Sultanates in the Philippines
- The arrival and spreading of Islam in the
Philippines, as well as the establishment of
sultanates, were parts of a larger historical
process known as the Islamization of Southeast
Asia which took place starting in the 12th century.
Similar to the previous process of Indianization,
Islamization was made possible with the influx of
Muslim traders coming from India and Arabia.
The following are the important events in the
history of Islam in the Philippines
- 1280 - Islam was first introduced to the people of
Sulu and Tawi-Tawi when an Arab trader by the
name Tuan Mashaika had arrived and settled in
the area. He later married the daughter of Rajah
Sipad named Idda Indira Suga.
- 1380 - Formal preaching of the religion and
conversion only took place one hundred years
later with the coming of an imam (religious
teacher similar to a priest) named Karim ul-
Makhdum. He was likewise responsible for the
building of the first mosque in the archipelago.
- 1405 - The Sultanate of Sulu was established by
Sharif ul-Hashim who later assumed the name
Sayyid Abu Bakr. According to sources, he was
married to a daughter of Rajah Baguinda named
Paramisuli who had the title Dayang-dayang.
o This sultanate occupied the areas of
present-day Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, southern
Palawan, and Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia
and North Kalimantan, Indonesia).
o It is also characterized as syncretic (from
syncretism, meaning the mixing of two
or more distinct sets of beliefs or
religions). In the case of Philippine
sultanates, there was a fusion of Islamic
and indigenous cultures.
o The sultanate also continued practicing
slave-raiding or pangangayaw which
resulted to economic prosperity. The
wealth of the sultanate also translated to
political power.
- 1500 - Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuwan
established the Sultanate of Maguindanao which
occupied the present-day areas of Cotabato,
Maguindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula, and the
southern tip of the Davao region. Kabungsuwan
later married the daughter of Rajah Salipada
named Bai Anginbatu
- 1520s - Kabungsuwan had also aimed to Islamize
the northern portions of Mindanao, thus he
spearheaded the creation of the Confederation of
Lanao Sultanates. This confederation was
composed of at least 16 sultans coming from
different royal houses.
Age of Discovery and Exploration (ADE)
- A period in European history lasting from the 15th
until the 17th century. During this time, people
had renewed interests in exploring the terra
incognita or the uncharted parts of the world.
- This resulted to an unprecedented increase in
geographical knowledge, to the establishment of
connections with other groups of people such as
those in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, and to
colonialism.
- A number of factors compelled the Europeans to
move out of the ‘Old World’ and to explore and
colonize new territories. These factors also
contributed to the creation of the distinct period
known as the ADE.
o Mercantilism/Bullionism - the dominant
economic theory during the period which
states that gold and silver reserves are the
basis of a kingdom’s or country’s wealth.
It also suggests that the entire amount of
wealth that the world has is constant or
fixed. Thus, to accumulate wealth, one
has to engage in trading (exportation of
own produce) or has to establish new
gold mines in other territories.
o Spices - spices such as nutmeg, pepper,
cloves, and saffron were used during the
period not only as additives to give more
flavor to food but also as preservatives
due to the lack of method of refrigeration.
However, these spices were only
produced in Asia and Africa.
o Roman Catholicism - the Spanish and
Portuguese empires included in their
colonial agenda the propagation of
Catholicism in their newly acquired
territories for two main reasons: to hold
off the resurgence of Islam and to counter
the effects of the Reformation.
o Closing of the silk road - the silk road,
which passes through major trading cities
from Turkey to China, was the main
land-based thoroughfare used by
merchants travelling from Europe to Asia
and vice versa. A huge part of the route
was then controlled by the Byzantine
Empire, also known as the Eastern
Roman Empire, which centered at the
city of Constantinople. However, in
1453, the Ottoman Empire, under the
leadership of Mehmed, the Conqueror,
defeated the Byzantines and closed the
route thus necessitating the Europeans to
look for an alternate way to Asia.
o Travel accounts - the memoirs,
autobiographies, and travel accounts of
 different explorers and merchants from
the preceding centuries also triggered the
curiosity of the Europeans during the
ADE. An example would be accounts of
Marco Polo who travelled to China in the
1270s and reported in his accounts the
enormous quantities of gold possessed by
Chinese dynastic emperors.
o Renaissance - the ADE coincided with a
period in cultural history known as the
Renaissance (literally rebirth or revival).
