José Rizal

José Rizal (www.mananquil.com)

There were and still are many men and women who inspired nations but one stood out in the Philippines. The Spanish reined over the Philippines and one man took a stand. That man had the brains and courage to inspire a nation to stand up for themselves. José Rizal is a national hero of the Philippines.

José Rizal

José Rizal was born June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh child in a family of 11 children"(Montenayor). He was born into a poor family. His mom was teaching him how to read and write but he showed amazing artistic ability, astounding his family and relatives with his sketches and drawings."1877, at the age of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree."(Montenayor). "In 1878, he enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but had to stop in his studies when he felt that the Filipino students were being discriminated against by their Dominican tutors."(Montenayor). So he did something about it.

José Rizal (jru1919.multiply.com)

José Rizal used his brains to inspire a nation but ultimately it led to his demise. At the age of 16 he got his Bachelor of Arts degree, at the age of 23 he got the degree of licentiate in Medicine. He was a very smart man, so he used his brain to inform the world of the tyranny in the Philippines. "... with his annotations to prove that the Filipinos had a civilization worthy to be proud of, even long before the Spaniards set foot on Philippine soil; on September 18, 1891, EL FILIBUSTERISMO..." This was a title of a book written by José Rizal. The book exposed the Spaniards for what they were doing in the Philippines. It wasn't the book that inspired the nation, it was his death. After being accused of inspiring a revolution, although he did not want any part of violence, he was arrested and executed.

José Rizal was a national hero who inspired a nation to rebel. He was an intelligent man who helped his nation with his smarts.

Work cited:

Patzel, James "Rizal,José." World Book Student. World Book, 2010. Web, 27 Jan.

Jr, Epifanio San Juan. "Rizal,José (1861-1896)." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Ed. Suzanne M. Bourgoin. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale research, 1998. 17 vol. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL. 20 Jan. 2010

Montemayor, James. "Rizal,José." Rizal University 2005. Web.

"José Rizal." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 13. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 187-189. gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL. 20 Jan. 2010