Camille Joy D.

Abragon Readings in Philippine History

BSESS I Midterm – Activity 1

Raiders of the Sulu Sea

Christianity appeared on our shores with the entrance of the Spaniards in 1521, but it was
halted in Visayas and did not reach the islands of Mindanao due to indigenous groups who were
unafraid of the conquerors. In 1591, the Spanish government has a tendency to conquer and occupy
Mindanao in order to convert the people to Christianity. The Spaniards wanted to control the commerce
of sulu and other regions of Southeast Asia, therefore they intended to take sulu and use it as a
springboard for an invasion of the Moluccas. As Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa gets speared in the
head by a kampilan in Cotabato, the Sultan of Tarnate launches a preemptive strike against the
Spanish, which is held in Pueblos in Visayas before the Spanish conquer them first. Due to blood ties
and previous alliances, sulu with Brunei and Maguindanao with Tarnate, they were unable to conquer.
They also received assistance and insinuations from the Dutch, making it more difficult for the Spanish
colonists.

The Moros raided numerous sections of Luzon and Visayas, carrying out piratical attacks on
some of those captured and sold as slaves. Jersuit missionaries asked Governor-General Juan Cerezo
de Salamanca to establish a fort at Zamboanga to prevent the looting and pillaging of Christians; by
1635, he had accepted the proposal as a staging attack to Sulu. Fray Melchor de Vera, a Jesuit
engineer, embarked on their journey in April 1635 with his thousand Visayan and hundreds of Spanish
construction workers to begin the construction of the fort in June 1635, which was continued by Gov.
Gen Sebastian Hortado de Corcuera, who brought more laborers to speed up the construction. The
money to build the fort is not an issue because the Spaniards imposed an additional tax called the
donativo de Zamboanga of ½ real to fund this project. Additionally, natives from Bulacan and Pampanga
chose to pay an additional tax of ½ real to protect the coastline from Moro.

Capt. Nicolas Gonzales fought and killed Datu Tagal, the brother of Sultan Corralat (kudarat)
of Maguindanao, in the battle of Punta de Flechas on December 25, 1636. To eventually subjugate
Sultan Corralat and capture Maguindanao, Gov. Gen. Corcuera assaulted Datu Tagal's brother. His
fleet sailed to Zamboanga in February 1636 to pick up Capt. Gonzales, whom they said was the hero
of the Battle of Punta de Flechas, and assaulted Sultan in March 1636. On March 14, they assaulted
the Lamitan, which fell into Spanish hands. On March 18, Governor General Corcuera chased the
surviving warriors in Ilihan, which also succumbed.The victories and construction of Fort Pilar in
Zamboanga did not halt the Muslim invasions in Luzon and Visayas until the early years of 1700.

Balangingi-Samal, Illanuns, and Sulu, also known as tausugs, were among the indigenous
communities who fought colonists. These indigenous organizations are not pirates, but rather the
resistance against the Spanish colonization of a certain area. Most of these pirates lurk in mangroves
and wetlands before abruptly drawing their swords on unsuspecting fisherman. The prisoners were
then carried onto a boat and sold as slaves in southeast Asian tribes. They claimed that slave-raiding
was part of a larger regional commerce in Southeast Asia's islands.

Background of the Author

• Icelle Gloria Durano Borja Estrada was born in Zamboanga City and received her bachelor's degree
in history education from Western Mindanao State University. She then went on to complete her
other degrees at Pilar College in Zamboanga City, the University of the Philippines Diliman College
of Fine Arts with a major in art history, and the Ateneo de Zamboanga City. She is an art collector
and a member of the national commission on museums of the Philippine National Commission for
Culture and Arts.
• Dr. Samuel Kong Tan, a Samal-Taosug-Chinese Filipino born in Siasi Sulu, earned his master's
degree in history at the University of the Philippines Diliman and his doctorate in philosophy in
interdisciplinary studies at Syracuse University in New York, USA. He is best known for his book "A
History of the Philippines," which briefly describes the Philippines' human history and culture.

• Prof. Barbara Watson Andaya, born on June 7, 1943, is an Australian historian and author who
specializes in Indonesia and maritime Southeast Asian history. She received her bachelor of arts
and diploma of education in Asian studies from the University of Sydney, as well as her doctorate
in philosophy from Cornell University with a specialization in Southeast Asian history and her
Masters Degree from the University of Hawaii. She is a full-time professor of Asian studies and the
head of the University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

• Dr. Julius Bautista is an anthropologist and cultural historian who holds a Doctorate in Philosophy
in Southeast Asian Studies from the Australian National University's Center for Asian Societies and
Histories. He is presently a Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore's Department of
Southeast Asian Studies. Catholicism in the Philippines, Comparative World Religions, Southeast
Asian material culture, Pain Nociception and religious ritual, Ethnographic practice and technique,
and Asian-Australian heritage study are among his teaching and research interests.

