The final years of the 19th century marked the Philippines' first steps toward independence. During this time, a man with a brilliant mind dedicated his life to the reform of the Spaniards' rule in his home country. José Rizal was a medical student who advocated for peaceful political reforms through his writings. Although he never called for Philippine independence, he became an icon that inspired the Philippine nationalist movement.
Early years
The son of a wealthy landowner, José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born on June 19, 1861 at Calamba, La Laguna. The family were farmers who descended from a Chinese immigrant named Domingo Lam-co and changed their name to Mercado due to anti-Chinese sentiment among the Spanish.
From an early age, Rizal demonstrated exceptional skills in writing and reading; he could do both by the time he was five. At the age of 16, he graduated medical school at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila with the highest honours.
Life in Europe
In 1882, Rizal traveled to Spain to enroll at the Universidad Central de Madrid. He received his medical degree two years later at the age of 23 before graduating from the Philosophy and Letters movement in the following year. His mother's blindness drove him to pursue ophtalmology in the University of Paris and later the University of Heidelberg.
Among the many skills Rizal mastered, writing proved to be crucial in his fight for reforms. Published in Berlin, Germany, the first of his novels was Noli me tangere, or The Social Cancer, a virulent criticism of Spain's colonial rule in the Philippines and the Catholic Church's role. He also became the leader of the Propaganda Movement, a reform and national consciousness movement with its own newspaper, La Solidaridad, to which Rizal contributed many articles.
Exile to Mindanao
Rizal's book prevented him from returning to the Philippines in 1887. He continued to write, releasing a sequel titled El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed) five years later and calling for equal treatment of Filipinos and the limitation of Spanish churchmen' power through La Solidaridad.
He finally returned home in 1892 and founded the Ligo Filipino, which supported non-violent action. Although he never advocated for independence, the colonial government accused him of being involved in the rebellion and he was exiled to Dapitan City, on the island of Mindanao. His four years of exile was spent practicing medicine and teaching. Josephine Bracken, the stepdaughter of a cataract operation patient, stole his heart, but their application for a marriage license was denied by the Church.
Martyrdom and legacy
Despite his denouncement of the Philippine Revolution, which erupted in 1896, Rizal was arrested during his journey to Cuba as an army doctor. He was tried by court-martial and charged with sedition. Permission to marry Bracken was given two hours before his execution on December 30, 1896. He was 35.
Rizal death's amplified the rebellion against Spain's rule, which ended in 1898 with interference from the United States. To this day, he is remembered for his intelligence, compassion and literary works, including Mi Último Adiós, or My Last Farewell, which was written on the day before he died.
