Early Life:

On June 19, 1861, Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Alonzo y Quintos welcomed
their seventh child into the world at Calamba, Laguna. They named the boy Jose
Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda.
The Mercado Iamily were wealthy Iarmers who rented land Irom the Dominican
religious order. Descendants oI a Chinese immigrant named Domingo Lam-co, they
changed their name to Mercado ("market") under the pressure oI anti-Chinese Ieeling
amongst the Spanish colonizers.
From an early age, Jose Rizal Mercado showed a precocious intellect. He learned the
alphabet Irom his mother at 3, and could read and write at age 5.
Education:
Jose Rizal Mercado attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, graduating at the age
oI 16 with highest honors. He took a post-graduate course there in land surveying.
Rizal Mercado completed his surveyor's training in 1877, and passed the licensing
exam in May 1878, but could not receive a license to practice because he was only 17
years old. (He was granted a license in 1881, when he reached the age oI majority.)
In 1878, the young man also enrolled in the University oI Santo Tomas as a medical
student. He later quit the school, alleging discrimination against Filipino students by
the Dominican proIessors.
Rizal Goes to Madrid:
In May oI 1882, Jose Rizal got on a ship to Spain without inIorming his parents oI his
intentions. He enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid.
In June oI 1884, he received his medical degree at the age oI 23; the Iollowing year,
he also graduated Irom the Philosophy and Letters department.
Inspired by his mother's advancing blindness, Rizal next went to the University oI
Paris and then the University oI Heidelberg to complete Iurther study in the Iield oI
ophthalmology. At Heidelberg, he studied under the Iamed proIessor Otto Becker.
Rizal Iinished his second doctorate at Heidelberg in 1887.
Rizal's Life in Europe:
Jose Rizal lived in Europe Ior 10 years. During that time, he picked up a number oI
languages; in Iact, he could converse in more than 10 diIIerent tongues.
While in Europe, the young Filipino impressed everyone who met him with his
charm, his intelligence, and his mastery oI an incredible range oI diIIerent Iields oI
study.
Rizal excelled at martial arts, Iencing, sculpture, painting, teaching, anthropology, and
journalism, among other things.
During his European sojourn, he also began to write novels. Rizal Iinished his Iirst
book, Noli Me Tangere, while living in WilhemsIeld with the Reverend Karl Ullmer.
ovels and Other Works:
Rizal wrote Noli Me Tangere in Spanish; it was published in 1887 in Berlin. The
novel is a scathing indictment oI the Catholic Church and Spanish colonial rule in the
Philippines.
This book cemented Jose Rizal on the Spanish colonial government's list oI
troublemakers. When Rizal returned home Ior a visit, he received a summons Irom the
Governor General, and had to deIend himselI Irom charges oI disseminating
subversive ideas.
Although the Spanish governor accepted Rizal's explanations, the Catholic Church
was less willing to Iorgive.
In 1891, Rizal published a sequel, titled El Filibusterismo.