This period saw the revival of the
scientific and cultural productivity of the
Antiquity or the Greco-Roman period.
Inventions such as the compass, sextant,
astrolabe, and the movable printing press
(Johannes Gutenberg, 1450) indirectly
contributed to the ADE for they made
navigation a lot easier and more accurate.
o Emergence of banking families - the
establishment of banking facilities in
Europe also helped the launching of
different expeditions by lending capital
to governments and explorers. Examples
of these families are the Medici of Italy
and the Fuggers of Germany.
Rivalry between Spain and Portugal
- Spain and Portugal, both located on the Iberian
Peninsula, led Europe to the so-called Age of
Discovery and Exploration and were the first
kingdoms to engage in the colonial enterprise.
From the perspective of geographic determinism,
this can be explained by the fact that the Iberian
Peninsula directly faces the Atlantic, thus giving
the two kingdoms greater chances of developing
its maritime capacities. Additionally, Spain’s and
Portugal’s own experience of being colonized,
particularly by Muslims (Moors) from 711-1492,
encouraged them to conquer other territories.
This period of colonization is known as ‘Moorish
Spain’ or as the Reconquista (from the Spanish
reconquistar which means to reconquer; this
refers to the process of taking back or
reconquering the original Spanish and Portuguese
territories).
- Of these two kingdoms, however, Portugal was
the first to explore new territories. The
Portuguese was able to finish the Reconquista
process ahead of the Spanish in 1249. Also, they
enjoyed tremendous financial support from their
monarchs such as Prince Henry, the Navigator
which enabled Portugal to explore and later
colonize the following territories:
o 1488 - Africa’s west coast (Senegal,
Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, etc.), and the
Cape of Good Hope (southernmost tip of
Africa; an access point to the Indian
Ocean and Asia) - Bartolemeu Dias
o 1498 - Calicut, India - Vasco da Gama.
Da Gama’s anchorage in India completed
the sea-route from Portugal to Asia
which was known as the Carreira de
India (Iberian Peninsula - Cape of Good
Hope - Indian Ocean - India)
o 1500 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Pedro
Álvares Cabral
o 1510 - Goa, India - Afonso de
Albuquerque
o 1511 - Malacca - Afonso de Albuquerque
- Spain, immediately after finishing its own
Reconquista in 1492, launched an expedition
headed by the Genoese explorer Christopher
Columbus. Columbus reached the present-day
Caribbean islands which paved the way for the
Spanish colonization of the Americas or ‘New
World.’
Efforts to divide the world
- The ‘discovery’ of the New World was
nonetheless condemned by the Portuguese as a
form of intrusion committed by the Spanish
against Portugal’s future colonial undertakings.
- To prevent this conflict from escalating to a full-
fledged war and to once again stabilize the
propagation of Catholicism done by the two
contending kingdoms, the Vatican had to
intervene. In 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued a
papal bull or decree titled Inter Caetera (literally
‘among other things’) which proposed to divide
the world at 100 leagues, west of Azores. This
division would have given the Portuguese the
control over Africa and Asia while leaving the
Americas to the Spanish. The proposition,
however, was rejected by the Portuguese. They
thought that the measurement was unfair since
the Pope was a Spanish.
- In 1494, the Spanish and Portuguese
governments agreed to draw a common
demarcation line instead of implementing the
Inter Caetera. This agreement is now known as
the Treaty of Tordesillas which in turn divided
the world at 370 leagues, west of Cape Verde.
Similar to the previous proposal, it gave the
Portuguese the dominion over Africa and Asia
and left the Americas to the Spanish.
Ferdinand Magellan: his proposal and voyage
- Ferdinand Magellan (Fernão de Magalhães;
1480-1521) was a Portuguese explorer from the
town of Sarbosa. After serving as a squire to the
royal family, he decided to become an explorer
later joining the de Albuquerque expeditions of
1510 and 1511.
- In 1517, he returned to Lisbon to present a
proposal to King Manuel which aimed to launch
an expedition that would ultimately establish a
new route from Europe to Asia. Magellan,
however, suggested that he could reach Asia by
sailing westwards across the Atlantic Ocean.
Simply put, he thought the world was spherical
and not flat. Manuel rejected the proposal since
the Portuguese Empire already had the Carreira
de India.
