The History of Sulu Part 10

Article 1. The people of Sulu who wish to go to Zamboanga or Mindanao shall ask the Sultan of Sulu for a pa.s.sport so that they may suffer no harm if they meet ships belonging to the Navy.

Article 2. Pa.s.sports shall be issued stating the number of people on board and the cargo when requested.

Article 3. I give this order for the safety of those who travel by sea, as instead of being pursued by the ships of the Navy, they shall be helped.

Article 4. I give you the present patent so that when you meet the ships of the Navy of the King of Spain, my brother, they may not harm, but help you.

And in proof thereof, I make out the present certificate, written of my hand and attached to the Articles of Agreement, of which it is impossible to make a new copy, on account of the absence of some of the Datus who were present when they were agreed to, and approved them.

Given on board her Majesty's schooner "Tirol" in the roadstead of Jolo on the 29th of March 1837.

Jose Ma. Halcon, (His flourish).

RATIFICATION OF THE TREATY OF 1836 BY THE QUEEN REGENT OF SPAIN

Isabel II, Queen of Spain, by the Grace of G.o.d and the Const.i.tution of the Spanish Monarchy, and in her Royal name and during her minority, the Queen Dowager her mother, Dona Maria Cristina of Bourbon, Regent of the Kingdom:

Whereas on the twenty-third of September of last year, at the palace of Jolo, a treaty of peace, protection and commerce having been drawn up, concluded and signed by the frigate-captain of the national fleet, Don Jose Maria Halcon, commander in chief of the naval forces anch.o.r.ed in the roadstead of Jolo, representing the Captain General of the Philippine Islands, and the Sultan Jamalul Kiram and Datus; which said treaty, composed of six articles, word by word, is as follows:

Capitulations of Peace, Protection and Commerce, executed to the most Excellent Sultan and Datus of Sulu, by his high Excellency the Captain-General, Governor of the Philippine Islands, in the name of the high and powerful Sovereignty of her Catholic Majesty, being drawn up and agreed to by both parties, to wit: representing the Spanish Government as plenipotentiary of his high Excellency the Captain General, Don Pedro Antonio Salazar, Governor of the Philippines, the frigate-captain of the royal fleet, Don Jose Maria Halcon, commander in chief of the naval forces anch.o.r.ed in the roadstead of Jolo; and upon the other part, the Sultan Jamalul Kiram, Raja of Sulu and Datus who subscribe, which parties enacted as follows:

Article 1

His high Excellency the Captain-General, Governor, for her Catholic Majesty, of the Philippine Islands, a.s.sures the most excellent Sultan and Datus of Sulu, for the present and forever, of the most stable peace between the Spaniards and natives of all the islands subject to the Crown of Spain and the tributaries of the lands governed by the Sultan and Datus. He offers the protection of his Government and the aid of fleets and soldiers for the wars which the Sultan shall find necessary to wage against enemies who shall attack him, or in order to accomplish the subjection of the peoples who rebel in all the confines of the islands which are found within Spanish jurisdiction, and which extend from the western point of Mindanao as far as Borneo and Palawan, except Sandakan and the other lands tributary to the Sultan on the coast of Borneo.

The Sultan of Sulu, upon his part, accepting the friendship of the Spanish Government, binds himself to keep peace with all the va.s.sals of her Catholic Majesty, and further binds himself to consider as his enemies those who hereafter may be such to the Spanish nation, the Sulus proceeding with armed men to the wars which may arise, in the same manner as if they were Spaniards; in case of his furnishing such aid, the provisions for the support of the Sulus shall be supplied by the Royal exchequer of her Catholic Majesty, as they are for the other soldiers and people of her army and navy.

The sense of the second clause of the Capitulations of one thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven, that they are not bound to furnish a.s.sistance for wars against European nations, is hereby renewed and affirmed.

Article 2

In accordance with the friendship and protection which unite Sulu with the Spanish provinces of the Philippines, the Sulu boats shall navigate and trade freely with the open ports of Manila and Zamboanga, and the Spanish vessels with Jolo, where not only will both be well received, but shall find protection and the same treatment as the natives.

In a separate Capitulation are determined the duties which the Spanish vessels shall pay in Jolo, and those which the Sulus shall pay in Manila and Zamboanga; but by these Capitulations it is agreed that whenever the Sulus convey cargoes of products of the islands, they shall pay in Manila and Zamboanga less than foreign vessels, and the Spanish vessels shall not pay in Jolo as much as is charged the ships of other nations.

Article 3

In order that the traffic of Spanish vessels in Jolo shall not suffer the injuries and delays occasioned by the difficulties of their market, the Sultan and Datus consent to the construction of a factory or trading house, with safe warehouses, where merchandise may be stored without risk: and the Sultan and Datus agree always to respect this place, in which there will be a resident Spanish agent, who shall a.s.sume charge of all the business entrusted to him. If the Sulus should desire to do likewise in Manila, they shall be permitted; but the Spanish Government receives for storage merchandise from the Custom-house of that city upon payment of fees of but one per centum.

The Sultan shall designate the proper place for the location of the warehouses, which shall be convenient for loading and unloading and the Government shall request the Sultan to furnish, and shall pay for, the materials and workmen that may be necessary.

