[6] Datu Daniel.
[7] Spanish. Como reconocimiento de dominio (i.e., of Spain). The idea is that the settler acknowledges that he does not own the land in fee simple, but holds it as a tenant of the state.
Chapter V.
Sulu Under Spanish Sovereignty
Occupation of Jolo
The Sulu sultanate remained practically independent for four hundred and twenty-five years. Its decline was not caused by national retrogression or political dissension, but by the hostility and aggression of its adversary. Sulu’s power arose through the introduction of firearms into eastern Malaysia and began to decline at the introduction of steam war vessels into the Philippine Archipelago. The mobility and speed of steam war vessels put to disadvantage all Moro sailing and rowing craft. Pirates were chased on the sea and hunted in their lairs. The fear which steamboats struck in the hearts of Moros made them run away from their homes and settlements and hide in the jungles whenever they heard the whistle of a steamboat, or saw it approaching from a distance. The steamboats purchased by Governor Claveria in 1848, which crushed the power of the Balangingi Samals, were referred to by Captain Keppel in the following words:
“On the 14th of January [1849] we left Zamboanga, getting under weigh in company with such a fleet of gunboats as would have done credit to any nation.”
The vessels purchased in 1861 increased the efficiency of the navy to such a degree as to make it possible to carry war into Sulu territory, attack many remote islands and settlements and blockade the port of Jolo so effectively as to check the importation of firearms and ammunition, and restore a condition of safety and peace on the sea.