Raiders of the Sulu Sea Overview

It is the 18th century and life for some of the coastal inhabitants of the Philippines was anything but idyllic. For without warning they could be attacked by the merciless Ilanun, the raiders of the Sulu Sea. When the Lannan captured people, they would bore a hole through their palm, put a string through the palm of each person. These raiders were fearsome and fearless in battle, even against better armed, technologically superior colonial forces. To the Western colonists, the raiders were nothing more than barbaric outlaws or pirates, and they were hunted down as such. It's very hard for someone who's not used to seeing slave raiding to understand slave raiding during those times was legal. There is speculation that these raiders were not the savages they were made out to be but merely indigenous people defending their way of life against a foreign oppressor. But there is little doubt that these raiders were skilled fighters and deadly swordsmen. They were also expert sailors and builders of formidable vessels of war. But these were no ragtag band of marauders. They were a well-organized force that could attack with precision and strategy. And they gave the Western colonial forces a run for their money. It is December the 8th 1720. In the southernmost reaches of Spanish occupied Philippines stands Zamboanga City, protecting the city's Fort Pilar. The garrison of 600 Spanish soldiers have already fought off several local rebel attempts to take the fort. But on this day, they will face a threat of unprecedented proportions. Heading their way, hundreds of ships carrying 3,000 battle-hardened raiders. The Spaniards are grossly outnumbered. The battle for Fort Pilar is about to begin. Zamburanga City sits at the tip of the southernmost peninsula of the Philippines. It is by no means a bustling metropolis these days, but it is still strategically located along an important sea route between the northern and southern regions of the Philippines. It was Zamboanga's geographical advantage that made it valuable to the Catholic Spaniards who colonized it in the 16th century. To protect their interests, the Spanish colonists built forts to discourage potential invaders. At the front line of these defenses was Fort del Pilar, a 10-meter-high fortress that sprawled over two acres. One of the most celebrated attacks at Port Pilar was the 1720 attack of the Maguindanao King, Dalasi. He was the King of Bulig in Maguindanao. Raja Dalasi was planning the attack on Sambuanga City together with the joint forces of the Sulu Sultanate. The Sulu and Maguindanao Sultanates were then the two main kingdoms controlling the Muslim colonies of the Southern Philippines. With the King of Maguindanao, Raja Dalasi at the helm, they launched a bloody attack on Fort Pilar. He attacked Zamboanga, burned the town around the fort, cut the line of provisions for the Spaniards, and began war against the soldiers inside the fort. But taking the fort would not be easy for Roger de Lassie and his fighters. This was a structure designed to withstand even the destructive force of cannonballs. Every possible approach to the fort was defended by rows of Spanish artillery. But even with their superior defenses and weaponry, the Spanish soldiers are greatly outnumbered, one to five. The Spanish army is the most powerful of the Spanish. Roger de Lassie's militia, armed with only an assortment of swords, plunge aggressively into battle against the cannons and firecrackers. arms of the Spaniards. Roger de Lassi's men are decimated by cannon fire, but they are relentless. Where is Lars? Wave after wave of raiders attack the fort until they finally reach the outer walls. The Spanish soldiers resort to desperate measures to fend off the raiders. They throw rocks and boiling water on Dalasi's men as they scale the walls of the fort. Raja Dalasi's raiders fight with a vengeance. The desire to rid Zamboanga of the Spanish drives them forward. They really have to suppress the Spanish presence here in the peninsula because the fort was the base operations point to check on slavery going to the north and coming back. According to some historians, slavery had been practiced among some tribes in the Philippines before the arrival of Western powers. But it was never a widespread or frequent activity. But the arrival of the Spanish and their desire to dominate trade in the region would trigger an escalation of slave raiding. The people of the southern Sultanates would defy their self-proclaimed Spanish masters by targeting Christian communities in the north. The Spanish referred to the slave raiders as Moros, after the Muslim fighters they encountered on Spanish soil some 75 years earlier. But they were, in fact, from three different tribes, and they would challenge Spanish authority throughout its occupancy. Piracy that were described by the colonial powers or colonial rule actually involved activities of different tribes in the Mindanao area as well as the Suru archipelago. But there were actually three particular groups of Muslims that were identified in these colonial sources. One was the Balanggingi tribes or Sama that occupied the chain of islands. between Basilan and Sulu Island. The second one, which is very important in piracy history, were the Ilanuns. The Ilanun and Samal were both long-standing seafaring communities. They would often join forces with the Taosug, a tribe without the maritime experience, but known for its fierce warriors and widespread political power. It was in fact the Taosug that controlled the Sulu Sultanate in the South, with the lineage of Taosug Sultans and high-ranking officials dating as far back as the 15th century. All of the piratical attacks, all the tyrant attacks conducted from Sulu, were conducted by the Sulu Sultanate. All this carried this contingent, you know, the Iranon, the Balangay Gisama, and of course the Tau Saguan. But historians also question whether the raiders from the southern Philippines should be called pirates. It comes down to intent. Were these raiders out for personal gain? Or were they simply serving their local political masters? All the books that talk about piracy deal with the problem of terminology. That using the word, the English word pirate, is actually misleading in some respects because it doesn't cover raiders, it doesn't cover people who acted on behalf of the state. For these Philippine moros, the raids to the north and attacks on Spanish forces were acts of retaliation against the foreign occupier. Most of these raids were also sanctioned by the Sultanates in the name of an even higher cause, Islam. The Philippines is made up of three main regions Mindanao in the south, Visayas in central Philippines and Luzon in the north. Islam reached the shores of the southern Philippines in 1380 and began to spread north. but it would later come up against an obstacle in the shape of the cross. There was certainly a great deal of