A Chinese immigrant from
the Fukie city of Changchow, who arrived in Manila about 1690. He became a Christian, married
a well to do Chinese Christian girl of Manila named Ines de la Rosa.
 assumed in 1731 the surname Mercado which was appropriate for him because he was a
merchant. The Spanish term “mercado” means “market”.
 Domingo Mercado and Ines de la Rosa had a son, Francisco Mercado, who resided in in Biñan,
married a Chines-Filipino mestiza, Cirila Bernacha, and was elected gobernadorcillo (municipal
mayor) of the town.
 One of their sons, Juan Mercado (Rizal’s grandfather), married Cirila Alejandro, a Chinese-
Filipino mestiza.
 Capitan Juan and Capitana Cirila had thirteen children, the youngest being Francisco Mercado,
Rizal’s father.
 Francisco Mercado studied in Manila and met and eventually fell in love with Teodora Alonzo
Realonda. They were married on June 28, 1848 and settle down in Calamba, where they
engaged farming and business and reared a big family.
 It is said that Doña Teodora’s family descend from Lakan Dula, the last native king in Tondo.
 Doña Teodora’s great grandfather was Eugenio Ursua (of Japanese ancestry), who married a
Filipina named Benigna. Their daughter, Regina, married Manuel de Quintos, a Filipino-Chinese
from Pangasinan. One of the daughter of de Quintos and Regina was Brigida, who married
Lorenzo Alberto Alonso. Their children were Narcisa, Teodora, Gregorio, Manuel and Jose.

THE SURNAME OF RIZAL

 “Mercado” the real surname of Rizal which was adopted in 1731 by Domongi Lamco (paternal
great-great-grandfather of Jose Rizal), who was a full blooded Chinese.
 Rizal’s family acquired a second surname – Rizal – which was given by a Spanish alcalde mayor
of Laguna, whoa was a family friend.

THE RIZAL’S HOME

 The house of the Rizal family, where the hero was born, was one of the distinguished stone
houses in Calamba during Spanish times. It was a two-storey building, rectangular in shape, built
of adobe stones and hard-woods, and roofed with red tiles.
A GOOD AND MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILY

 Principalia – a town aristocracy in Spanish Philippines, where Rizal’s family belong.

 It is one of the distinguished families in Calamba
 Rizal’s parents were able to live well by the dint of honest and hard work and frugal living. From
the farms, which were rented from the Dominican Order, they harvested rice, corn, and
sugarcane. They raised pigs, chickens, and turkeys in their backyard.
 Doña Teodora managed a general goods store and operated a small flour-mill and a home made
ham press.
 They owned a carriage, which was status symbol of the ilustrados in Spanish Philippines and a
private library (the largest in Calamba) which consisted of more than 1,000 volumes.

HOME LIFE OF THE RIZALS

 Rizal family had a simple, contented, and happy life

 Don Francisco and Doña Teodora loved their children, but they never spoiled them
 They were strict parents and trained their children to love God, to behave well, to be obedient,
and to respect people, especially the old folks.
 They give their children a sound spanking whenever they (children) got inti mischief.
 They believed in the maxim: “ spare the rod and spoil the child”
 Everyday, the Rizal heard mass in the town church
 They prayed daily at home – the Angelus and the rosary
 After family prayers, all the children kissed the hands of their parents

Chapter 2

CHILDHOOD YEARS OF RIZAL IN CALAMBA

 Jose Rizal had many beautiful memories of childhood in his native town. He grew up in a happy
home, ruled by good parents, bubbling with joy, and sanctified by God’s blessings. His natal
town of Calamba, so named after a big native jar, was a fitting cradle for a hero. Its scenic
beauties and its industrious , hospitable and friendly folk impressed him during his childhood
years and profoundly affected his mind and character. The happiest period of Rizal’s life was
spent in this lakeshore town, a worthy prelude to his Hamlet-like tragic manhood.

Calamba, the Hero’s Town

 Calamba was an hacienda town which belonged to the Dominican Order, which also owned all
the lands around it. It is a picturesque town nestling on a verdant plain covered with irrigated
rice fields and sugar lands.
 Laguna de Bay an inland lake of songs and emeralds water beneath the canopy of azure skies. In
the middle of the lake towers the storied island of Talim
 Antipolo a famous mountain shrine of the miraculous Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
 Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town) a poem he wrote on 1876 when he was a 15
years old and was a student in the Ateneo de Manila.
Earliest Childhood Memories

 The first memory or Rizal was his happy days in the family garden when he was 3 years old.
 The second childhood memory of Rizal was the daily Angelus Prayer
 Third childhood memory was the nocturnal walk in the town, when there was a moon
 The Hero’s First Sorrow
 Rizal first sorrow is the death of his little sister Concha (Concepcion) on 1865 at the age of 3
because of sickness.