- This proposal was nonetheless approved by the
Spanish king, Carlos V for it had the potential to
renew the monarchy’s claim over the Moluccas
and the rest of Asia which was previously
outlawed by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494.
- Magellan was given 250 men (including the
Italian chronicler Antonio Pigafetta, the priest Fr.
Pedro Valderrama, and Enrique de Malacca, a
slave Magellan had purchased in 1511 in
Malacca) and five ships (Trinidad, the flagship of
the fleet, Santiago, Victoria, Concepcion, and San
Antonio). The following were the important
events in this voyage:
o 10 Aug 1519 - departure from the city of
Seville going to Sanlúcar de Barrameda
via the Guadalquivir River (drains to the
Atlantic)
o Dec 1519 - arrival at different locations
in South America (Rio de Janeiro, Rio
del Plata, etc.)
o 01 Apr 1520 - a mutiny headed by the
Spanish captains of Victoria, San
Antonio, and Concepcion broke out in
Puerto San Julian. They protested against
Magellan’s leadership and the rather
slow pacing of the fleet. This mutiny was
quelled nonetheless.
o 01 Nov 1520 - the fleet found a
channel/passage at the southernmost tip
of South America (similar to the Cape of
Good Hope in Africa). It was named by
Magellan as the Estrechos de todos los
Santos or Strait of All Saints. While
navigating through the strait, Santiago
suddenly disappeared while San
Antonio, which was tasked to look for
Santiago, headed back to Spain.
o 28 Nov 1520 - Magellan finally found the
end of the strait with only three
remaining ships. They were welcomed
by a vast yet very pacified body of water.
Magellan named it Mar Pacifico or
Pacific Ocean. While travelling across
the Pacific, the food supply of the fleet
ran out. Thus, Magellan and his men
were forced to eat sawdust, leather, and
spoiled food.
o 06 Mar 1521 - the fleet dropped anchor
in Guam, part of the Marianas. While
Magellan and his men were searching for
food, the natives of the islands (called the
Chamorros) climbed up the ships and
stole things from the Spanish. Magellan
later named the islands Las Islas de los
Ladrones or Islands of Thieves.
o 17 Mar to 31 Mar 1521 - reached
different Visayan Islands like Suluan and
Homonhon (both in Eastern Samar).
Magellan named the islands Las Islas de
San Lazaro. On the 31st, the first mass in
the Philippines was celebrated in Mazaua
whose leader was named Rajah
Kolambu. From Rajah Kolambu,
Magellan found out that aside from the
previous places he had visited, there
existed a larger and wealthier barangay -
Cebu.
o 07 Apr 1521 - the Spanish fleet reached
Cebu and was welcomed by its ruler
Rajah Humabon and his wife Hara
Humamay. Around 800 Cebuanos were
converted to Catholicism (Magellan gave
Humabon the Santo Niño de Cebu as a
token of gratitude) and a blood compact
was performed. Humabon agreed to
swear an allegiance to Carlos V provided
that he will be made the king’s
representative to the Philippines and
become its supreme ruler. Magellan
agreed to these terms and named
Humabon the ruler of the Philippines.
One of the duties/privileges that the
Spanish had given Humabon was the
collection of taxes across the islands.
- Reduccion
is the centralization of the Filipino
community where churches, convents, casa
real and plaza complexes can be found.
Plazas are where people gather when there
are events or celebrations like festivals. By
using this system, the Spaniards can easily
monitor the movements of Filipinos to
prevent protests and to collect the taxes
easier. There are also changes in the
architectural designs of infrastructures.
- Bandala
forced selling of natives' products. The
amount and quality of product produced is
set by the government
Galleon Trade
-The Galleon Trade was a government monopoly.
In the policy of Galleon Trade, one must buy
boletas or the ticket for trading.
Effects:
a. The decrease in production of the native
industry becaue the Alcalde Mayors who were part
of the trading imposed the planting of coconut and
abaca fibers. The Farmers who could not meet the
imposed quota would need to pay heavy fine.

b. The loss of profit of the local industry

c. The intercultural exchanges between the

Philippines and Mexico. The products of mexico
like cocoa, sayote, tames, etc. entered the country
while the mango of the Philippines, rice and textile
were able to reach mexico.