BRIEF HISTORY OF

MINDANAO ISLAND

Prepared by : Precean C. Serra

BTVTE FSM 3A
 At the beginning of the 20th century, the
Lumads controlled an area which now covers
17 of Mindanao's 24 provinces, but by the
1980 census, they constituted less than 6% of
the population of Mindanao and Sulu. Heavy
migration to Mindanao of Visayans, spurred by
government-sponsored resettlement programs,
turned the indigenous Lumads and Moros
into minorities.
 Snoradic fighting took place in 1901 and
1903. Moros attacked the American
troops Lake Lanao, in Mindanao. The best
known of the American-Moro battles
occurred In March 1906 at the top of
Mount Dajo on the island of Jolo. Six
hundred Moro who had inbon refuge inside
a massive volcanic crater were killed by
troops under Gen. Leonard Wood.
Many women and children were killed in the
fight. Wood came under severe Liricism in
the U.S. Congress because of that. He was
later absolved of any wrongdoing W. Pres.
Theodore Roosevelt. Renewed hostilities
occurred in September 1911 and June 1913.
Fighting ceased after that, although Moro
separatist movements continued into the 21st
century.
 The Americans continued the colonization
program on Mindanao. In the 1930s, the US
authorities encouraged Christians to migrate
to the southern region of Mindanao, which
was mostly populated by Muslims. On
February 27, 1939. The 62 pioneers
(primarily agricultural and trade graduates)
were the first big batch of settlers to land in
GenSan with the mission to industriously
cultivate GenSan's fertile expanse of land.
After this first influx of pioneers, thousands more
from Luzon and the Visayas have subsequently
migrated into the area. This movement started the
displacement of some native B’laan tribe to the
mountains and lost their livelihood (Hall, 2010).
The migrants were on the advantaged side in
legally securing lands. The migrants made it
difficult for the indigenous people and
Muslims to own their farmlands because they
did not have land titles to prove ownership.
So, the migrant Christians usually won over
land disputes that tremendously increased
both their properties and their population as
years passed.
 The Americans used their control over
property and land laws to let American
corporations and Christian settlers take over
native resources. They deprived the Moro
Sultanates in the west of self-governance,
and independence. Ilokanos, Cebuanos, and
Illongos streamed into Moro territories in
the western and central portions of
Mindanao.
 These resulted in armed struggles.
The natives, especially those who
refused to convert to Christianity,
became victims of land-grabbing by
the migrants who were promised vast
and fertile lands by the government.
 Massive Filipino Christian settlements
continued after the Philippines became
independent from America. The Americans
passed the rule to the Christian Filipinos. Land
disputes between the Christian settlers and the
Muslims and the tribal natives broke out into
violence. Then, the Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF) was formed, and the Moro
armed insurgency against the Philippine rule
happened.
Because of this strife between the two
groups, the Philippine government
encouraged Filipino Christians in
Mindanao to form militias called Ilaga
to counter the Moro insurgency. The
Ilaga was responsible for the killings
and other atrocities in Mindanao. They
were responsible for the Manili
massacre in June 1971, which killed 65
Muslim civilians in a Mosque.
Davao in Mindanao had a sizable population
of Japanese immigrants. The migration of
the Japanese plantation workers flourished
in Davao even in the early period of 1900's.
They controlled the entire abaca industry
under the American regime. Davao became
the biggest producer of abaca in the whole
country during the period.
Substantial commercial interests such as
copra, timber, fishing, import, and
export trading prospered (Cantal et al.,
2014). The Moros hated these Japanese
immigrants and fought the Japanese
invaders when they landed at Davao in
Mindanao.
In the 1950s, there was an unprecedented
influx of migrants from other parts of the
Philippines to Mindanao particularly to
Davao due to the economic opportunities
it offered. In the 1960's, the banana and
pineapple plantation industries became
the source of development. However,
social unrest was also prevalent (Cantal
et al., 2014).
In 1969, Muslim scholar Nur Misuari established
the Mora National Liberation Front (MNLF),
which begins an armed campaign to put up a
separate Islamic state in the southern third of the
country. Between the years 1972-1976, the
fighting raged between government forces and
the MNLF, which is supported by some Muslim
nations. Thousands were killed, with whole
towns destroyed in the violence.
In 1976, under a deal brokered by the Organization
of Islamic Conference (OIC), the MNLF signed an
agreement with the Marcos administration to end
hostilities in exchange for the government working
to grant greater autonomy in Muslim-populated
areas. In the year 1977, Misuari's deputy, Hashim
Salamat, led a group of key commanders in
splitting from the MNLF.
They were unhappy with Misuari's compromise and
vowed to continue fighting for independence.
Salamat later officially formed the MILF. During
the presidency of Marcos in the 70's, tourism was
promoted particularly in Mindanao. Unfortunately,
it failed to attract investors to come because of the
peace and order situations of the region.
 In 1978, one of the MNLF's fiercest
ideologues, Salamat Hashim, split from
the MNLF and vowed to press ahead
with the fight for an independent
Islamic state. Salamat and Murad
Ebrahim, another prominent rebel
commander, formed the MILF in 1981.
 After the 1986 EDSA People Power
Revolution that ousted Marcos, the Aquino
administration launched peace talks with
the MNLF. In 1989, the Organic Act for the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) was signed into law.
 In 1996, Misuari, on behalf of the MNLF,
signed a final peace agreement with the
Ramos government. That year, the MILF,
which had long broken away from the MNLF,
also entered informal talks with the Ramos
government. But the MILF peace project was
put on the back burner, allowing the
organization to recruit, establish big camps in
Central Mindanao, and become the most
significant Muslim rebel movement.
Former president Joseph Estrada mobilized the entire
armed forces to crush the MILF and bring down its
seat of power in Camp Abubakar, Central Mindanao
in 2000. Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
resumed negotiations with the MILF, taking a bold
step in crafting a draft agreement that triggered
widespread opposition from lawmakers and various
sectors and which the Supreme Court, later on,
declared as unconstitutional. In response, two MILF
commanders led attacks across mainly. Christian
areas of Mindanao.
In October 2012, the Aquino administration and the
MILF signed a peace agreement in Malacañang. It
marked the first time the rebel group stepped into
the country's seat of power. In March 2014, both
parties signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro (CAB). The Bangsamoro is home to
most of the country's Muslim or Moro populations,
composed of many ethnic groups such as the
Maranao and the Tausug, the Banguingui (users of
the vinta), as well as the collective group of
indigenous tribes known as the Lumad.