pressure from the south for populations in the Visayas to become Islamized. But the presence of the Spanish in the Visayas and in the southern Luzon, to a great degree, that spread of Islam. In fact, the Spanish colonial administrators thought it was their responsibility to prevent the spread of Islam from the south to the Christianized populations to the north. the north. At its peak, the Spanish had an impressive empire that stretched across much of the world. These conquests were motivated not only for the wealth of these colonies, but the opportunity to propagate Christianity. In the Philippines, they landed in Luzon in the north. From here, Christianity spread, displacing Islam and indigenous tribal beliefs. In the predominantly Muslim South, however, Christianity's growing influence was viewed with scorn. concerned. It wasn't always about what the people in the south were after. It was more that the presence of the Spanish really undermined their commercial interests in the region. Now you had a new power in the region which was exerting its own agendas and its own influences. What the Sultanates in the south wanted to do was to maintain their power, right, if not increase it a little bit more. In the power struggle that ensued, both sides used their religious ideology to to further their influence. For the Muslim Sultanates, eradicating the Christian Spanish presence in Zamboanga was one of their top priorities. But how could the sword-wielding tribes of the south stand up against a militarily superior foe? How could they have assembled a flotilla of battleships that could pose a serious threat to the Spanish colonialists? The answer lies buried deep under centuries of soil. Butuan is a small town located at the northernmost region of Mindanao. In 1977, an archaeological dig would unearth the secrets of a distant past. Evidence of an ancient maritime civilization was found in this pond. Carbon dating of artifacts found point to a seafaring civilization that existed in the 4th century. Ancient mariners who traversed the seas around the Philippines long before the arrival of western colonists. The dig would eventually unearth a small fleet of ancient seaworthy vessels. The people who built these ships were deaf sailors with an intimate knowledge of the seas and how to navigate them. The slave raiders inherited these maritime skills from these early southern Filipino seafarers. It helped them build a flourishing trade in the bounty of the sea. By the mid 1700s, these ships evolved into sturdier, more seaworthy craft, and the scope of their commercial ventures grew. And fueled by a growing demand for slaves in the south, so too did the intensity and frequency of their raiding expeditions. What began as small raids within the archipelago went beyond Philippine seas to the Straits of Malacca, close to 2,000 kilometers away. Increase in slave, in the demand for slaves, fed into a situation by the mid 18th century when something very unusual, unprecedented happened in the Malacca Straits region. And that was the arrival in seasonal, seasonal arrival of very large numbers of raiders from the southern Philippines. The Ilanun slave raiders who landed at the Straits of the Lhaka were skilled warriors and they sailed formidable ships. They could go into very shallow waters, they had compasses even, they had cannon on board their ships, they had many rowers. The Ilanun built long-range vessels like the Joanga or Lanong. These ships had a large wide keel for stability and three large cloth sails on sturdy collapsible tripod-like masts. These vessels were 24 to 27 meters long with six meter wide hulls. Each had cannons mounted at the bow. Complementing the three mainsails were 34 oars on each side, rowed by captured slaves. These were their flagships, the Ilanun equivalent of a modern cruiser. Each vessel carried between 100 and 150 men, a captain or nakoda. a steersman and warrior sailors, slaves to power the oars, and captured local guides to help navigate unknown waters. The Ilanun used compasses, brass telescopes and the stars to navigate. They were also knowledgeable about the tempestuous monsoon winds of the region and used them to travel extensively during the months between August and October, in a period called the pirate season. By 1830, a smaller, faster and more maneuverable form of raiding boats replaced the joangas. They were the fast attack boats of the Samal raiding tribes and they were called the Garai. The Garai class of vessels was built from bamboo, wood and the Nipah palm and could carry more than 100 sailors. This single-sailed ship was 25 meters long and 6 meters across and housed a powder magazine and cannon at the bow. With 30 to 60 oars on each side, the Garai was faster than any other seagoing vessel of its time. The raiding fleets also comprised auxiliary vessels called salisipans. These were small boats designed for coastal raids. En route to a major raid, the fleets would collect manpower and ships from friendly raiding bases along the way, eventually building a fearsome, organized sea force. Now when they leave the shore on skeleton force, they pass by other bases and augment the labor into the ship. Then when they reach the coast, they usually hide their big boats because it can be seen from the shore. So they use the salisipan, the smaller vessel, to row into the shorelines and pretend that they are fishermen, they are harmless people. But these slave raiders were anything but harmless. When the Ilanun captured people, they would bore a hole through their palm, put a string through the palm of each person. Europeans were unable to do anything about it at this stage. They didn't have... their ships were not as fast as those of the Rannum. They weren't as manoeuvrable. And if they were to be calm, then of course they were fair game. And there weren't enough of them. Unlike the ships of the raiding tribes, Spanish galleons were slow and ungainly. While they were heavily armed, their deep keels prevented them from chasing raiding craft into the shallows. But behind this clash of religious doctrines was a more compelling reason for the Spanish to bring the slave raiders to heel. The spoils of trade with the Orient. Something the Spanish court wanted complete control of. The sea voyages of the ancient Filipino mariners of Butuan were not restricted to the Sulu seas. Artifacts originating from China that were found here are proof of the great distances traveled by them and the trading activities they were involved in. There is further proof that families of the Sulu Sultanate have themselves visited the resource-rich regions of China for commerce. Long before the entry of Western powers to the region, international trade was already flourishing. When Europeans first came to this region, they came for those, it was those products that attracted them. The products that couldn't be found anywhere else. Not only spices, but woods, tin. HEPA, and also by the 18th