Josephine Bracken
| Josephine Bracken | |
|---|---|
 Josephine Bracken in Filipino attire (1896) |
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| Born | Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken 9 August 1876 Victoria City, Hong Kong |
| Died | 15 March 1902 (aged 25) Hong Kong |
| Cause of death | tuberculosis |
| Resting place | Happy Valley Cemetery, Hong Kong[1] |
| Ethnicity | Irish |
| Spouse | Jose Rizal (?) (1896) Vicente Abad (1900-1902) (her death) |
| Children | Francisco Bracken Rizal (stillborn) Dolores Bracken Abad (1900-1987)[1] |
| Parents | James Bracken and Elizabeth Jane McBride |
Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken (August 9, 1876 – March 15, 1902) was the common-law wife of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal during his exile in Dapitan in the province of Zamboanga del Norte in the southern Philippines, till his execution on December 30, 1896 in Manila.[2][3][4] In the early hours on the day of his execution, the couple was married. But even though attested by Josephine herself and the officiating priest, the marriage is disputed by some because no records were found regarding the union, discounting the unusual events of that day.[5][6][4][7]
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Bracken was born in Hong Kong's Victoria Barracks on August 9, 1876 to Irish parents [4] James Bracken, a corporal in the British Army, and Elizabeth Jane McBride, who were married on May 3, 1868 in Belfast, Ireland. After her mother died shortly after childbirth, her father gave her up for adoption. She was taken in by a blind American George Taufer, a fairly well-to-do engineer of the pumping plant of the Hong Kong Fire Department, and his wife.[8]
[edit] Relationship with Rizal
Bracken later recommended that her blind adoptive father see Rizal, who was a respected ophthalmologist and had practiced in Hong Kong.[9] By this time, he was a political exile in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte in southern Philippines. Taufer's condition was beyond Rizal's help, but the physician fell in love with Bracken. They applied for marriage but, because of his writings and political stance the local priest Father Obach, only agreed the ceremony if Rizal could get a permission from the Bishop of Cebu. Either the Bishop did not write him back[10] or Rizal was not able to mail the letter because of the sudden departure of Mr. Taufner who was initially opposed to the union.[11] Mr. Taufner finally listened to reason, and Josephine accompanied her father to Manila on his way back home.
Before heading back to Dapitan to live with Rizal, she introduced herself to members of his family in Manila. His mother suggested a civil marriage who believed it as a lesser sacrament but free from hypocrisy, and would be less sinful to Rizal's conscience, than making any sort of political retraction.[2] Nevertheless, Bracken and Rizal, whom she affectionately called "Joe"[citation needed], lived together in Barangay Talisay in Dapitan. The couple had a child who was born prematurely, Francísco Rizal y Bracken, who died after only a few hours.[12]
The evening before his execution on December 30, 1896 on charges of treason, rebellion and sedition by the Spanish colonial government, the Catholic Church claimed that Rizal returned to his Catholic faith and was married to Bracken in a religious ceremony officiated by Father Vicente Balanguer sometime between 5:00 AM to 6:00 AM, the day of his execution (designated at 7:00 AM).[13][6] Despite the claims by the priest and Josephine herself, some sectors dispute this had occurred because no records were found later regarding the marriage (See Jose Rizal's retraction controversy).
[edit] After Rizal's death
Bracken promptly joined the revolutionary forces in Cavite province where she helped by taking care of the sick and wounded in the battlefield and boosting their morale[1], to helping operate reloading jigs for Mauser cartridges at the Imus arsenal under revolutionary General Pantaleón García.[citation needed] Imus was under threat of recapture so Bracken, making her way through thicket and mud, moved with the operation to Maragondon, the Cavite mountain redoubt. She witnessed the Tejeros Convention on March 22, 1897 prior to returning to Manila. She was later summoned by the Spanish Governor-General, who threatened her with torture and imprisonment if she did not leave the Islands. Owing however to her adoptive father's American citizenship, she could not be forcibly deported, but Bracken voluntarily returned to Hong Kong upon the advice of the American consul in Manila.[14]
[edit] Later life
Upon returning to Hong Kong, she returned to her father's house. After his death, she married Vicente Abád, a Cebuano mestizo, who represented his father's tabacalera company in Hong Kong. A daughter, Dolores, was born to the couple on April 17, 1900. Bracken died of tuberculosis on March 15, 1902, in Hong Kong and was interred at the Happy Valley Cemetery in that country.[1]
[edit] In popular media
[edit] Film
- Amanda Page played Josephine Bracken in Rizal sa Dapitan (1997).
- Chin Chin Gutierrez portrayed Josephine in José Rizal (1998)
- Lara Fabregas, played Josephine Bracken in Bayaning 3rd World (1999)
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d Fadul 2008, p. 18.
- ^ a b Craig 1928, p.215
- ^ Acibo 1995. p.110.
- ^ a b c Anderson 2005, p.132.
- ^ Craig 1918. p. 241-244.
- ^ a b Fadul 2008. pp. 17-18.
- ^ Younghusband (1899), p.132.
- ^ Craig 1918, p. 212.
- ^ Fadul 2008, p. 172.
- ^ Fadul 2008, p.21.
- ^ Craig 1918. p.213.
- ^ Fadul 2008, p. 38.
- ^ Craig 1918, p.242.
- ^ Craig 1918, p.259.
[edit] References
- Acibo, Libert Amorganda and Galicano-Adanza, Estela (1995). "Jose P. Rizal: His Life, Works and Role in the Philippine Revolution", pg. 110. Rex Book Store, Manila. ISBN 971-12-1837-0.
- Anderson, Benedict Richard O'Gorman (2005). Under three flags: anarchism and the anti-colonial imagination. Verso. pp. 132. ISBN 1844670376, 9781844670376. http://books.google.com/books?id=V_yqWb1Ba30C&pg=PA132&dq=August+9,+1876++bracken+josephine&hl=en&ei=R-HdTfeJAoKmugPY0JTKBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=August%209%2C%201876%20%20bracken%20josephine&f=false.</ref>
- Craig, Austin (1918). "Lineage, life, and labors of José Rizal, Philippine patriot". pg. 215. Yonkers-on-Hudson World Book Company.
- Fadul, Jose A. (2008). "Encyclopedia Rizaliana: Student Edition". Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-4303-1142-3.
- Younghusband, George John (1899). "The Philippines and round about". Norwood Press, MA.
[edit] External links
- Jose Rizal Website
- The Life and Writings of Dr. José Rizal
- Rizal Family Tree
- Lineage, Life and Labors of José Rizal at Project Gutenberg
