JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the Philippines and pride of the Malayan race, was born on June 19, 1861, in the town of Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh child in a family of 11 children (2 boys and 9 girls). Both his parents were educated and belonged to distinguished families. His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, an industrious farmer whom Rizal called "a model of fathers," came from Biñan, Laguna; while his mother, Teodora Alonzo y Quintos, a highly cultured and accomplished woman whom Rizal called "loving and prudent mother," was born in Meisic, Sta. Cruz, Manila.

Jose Rizal’s Ancestors
He had Chinese blood from his father’s side and Spanish and Japanese blood from his mother’s side. Recent genealogical research even traces him to Lacan Dula (one of the chiefs met by the first Spaniards in Manila). His paternal ancestor was Lam-Co, an immigrant from Fujian (Jinjiang, Quanzhou), South China. At the age of 35, Lam-co was baptized in 1697. He became Domingo Lam-co. Lam-co had a distinguished lineage. He belonged to the Cua clan of south China. The Cuas today are prosperous and distinguished families in Asia. The Cuas are a very ancient line, which can be traced to many generations to the times when unified China was still non-existent. They are the descendants of Shu Du, the 5th son of Zhou Wu Wang, the political genius who started the Chou dynasty. It was 600 years later when his descendants formalized the usage of the surname Cai. Domingo Lam-co, Rizal’s great-great- grandfather, was the 19th generation descendant of the Cai Shu Du. In his baptismal record, his parents were listed as Siong-co and Jun-nio. He settled in Biñan, Laguna on the Dominican estate called San Isidro Labrador. Domingo’s son was Francisco I, the first to use Mercado (Spanish for market) as a surname. It described the livelihood of Domingo’s family since they were traders. * Later, Francisco II, Francisco I’s grandson, Rizal’s father, changed the family name in 1859 to Rizal to suit his farming business. Rizal is derived from the Spanish ricial, which means green fields. He now lived in Calamba. The Rizals were prosperous farmers who were granted the lease of a hacienda by the Dominicans . But after a few years he just used Mercado. Despite the many bloody persecutions that the Chinese and Chinese mestizos suffered from the Spaniards, the ancestors of Rizal survived. From this strength of character, no doubt, Rizal got his ability to remain calm and composed even in the face of adversaries. At the hour of execution, the doctor found his pulse to be normal. Jose Rizal’s parents were Francisco Rizal Mercado (1818–1898) and Teodora Alonzo Realonda (1826–1911). Rizal was the seventh child of their eleven children.

Events that occurred around the birth date of Jose Rizal

There were many events that occurred around the birth date of Jose Rizal.
The 1860s are renowned for being a significantly turbulent decade, with the number of major social, cultural and political changes that occurred in that period, in places such as Europe and America. There were many revolutions in both Germany and the Ottoman Empire, with the abolition of slavery also leading to the end of the Atlantic Slave Trade in Europe. It was already suffering following the abolition between the 1820s and 1830s, and by the 60s, it was nearly dead and buried. Looking at the USA, there was a significant civil war between the Confederacy of the South and Northern states, which led to masses of deaths and destruction to the people and cities, including Atlanta, Richmond in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Once the Civil War subsided, there was more trouble to be seen, with the white supremacist group the "Ku Klux Klan" growing in numbers and support during the Reconstruction period. The effects of the KKK in regards to black people living in America at the time were terrible and can still sometimes be noticed in modern day societies. Jose Rizal was a Filipino polymath and, arguably, the most significant advocate for the reform in the Philippines during the time of the Spanish colonial era. He is listed today as one of the national heroes of the Philippines, awarded by the National Heroes Committee. The day of his death in 1896 is still marked annually as Rizal Day, which is now a Philippine national holiday. This was also a prominent cause of the Philippine Revolution. Rizal himself was of a good background, born to rich parents and became one of seven siblings. He pursued a path towards the arts, earning a Bachelor of Arts, but then went on to enroll in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas. By the end of his study, he had earned two doctorates.

Why do I need to study Jose Rizal’s life, works and writings in my course?

I need to study Jose Rizal’s life, works, and writings in my course because as we all know he is our national hero. He was able to awaken all the Filipino from the hands of the Spaniards. And because of his works and writings he was able to give an important change in our country. I, as a student in my course should set Jose Rizal as my inspiration in achieving my goal to contribute a change for the goodness of our country.

What are the characteristics I know about Rizal?

Rizal is an optimistic person in a way that he thinks he can do something for the Filipino through his works and writings. He is also a motivated person and someone who does anything he thinks is right. And because of those characteristics, he was able to reveal the truth and help the Filipino to get the freedom they deserve.