RAIDERS OF THE SULU SEA REFLECTION

The documentary film entitled “Raiders of the sulu sea” is about how the

Spaniards defended Fort Pilar. Fort Pilar was the base of defense built by the

Spaniards in the city of Zamboanga to control the economy of the Philippines in

the past. It also depicts the Southeast Asian flourishing free trading in the area and

the adverse effects and repercussions when Europeans such as the English, Dutch

and Spanish who wanted to control the economy as well to colonize and

Christianize. There were two kingdoms that initiated an attack to Fort Pilar, those

two kingdoms were Sulu and Maguindanao. The Raiders are from the different

tribes within Sulu. The tribes involved are the Balangingis, Illanuns and Tausogs.

These people are not only great at sailing, but they are also good in swordfights.

They wielded deadly weapons, were well organized and built formidable fast

warships that ran circles around the bigger and heavier Western ships. These men,

either sanctioned by their respective Sultanates or their own tribal leaders, defied

colonial occupation and rule, instigating a wave of terror throughout the

archipelago for more than 300 years.

As I watched the film, I noticed that the raiders were called pirates and I also

noticed that the battle between the colonizers and the raiders was not just about the

slaves but also about religion. I think the raiders shouldn’t be called as pirates

because they are not fighting just for their personal gain, they followed a purpose
to defend their land and for freedom. The Raiders fought the Spaniards because the

priority of the sultanates is to eradicate the presence of Spaniards. The retaliation

of the tribes was necessary as the Spaniards wanted to force their beliefs to the

tribes. Moreover, this documentary takes a significant part in the grand narrative of

Philippine history. Because for a century of having a war between the Spaniard and

the southern part of the country, the raiders of sulu played an important role,

besides from the fact of gathering the affluence and those slavery, they also

contributed to the anti-colonial movement. The documentary film provided all the

efforts of the Filipino people under the conqueror to regain the land that was stolen

from us from the very beginning for us to achieve the desire of having freedom.