century, those products were also very important in China trade. So before Europeans arrived, there was already a... pattern of trade between China and India, and Europeans simply entered into that pattern. The difference was that Europeans wanted to control it. In many respects, the Spanish wanted to be part of this. They wanted to be part of this process of exchange and trade. But they wanted to do so in conjunction with conversion and conjunction with colonization of the islands. So this presented some very, very important consequences. between the people in the south and the newly arrived powers of the Spanish. As the Spanish seized control of the Philippines, the influence of the Muslim south waned. The new Western masters sought to dominate trade in Holo, the seat of power of the Sulu Sultanate. Today, Holo is the only Muslim state in the world Apollo is a mere shadow of the great commercial and political power it once was. And while the seafaring warrior slave raiders of old are long gone, their proud descendants still live here. This calice is roughly 300 plus years old. It was during the time of the Spanish. It is my preferred weapon because in the mystical side I feel I feel the oldness of the weapon in my hand. I feel the person who held this before. I feel his strength. Halman Abu Bakr is a direct descendant of Tausug rulers. Like his warrior ancestors, he is an exponent of the martial art of Silat. Practicing it is his way of keeping the heritage of his people alive. Halman is also a city councillor in Halu. Like his Taosug predecessors, he champions the cause of his people, the Muslim communities of Mindanao in southern Philippines. But today, he does so with diplomacy, not the sword. Maybe Spain only wanted to Christianize. Hello. Force-feeding us with something that we don't want to believe in is like oppression. So we go to war. And when you call us pirates, The pirates were doing that. It's your decision. But to us, we are fighting for something we believe in. We are freedom fighters. It is our fight for freedom. Freedom from oppression. Freedom from not losing your own identity. Amongst Halman's prized possessions are a variety of ancient Tausug weapons. This is the barong. The story goes the barong is the one the Tausug warriors used to cut off an M14, a carbine because it is the blade is thick. As you can hear it. It's pure. The barong was a deadly weapon. The sword with a single-edged leaf-shaped blade made of thick tempered steel. This approximately one meter long weapon was used in close hand-to-hand battle to cut Spanish firearms down to size. Criss or Calis was both a weapon of warfare and ceremony. This sword, measuring up to 1.2 meters in length, was not only carried by slave raiders into battle, but also by nobles and high-ranking officials of the Southern Sultanates. Double-edged and with either a smooth or wavy blade, the Criss could make quick work of any enemy in close combat. The reason for these curvings is for easy slashing. The steel would penetrate the bone and it would stick, so it's very hard to pull. So the Tausug warriors made it like this so you can actually pull it faster. The longest of the swords used by the raiders, primarily the Ilanun, was the Kampilan. This heavy, single-edged sword was often adorned with hair to make it look even more beautiful. more intimidating. It was also common to find Kampilan with grooves cut into the blade to indicate the number of lives it had claimed. At the end of the blade, at the tip of the blade, are two horns projecting from the blood side, which is being used to pick up the head of a capitated body. The wealthier raiders also protected themselves in battle with armor. This heavy armor, made from Carabao horn or steel plates, was molded to fit the body and held together with chainmail. It could deflect the blows from a sword, but they were useless against Spanish firearms. Even then, this battle between the sword and the firearm was not dramatically one-sided. The Spanish firearm, called a musket, had its limitations. A musket could fire its ball-bearing projectile as far as 90 meters. But it was inaccurate and took several tedious steps to reload. Even the best musketeers could only manage three shots per minute, giving ways of sword-wielding raiders ample time to come within striking range. Even with bayonets mounted, muskets were not efficient weapons for close combat. The battles between the slave raiders and the Spanish were clashes of ideology. Islam against Christianity. The indigenous way of life against the enforced values of the occupiers. The might of the sword against the destructive power of gunpowder. And it would all come to a head in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. On the 8th of December 1720, Raja Dalasi led a 3,000 strong coalition of warriors against 600 Spanish soldiers at Fort Pilar, Zamboanga City. At one point, it was possible that the sheer number of raiders could have overrun the fort. But that never happened. The slave raiders'attack on Fort Pilar was poorly conceived. As musket fire corroded, rung were put in hunger. The ships that the Spaniards used was impossible for them to be able to go close to the island. So they ordered steamships from England. At Clever Ears'disposal were three British-built steamships. the Magallanes, Elcano and Reina Castilla. Cleveria used the ship's artillery to bombard the forts of Balanguini Island. For once, the usually stoic raiders were shaken. Taking advantage of the damage done by the barrage of artillery fire, the Spanish stormed the forts. This time, it was the raiders who outnumbered. The men were actually out during their slave expeditions. So they were met in all the forts by men who remained behind with their women and children. But what the Spanish found awaiting them inside the fort was not what they were expecting. Faced with certain capture, the raiders resorted to an unthinkable act. But the other men killed the women and the women also killed their children. So it was, they'd rather kill themselves than be taken captive of the Spaniards. 