The Philippine Islands Part 12

Simultaneously with the Spanish conquest of the Philippines, two Borneo chiefs, who were brothers, quarrelled about their respective possessions, and one of them had to flee. His partisans joined him, and they emigrated to the Island of Basilan, [56] situated to the south of Zamboanga (Mindanao Is.). The _Moros_, as they are called in the Islands, are therefore supposed to be descended from the Mahometan Dyaks of Borneo. They were a valiant, warlike, piratical people, who admired bravery in others--had a deep-rooted contempt for poltroons, and lavished no mercy on the weak.

In the suite of this emigrant chief, called Paguian Tindig, catoe his cousin Adasaolan, who was so captivated by the fertility of Basilan Island that he wished to remain there; so Tindig left him in possession and withdrew to Sulu Island, where he easily reduced the natives to va.s.salage, for they had never yet had to encounter so powerful a foe. So famous did Paguian Tindig become that, for generations afterwards, the Sultans of Sulu were proud of their descent from such a celebrated hero. After the Spaniards had pacified the great Butuan chief on the north coast of Mindanao, Tindig consented to acknowledge the suzerainty of their king, in exchange for undisturbed possession of the realm which he had just founded.

Adasaolan espoused the Princess Paguian Goan, daughter of Dimasangcay, King of Mindanao, by his wife Imbog, a Sulu woman, and with this relationship he embraced the Mahometan faith. His ambition increased as good fortune came to him, and, stimulated by the promised support of his father-in-law, he invaded Sulu, attacked his cousin Tindig, and attempted to murder him in order to annex his kingdom. A short but fierce contest ensued. Tindig's fortified dwelling was besieged in vain. The posts which supported the upper storey were greased with oil, and an entrance could not be effected. Wearied of his failures, Adasaolan retired from the enterprise, and Tindig, in turn, declared war on the Basilan king after he had been to Manila to solicit a.s.sistance from his Spanish suzerain's representative, who sent two armed boats to support him.

When Tindig, on his return from Manila, arrived within sight of Sulu, his anxious subjects rallied round him, and prepared for battle. The two armed boats furnished by the Spaniards were on the way, but, as yet, too far off to render help, so Adasaolan immediately fell upon Tindig's party and completely routed them. Tindig himself died bravely, fighting to the last moment, and the Spaniards, having no one to fight for when they arrived, returned to Manila with their armed boats.

Adasaolan, however, did not annex the territory of his defeated cousin. Rajah Bongso succeeded Tindig in the Government of Sulu, and when old age enfeebled him, he was wont to show with pride the scars inflicted on him during the war of independence.

Adasaolan then made alliances with Mindanao and Borneo people, and introduced the Mahometan religion into Sulu. Since then, Sulu (called "Jolo," by the Spaniards) has become the Mecca of the Southern Archipelago. [57]

The earliest records relating to Mindanao Island, since the Spanish annexation of the Philippines, show that about the year 1594 a rich Portuguese cavalier of n.o.ble birth, named Estevan Rodriguez, who had acquired a large fortune in the Philippines, and who had a wealthy brother in Mexico, proposed to the Governor Perez Dasmarinas the conquest of this island. For this purpose he offered his person and all his means, but having long waited in vain to obtain the royal sanction to his project, he prepared to leave for Mexico, disgusted and disappointed. He was on the point of starting for New Spain; he had his ship laden and his family on board, when the royal confirmation arrived with the new Governor, Dr. Antonio Morga (1595-96). Therefore he changed his plans, but despatched the laden ship to Mexico with the cargo, intending to employ the profits of the venture in the prosecution of his Mindanao enterprise. With the t.i.tle of General, he and his family, together with three chaplain priests, started in another vessel for the south. They put in at Otong (Panay Is.) on the way, and left there in April, 1596. Having reached the great Mindanao River (Rio Grande), the ship went up it as far as Buhayen, in the territory of the chief Silongan. A party under Juan de la Jara, the _Maestre de Campo_, was sent ash.o.r.e to reconnoitre the environs. Their delay in returning caused alarm, so the General buckled on his shield, and, with sword in hand, disembarked, accompanied by a Cebuano servant and two Spaniards, carrying lances. On the way they met a native, who raised his _campilan_ to deal a blow, which the General received on his shield, and cut down the foe to the waist. Then they encountered another, who clove the General's head almost in two, causing his death in six hours. The Cebuano at once ran the native through with a lance. This brave was discovered to be the youngest brother of the chief Silongan, who had sworn to Mahomet to sacrifice his life to take that of the Castilian invader.

