The sultans who followed Karamat are, in the order of their succession, Shahabud Din, Mustafa Shafiʿud Din, Badarud Din I, Nasarud Din, and Alimud Din I, better known as Amirul Mu’minin (Ferdinand I of Sulu). The first three were brothers, the sons of Karamat, while the last two were the sons of Badarud Din.
In 1718 Governor Bustamante reoccupied Zamboanga for the purpose of waging war against piracy. “The citadel (Fuerza del Pilar) was rebuilt on an elaborate plan under the direction of the engineer, Juan Sicarra. Besides the usual barracks, storehouses, and arsenals, there were, within the walls, a church, a hospital, and quarters for the Pampangan soldiers. Sixty-one cannon were mounted upon the defenses.”
In 1725, a Chinese named Ki Kuan was sent to Manila to arrange for peace and returned with two Spanish commissioners, who made a treaty with the sultan of Sulu providing for trade between Manila and Jolo, the return or ransom of captives, and the ceding to Spain of the Island of Basilan. Notwithstanding this treaty Moro raids continued either by toleration of the sultan and datus or at their instigation.
In 1730 a brother of the sultan commanded an expedition of 31 vessels, which attacked the fort of Taytay and ravaged the coast of Palawan. Another expedition spent nearly a whole year cruising and destroying among the Bisayas.
In retaliation a large Spanish fleet united at Zamboanga and, under Ignacio de Irebri and Manuel del Rosal, invaded the shores of Sulu and ravaged and burned some settlements. At Bwal they found the settlement well protected and extensively fortified, so they contented themselves with destroying some plantations and burning outlying houses. At Tapul considerable damage was inflicted. A force of 600 disembarked, dispersed the Sulus, burned their settlements, destroyed many farms, the salt works, and many boats, and returned to Zamboanga. In 1732 similar raids were made and hostilities continued until 1737.
Reign of Sultan Alimud Din I
One of the earliest events in the reign of Alimud Din I was his ratification of the treaty of 1737. The sultan was represented in Manila by Datu Mohammed Ismael and Datu Jaʿfar, who signed the document. The treaty was drawn in January, 1737, by Governor-General Fernando Valdés y Tamon and contained five articles.
The first article declared the determination of both parties to preserve permanent peace between the two states, all differences or grievances to be settled amicably, and hostilities between subjects or vassals to be strictly prohibited and punished; the second provided for alliance and mutual aid against any foreign foe. European nations were, however, excluded from the provisions of this article; the third provided for free trade between the two states, restricted by the use of passports to be issued by superior authority; the fourth provided that each state should be held responsible for all infractions of the peace committed by its subjects and should be bound to punish the same and make proper amends to the proper party; the fifth provided for the exchange of captives and return of all church images and ornaments in the possession of the Sulus.
To all appearances Alimud Din I was a man of peace and a reformer. He kept his part of the treaty faithfully and piracy was actually suppressed during the whole period in which he held the reins of government. He revised the Sulu code of laws and system of justice. He caused to be translated into Sulu parts of the Quran and several Arabic texts on law and religion. He strongly urged the people to observe faithfully their religion and the ordained five daily prayers. He even went so far as to prescribe punishment for failure to observe this rule. He wanted all pandita to learn Arabic and prepared Arabic-Sulu vocabularies as a preliminary step to making the Arabic the official language of the state. He coined money, organized a small army, and tried to establish a navy. His name is foremost in the memory of the Sulus, partly because of his able administration and partly on account of the fact that he is the grandfather of all the present principal datus of the Sulus.
In September, 1746, a special commission from Manila carried to Alimud Din a letter written by King Philip V in 1744, requesting the admission of Jesuit missionaries to Jolo with permission to preach the Christian religion to the Sulus. The sultan entertained the commission very hospitably and gave in their honor a royal reception and a review of the troops. A council was held in which the sultan conferred with the leading datus of Sulu and granted the request of King Philip V. He further authorized the building of a church and recommended the erection of a fort at some convenient locality for the safe protection of the missionaries. In return for this favor he requested that the Spanish Government give him, as an aid in building a navy, the sum of ₱6,000, 12 piculs[55] of gunpowder, 12 piculs of nails, and 1 picul of steel. This, he represented, was needed to enable him to suppress piracy and to check the depredations of his enemies in Borneo. This request the Spanish Government granted, and Jesuit missionaries entered Jolo, translated the catechism into Sulu, and distributed it freely among the people.