450 Samao died in battle. All four of Balangini's forts and 150 raiding ships were destroyed. The Spaniards granted clemency to the 350 Samal men and women who were captured alive. Panglima Taupan was not amongst them. But they did capture his pregnant wife Noila. After years of failed attempts, the Spanish had finally succeeded in destroying the raiding base of Palanginy Island. Eventually, because his family was taken captive in Sibisa by the Spaniards, he decided to surrender. And from his surrender in 1858, he was brought to Zamboanga City by the Spaniards. With most of their fleet destroyed and their bases of operation dismantled, the slave raiding activities dwindled. They were now at the mercy of the Spaniards. Governor General Cleveria used this advantageous position and his flotilla of steamships to deal one final blow to the slave raiders. The critical demarcation point comes with the introduction of steamships. Because steamships now are not dependent on the wind. They can chase a sailing ship anywhere. They can be armed with guns and they can attack really anyone they want to. Cleverere's secret weapon put the Spaniards well ahead of the raiders. His coal-burning steamships were faster than the slave-powered raiding vessels. And better yet, the steamships were not dependent on the winds. They were better built and were able to carry a significantly more lethal battery of armaments. In short, they marked the end of the once-feared navies of the Sultanates. Because of this successful colonial response, the sense of hopelessness began to enter into Muslim consciousness. There are only two choices. First, to follow the rest of the country and become a subjugated people. Or they continue to resist. The slave raiders, however, would go down fighting. Even with their fleet of ships destroyed, some amongst them continued to resist the rule of the Spanish. But it would be in vain. The Spanish-American War in the late 19th century saw the Philippines shift from one colonial power to another. The Americans not only got control of the Philippines, but also inherited their predecessors'problems with the Raiders, albeit on a much smaller scale. The thorn in the American side was a Taosuc raider called Jiquiri. Jiquiri and his men killed Americans in the area. This incensed the new colonial masters and they responded with a vengeance. The ships that the Spaniards used was impossible for them to be able to go close to the island so they ordered steam ships from England. At Cleveria's disposal were three British-built steamships, the Magallanes, Elcano and Reina Castilla. Cleveria used the ship's artillery to bombard the forts of Balangini Island. For once, the usually stoic raiders were shaken. Taking advantage of the damage done by the barrage of artillery fire, the Spanish stormed the forts. This time, it was the raiders who outnumbered. The men were actually out during their slave expeditions. So they were met in all the forts by men who remained behind with their women and children. But what the Spanish found awaiting them inside the fort was not what they were expecting. Faced with certain capture, the raiders resorted to an unthinkable act. But the other men killed the women and the women also killed their children. So it was, they'd rather kill themselves than be taken captive of the Spaniards. 450 Samao died in battle. All four of Balangini's forts and 150 raiding ships were destroyed. The Spaniards granted clemency to the 350 Samal men and women who were captured alive. Panglima Taupan was not amongst them. But they did capture his pregnant wife, Noila. After years of failed attempts, the Spanish had finally succeeded in destroying the raiding base of Palangini Island. Eventually, because his family was taken captive in Sibisa by the Spaniards, he decided to surrender. And from his surrender in 1858, he was brought to Zamboanga City by the Spaniards. With most of their fleet destroyed and their bases of operation dismantled, the slave raiding activities dwindled. They were now at the mercy of the Spaniards. Governor General Cleveria used this advantageous position and his flotilla of steamships to deal one final blow to the slave raiders. The critical demarcation point comes with the introduction of steamships. Because steamships now are not dependent on the wind. They can chase a sailing ship anywhere. They can be armed with guns and they can attack really anyone they want to. Cleverere's secret weapon put the Spaniards well ahead of the raiders. His coal-burning steamships were faster than the slave-powered raiding vessels. And better yet, the steamships were not dependent on the winds. They were better built and were able to carry a significantly more lethal battery of armaments. In short, they marked the end of the once-feared navies of the Sultanates. Because of this successful colonial response, the sense of hopelessness began to enter into Muslim consciousness. There are only two choices. First, to follow the rest of the country and become a subjugated people. Or they continue to resist. The slave raiders, however, would go down fighting. Even with their fleet of ships destroyed, some amongst them continued to resist the rule of the Spanish. But it would be in vain. The Spanish-American War in the late 19th century saw the Philippines shift from one colonial power to another. The Americans not only got control of the Philippines, but also inherited their predecessors'problems with the raiders, albeit on a much smaller scale. The thorn in the American side was a Taosuk raider called Jikiri. Jikiri and his men killed Americans in the area. This incensed the new colonial masters and they responded with a vengeance. The Americans ruthlessly hunted and killed Jikiri and other raiders. You! To the Americans, like the Spanish before them, the Raiders were mere pirates and bandits. J'Kiri would eventually meet the same fate as his predecessors, Raja De Lassi and Panglima Taupan. Defeat. Hold your fire! The days of raiding in the Philippines were over. Fire! When you look at the Taosug economy in the southern Philippines, which had really depended heavily on, gained a great deal of income from buying and selling slaves and using slaves in their own economy, when the market for slaves dried, up by the late 19th century, by the 1870s or thereabouts. Their economy was in a very marked decline because it had depended so heavily on the slave, selling slaves for revenue. The Sultanates eventually lost their political and economic hold in Sulu and it was gradually assimilated into the jurisdiction of the Philippine government. But it retained its autonomy. Today the once wealthy and powerful Sultanates are a distant memory. This southern region of the Philippines faces new challenges. Social, economic and cultural. But some things it would seem haven't changed. 600 years on and there are still conflicts in this region. I don't want my children to grow up seeing Holo like this. Because wherever they go, they would still be Tausu. They cannot cover land. They are Tausu. And I don't want them to be embarrassed with their homeland. So I want to be an example that we can change. We can change everything. We can get back what was lost. Let Holo stand up again. Let them realize how glorious our Holo is before. Tau Suglekhalman Abubakar are proud of their heritage and do what they can to keep the memory of their ancestors alive. Together with the Ilanun and Samal, they once ruled a mighty empire. Whether these tribes are considered brutal pirates, bandits or freedom fighters is a question of perspective. But they were excellent mariners, builders of the most superior sea-going vessels of their time, fearless warriors and skilled fighters. And there's little doubt they've earned their place in history as the raiders of the Sulu Sea.