Article 4

In order that the Spanish and Sulu vessels may navigate and trade with safety, free from the piracies of the Hanuns and Samals the Spanish Government will strengthen its fleets in Mindanao waters, which same will protect equally those of both nations; and in order that good may not be confused with evil persons, the following rules shall be observed:

1st. All Spanish vessels arriving at Jolo shall show to the Sultan their permit upon anchoring, and the same shall be sealed upon sailing; without which the captain shall be punished at Manila.

2d. All Sulu vessels which proceed to Manila or Zamboanga, shall carry the permit of the Sultan, and in possession of the same shall be free and unmolested.

3d. All Spanish or Sulu vessels which shall proceed for trading to Mindanao, shall go first to Zamboanga to notify the Governor, who shall sign their permit without cost.

4th. Every Spanish or Sulu vessel which shall be found by the fleets of Illana or Sindangan bays, without permit of the Governor and Sultan as aforesaid, shall be seized and shall lose all her merchandise, of which two-thirds shall be awarded to those making the capture and one-third to the Sultan of Sulu, if the vessel is Sulu, and to the Spanish Government if the vessel is Spanish.

5th. The Governor of Zamboanga shall determine the procedure in the case of vintas [small sail boats] of the towns of Pilas and Basilan Islands friendly to said Plaza [Zamboanga].

6th. Sulu merchant vessels proceeding outside the islands of the Sultan or to Mindanao with a permit, should not flee from the fleets which they encounter, because the latter are intended to defend them and run down evil-doers. Commanders of the fleets shall be ordered to receive and aid the advice-boats of the Sultan.

Article 5

The Sultan and Datus of Sulu pledge themselves to prevent the piracies of the Ilanuns and Samals in the Philippines, and if they are unable, the Sultan shall so report in order that the Spanish Government may afford a.s.sistance or undertake the task alone.

Last Article

If the sense of these Capitulations is not conformable in both languages, the same shall agree with the literal Spanish text.

Palace of Jolo, September 23, 1836, which is the fourteenth of the moon Jamadul Akir of one thousand two hundred and fifty-two. The seals.--Sultan Mohammed Jamalul Kiram.--Seal--signed.--Jose Maria Halcon.--Datu Mohammed Harun.--Seal.--Datu Mohammed Buyuk.--Seal--Datu Bandahala.--Seal--Datu Amilbahar.--Datu Muluk.--Datu Sabalmar.--Datu Mamancha.--Datu Juhan.--Datu Maharajah-Layla.--Datu Sabuwayan.--Datu Muluk Kahar.--Datu Nay.

Therefore, the Government of our August Daughter, having been duly authorized by the decree of the Cortes of the thirteenth of the present month, for the ratification of the inclosed treaty, and the same having been seen and examined by Us, we have approved and ratified and by these presents do hereby approve and ratify the contents thereof as a whole, in the best and most complete form possible, promising on the faith and the word of Queen Regent, in the name of our August Daughter, to comply with and observe the same, and compel wholly the compliance with and observance of the same. In witness whereof, we command the disposition of the same, signed with our hand, and sealed with our own private seal by the First Secretary of State. Done at Madrid, this October twenty-ninth, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven.

I the Queen Regent.

[A shield in wax.]

Eusebio de Bandaxi y Azara.

EXPEDITION OF GOVERNOR CLAVERIA

In 1842 the Spanish Government built the stone fort at Isabela de Basilan. The Balangingi and Basilan Moros appear about this time to have become a menace to the peace and to the commerce of nations. To punish Datu Usak of Malusu for depredations committed against French vessels, Basilan was blockaded by a French fleet in 1843. Aspiring for Chinese trade and for the possession of a port in the neighboring seas the French in 1844 concluded a treaty with the Sultan of Sulu for the cession of the Island of Basilan for a considerable sum of money. The terms of this treaty do not appear to have been carried out, but this act and the frequent appearance of English, Dutch, and French vessels in Sulu waters aroused the Spaniards to active measures for the subjugation of the Sulu Archipelago.

This year Jamalul Kiram I died, and his son Mohammed Pulalun succeeded to the sultanate. The "Luntar" or "Sulu Annals" begin January, 1844, and appear to have been started by Sultan Pulalun.

In 1845 a frigate attacked the Island of Balangingi, but it was repulsed and gained no advantage except that of ascertaining the strength of the enemy. The sh.o.r.es of Basilan and the princ.i.p.al islands lying between it and the Island of Sulu had numerous forts, the strongest of which were on the island of Balangingi, the chief stronghold and headquarters of the Samal pirates. Realizing the seriousness of the situation Governor Claveria took the matter in hand and with energy and enthusiasm made every effort to strengthen the fleet and increase its efficiency.

In 1848 he secured three steam war vessels called Elcano, Magallanes, and Reina de Castilla which were built by the English and were the first steam gunboats the Philippine Government ever employed. Steam was certainly destined to mark a new epoch, one which saw the beginning of the end of Moro piracy.

With two additional pilot boats and three transport brigs the expedition, headed by Governor Claveria in person, left Manila in January and, coming by the way of Dapitan, reunited at Caldera Bay, where it received additional troops from Zamboanga.