Raiders

of the
Sulu Sea
CONTRI
BUTOR’S
 She is one of Zamboanga City’s premiere artist
A true Filipina painter and sculptor
She is currently working as an executive assistant in the Office of the City Mayor,
and
is overlooking the City Hall restoration.
She writes a weekly arts column
She does extensive research in the arts and culture of Zamboanga
A short history
of Raiders of
the Sulu Sea
⚔A historiography documentary film depicting the
Southeast Asia flourishing free trading in the area.
⚔ Adverse effects/ retaliation when Spaniards
wanted to control the economy as well as to
colonize and Christianize
⚔ Depicting how the Spaniards defended the city
with the Fort Pilar
⚔ Showed what was claimed then as pirates of the
Sulu sea from Mindanao, Philippines
⚔How these raiders were actually plying their trade
before and during the Spanish colonization of the
Philippines
⚔The Spanish established their colony on the
southern tip of Mindanao in Zamboanga. Fort
Pilar was constructed with ten (10) meter-high
wall fortification all around. This was the base
of the Spaniards to facilitate their trade.
Zamboanga is very close to Basilan, the Tawi-
tawi and Sulu group of islands and the
Maguindanao area where there we three
different tribes of seafaring Filipino Muslims.
The three tribes were known as Balangingi-
Samal, Ilanuns and Sultanate of Sulu, all which
were employing Taosogs who were excellent
warriors.
 Three Muslim Tribes
1. Samal Balangingi
 Raiding Tribe
2. Illanun
 Raiding Tribe
3. Taosug
⚔ Warriors
⚔The three tribes are not really pirates during the
times they were plying their trade of capturing
people and selling them as slaves. Slave trading
was a business then and they were not raiding
ships in high seas. What they did was go and land
in different shores posing as fishermen. Without
any warning, draw their 1-meter long swords and
take as many slaves as they can. Once captured,
the slaves’ palms are punctured and tied to each
other. The slaves are loaded in their 25 to 27 meter
by 6 meter boats that has 30 to 34 oarsmen and
sails. It was said that their boats were the fastest
that Spanish Galleons could not even give chase.
⚔The History documentary was actually
focusing on how the tribes were able to
organize a flotilla of a hundred ships or more
with more than 3,000 men. This happened
when the three tribes connived to raid Fort
Pilar. The Spanish were stricken with fear
upon seeing the number of boats and the
army they were to face.
Ancient
Maritime
Vessels
 Lanong
large outrigger warships used by the
Illanun and the Balanguingui people
specialized for naval battles
were prominently used for piracy and
slave raids from the mid-18th century to
the early 19th century in most of
Southeast Asia
 Garay
 traditional native warships of the
Balanguingui people in the Philippines.
 used for piracy by the Balanguingui and
Illanun people against unarmed trading ships
and raids on coastal settlements in the regions
surrounding the Sulu Sea.
 the name means "scattered" or "wanderer"
in the Sama language of the Balanguingui.
 were smaller, faster, and more maneuverable
than the Illanun lanong warships
 Salisipan
 auxiliary vessels
 usually part of fleets with larger motherships
like pangajava, garay, or lanong warships.
Among Malays, this type of boat is used as a
boat of war or passenger boat
 often used by the Illanun and Balanguingui
people of the Philippines for piracy and for
raids on coastal areas.
Lanong
 Garay

Salisipan
 Ancient
Weapon of the
Moro People
 Moro Kris
⚔A weapon of warfare
and ceremony
⚔ This are not only carried by slave r aiders into
battles but also by nobles and high ranking officials
of the Southern Sultanate
⚔ Double edged with either smooth or wavy blades
⚔ The curving is for easily slashing- it would
penetrate the bone and would stick making it hard
to pull
 Kampilan
⚔longest the sword , used by the Illanuns
⚔ heavy single edged sword often adorned
with hair to make it look even intimidating
⚔ at the tip of the blade, a projecting blunt
side was used to pick up the head of a
decapitated body
⚔ Deadly weapon sword used by the
Taosug warriors with single-edged leaf
blade made of thick tempered steel
⚔ Used to enclose hand-to-hand battle to
cut Spanish firearms down

Barong
Arrival of the
Spanish
Colonist
☞The presence of the Spanish in the Visayas and
Southern Luzon disrupted the spread of Islam
☞Opportunity to propagate Christianity in the
Philippines they landed in Luzon on the north
from here Christianity spread displacing Islam
and indigenous tribal beliefs.
☞When Europeans first came to this region,
aside from spices, woods, tin, and pepper that
couldn’t be found anywhere else are the
products that attracted them.
☞They wanted to be part and control the
process in the exchange in trade.
☞For the Muslim Sultanates eradicating the
Christian-Spanish presence in Zamboanga was
one of their top priorities
☞The Spanish established their colony on the
Southern tip of Mindanao in Zamboanga. Fort
Pilar was constructed with ten (10) meter-high
wall fortification all around.
☞Spain’s last stronghold and bastion of defense
and economic expansion in the South of the
Philippines .
☞Structure designed to withstand even the
destructive force of canon balls.
☞Defended by rows of Spanish artillery.
 Maritime Vessels
 were large, multi-decked sailing ships
 Slower than the warships of Sulu raiders
 Spanish Firearm
⚔ Had limitations and inaccurate
⚔ Took several steps to reload and only 3 shots per
minute

MUSKET
 The Destruction of Balanguingui
settlement, 1848
☞It was also seen as a struggle between freedom
and preservation of identity vs. oppression and
subjugation. In 1848, Spain with the acquisition of
powerful steamships from Britain succeeded in
gradually ending slave-raiding before 1898. They
destroyed Balanguingui settlements in Tongkil
island (now Balanguingui municipality). Panglima
Taupan eventually surrenderd after his wife and
kins were taken captives by Spanish forces: they
were relocated to Zamboanga.
 Steamships
 faster, easier to navigate and had various
armaments to take on the tribes.
 Advent of American Rule
• American rule adopted the same policy
towards the Muslim communities. Armed
resistance to US force in Sulu and Mindanao
were considered banditry and lawlessness and
were met with deadlier ferocity through the “
pacification” campaigns of US Generals
Leonard Wood and John Pershing who both
served of Governors of the American-
established Moro Province.
☞The Tausugs who dared like Jikiri and other
local datus (chieftains) to challenge US rule
were relentlessly pursued and killed by the
composite forces of US Army, Phil.
Constabulary (PC) and Phil. Scouts.
 Cessation of slave raiding
• Despite Spanish efforts to eradicate the pirate
threat, piracy persisted until the early 1900s.
Spain ceded the Philippines to the United
States as a result of the Spanish – American
War in 1898, after which American troops
embarked on a pacification campaign from
1903 to 1913 that extended American rule to
the southern Philippines and effectively
suppressed piracy
THANK
YOU!!!