It's very hard for someone who's not used to seeing slave raiding to understand slave raiding during those times was legal. There is speculation that these raiders were not the savages they were made out to be but merely indigenous people defending their way of life against a foreign oppressor. But there is little doubt that these raiders were skilled fighters and deadly swordsmen.

They were also expert sailors and builders of formidable vessels of war. But these were no ragtag band of marauders. They were a well-organized force that could attack with precision and strategy. And they gave the Western colonial forces a run for their money. It is December the 8th 1720. In the southernmost reaches of Spanish occupied Philippines stands Zamboanga City, protecting the city's Fort Pilar.

The garrison of 600 Spanish soldiers have already fought off several local rebel attempts to take the fort. But on this day, they will face a threat of unprecedented proportions. Heading their way, hundreds of ships carrying 3,000 battle-hardened raiders.

The Spaniards are grossly outnumbered. The battle for Fort Pilar is about to begin. Zamburanga City sits at the tip of the southernmost peninsula of the Philippines.

It is by no means a bustling metropolis these days, but it is still strategically located along an important sea route between the northern and southern regions of the Philippines. It was Zamboanga's geographical advantage that made it valuable to the Catholic Spaniards who colonized it in the 16th century. To protect their interests, the Spanish colonists built forts to discourage potential invaders. At the front line of these defenses was Fort del Pilar, a 10-meter-high fortress that sprawled over two acres. One of the most celebrated attacks at Port Pilar was the 1720 attack of the Maguindanao King, Dalasi.

He was the King of Bulig in Maguindanao. Raja Dalasi was planning the attack on Sambuanga City together with the joint forces of the Sulu Sultanate. The Sulu and Maguindanao Sultanates were then the two main kingdoms controlling the Muslim colonies of the Southern Philippines.

With the King of Maguindanao, Raja Dalasi at the helm, they launched a bloody attack on Fort Pilar. He attacked Zamboanga, burned the town around the fort, cut the line of provisions for the Spaniards, and began war against the soldiers inside the fort. But taking the fort would not be easy for Roger de Lassie and his fighters. This was a structure designed to withstand even the destructive force of cannonballs.

Every possible approach to the fort was defended by rows of Spanish artillery. But even with their superior defenses and weaponry, the Spanish soldiers are greatly outnumbered, one to five. The Spanish army is the most powerful of the Spanish. Roger de Lassie's militia, armed with only an assortment of swords, plunge aggressively into battle against the cannons and firecrackers.

arms of the Spaniards. Roger de Lassi's men are decimated by cannon fire, but they are relentless. Where is Lars?

