Jose Rizal

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Dr. José Rizal in 1896

José Rizal (Born José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda) is a national hero of the Philippines. In the country, he is sometimes called the "pride of the Malayan people". He was born on June 19, 1861 in the town of Calamba, Laguna.

Family and early life[change | change source]


Education[change | change source]




Political life[change | change source]


Rizal was not liked by those in power. He told people about the bad things that were done by the priests and the people working for the government, and this caused trouble for him and his relatives. Because of this, he and those who he knew were watched by the government. They made up bad things about him. When he arrived from Hong Kong with his sister Lucia, they said that in Lucia's luggage they found letters Rizal wrote that spoke about the priests in a bad way. Because of this he was put to jail in Fort Santiago from July 6 to July 15, 1892. He was made to stay in Dapitan and there he did farming, fishing and business. He also worked in a hospital. He taught others English and Spanish and the arts.

Later life and death[change | change source]

When the Philippine Revolution (the war of Filipinos against the Spaniards) started on August 26, 1896, his enemies went after him fast. They were able to get people to say bad things against him and connected him with the war. He was never allowed to talk to these people. Because the Spanish authorities thought he was responsible for the activities of the rebels, he was exiled to the city of Dapitan in Zamboanga, in the Southern Philippines.

From November 3, 1896 to the date of his death, he was held at Fort Santiago again. In prison, he wrote a poem with no title. It is now called Ultimo Adios and it is a famous poem in the Philippines. It expresses the hero’s great love of his country as well as that of all Filipinos.

After a trial by the military, he was convicted of rebellion (going against the government), sedition (making trouble) and of illegal association (having meetings that are not allowed by the government). He was punished with death by guns fired by soldiers on December 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan Field. He was 35 years old when he died. The place where he died is now a national park known as Luneta, and a monument has been built in his honor.