• Halman Abubakar is a Taosug and Jolo town councilor from the educated Abubakar Clan of Jolo.
He advocates indigenous martial arts "Silat" as a method of self-defense and honors the historic
and symbolic value of Taosug bladed weapons. He also shares his people's resentment with the
Western Colony and Filipino historians being characterized as "pirates."

• Dr. Margarita R. Cojuangco earned a doctorate in Philosophy of Public Safety from the University
of Santo Tomas, a Masters in National Security Administration (MNSA) from the National Defense
College, and doctorates in Criminology and Philippine History. She is a politician, philanthropist,
and socialite from the Philippines. She was the previous Chairman of the Kabalikat ng Malayang
Pilipino (Kampi) party, Tarlac's governor, an Undersecretary of the Department of Interior and Local
Government, and a member of the Council of Philippine Affairs. (COPA). She is a columnist for The
Philippine Star who ran for Senate in the 2013 Philippine Senate Election.

Life and Politics during the American Period

Before the American period, we all had the Spaniards who made us slaves, colonized
every island, and converted the indigenous populations to Christianity. After the Spaniards were
defeated in the Mock Battle of Manila in August 1898 by the American colonists, Gen. Wesley Merritt
began to create military governance under the American Colonial administration. The Paris Peace
Treaty was signed on December 10, 1898, and President McKinley issued his assimilation policy in the
Philippines. The military commander was enjoined to make this duty and extend American sovereignty
throughout the Philippines known to the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands.

On July 1, 1901, Merritt's military administration was replaced by a civilian government

formed under the Second Philippine Commission, led by William Howard Taft, the first American
governor general. With the assimilation strategy, the Americans pledged to teach us how to form a
government, which meant that Filipinos would need to be highly educated in order to participate in
government decision making or at the very least be part of government service. The American
educational system is different from the Spanish educational system in that there is no overall standard
set by one state institution for the curriculum, and the standards are left to the religious order; however,
this educational system was still allowed to operate during the American period. The American
education system influenced and introduced free elementary to secondary education, with the first
students graduating in 1908, the same year that the University of the Philippines was founded
 The Philippine Bill of 1902 was enacted in the United States Congress, requiring a three-
year national census and a two-year grace period to preserve peace, for a total of five years before a
national election. The first national legislative election was held on July 30, 1907, and the Philippine
Assembly was convened on October 16, 1907. Under the Second Philippine Commission, the new
administration turned the whole unicameral colonial government into a bicameral structure, with the
Philippine Assembly serving as the lower house and the Second Philippine Commission serving as the
upper chamber. The Nacionalista Party swept the Philippine legislature against the Progressive Party,
which has its own government, with Sergio Osmea, head of the Nacionalista Party, chosen as speaker
and Manuel Quezon as majority floor leader. The republican party's tenure in the United States
government ended in 1912, when Woodrow Wilson of the Democratic Party was elected President of
the United States.

Congressman William Atkinson Jones authored the Philippine Autonomy Act, often
known as the Jones Law of 1916, which established the organic law or constitution of the Philippine
Islands, following the Philippine Bill of 1902. President Bush signed the Jones Act. Wilson on August
29, 1916, this legislation is also for the construction of the Senate, which will eliminate the function of
the Second Philippine Commission as the upper body, while preserving the Philippine Assembly, which
will be renamed the House of Representatives and will operate as the lower chamber. The first election
was held on October 16, 1916, and the new legislature was inaugurated the following day. By
completing President's term. Wilson wrote to the United States in 1921, when about 96% of Filipinos
were already in government positions. Congress on the suggestion to grant the Philippines
independence.

Background of the Author

Alfred McCoy is a Southeast Asian historian who received his Bachelor of Arts in
European history from Columbia University in 1968, his Masters of Arts in Asian Studies in Southeast
Asian History from the University of Yale in 1977, and his Doctorate in Philosophy in Southeast Asian
History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Southeast Asian Studies. He is a painter,
columnist, and arts historian.

Vicente Sotto is the editor and publisher of The Independent. He was also a political and
social critic who addressed political and agricultural issues. Fernando Amorsolo began his career as a
political cartoonist at his newspaper, mocking the government on social and political topics..