The American

Colonial Period.
In consonance to the benevolent assimilation
policy by President McKinley was the American
provisional government in the Philippines which
were manifested by the establishment of both
military government and civil government whose
objective was to prepare the Filipino for self-
government in the ways of democracy once they
proved their worthiness for independence. Thus
President McKinley stated: “The Philippines is
ours, not to exploit but develop, to civilize, to
educate, to train in the science of self-
government.”
 1. What events brought the Americans
to the Philippines?
• Due to the growth of it’s economy, America needed to abandon its
isolationist policy because they needed extra markets to absorb
their surplus capital and products. Thus, America needed colonies
that would serve as its economic dumping grounds.

• America found out that Spain was the weakest among the
colonizers at that time and designed steps to justify the declaration
of war against Spain and take its colonies.

• Then on February 15, 1988, a very serious incident occurred, an

American warship in Cuba suddenly blew up and killed 246 of its
crew. The Americans held Spain responsible and declared war on
April 21, 1988.

• Since the Philippines was a colony of Spain, the Americans had to

go there supposedly to destroy the Spanish forces in the colony.
This was how the Americans entered the Philippines
 2. How did The Treaty of Paris annex
Mindanao into the former
colony of Spain?
• The US congress ratified the Treaty of Paris, an agreement that
ended the Spanish-American war and provided for the cession of
the Philippine colony to the United States of US$20 million. The
ratification of the treaty gained the negative response of Emilio
Aguinaldo and the Christian Filipino Revolutionists.

• Until 1898 the Spanish-Moro wars remained unfinished without

clear conclusion. There were in fact still 4 major states that
existed then in what is now Philippines namely: Felipinas (The
Spanish controlled territories of Luzon, Visayas and some parts
of Zamboanga), the Maguindanao Sultanate (which comprises
the south-central Mindanao), the Sulu Sultanate (and the Pat a
Pengampong ko Ranao ( which comprises the territories of Sulu
Archipelago and the area known as Borneo or Sabah).
 2. How did The Treaty of Paris annex
Mindanao into the former
colony of Spain?
• The US congress ratified the Treaty of Paris, an agreement that
ended the Spanish-American war and provided for the cession of
the Philippine colony to the United States of US$20 million. The
ratification of the treaty gained the negative response of Emilio
Aguinaldo and the Christian Filipino Revolutionists.

• Until 1898 the Spanish-Moro wars remained unfinished without

clear conclusion. There were in fact still 4 major states that
existed then in what is now Philippines namely: Felipinas (The
Spanish controlled territories of Luzon, Visayas and some parts
of Zamboanga), the Maguindanao Sultanate (which comprises
the south-central Mindanao), the Sulu Sultanate (( which
comprises the territories of Sulu Archipelago and the area known
as Borneo or Sabah)and the Pat a Pengampong ko Ranao (
which refers to the 4 municipalities of the Lake Lanao Region) .
 2. How did The Treaty of Paris annex
Mindanao into the former
colony of Spain?
• The last 3 states ( The Sultanates of Maguindanao and
Sulu and The Maranao Pengampong) used to be
independent to Felipinas, but when the Spaniards sold
Philippines, they included the entire Mindanao and Sulu in
the business transaction which the Moros vehemently
objected. They thought it was unfaisr to include them in the
Treaty of Paris since they felt that the Spaniards never
really succeded in subjugating the and, therefore, had no
right to sell them to America.

• As defined in the Treaty of Paris, Felipinas at this time

meant the Spanish-controlled areas of Luzon, Visayas, and
the whole of Minsupala, including the unconquered land of
the Maguindanao and Sulu.
3. What are the various stages of
the American occupation in
Moroland and how distinct were
the American Policies in each of
the stages?
 What were the various stages of the
American occupation in Moroland?
• The Philippines was ruled by the Americans in the
following ways: 1. Military government (August 14, 1898
– July 4, 1912) This government was run by military
generals appointed by the American president.