The General's corpse was sent to Manila for interment. The expedition led by the _Maestre de Campo_ fared badly, one of the party being killed, another seriously wounded, and the rest fleeing on board. The next day it was decided to construct trenches at the mouth of the river, where the camp was established. The command was taken by the _Maestre de Campo_, whose chief exploit seems to have been that he made love to the deceased General's widow and proposed marriage to her, which she indignantly rejected. Nothing was gained by the expedition, and after the last priest died, the project was abandoned and the vessel returned to Cebu.

In 1638 another expedition against the Moros was headed by the Gov.-General Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, who made the first landing of troops in Sulu Island on April 17 of that year. He also established some military posts on the coast of Mindanao Island, one of which was Sampanilla (now called Malabang) on the Illana Bay sh.o.r.e. Four years afterwards it was abandoned until 1891, when General Weyler went there and had a fort built, which still exists.

It would appear that all over these Islands the strong preyed on the weak, and the boldest warrior or oppressor a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of Sultan, _Datto_, etc., over all the territory he could dominate, making the dignity hereditary. So far as can be ascertained, one of the oldest t.i.tles was that of Prince of Sibuguey, whose territory was situated on the bay of that name which washes the N.E. coast of Zamboanga Province. The t.i.tle fell into disuse, and the grandson of the last prince, the present _Manguiguin_, or Sultan of Mindanao, resides at Dinas. The sultanate dates from the year 1640, but, in reality, there never was a sultan with effective jurisdiction over the whole island, as the t.i.tle would seem to imply. The Sultan's heir is styled the _Rajahmudah_.

The alliances effected between the Sulu and Mindanao potentates gave a great stimulus to piracy, which hitherto had been confined to the waters in the locality of those islands. It now spread over the whole of the Philippine Archipelago, and was prosecuted with great vigour by regular organized fleets, carrying weapons almost equal to those of the Spaniards. In meddling with the Mahometan territories the Spaniards may be said to have unconsciously lighted on a hornets'

nest. Their eagerness for conquest stirred up the implacable hatred of the Mahometan for the Christian, and they unwittingly brought woe upon their own heads for many generations. Indeed, if half the consequences could have been foreseen, they surely never would have attempted to gain what, up to their last day, they failed to secure, namely, the complete conquest of Mindanao and the Sulu Sultanate.

For over two and a half centuries Mahometan war-junks ravaged every coast of the Colony. Not a single peopled island was spared. Thousands of the inhabitants were murdered, whilst others were carried into slavery for years. Villages were sacked; the churches were looted; local trade was intercepted; the natives subject to Spain were driven into the highlands, and many even dared not risk their lives and goods near the coasts. The utmost desolation and havoc were perpetrated, and militated vastly against the welfare and development of the Colony. For four years the Government had to remit the payment of tribute in Negros Island, and the others lying between it and Luzon, on account of the abject poverty of the natives, due to these raids. From the time the Spaniards first interfered with the Mahometans there was continual warfare. Expeditions against the pirates were constantly being fitted out by each succeeding Governor. Piracy was indeed an incessant scourge and plague on the Colony, and it cost the Spaniards rivers of blood and millions of dollars only to keep it in check.

