Jose Rizal - the Social Historian

One of the great questions which has bewildered men for centuries is whether history makes men, men make history, or whether the forces of both are inextricably linked in their interactions. In the case of Dr. Jose Rizal, our national hero, it was the combination of both forces which shaped and determined his fate as a cultured "indio."

No Filipino belonging to the last quarter of the 19th century had studied Philippine history with more meticulous care and genuine devotion than Dr. Rizal. In his historical essay, Filipinas Dentro de Cien Años (The Philippines a Century Hence), published in series in La Solidaridad from September 30,1889 to February 1,1890, Dr. Rizal impressed scholars with his comprehensive and precise knowledge, not only of Philippine history, but also of the history of Europe. He was at home in Spanish history and was equally knowledgeable in the expansion of Europe in Asia and Africa and the growth and development of the American Republic. Endowed with great industry, encyclopedic knowledge, and an elegant Spanish style, he wrote, aside from his immortal novels, several popular and scholarly essays. A sampling of his publications which includes poetry, drama and folklore reflects his historical views and nationalistic sentiments. These are The Indolence of the Filipinos, The Specimen of Tagal Folklore, The Eastern Fables, The Truth for All,Sa Aking Mga Kabataan, Mi Ultimo Adios, and Junto al Pasig.What is perhaps more remarkable is that Dr. Rizal managed to turn his cascading energies to scholarship by not confining himself to any singular specialty or area of Philippine history. He was equally at home in poetry, drama, cultural anthropology, and lingusitics. He exemplified expertise in these multidisciplinary areas of learning.

Rizal was an earnest seeker of truth for truth's sake and this marked him as a historian. It is known how intently he sought the truth. His research took him to the British Museum, The India Office Library (which was housed then at the Foreign Office Building in London), the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and other similar institutions in Germany, reading and thoroughly studying the sources on Philippine history and culture.

A great mission lay just ahead. He then decided to undertake the annotation of Antonio de Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas published in Mexico in 1609, sufficient to occupy many months of full time work for most scholars. His personal friendship with Ferdinand Blumentritt provided the inspiration for doing a new edition of Morga's Sucesos. He did it without handsome scholarship from foundations. Devoting four months to research and writing and almost a year to get his manuscript published in Paris in 1890, his extensive annotations of Morga's work number "no less than 639 items or almost two annotations for every page." In the Prologue, Blumentritt had this to say:

"With