José Rizal

Born in the Philippines during the time of Spanish colonization, Rizal came from a wealthy family and, like his protagonist in Noli Me Tangere, went to Europe in his twenties to pursue his studies. During this time, he banded together with likeminded expatriates and other anti-colonial sympathizers to advance the opinion that Spanish colonialism was a destructive force (though Rizal never publicly endorsed complete independence in the Philippines). Rizal wrote Noli Me Tangere while abroad, and when he returned to his country in the 1880s, he was accused of treason. In response, he traveled to Europe yet again and continued his writing and activism. By the time the Philippine Revolution began in 1896, he was back in the Philippines, though in exile in the city of Dapitan. At this point, he volunteered as a doctor treating the Spanish army, presumably to lift his exile. Unfortunately, though, he was arrested, found guilty of treason, and executed by firing squad, becoming a martyr for Filipinos struggling against colonialism.