In the last century the Mahometans appeared even in the Bay of Manila. I was acquainted with several persons who had been in Mahometan captivity. There were then hundreds who still remembered, with anguish, the insecurity to which their lives and properties were exposed. The Spaniards were quite unable to cope with such a prodigious calamity. The coast villagers built forts for their own defence, and many an old stone watch-tower is still to be seen on the islands south of Luzon. On several occasions the Christian natives were urged, by the inducement of spoil, to equip corsairs, with which to retaliate on the indomitable marauders. The Sulu people made captive the Christian natives and Spaniards alike, whilst a Spanish priest was a choice prize. And whilst Spaniards in Philippine waters were straining every nerve to extirpate slavery, their countrymen were diligently pursuing a profitable trade in it between the West Coast of Africa and Cuba!

One must admit that, indirectly, the Mahometan attacks had the good political effect of forcing hundreds of Christians up from the coast to people and cultivate the interior of these Islands.

Due to the enterprise of a few Spanish and foreign merchants, steamers at length began to navigate the waters of the Archipelago, provided with arms for defence, and piracy by Mahometans beyond their own locality was doomed. In the time of Gov.-General Norzagaray (1857-60), 18 steam gunboats were ordered out, and arrived in 1860, putting a close for ever to this epoch of misery, bloodshed, and material loss. The end of piracy brought repose to the Colony, and in no small degree facilitated its social advancement.

During the protracted struggle with the Mahometans, Zamboanga (Mindanao Is.) was fortified, and became the headquarters of the Spaniards in the south. After Cavite it was the chief naval station, and a penitentiary was also established there. [58] Its maintenance was a great burden to the Treasury--its existence a great eyesore to the enemy, whose hostility was much inflamed thereby. About the year 1635 its abandonment was proposed by the military party, who described it as only a sepulchre for Spaniards. The Jesuits, however, urged its continuance, as it suited their interests to have material support close at hand, and their influence prevailed in Manila bureaucratic centres.

In 1738 the fixed annual expenses of Zamboanga fort and equipment were 17,500 pesos, and the incidental disburs.e.m.e.nts were estimated at 7,500 pesos. These sums did not include the cost of scores of armed fleets which, at enormous expense, were sent out against the Mahometans to little purpose. Each new (Zamboanga) Governor of a martial spirit, and desiring to do something to establish or confirm his fame for prowess, seemed to regard it as a kind of duty to premise the quelling of imaginary troubles in Sulu and Mindanao. Some, with less patriotism than selfishness, found a ready excuse for filling their own pockets by the proceeds of warfare, in making feigned efforts to rescue captives. It may be observed, in extenuation, that, in those days, the Spaniards believed from their birth that none but a Christian had rights, whilst some were deluded by a conscientious impression that they were executing a high mission; myth as it was, it at least served to give them courage in their perilous undertakings. Peace was made and broken over and over again. Spanish forts were at times established in Sulu, and afterwards demolished. Every decade brought new devices to control the desperate foe. Several Governors-General headed the troops in person against the Mahometans with temporary success, but without any lasting effect, and almost every new Governor made a solemn treaty with one powerful chief or another, which was respected only as long as it suited both parties. This continued campaign, the details of which are too prolix for insertion here, may be qualified as a religious war, for Roman Catholic priests took an active part in the operations with the same ardent pa.s.sion as the Mahometans themselves. Among these tonsured warriors who acquired great fame _out_ of their profession may be mentioned Father Ducos, the son of a Colonel, Jose Villanueva, and Pedro de San Agustin, the last being known, with dread, by the Mahometans in the beginning of the 17th century under the t.i.tle of the Captain-priest. One of the most renowned kings in Mindanao was Cachil Corralat, an astute, far-seeing chieftain, who ably defended the independence of his territory, and kept the Spaniards at bay during the whole of his manhood.

