PI 100 - Midterm

• And so, it is natural that the leader of the revolution becomes the principal hero of its people
• But in our case, the national hero was not the leader of the revolution, but rather, even rejected it, according to Dr. Pio Valenzuela (who was sent to Dapitan to invite Rizal to the revolution)
• American Occupation of the Philippines (1898-1946)
• Americans (WH Taft) suggested that Filipinos should have a national hero
• Why was Rizal chosen?

  • Aguinaldo was too militant
  • Bonifacio too radical
  • Mabini unregenerate
• Rizal was dead by the time American colonization started
• Rizal never advocated independence, nor did he advocate armed resistance to the government. He urged reform from within by publicity, by public education, and appeal to the public conscience.: 'Gov. W. Cameron Forbes'
• Rizal, in the Americans' eyes, was a safe fit for American colonial policy
• Rizal as a National Hero, Impacts:

  • Morong was renamed to Rizal
  • The Rizal monument was erected
  • Rizal day was established
• Arguments why Rizal should not be the national hero:

  • Rizal was aware enough of his world to criticize it, yet due to his Ilustrado and European upbringing, was not able to emphasize with the masses' desire for true Independence from Spain
  • His condemnation of the Revolution is indicative of his ilustrado character: he did not believe in the capability of the masses
  • He did not believe in independence, but instead, wanted to wait for Spain to eventually realize and grant us our independence
  • Constantino points out a recurring pattern in Filipino nationalism: The elite had a "subconscious disrespect" towards the masses and their ability to articulate their own struggle
• Historiography


  The study of the way history has been and is written—the history of historical writing
• Can history be truly objective?
• Factors that influence historical writing:

  • The topic you choose to study
  • Your argument
  • The sources you choose
  • Shaped by your own personal beliefs and that of your environment
• Sociopolitical factors of Constantino's time:

  • US presence in the PH
  • Cold War policy
  • Marcos Administration
• Towards a Radical Rizal/Rizal and the Revolution

  Floro Quibuyen's defense of Rizal, showing that Rizal actually gravitated towards a more militant approach regarding Independence
• Technically, the Philippines doesn't actually have a national hero legislatively
• Quibuyen criticizes Constantino's methodology, pointing out that he "cunningly omitted" parts of Rizal's letters to give him an image of a reformist
• Quibuyen argues that reform and revolution were not mutually exclusive and were viewed by Filipinos at the time as one and part of a long-term strategy of independence
• Rizal believed that pushing for reforms abroad became futile, and brought the movement back to the country in the form of the "La Liga Filipina"
• The Liga aimed to hasten the growth of a Filipino national identity, from which a revolution could be based upon
• Valenzuela later admitted that, because of his fear that his prison testimony might harm Rizal and other Katipuneros, who were also at that time in prison, he deliberately avoided implicating them
• The Katipunan looked up to Rizal, with his picture adorning the walls of KKK meeting rooms, "Rizal" as the password for the organization's highest members, and KKK meetings adjourned with "Long Live Dr. Jose Rizal"
• Rizal's thesis statement of his annotation of the Morga became the basis for the Katipunan initiation questions
• When Rizal died, Josephine Bracken, together with Paciano, went to join the revolutionary forces, and the Katipuneros viewed Josephine's arrival as Rizal's support and blessing for the Revolution
• Rizal was already a hero to his fellow Filipinos way before the Americans "made him one"
• Rizal and Bonifacio are not supposed to be made to clash against each other, as they complement each other
• Bonifacio's father served as Tondo's teniente mayor, he was able to attend a private tutor, and was literate enough to work in an international trading firm
• Our story begins, not in the Philippines, but in China
• Rizal's family background:


  • Cue Yi Lam, migrant from Amoy (Xiamen), China
  • Baptized as Domingo Lam-Co
  • Translated some Spanish Christian doctrines and was awarded the privilege of taking care of Dominican-owned land in Binan, Laguna
  • Eventually married Inez dela Rosa and took the name Mercado (after going into the merchant business and due to Xenophobia)
  • Francisco (Rizal's Father)
  • Juan Mercado (Rizal's grandfather)
  • Both became gobernadorcillos of Binan
  • Juan would father 13 children
  • Francisco, the youngest, sought his fortunes in the neighboring town of Calamba
• Teodora traced her lineage to the Lakandulas of Tondo
• Rizal wasn't paying attention to his Spanish lessons, he was fixated on the actual moths in front of him, where, just like in the story, had burnt themselves and fell into the hot oil
• "Kalamba is a very dreary town. The town has was merely a sugar shed; the streets are always muddy or dusty…" - John Foreman
• "He found it delightful to listen to the birds in his father's fruit orchard, and many years later could still remember the name of every tree."
• Other Facts About Rizal:

  • Jose had an "aya" (nanny)
  • Lost his sister when he was 4 (Concepcion)
  • When his tutor died, he was sent to his relatives in Binan to continue his schooling
  • Hated the village school and the headmaster, who was more focused on discipline than learning, and his schoolmates who bullied him
• Rizal was small, both in childhood and throughout his adult life
• Rizal often got into fights during his youth
• "couldn't take a joke"
• In the Noli, Ibarra proposes to build a modern schoolhouse
• Rizal wasn't also exactly fond of his Binan relatives
• When he finally went back to Calamba, he was "happy in my own house with the love of my family"