Wave after wave of raiders attack the fort until they finally reach the outer walls. The Spanish soldiers resort to desperate measures to fend off the raiders. They throw rocks and boiling water on Dalasi's men as they scale the walls of the fort. Raja Dalasi's raiders fight with a vengeance.

The desire to rid Zamboanga of the Spanish drives them forward. They really have to suppress the Spanish presence here in the peninsula because the fort was the base operations point to check on slavery going to the north and coming back. According to some historians, slavery had been practiced among some tribes in the Philippines before the arrival of Western powers.

But it was never a widespread or frequent activity. But the arrival of the Spanish and their desire to dominate trade in the region would trigger an escalation of slave raiding. The people of the southern Sultanates would defy their self-proclaimed Spanish masters by targeting Christian communities in the north.

The Spanish referred to the slave raiders as Moros, after the Muslim fighters they encountered on Spanish soil some 75 years earlier. But they were, in fact, from three different tribes, and they would challenge Spanish authority throughout its occupancy. Piracy that were described by the colonial powers or colonial rule actually involved activities of different tribes in the Mindanao area as well as the Suru archipelago.

But there were actually three particular groups of Muslims that were identified in these colonial sources. One was the Balanggingi tribes or Sama that occupied the chain of islands. between Basilan and Sulu Island.

The second one, which is very important in piracy history, were the Ilanuns. The Ilanun and Samal were both long-standing seafaring communities. They would often join forces with the Taosug, a tribe without the maritime experience, but known for its fierce warriors and widespread political power.

It was in fact the Taosug that controlled the Sulu Sultanate in the South, with the lineage of Taosug Sultans and high-ranking officials dating as far back as the 15th century. All of the piratical attacks, all the tyrant attacks conducted from Sulu, were conducted by the Sulu Sultanate. All this carried this contingent, you know, the Iranon, the Balangay Gisama, and of course the Tau Saguan.

But historians also question whether the raiders from the southern Philippines should be called pirates. It comes down to intent. Were these raiders out for personal gain?

Or were they simply serving their local political masters? All the books that talk about piracy deal with the problem of terminology. That using the word, the English word pirate, is actually misleading in some respects because it doesn't cover raiders, it doesn't cover people who acted on behalf of the state. For these Philippine moros, the raids to the north and attacks on Spanish forces were acts of retaliation against the foreign occupier.

Most of these raids were also sanctioned by the Sultanates in the name of an even higher cause, Islam. The Philippines is made up of three main regions Mindanao in the south, Visayas in central Philippines and Luzon in the north. Islam reached the shores of the southern Philippines in 1380 and began to spread north. but it would later come up against an obstacle in the shape of the cross.

There was certainly a great deal of pressure from the south for populations in the Visayas to become Islamized. But the presence of the Spanish in the Visayas and in the southern Luzon, to a great degree, that spread of Islam. In fact, the Spanish colonial administrators thought it was their responsibility to prevent the spread of Islam from the south to the Christianized populations to the north. the north. At its peak, the Spanish had an impressive empire that stretched across much of the world.

These conquests were motivated not only for the wealth of these colonies, but the opportunity to propagate Christianity. In the Philippines, they landed in Luzon in the north. From here, Christianity spread, displacing Islam and indigenous tribal beliefs.

In the predominantly Muslim South, however, Christianity's growing influence was viewed with scorn. concerned. It wasn't always about what the people in the south were after. It was more that the presence of the Spanish really undermined their commercial interests in the region. Now you had a new power in the region which was exerting its own agendas and its own influences.

What the Sultanates in the south wanted to do was to maintain their power, right, if not increase it a little bit more. In the power struggle that ensued, both sides used their religious ideology to to further their influence. For the Muslim Sultanates, eradicating the Christian Spanish presence in Zamboanga was one of their top priorities.

But how could the sword-wielding tribes of the south stand up against a militarily superior foe? How could they have assembled a flotilla of battleships that could pose a serious threat to the Spanish colonialists? The answer lies buried deep under centuries of soil.

Butuan is a small town located at the northernmost region of Mindanao. In 1977, an archaeological dig would unearth the secrets of a distant past. Evidence of an ancient maritime civilization was found in this pond.

Carbon dating of artifacts found point to a seafaring civilization that existed in the 4th century. Ancient mariners who traversed the seas around the Philippines long before the arrival of western colonists. The dig would eventually unearth a small fleet of ancient seaworthy vessels.

The people who built these ships were deaf sailors with an intimate knowledge of the seas and how to navigate them. The slave raiders inherited these maritime skills from these early southern Filipino seafarers. It helped them build a flourishing trade in the bounty of the sea.

By the mid 1700s, these ships evolved into sturdier, more seaworthy craft, and the scope of their commercial ventures grew. And fueled by a growing demand for slaves in the south, so too did the intensity and frequency of their raiding expeditions. What began as small raids within the archipelago went beyond Philippine seas to the Straits of Malacca, close to 2,000 kilometers away.