An interesting event in the Spanish-Sulu history is the visit of the Sultan Mahamad Alimudin to the Gov.-General in 1750, and his subsequent vicissitudes of fortune. The first royal despatch addressed by the King of Spain to the Sultan of Sulu was dated in Buen Retiro, July 12, 1744, and everything, for the time being, seemed to augur a period of peace. In 1749, however, the Sultan was violently deposed by an ambitious brother, Prince Bantilan, and the Sultan forthwith went to Manila to seek the aid of his suzerain's delegate, the Gov.-General of the Philippines, who chanced to be the Bishop of Nueva Segovia. In Manila the Priest-Governor cajoled his guest with presents, and accompanied him on horseback and on foot, with the design of persuading him to renounce his religion in favour of Christianity. The Sultan finally yielded, and avowed his intention to receive baptism. Among the friars an animated discussion ensued as to the propriety of this act, special opposition being raised by the Jesuits; but in the end the Sultan, with a number of his suite, outwardly embraced the Christian faith. The Sultan at his baptism received the name of Ferdinand I. of Sulu; at the same time he was invested with the insignia and grade of a Spanish Lieut.-General. Great ceremonies and magnificent feasts followed this unprecedented incident. He was visited and congratulated by all the _elite_ of the capital. By proclamation, the festivities included four days' illumination, three days' procession of the giants, [59] three days of bull-fighting, four nights of fireworks, and three nights of comedy, to terminate with High Ma.s.s, a _Te Deum_, and special sermon for the occasion.

In the meantime, the Sultan had requested the Governor to have the Crown Prince, Princesses, and retainers escorted to Manila to learn Spanish manners and customs, and on their arrival the Sultan and his male and female suite numbered 60 persons. The Bishop-Governor defrayed the cost of their maintenance out of his private purse until after the baptism, and thenceforth the Government supported them in Manila for two years. At length it was resolved, according to appearances, to restore the Sultan Ferdinand I. to his throne. With that idea, he and his retinue quitted Manila in the Spanish frigate _San Fernando_, which was convoyed by another frigate and a galley, until the _San Fernando_ fell in with bad weather off Mindoro Island, and had to make the Port of Calapan. Thence he proceeded to Yloilo, where he changed vessel and set sail for Zamboanga, but contrary winds carried him to Dapitan (N.W. coast of Mindanao Is.), where he landed and put off again in a small Visayan craft for Zamboanga, arriving there on July 12, 1751. Thirteen days afterwards the _San Fernando_, which had been repaired, reached Zamboanga also.

Before Ferdinand I. left Manila he had (at the instance of the Spanish Gov.-General, Jose de Obando, 1750-54) addressed a letter to Sultan Muhamad Amirubdin, of Mindanao. The original was written by Ferdinand I. in Arabic; a version in Spanish was dictated by him, and both were signed by him. These doc.u.ments reached the Governor of Zamboanga by the _San Fernando_, but he had the original in Arabic retranslated, and found that it did not at all agree with the Sultan's Spanish rendering. The translation of the Arabic runs thus:--

"I shall be glad to know that the Sultan Muhamad Amirubdin and all his chiefs, male and female, are well. I do not write a lengthy letter, as I intended, because I simply wish to give you to understand, in case the Sultan or his chiefs and others should feel aggrieved at my writing this letter in this manner, that I do so under pressure, being under foreign dominion, and I am compelled to obey whatever they tell me to do, and I have to say what they tell me to say. Thus the Governor has ordered me to write to you in our style and language; therefore, do not understand that I am writing you on my own behalf, but because I am ordered to do so, and I have nothing more to add. Written in the year 1164 on the ninth day of the Rabilajer Moon, Ferdinand I., King of Sulu, who seals with his own seal."

This letter was p.r.o.nounced treasonable. Impressed with, or feigning, this idea, the Spaniards saw real or imaginary indications of a design on the part of the Sultan to throw off the foreign yoke at the first opportunity. All his acts were thus interpreted, although no positive proof was manifest, and the Governor communicated his suspicions to Manila. There is no explanation why the Spaniards detained the Sultan at Zamboanga, unless with the intention of trumping up accusations against him. The Sultan arrived there on July 12, and nothing was known of the discrepancy between the letters until after July 25. To suppose that the Sultan could ever return to reign peacefully as a Christian over Mahometan subjects was utterly absurd to any rational mind.