• They are bound together by religion, mostly Sunni

Islam, and have been fighting for independence, as
well as a desire to conquer the entire country, for well
over a hundred years. The Philippine military and police
are in a constant battle with Moros, and many are killed
on each side.
• In the decades since the conflict began, the Philippine
government—with aid from international mediators, civil society, and
non-governmental organizations—has drafted and reached various
accords with the Moro insurgent forces. Negotiations, while broadly
unsuccessful in achieving long-term peace, have at least been able
to shift the insurgent groups’ demands from independence to
increased autonomy within the Philippine state. Nevertheless, the
violent, extremely protracted conflict remains at an impasse. Many
feel that the prospects for peace are dwindling by the minute as the
conflict continues to devastate the Mindanao region.

• For the Moro people, the conflict is representative of their ongoing

effort to recover their sovereignty, an objective that the liberation
fronts are trying to achieve on their collective behalf. For the
Philippine government, the current goal is to keep secession at bay
and preserve the country’s “territorial integrity.”
How distinct were the American policies
in each of the stages?
With the establishment of the Philippine
Commonwealth in 1935, government policy
toward Philippine Muslims shifted significantly.
The Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes was abolished
in 1936 and with it the presumption that Muslims
should be governed any differently, or afforded
more protections, than any other citizens of the
Commonwealth. This change in attitude was
accompanied by a new policy priority: the
economic development of Mindanao for the
benefit of the nation, especially by means of
Christian migration into traditionally Muslim
regions.
How did American policy or
practice contribute to the
present Mindanao problem?
We see four major contributions of United States policy to the
Mindanao problem.
A. The forcible Incorporation of Mindanao and Sulu
B. The resettling Christian Natives on Mindanao
C. The discriminatory Land Laws
D. The attempt to annex Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan into
US territory
The Forcible Incorporation
of Mindanao and Sulu
• The first obvious contribution of the American to the
Mindanao problem was when they made Maguindanao,
Maranao and Sulu lands in the purchase of Felipinas.

• In the other words the US struck out three

independences from the sovereign states when the
Treaty of Paris was signed. They took away not only the
the indeendence of Aguinaldo’s Republika ng Pilipinas
but also of the Maguindanao and Sulu Sultanates and
Maranao as weel. Without these distinctions, the
muslims, christians, lumads became citizens of a
republic otherwise comprising of atleast three nations.
Resettling Christian
Natives on Mindanao
• After the subjugation of the Moros, Americans introduced
the ideas of resettling landless but industrious farmers
from Luzon and Visayas on Mindanao. This was meant
to ease the agrarian unrest brought about by thee
“traditional” hacienda system. They believed that the
Moros and Christians could be united in this scheme.

• The bringing over of Christian migrants on Mindanao did

not only generate further resentments among the
Muslims and Lumads, but created a permanent and
ready venue for frequent bloody physical encounters.
Apparently, neither was aware he was a victim of
fortunate colonial decisions.
The discriminatory
Land Laws
• The Moros did not unlike dislike the coming of
Christianized natives from Luzon and Visayas but also
the passing of several discriminatory land laws.

• These laws included:

Act of #496 of 902 ( The land Registration Act). This required
of the registration of lands occupied by private persons or
corporations. It also required

Act of #718 of 1903 This law declared null and void land
grants made by Moro datus/sultans and chiefs of non-
Christian tribes made without government authority.
The Mining Law of 1905 ( The land Registration Act). This law
declared all public lands of the Philippines as free and open for
exploration, occupation and purchase by citizens of the Philippines
and United States.

The Cadastral Act of 1907 This law was design to facilitate the
acquisition of free landholdings. It was allowed to educate the natives
(Indios and Non-Indios), bureaucrats, and other people to legalize
claims usurped through fraudulent surveys.

Act of 2874 of 1919 This law allowed Christian settlers homestead of

24 hectares while non-christians was only allowed only 10 hectares.

As consequence of these laws, many of the moros and lumads

would be marginalized and alienated. The Land Registration Act of
1902 and Public Land Act of 1903, in particular, were responsile for
turning many natives into squatters on their own lands. Aside from
the fact that many of them where ignorant of the process of land
registering and titling, the government did not exert enough effort to
assist the moros and lumads to acquire titles for the lands they wher
occupying.
Making Mindanao Part of
the US Territory
• American colonial policy also suffered from inconsistency
or was executed differently in actual practice. While it
made Mindanao part of the Philippine Islands under the
Treaty of Paris, certain practices also showed that
Americans wanted it for themselves. The administration
of the Moro Province unwittingly gave many American
officials and capitalists a reason to make it a permanent
territory of the United States.