Increase in slave, in the demand for slaves, fed into a situation by the mid 18th century when something very unusual, unprecedented happened in the Malacca Straits region. And that was the arrival in seasonal, seasonal arrival of very large numbers of raiders from the southern Philippines. The Ilanun slave raiders who landed at the Straits of the Lhaka were skilled warriors and they sailed formidable ships. They could go into very shallow waters, they had compasses even, they had cannon on board their ships, they had many rowers. The Ilanun built long-range vessels like the Joanga or Lanong.

These ships had a large wide keel for stability and three large cloth sails on sturdy collapsible tripod-like masts. These vessels were 24 to 27 meters long with six meter wide hulls. Each had cannons mounted at the bow. Complementing the three mainsails were 34 oars on each side, rowed by captured slaves. These were their flagships, the Ilanun equivalent of a modern cruiser.

Each vessel carried between 100 and 150 men, a captain or nakoda. a steersman and warrior sailors, slaves to power the oars, and captured local guides to help navigate unknown waters. The Ilanun used compasses, brass telescopes and the stars to navigate.

They were also knowledgeable about the tempestuous monsoon winds of the region and used them to travel extensively during the months between August and October, in a period called the pirate season. By 1830, a smaller, faster and more maneuverable form of raiding boats replaced the joangas. They were the fast attack boats of the Samal raiding tribes and they were called the Garai.

The Garai class of vessels was built from bamboo, wood and the Nipah palm and could carry more than 100 sailors. This single-sailed ship was 25 meters long and 6 meters across and housed a powder magazine and cannon at the bow. With 30 to 60 oars on each side, the Garai was faster than any other seagoing vessel of its time.

The raiding fleets also comprised auxiliary vessels called salisipans. These were small boats designed for coastal raids. En route to a major raid, the fleets would collect manpower and ships from friendly raiding bases along the way, eventually building a fearsome, organized sea force.

Now when they leave the shore on skeleton force, they pass by other bases and augment the labor into the ship. Then when they reach the coast, they usually hide their big boats because it can be seen from the shore. So they use the salisipan, the smaller vessel, to row into the shorelines and pretend that they are fishermen, they are harmless people.

But these slave raiders were anything but harmless. When the Ilanun captured people, they would bore a hole through their palm, put a string through the palm of each person. Europeans were unable to do anything about it at this stage. They didn't have... their ships were not as fast as those of the Rannum.

They weren't as manoeuvrable. And if they were to be calm, then of course they were fair game. And there weren't enough of them.

Unlike the ships of the raiding tribes, Spanish galleons were slow and ungainly. While they were heavily armed, their deep keels prevented them from chasing raiding craft into the shallows. But behind this clash of religious doctrines was a more compelling reason for the Spanish to bring the slave raiders to heel. The spoils of trade with the Orient. Something the Spanish court wanted complete control of.

The sea voyages of the ancient Filipino mariners of Butuan were not restricted to the Sulu seas. Artifacts originating from China that were found here are proof of the great distances traveled by them and the trading activities they were involved in. There is further proof that families of the Sulu Sultanate have themselves visited the resource-rich regions of China for commerce. Long before the entry of Western powers to the region, international trade was already flourishing. When Europeans first came to this region, they came for those, it was those products that attracted them.

The products that couldn't be found anywhere else. Not only spices, but woods, tin. HEPA, and also by the 18th century, those products were also very important in China trade. So before Europeans arrived, there was already a... pattern of trade between China and India, and Europeans simply entered into that pattern.

The difference was that Europeans wanted to control it. In many respects, the Spanish wanted to be part of this. They wanted to be part of this process of exchange and trade. But they wanted to do so in conjunction with conversion and conjunction with colonization of the islands.

So this presented some very, very important consequences. between the people in the south and the newly arrived powers of the Spanish. As the Spanish seized control of the Philippines, the influence of the Muslim south waned.

The new Western masters sought to dominate trade in Holo, the seat of power of the Sulu Sultanate. Today, Holo is the only Muslim state in the world Apollo is a mere shadow of the great commercial and political power it once was. And while the seafaring warrior slave raiders of old are long gone, their proud descendants still live here. This calice is roughly 300 plus years old.

It was during the time of the Spanish. It is my preferred weapon because in the mystical side I feel I feel the oldness of the weapon in my hand. I feel the person who held this before. I feel his strength. Halman Abu Bakr is a direct descendant of Tausug rulers.

Like his warrior ancestors, he is an exponent of the martial art of Silat. Practicing it is his way of keeping the heritage of his people alive. Halman is also a city councillor in Halu. Like his Taosug predecessors, he champions the cause of his people, the Muslim communities of Mindanao in southern Philippines. But today, he does so with diplomacy, not the sword.

Maybe Spain only wanted to Christianize. Hello. Force-feeding us with something that we don't want to believe in is like oppression. So we go to war. And when you call us pirates, The pirates were doing that.

