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11 Sibling of Rizal and Family Background Birth and Family Life

Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna to Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso Realonda. He was the seventh of 11 children. Rizal's family was of mixed ancestry including Negrito, Malay, Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish. Though the original surname was Mercado, an alcalde mayor added Rizal to the name in 1731 to distinguish them from other families with the surname Mercado. However, Rizal's own family continued using Mercado and Rizal felt he was seen as an "illegitimate son" for using the surname Rizal alone.

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239K views

11 Sibling of Rizal and Family Background Birth and Family Life

Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna to Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso Realonda. He was the seventh of 11 children. Rizal's family was of mixed ancestry including Negrito, Malay, Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish. Though the original surname was Mercado, an alcalde mayor added Rizal to the name in 1731 to distinguish them from other families with the surname Mercado. However, Rizal's own family continued using Mercado and Rizal felt he was seen as an "illegitimate son" for using the surname Rizal alone.

Uploaded by

Li Ari
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Abelarde, Jessa mae

IT21FA2/

11 SIBLING OF RIZAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND


Birth and Family Life
Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861. It was a Wednesday evening in Calamba, Laguna, and
his mother nearly died in the process. He was baptized three days later, on June 22, by the
parish priest of the Catholic church in his town, Fr. Rufino Collantes from Batangas. His
godfather, Fr. Pedro Casanas, was a close family friend. Rizal's mother named him after St.
Joseph, to whom she was ardently devoted.
RIZAL'S FAMILY

Francisco Mercado Rizal was born on May 11, 1818 in Binan, Laguna. He was a graduate of
the College of San Jose in Manila, studying Latin and Philosophy. Francisco moved to Calamba
to become a tenant-farmer of a hacienda owned by the Dominicans. He died at the age of 80
on January 5, 1898 in Manila. About his father, Jose Rizal says that he is "a model of fathers."

Teodora Alonso Realonda was born on November 8, 1826 in Manila. She was a graduate of the
College of Santa Rosa. She died at the age of 85 on August 16, 1911 in Manila. About his
mother, Jose Rizal says, "My mother is a woman of more than ordinary culture; she knows
literature and speaks Spanish better than I. She corrected my poems and gave me good advice
when I was studying rhetoric. She is a mathematician and has read many books."

Rizal is the seventh of eleven children:


1. Saturnina

2.Paciano
3.Narcisa
4.Olimpia
5.Lucia
6. Maria
7.Jose
8.Concepcion
9.Josefa
10.Trinidad
11.Soledad
Rizal's family was a mixture of races. They were a combination of Negrito, Malay, Indonesian,
Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish, though Jose was predominantly Malayan.

THE SURNAME

Mercado was the original surname of the Rizal family. Domingo Lamco, Jose's great-greatgrandfather, adopted the name Rizal in 1731 and it became a second surname of the family. In
Jose's letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt, he says:

"I am the only Rizal in because at home my parents, my sisters my brother, and my relatives
have always preferred our old surname Mercado. Our family name was in fact Mercado, but
there were many Mercados in the Philippines who are not related to us. It is said that an alcalde
mayor, who was a friend of our family added Rizal to our name. My family did not pay much
attention to this, but now I have to use it. In this way, it seems that I am an illegitimate son."

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