The History of Sulu

by Najeeb M. Saleeby

Spanish policy

Attitude of the Moros

The vivid picture presented by the history of Sulu thrills the reader with scenes of horror, cruelty, and misdirected energies. On one page we read of how a rich and mighty sovereign stretched his hand across the border of his domain into the territory of his weak neighbor and coveted his jewels and treasure, and, being refused, struck terror, desolation, and destruction in the home of the latter. On another page we read how, as if possessed by a mighty demon, that weak and petty king-neighbor summoned the powers of the wind and sea to his aid, marched upon his strong enemy in the night, assailed him while unaware, robbed his house, and carried his people away to work for his homely sustenance. The mighty sovereign wakens in the morning, and in his rage curses his wretched neighbor and swears vengeance upon him and his wicked fellow nomads of the sea, but the rich and mighty lord of the north has enemies and rivals in the west and far south and does not dare leave his home unguarded. Part of his available warriors he thought would be sufficient, and their valor and patriotism were counted on as an additional asset and a sure guaranty of victory. The sails of a gigantic fleet were unfurled and chariots and steeds were provided for the triumphal march into the enemy’s pearl land. But the mighty sea rolled and the furious winds blew and the giant did not prove a match for the weak, for man can not go against nature, and valor is a poor aid against overwhelming odds. Yet some men’s hearts are made of stone and one or two experiences do not teach them enough; so we see the same scene repeated time and time again, until an opportune moment arrived and a new chapter was opened in which we find the rich sovereign richer and mightier. This time nature takes sides with might and turns the scales against the weak and petty king of the south and leaves him wrecked and stranded on his coral reefs.

The Sulu is a Malayan of prominent type, reared in his infancy by a Brahman priest and brought up to maturity under the care of a Mohammedan instructor. He rejected his idols as early as 1450 and had been for more than a century prior to the arrival of Legaspi at Cebu, a faithful and devoted worshipper of “Allahu Ta’ala,” the Almighty and only God, according to the teaching of the prophet Mohammed and the holy Quran. He had laws, an established government, an organized state, an alphabet, and a system of education. By trade he was a planter and fisher, and both land and sea yielded him plenty. He turned the timber of his rich forests into boats and utilized the currents of the sea and the movements of the wind. Navigation came natural to him, and he sailed to distant lands and traded his pearls for silks and spices. He had a wide range of experience, and his knowledge of the world was by no means restricted to one island or to one limited group of islands.

The dominion of the Sultan of Sulu was complete and his power was well respected throughout the Archipelago. Between Mindanao and Borneo 150,000 people—Yakans, Samals, and Sulus—lived and obeyed one man. True, the Sulus had no standing army or navy, but they had innumerable boats, forts, and firearms, and every able-bodied man was a soldier and a sailor, always armed, and always ready for a call to arms. His immediate neighbors were pagans, or “infidels,” who paid him homage and tribute. He was the master of the land and the lord of the southern seas. He was chivalrous in his manners and received his friends with liberal hospitality; but he wasted no sympathy or kindness on his enemy. The enemy of the state was also an enemy to “Allahu Ta’ala,” and no life was deemed too dear to sacrifice for the cause of home and God. It was the idea of his home that started the blood rushing through his veins, and religion fittingly fanned the flame and heated his blood to the boiling point. There is honor even among thieves, and a nation made up of fierce pirates need not go begging for dignity, gallantry, and self-pride. Let the Sulu be idolatrous or a fire worshiper and he will “go juramentado” on the strength of his faith in wooden or fire gods before he yields to a master or serves as a slave. He will die before he surrenders. Such metal is what makes the Sulus brave, independent, and unyielding.

The Sulus watched the progress of Legaspi at Cebu, Panay, and Luzon, saw how the pagan chiefs were subjugated, and witnessed the expulsion of their brother Mohammedans from Manila. They had played this rôle themselves, and when the enemy reached their shores they needed no word of explanation or stimulus to resist, except that which they had in their breeding and general make-up. Spain instigated hostilities and coveted their domain; it was not their part to yield, but it was Spain’s clear duty to reëstablish peace before the evils resulting from war outweighed the good obtained. This she failed to do, and the Sulus were invaded repeatedly and harassed constantly. Bitter animosity filled the hearts of the Sulus, and a desire for revenge prompted them to retaliate; and what can be expected from people of their race and civilization except cruelty and barbarity in war! We know that “war is hell” among highly civilized nations and why should we expect of the Sulus a moral conduct out of proportion to their intellectual development and the influences of their civilization and religion? The life of an “infidel” was not a matter of religious concern to them at all. The Prophet himself led his people against nonconformists and promised them reward instead of pardon or intercession before God. The Quran taught them that patriotism is a part of their religion, and love of home and family left no place for cowardice and no patience with humiliation. They therefore fought well and fought cruelly. They raided the enemy’s country, robbed him, and carried away many slaves. Slavery was also sanctioned by their religion and formed an established custom or method of punishment which took the place of imprisonment and saved the expense of jails and guards.

Humanity called for different action on both sides; but it evidently made no impression on the Sulus. Not satisfied with just measures of war and direct retaliation, they developed an abnormal propensity for piracy, invaded the Spanish domain frequently for the procurement of slaves and for other wicked purposes, and committed unspeakable horrors and atrocities. But to treat evil with evil adds no virtue to the credit of the other side. We rarely read of wounded Moros after an engagement, and, strange to say, all wounds of Moros were invariably immediately fatal. If few Moros were ever kindly treated after battle, certainly many more were promptly dispatched in a manner that terminated suffering and life at the same time.

Mistakes and difficulties of Spanish rule

Had Spain exerted more effort to increase the Jolo garrison in 1646 and trusted the charge of this garrison to an able and upright administrator, the fruits of the brilliant conquest of General Corcuera would not have been lost, and in all probability the trouble with Sulu would have been ended before the termination of the seventeenth century. However, instead of this course, weak characters were charged with the management of affairs, and in place of permanent and strong occupation of the land an insignificant treaty was made with the Sulus with no intention on the part of Spain of keeping it permanently and with no hope that it would be kept by the Sulus. Similar mistakes were frequently repeated and a cruel inhuman strife marked with an astounding profuseness of bloodshed and terrible loss of life and evil of all sorts, was prolonged for the space of three hundred and twenty years without any advantage that is worth considering.