Devoted Son of the Church

 A scion of a Catholic clan, born and bred in a wholesome atmosphere of Catholicism, and
possessed of an inborn pious spirit, Rizal grew up a good Catholic
 At the age of three, he began to take a part in the family prayers
 When he was five years old, he was able to read haltingly the Spanish family Bible
 He loved to go to church, to pray, to take a part in novenas, and to join the religious processions
 The scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez, the town priest that he used to visit and listen to his
stimulating opinions on current events and sound philosophy of life

Pilgrimage to Antipolo

 On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo, in order to
fulfill his mother’s vow which was made when Jose was born. It was the first trip of Jose across
Laguna de Bay and his first pilgrimage to Antipolo. After praying the shrine to the virgin of
Antipolo, Jose and his father went to Manila. They visited Saturnina, who was then a boarding
student in La Concordia College in Santa Ana.

Artistic Talent

 Since early childhood Rizal revealed his God-given talent for art. At the age of five, he began to
make sketches with his pencil and to mold in a clay and wax objects which attracted his fancy.

First Poem by Rizal

 Aside from his sketching and sculpturing talent, Rizal possessed a God-given gift for literature.
Since early boyhood he had scribbled verses on loose sheets of paper and on the textbooks of
his sisters. His mother, whoa was a lover of literature, noticed his poetic inclination and
encouraged him to write poetry. At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem in the native
language entitled “Sa Aking Mga Kababata” (To My Fellow Children)

Rizal as Boy Magician

 Since early manhood Rizal had been interested in magic. He learned various tricks such as
making a coin appear or disappear in his fingers and making a handkerchief vanish in thin air.
 He entertained his town folks with magic-lantern exhibitions
 He also gained skill in manipulating marionettes (puppet show)
 In later years when he attained manhood, he continued his keen predilection for magic. He read
many books on magic and attended the performances of the famous magicians of the world.
 In chapter XVII and XVIII of his second novel, El Filibusterismo (Treason), he revealed his wide
knowledge of magic.

Influences on the Hero’s Boyhood

 Heredity Influences
 Malayan ancestors – love for freedom, innate desire to travel and indomitable courage
 Chinese ancestors – serious nature, frugality patience and love for children
 Spanish ancestors – elegance of bearing sensitivity to insult and gallantly to ladies
 Father – profound sense of respect, the love for work and the habit of independent
thinking
 Mother – religious nature, the spirit of self sacrifice and the passion for arts and
literature
 Environmental Influences
 The scenic beauties of Calamba and the beautiful garden of the Rizal family – inborn
artistic and literary talents of Jose Rizal
 The religious atmosphere at his home – religious nature
 Brother Paciano – love for freedom and justice
 Sisters – courteous and kind to women
 Aya (nurse maid) – interest in folklore nad legends
 Tito Jose Alberto – artistic ability
 Tito Manuel – frail walking and restling
 Tito Gregorio voracious reading of good books
 Father Leoncio Lopez – love for scholarship and intellectual honesty
 Sorrows in his family – character, enabling him to resist blows of his adversity in late
years
 Aid of Divine Providence
 God – versatile gifts of a genius, the vibrant spirit of nationalism and the valiant heart to
sacrifice for a noble cause.
CHAPTER 3
EARLY EDUCATION IN CALAMBA AND BIÑAN

Rizal had his early education in Calamba and Biñan. It was a typical schooling that a son of an
ilustrado family received during his time, characterized by the four R’s – reading, writing,
arithmetic and religion. Despite the defects of the Spanish system of elementary education, Rizal
was able to acquire the necessary instruction preparatory for college work in Manila and
abroad. It may be said that Rizal, who was born a physical weakling, rose to become an
intellectual giant not because of, but rather in spite of, the outmoded and backward system of
instruction obtaining in the Philippines during the last decades of Spanish regime.

THE HERO’S FIRST TEACHER

 The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, who was a remarkable woman of a good teacher and
fine culture. On her lap, Jose learned prayers and the alphabet at the age of three. As Jose grew
older, his parents employed private tutors to give him lesson at home. The first was Maestro
Celestino, the second, Maestro Lucas Padua. Later an old man named Leon Monroy, a former
classmate of Rizal’s father became the boy’s tutor.

JOSE GOES TO BIÑAN

On Sunday afternoon in June 1869 Jose after kissing the hands of his parents and a tearful
parting from his sisters, left Calamba for Biñan. He was accompanied by Paciano, whoa acted as
his second father. The two brothers rode in a carromata, reaching their destination after one
and one-half hour’s drive. They proceed to their aunt’s house, where Jose was to lodge. It was
almost night when they arrived, and the moon was about to rise. That same night, Jose, with his
cousin named Leandro, went sightseeing in the town. Instead of enjoying the sights, Jose
became depressed because of his homesickness. “In the moonlight,” he recounted, “I
remembered my home town, my idolized mother, and my solicitous sisters.

FIRST DAY IN BIÑAN SCHOOL

 The next morning (Monday) Paciano brought his younger brother to the school of Maestro
Justianiano Aquino Cruz. Paciano knew the teacher quite well because he had been a pupil
under him before. He introduced Jose to a teacher, after which he departed to return to
Calamba.

