Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y Alejandro (May 11, 1818 – January 5, 1898) was the father of the Philippines' national hero
Jose Rizal
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galile ...
. He was born in
Biñan
Biñan (), officially the City of Biñan ( fil, Lungsod ng Biñan), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. According ...
,
Laguna
Laguna (Italian and Spanish for lagoon) may refer to:
People
* Abe Laguna (born 1992), American DJ known as Ookay
* Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist
* Ana Laguna (born 1955), Spanish-Swedish ballet d ...
. He had a wife named
Teodora Realonda y Quintos and had 11 children altogether.
Early life
He was one of the children of Juan Monica Mercado and Cirila Alejandro. His family had adopted the additional surnames of ''Rizal'' in
1849, after Governor General
Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa
Narciso José Anastasio Clavería y Zaldúa (Catalan: ''Narcís Josep Anastasi Claveria i Zaldua''; 2 May 1795 – 20 June 1851) was a Spanish army officer who served as the Governor-General of the Philippines from July 16 1844 to December 26 1 ...
decreed the adoption of
Spanish surnames
Spanish names are the traditional way of identifying, and the official way of registering, a person in Spain. They comprise a given name (simple or composite) and two surnames (the first surname of each parent). Traditionally, the first surname ...
among the
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
s for census purposes (though they already had Spanish names).
Like many families in the Philippines, the Rizals were of
mestizo origin. Francisco's patrilineal lineage could be traced to
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
in China through his father's ancestor Lam-Co, a
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
merchant who immigrated to the Philippines in the late 17th century.
Lam-Co traveled to Manila from
Xiamen
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
, China, possibly to avoid the famine or plague in his home district, and more probably to escape the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
invasion during the
Transition from Ming to Qing
The transition from Ming to Qing, alternatively known as Ming–Qing transition or the Manchu conquest of China, from 1618 to 1683, saw the transition between two major dynasties in Chinese history. It was a decades-long conflict between the e ...
. He decided to stay in the islands as a farmer. In 1697, to escape the bitter
anti-Chinese prejudice that existed in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, he converted to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, changed his name to Domingo Mercado and married the daughter of Chinese friend Augustin Chin-co.
Francisco Rizal was only eight years old when his father died. He attended a Latin school in Biñan, which his sons would later attend. He also attended the Colegio de San Jose in Manila, where he studied Latin and philosophy. He was described by Rafael Palma: "He was 40, of solid shoulders, strong constitution, rather tall than short, of serious and reflective mien, with prominent forehead and large dark eyes. A pure Filipino."
Personal life
Francisco married
Teodora Alonso on June 28, 1848, when he was 30 years old.
The couple resided in Laguna, particularly in
Calamba and built a business in agriculture.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercado, Francisco
1818 births
1898 deaths
People from Biñan
José Rizal