Domingo Lam-co

Domingo Lam-co (Chinese: 柯仪南; pinyin: Ke Yinan), a Chinese immigrant entrepreneur from Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian, China. Lamco is the great-great-grandfather of Dr. Jose Rizal.

Domingo Lam-co changed his family's surname to the Spanish-sounding name "Mercado" to spare his descendants from the anti-Chinese policies of the Spanish authorities. (It means "market" signifying their sangley origins.) He was a fearless entrepreneur who achieved business success despite cruel odds during the Spanish Colonial Period. (There were four sangley massacres in Spanish Philippines during the 17th century.) He was baptized in the Catholic Church of Manila's Parían (Chinese ghetto near Intramuros) in June 1697 at age 35. Domingo Lam-co later moved to Biñan, Laguna where he prospered and became a leader of the Chinese community.

Domingo Lam-co wed Inez de la Roza, daughter of Agustin Chinco. Lam-co's son Francisco Mercado and grandson Juan Mercado both served as distinguished mayors of Biñan for five terms. While serving as mayor of Biñan, Juan Mercado changed the tribute list so that his family was reclassified as indio from mestizo de sangley. His son and the father of Dr. Jose Rizal -- also named Francisco Mercado -- changed their family name from "Mercado" to "Rizal". However, Dr. Jose Rizal was the only one to use the new name "Rizal"; the rest of his family continued to use the old name "Mercado".

Descendants

Under the Spanish Caste System in the Philippines, all the patrilineal descendants of the original Catholic sangley who intermarried with an indio women were legally classified as mestizo de sangley no matter how much indio blood they may have in their veins. The statutory class of mestizo de sangley was defined by law; legal status was printed on the cedula or community tax certificate which determined the amount of tribute tax one had to pay. Most of the Catholic sangleys and their mixed-race mestizos de sangley descendants resided in Binondo, Manila.

: {| class="wikitable"

|- ! Rizal's Patrilineal Ancestors ! Legal Event ! Ethnic Status |- | Domingo Lam-co | Baptized at age 35 and settled in Biñan, Laguna | Catholic sangley |- | Francisco Mercado | Given the family surname "Mercado" to signify their sangley roots | mestizo de sangley |- | Juan Mercado | Changed the tribute list of Biñan to reclassify his family as indios | mestizo de sangley |- | Francisco Mercado | Changed family name from "Mercado" to "Rizal" | mestizo de sangley |- | Jose Rizal y Mercado | Objected to his classification as mestizo de sangley on his death sentence | mestizo de sangley |}