FIRST SCHOOL BRAWL

 In the afternoon of his first day of school in school, when the teacher was heaving his siesta,
Jose met the bully, Pedro. He was angry at this bully for making fun of him during his
conversation with the teacher in the morning. Jose challenged Pedro to a fight. The latter readily
accepted, thinking that he could easily beat the Calamba boy who was smaller and younger. The
boys wrestled furiously in the classroom, much to the glee of their classmates. Jose having
learned the art of wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel, defeated the bigger boy. For this feat
he became popular among his classmates. After the class in the afternoon, a classmate named
Andres Salandanan challenged him to an arm wrestling match. They went to a sidewalk of a
house and wrestled with their arms. Jose, having the weaker arm, lost and nearly cracked his
head on the sidewalk.
The next morning (Monday) Paciano brought his younger brother to the school of Maestro
Justianiano Aquino Cruz. Paciano knew the teacher quite well because he had been a pupil
under him before. He introduced Jose to a teacher, after which he departed to return to
Calamba.

PAINTING LESSON IN BIÑAN

 Near the school was the house of an old painter, called Juancho, who was the fatherin-law of
the school teacher. Jose, lured by his love for painting, spent many leisure hours at the painter’s
studio. Old Juancho freely gave him lessons in drawing and painting. He was impressed by the
artistic talent of the Calamba lad. Jose and hi classmate, Jose Guevarra, who also loved painting,
became apprentices of the old painter. They improved their art, so that in due time they became
“the favorite painters of the class’.

DAILY LIFE IN BIÑAN

 Jose led a methodical life in Biñan, almost Spartan in simplicity. Such a life contributed much
to his future development. It strengthened his body and soul.

BEST STUDENT IN SCHOOL

 In academic studies, Jose beat all Biñan boys. He surpassed them all in Spanish, Latin, and
other subjects. Some of her older classmates were jealous of his intellectual superiority. They
wickedly squealed to the teacher whenever Jose had a fight outside the school, even told lies to
discredit hi before the teacher’s eyes.
Consequently the teacher had to punish Jose. Thus Rizal said that “in spite of the reputation I
had of being a good boy, the day was unusual when I was not laid out on a bench and given five
or six blows.”

END OF BIÑAN SCHOOLING

 Before the Christmas season in 1870, Jose received a letter from his sister Saturnina, informing
him of the arrival of the steamer Talim which would take him from Biñan to Calamba. He left
Biñan on Saturday afternoon, December 17, 1870, after one year and a half of schooling in that
town. He was thrilled to take passage on the steamer Talim, for it was the first time he ever rode
on a steamer. On board on a Frenchman named Arthuro Camps, a friend of his father, who took
care of him.

MARTYRDOM OF GOM-BUR-ZA
 On the night of January 20, 1872, about 200 Filipino soldiers and workmen of the id. Filipino
sergeant, rose in violent mutiny because of the abolition of their usual privileges, including
exemption from tribute and polo (forced labor) by the reactionary Governor Rafael de Izquierdo.
Unfortunately, this Cavite Mutiny was suppressed two days later by troop reinforcements from
Manila. The Spanish authorities, in order to liquidate Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and
Jacinto Zamora, leaders of the secular movement to filipinize the Philippines parishes, and their
supporters, (Jose Ma. Basa, Attorneys Joaquin Pardo Te Tavera and Antonio Ma. Regidor)
magnified the failes mutiny into a “revolt” for the Philippines independence. Paciano enraged by
the execution of Burgos, his beloved friend, teacher, and housemate, quit his studies at the
college of San Jose and returned to Calamba, where he told the heroic story of Burgos to his
younger brother Jose, who was then nearly eleven years old.

 The martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Zain 1872 truly inspired Rizal to fight the evils of Spanish tyranny
and redeem his oppressed people. And later, in 1891, he dedicated his second novel, El
Filibusterismo, to Gom-Bur-Za.

INJUSTICE TO HERO’S MOTHER

 Before June of 1872, tragedy stuck the Rizal family. Doña Teodora was suddenly arrested on a
malicious charge that she and her brother, Jose Alberto, tried to poison the latter’s perfidious
wife. Jose Alberto , a rich Biñan ilustrado, had just returned from a business trip in Europe.
During his absence his wife abandoned their home and children. When he arrive in Biñan, he
found her living with another man. Doña Teodora, to avert family scandal, persuaded him to
forgive his wife. However, the evil wife, with the connivance of the Spanish lieutenant of the
Guardia Civil, filed a case in court accusing her husband and Doña Teodora of attempting to
poison her. After arresting Doña Teodora, the sadistic Spanish lieutenant forced her to walk
from Calamba to Santa Cruz (capital of Laguna Province), a distance of 50 kilometers. Upon
arrival in Santa Cruz, she was incarcerated at the provincial prison, where she languished for two
years and a half unti the Manila Royal Audencia (supreme court) acquitted her of the alleged
crime.