Demystifying Jose Rizal

In my peripheral Southerner's view, Rizal was simply a Mestizo-Sangley ilustrado born to a family who made money from the cash crop boom of the 19th Century. His is a descendant of Dominador LamCo, a Chinese immigrant from Jinjiang, Quanzhu in China.

He was better educated than his countrymen because of the privileges of his class just like many of the Mestizos from Cebu's Parian District, a rich mestizo enclave in the 19th century.

In 1840, the port of Manila opened to world trade, years ahead of Cebu and Iloilo. It paved the way for the cash crop boom in Luzon. Just like the rest of the country, Mestizo Chinese traders were the ones who took most advantage of this opportunity as they were the only ones who had the capital needed to engage in plantation farming. Rizal's Chinese ancestors were among those who benefited from Spain's trade liberalization policy in the Philippines during the 19th Century. read more>>