On August 3 the Sultan, his sons, va.s.sals, and chiefs were all cast into prison, without opposition, and a letter was despatched, dated August 6, 1751, to the Governor in Manila, stating the cause. The Sultan was the first individual arrested, and he made no difficulty about going to the fort. Even the Prince Asin, the Sultan's brother, who had voluntarily come from Sulu in apparent good faith with friendly overtures to the Spaniards, was included among the prisoners. The reason a.s.signed was, that he had failed to surrender christian captives as provided.

The prisoners, besides the Sultan, were the following, viz.:--

Four sons of the Sultan.

Prince Asin (brother).

Prince Mustafa (son-in-law).

Princess Panguian Banquiling (sister).

Four Princesses (daughters).

Datto Yamudin (a n.o.ble).

160 ordinary male and female retainers.

Five brothers-in-law.

One Mahometan Cherif.

Seven Mahometan priests.

Concubines with 32 female servants.

The political or other crime (if any) attributed to these last is not stated, nor why they were imprisoned. The few weapons brought, according to custom, by the followers of the Sultan who had come from Sulu to receive their liege-lord and escort him back to his country, were also seized.

A decree of Gov.-General Jose de Obando set forth the following accusations against the prisoners, viz.:--

(1) That Prince Asin had not surrendered captives. (2) That whilst the Sultan was in Manila, new captives were made by the party who expelled him from the throne. (3) That the number of arms brought to Zamboanga by Sulu chiefs was excessive. (4) That the letter to Sultan Muhamad Amirubdin insinuated help wanted against the Spaniards. (5) That several Mahometan, but no christian books were found in the Sultan's baggage. (6) That during the journey to Zamboanga he had refused to pray in christian form. (7) That he had only attended Ma.s.s twice. (8) That he had celebrated Mahometan rites, sacrificing a goat; and had given evidence in a hundred ways of being a Mahometan. (9) That his conversation generally denoted a want of attachment to the Spaniards, and a contempt for their treatment of him in Manila, [60]

and, (10) that he still cohabited with his concubines, contrary to christian usage.

The greatest stress was laid on the recovery of the captive Christians, and the Gov.-General admitted that although the mission of the fleet was to restore the Sultan to the throne (which, by the way, does not appear to have been attempted), the princ.i.p.al object was the rescue of christian slaves. He therefore proposed that the liberty of the imprisoned n.o.bles and chiefs should be bartered at the rate of 500 christian slaves for each one of the chiefs and n.o.bles, and the balance of the captives for Prince Asin and the clergy. One may surmise, from this condition, that the number of Christians in captivity was very considerable.

A subsequent decree, dated in Manila December 21, 1751, ordered the extermination of the Mahometans with fire and sword; the fitting out of Visayan corsairs, with authority to extinguish the foe, burn all that was combustible, destroy the crops, desolate their cultivated land, make captives, and recover christian slaves. One-fifth of the spoil (the _Real quinto_) was to belong to the King, and the natives were to be exempt from the payment of tribute whilst so engaged.

Before giving effect to such a terrible, but impracticable resolution, it was thought expedient to publish a pamphlet styled a "Historical Manifest," in which the Gov.-General professed to justify his acts for public satisfaction. However, public opinion in Manila was averse to the intended warfare, so to make it more popular, the Governor abolished the payment of one-fifth of the booty to the King. An appeal was made to the citizens of Manila for arms and provisions to carry on the campaign; they therefore lent or gave the following, viz.:--Twenty-six guns, 13 bayonets, 3 sporting guns, 15 carbines, 5 blunderbusses, 7 braces of pistols, 23 swords, 15 lances, 900 cannon b.a.l.l.s, and 150 pesos from Spaniards, and a few lances and 188 pesos from natives.