It's your decision. But to us, we are fighting for something we believe in. We are freedom fighters.

It is our fight for freedom. Freedom from oppression. Freedom from not losing your own identity.

Amongst Halman's prized possessions are a variety of ancient Tausug weapons. This is the barong. The story goes the barong is the one the Tausug warriors used to cut off an M14, a carbine because it is the blade is thick.

As you can hear it. It's pure. The barong was a deadly weapon.

The sword with a single-edged leaf-shaped blade made of thick tempered steel. This approximately one meter long weapon was used in close hand-to-hand battle to cut Spanish firearms down to size. Criss or Calis was both a weapon of warfare and ceremony.

This sword, measuring up to 1.2 meters in length, was not only carried by slave raiders into battle, but also by nobles and high-ranking officials of the Southern Sultanates. Double-edged and with either a smooth or wavy blade, the Criss could make quick work of any enemy in close combat. The reason for these curvings is for easy slashing.

The steel would penetrate the bone and it would stick, so it's very hard to pull. So the Tausug warriors made it like this so you can actually pull it faster. The longest of the swords used by the raiders, primarily the Ilanun, was the Kampilan. This heavy, single-edged sword was often adorned with hair to make it look even more beautiful. more intimidating.

It was also common to find Kampilan with grooves cut into the blade to indicate the number of lives it had claimed. At the end of the blade, at the tip of the blade, are two horns projecting from the blood side, which is being used to pick up the head of a capitated body. The wealthier raiders also protected themselves in battle with armor. This heavy armor, made from Carabao horn or steel plates, was molded to fit the body and held together with chainmail. It could deflect the blows from a sword, but they were useless against Spanish firearms.

Even then, this battle between the sword and the firearm was not dramatically one-sided. The Spanish firearm, called a musket, had its limitations. A musket could fire its ball-bearing projectile as far as 90 meters. But it was inaccurate and took several tedious steps to reload. Even the best musketeers could only manage three shots per minute, giving ways of sword-wielding raiders ample time to come within striking range.

Even with bayonets mounted, muskets were not efficient weapons for close combat. The battles between the slave raiders and the Spanish were clashes of ideology. Islam against Christianity. The indigenous way of life against the enforced values of the occupiers. The might of the sword against the destructive power of gunpowder.

And it would all come to a head in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. On the 8th of December 1720, Raja Dalasi led a 3,000 strong coalition of warriors against 600 Spanish soldiers at Fort Pilar, Zamboanga City. At one point, it was possible that the sheer number of raiders could have overrun the fort. But that never happened. The slave raiders'attack on Fort Pilar was poorly conceived.

As musket fire corroded, rung were put in hunger. The ships that the Spaniards used was impossible for them to be able to go close to the island. So they ordered steamships from England. At Clever Ears'disposal were three British-built steamships.

the Magallanes, Elcano and Reina Castilla. Cleveria used the ship's artillery to bombard the forts of Balanguini Island. For once, the usually stoic raiders were shaken.

Taking advantage of the damage done by the barrage of artillery fire, the Spanish stormed the forts. This time, it was the raiders who outnumbered. The men were actually out during their slave expeditions.

But the other men killed the women and the women also killed their children. So it was, they'd rather kill themselves than be taken captive of the Spaniards. 450 Samao died in battle.

All four of Balangini's forts and 150 raiding ships were destroyed. The Spaniards granted clemency to the 350 Samal men and women who were captured alive. Panglima Taupan was not amongst them. But they did capture his pregnant wife Noila. After years of failed attempts, the Spanish had finally succeeded in destroying the raiding base of Palanginy Island.

Eventually, because his family was taken captive in Sibisa by the Spaniards, he decided to surrender. And from his surrender in 1858, he was brought to Zamboanga City by the Spaniards. With most of their fleet destroyed and their bases of operation dismantled, the slave raiding activities dwindled. They were now at the mercy of the Spaniards. Governor General Cleveria used this advantageous position and his flotilla of steamships to deal one final blow to the slave raiders.

The critical demarcation point comes with the introduction of steamships. Because steamships now are not dependent on the wind. They can chase a sailing ship anywhere. They can be armed with guns and they can attack really anyone they want to.

They were better built and were able to carry a significantly more lethal battery of armaments. In short, they marked the end of the once-feared navies of the Sultanates. Because of this successful colonial response, the sense of hopelessness began to enter into Muslim consciousness. There are only two choices. First, to follow the rest of the country and become a subjugated people.

The Spanish-American War in the late 19th century saw the Philippines shift from one colonial power to another. The Americans not only got control of the Philippines, but also inherited their predecessors'problems with the Raiders, albeit on a much smaller scale. The thorn in the American side was a Taosuc raider called Jiquiri. Jiquiri and his men killed Americans in the area.

This incensed the new colonial masters and they responded with a vengeance. The ships that the Spaniards used was impossible for them to be able to go close to the island so they ordered steam ships from England. At Cleveria's disposal were three British-built steamships, the Magallanes, