NAME: ALLEN LLOYD N.

BUENAVENTE
SUBJECT: SOCSCI-111 LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL AND OTHER
HEROES

Jos Rizal called for peaceful reform of Spain's colonial rule in the
Philippines. After his 1896 execution, he became an icon for the nationalist
movement. Jos Rizal was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba,
Philippines. While living in Europe, Rizal wrote about the discrimination that
accompanied Spain's colonial rule of his country. He returned to the
Philippines in 1892, but was exiled due to his desire for reform. Although he
supported peaceful change, Rizal was convicted of sedition and executed
on December 30, 1896, at age 35. On June 19, 1861, Jos Protasio Rizal
Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born in Calamba in the Philippines'
Laguna Province. A brilliant student who became proficient in multiple
languages, Jos Rizal studied medicine in Manila. In 1882, he traveled to
Spain to complete his medical degree. While in Europe, Jos Rizal became
part of the Propaganda Movement, connecting with other Filipinos who
wanted reform. He also wrote his first novel, Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me
Not/The Social Cancer), a work that detailed the dark aspects of Spain's
colonial rule in the Philippines, with particular focus on the role of Catholic
friars. The book was banned in the Philippines, though copies were
smuggled in. Because of this novel, Rizal's return to the Philippines in 1887
was cut short when he was targeted by police.Rizal returned to Europe and
continued to write, releasing his follow-up novel, El Filibusterismo (The
Reign of Greed) in 1891. He also published articles in La Solidaridad, a
paper aligned with the Propaganda Movement. The reforms Rizal
advocated for did not include independencehe called for equal treatment
of Filipinos, limiting the power of Spanish friars and representation for the
Philippines in the Spanish Cortes (Spain's parliament).Rizal returned to the
Philippines in 1892, feeling he needed to be in the country to effect change.
Although the reform society he founded, the Liga Filipino (Philippine
League), supported non-violent action, Rizal was still exiled to Dapitan, on
the island of Mindanao. During the four years Rizal was in exile, he
practiced medicine and took on studentsIn 1895, Rizal asked for
permission to travel to Cuba as an army doctor. His request was approved,
but in August 1896, Katipunan, a nationalist Filipino society founded by
Andres Bonifacio, revolted. Though he had no ties to the group, and
disapproved of its violent methods, Rizal was arrested shortly
thereafter.After a show trial, Rizal was convicted of sedition and sentenced
to death by firing squad. Rizal's public execution was carried out in Manila
on December 30, 1896, when he was 35 years old. His execution created
more opposition to Spanish rule.Spain's control of the Philippines ended in
1898, though the country did not gain lasting independence until after
World War II. Rizal remains a nationalist icon in the Philippines for helping
the country take its first steps toward independence.

Jose Rizal Mercado attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, graduating

at the age of 16 with highest honors. He took a post-graduate course there
in land surveying.Rizal Mercado completed his surveyor's training in 1877,
and passed the licensing exam in May 1878, but could not receive a
license to practice because he was only 17 years old.(He was granted a
license in 1881, when he reached the age of majority.)In 1878, the young
man also enrolled in the University of Santo Tomas as a medical student.
He later quit the school, alleging discrimination against Filipino students by
the Dominican professors.In May of 1882, Jose Rizal got on a ship to Spain
without informing his parents of his intentions.He enrolled at the
Universidad Central de Madrid.In June of 1884, he received his medical
degree at the age of 23; the following year, he also graduated from the
Philosophy and Letters department.Inspired by his mother's advancing
blindness, Rizal next went to the University of Paris and then the University
of Heidelberg to complete further study in the field of ophthalmology. At
Heidelberg, he studied under the famed professor Otto Becker. Rizal
finished his second doctorate at Heidelberg in 1887.Jose Rizal lived in
Europe for 10 years. During that time, he picked up a number of languages;
in fact, he could converse in more than 10 different tongues.While in
Europe, the young Filipino impressed everyone who met him with his
charm, his intelligence, and his mastery of an incredible range of different
fields of study.Rizal excelled at martial arts, fencing, sculpture, painting,
teaching, anthropology, and journalism, among other things.
During his European sojourn, he also began to write novels. Rizal finished
his first book, Noli Me Tangere, while living in Wilhemsfeld with the
Reverend Karl Ullmer.Rizal wrote Noli Me Tangere in Spanish; it was
published in 1887 in Berlin.The novel is a scathing indictment of the
Catholic Church and Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines.This book
cemented Jose Rizal on the Spanish colonial government's list of
troublemakers. When Rizal returned home for a visit, he received a
summons from the Governor General, and had to defend himself from
charges of disseminating subversive ideas.Although the Spanish governor
accepted Rizal's explanations, the Catholic Church was less willing to
forgive. In 1891, Rizal published a sequel, titled El Filibusterismo.

Both in his novels and in newspaper editorials, Jose Rizal called for a
number of reforms of the Spanish colonial system in the Philippines.He
advocated freedom of speech and assembly, equal rights before the law for
Filipinos, and Filipino priests in place of the often-corrupt Spanish
churchmen.In addition, Rizal called for the Philippines to become a
province of Spain, with representation in the Spanish legislature
(the Cortes Generales).Rizal never called for independence for the
Philippines. Nonetheless, the colonial government considered him a
dangerous radical, and declared him an enemy of the state. In 1892, Rizal
returned to the Philippines. He was almost immediately accused of being
involved in the brewing rebellion and was exiled to Dapitan, on the island of
Mindanao. Rizal would stay there for four years, teaching school and
encouraging agricultural reforms.During that same period, the people of the
Philippines grew more eager to revolt against the Spanish colonial
presence. Inspired in part by Rizal's organization, La Liga, rebel leaders
like Andres Bonifacio began to press for military action against the Spanish
regime.In Dapitan, Rizal met and fell in love with Josephine Bracken, who
brought her stepfather to him for a cataract operation. The couple applied
for a marriage license, but were denied by the Church (which had
excommunicated Rizal).