Meanwhile, Prince Asin died of grief at his position.

Under the leadership of the _Maestre de Campo_ of Zamboanga, hostilities commenced. With several ships he proceeded to Sulu, carrying a large armament and 1,900 men. When the squadron anch.o.r.ed off Sulu, a white and a red flag were hoisted from the princ.i.p.al fort, for the Spaniards to elect either peace or war. Several Sulus approached the fleet with white flags, to inquire for the Sultan. Evasive answers were given, followed by a sudden cannonade.

No good resulted to the Spaniards from the attack, for the Sulus defended themselves admirably. Tawi Tawi Island was next a.s.saulted. A captain landed there with troops, but their retreat was cut off and they were all slain. The Commander of the expedition was so discouraged that he returned to Zamboanga and resigned. Pedro Gastambide then took command, but after having attacked Basilan Island fruitlessly, he retired to Zamboanga. The whole campaign was an entire fiasco. It was a great mistake to have declared a war of extermination without having the means to carry it out. The result was that the irate Sulus organized a guerilla warfare, by sea and by land, against all Christians, to which the Spaniards but feebly responded. The "tables were turned." In fact, they were in great straits, and, wearied at the little success of their arms, endless councils and discussions were held in the capital.

Meanwhile, almost every coast of the Archipelago was energetically ravaged. Hitherto the Spaniards had only had the Sulus to contend with, but the licence given by the Gov.-General to reprisal excited the cupidity of unscrupulous officials, and, without apparent right or reason, the _Maestre de Campo_ of Zamboanga caused a Chinese junk from Amoy, carrying goods to a friendly Sultan of Mindanao, to be seized. After tedious delay, vexation, and privation, the master and his crew were released and a part of the cargo restored, but the _Maestre de Campo_ insisted upon retaining what he chose for his own use. This treachery to an amicable chief exasperated and undeceived the Mindanao Sultan to such a degree that he forthwith took his revenge by co-operating with the Sulus in making war on the Spaniards. Fresh fleets of armed canoes replenished the Sulu armadillas, ravaged the coasts, hunted down the Spanish priests, and made captives.

On the north coast of Mindanao several battles took place. There is a legend that over 600 Mahometans advanced to the village of Lubungan, but were repulsed by the villagers, who declared their patron, Saint James, appeared on horseback to help them. Fray Roque de Santa Monica was chased from place to place, hiding in caves and rocks. Being again met by four Mahometans, he threatened them with a blunderbuss, and was left unmolested. Eventually he was found by friendly natives, and taken by them to a wood, where he lived on roots. Thence he journeyed to Linao, became raving mad, and was sent to Manila, where he died quite frantic, in the convent of his Order.

The Sultan and his fellow-prisoners had been conveyed to Manila and lodged in the Fortress of Santiago. In 1753 he pet.i.tioned the Gov.-General to allow his daughter, the Princess Faatima, and two slaves to go to Sulu about his private affairs. A permit was granted on condition of her returning, or, in exchange for her liberty and that of her two slaves, to remit 50 captives, and, failing to do either, the Sultan and his suite were to be deprived of their dignities and treated as common slaves, to work in the galleys, and to be undistinguished among the ordinary prisoners. On these conditions, the Princess left, and forwarded 50 slaves, and one more--a Spaniard, Jose de Montesinos--as a present.

The Princess Faatima, nevertheless, did return to Manila, bringing with her an Amba.s.sador from Prince Bantilan, her uncle and Governor of Sulu, who, in the meantime, had a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of Sultan Mahamad Miududin. The Amba.s.sador was Prince Mahamad Ismael Datto Marayalayla. After an audience with the Governor, he went to the fort to consult with the captive Sultan, and they proposed a treaty with the Governor, of which the chief terms were as follows, viz.:--

An offensive and defensive alliance.

All captives within the Sultanate of Sulu to be surrendered within one year.

All articles looted from the churches to be restored within one year.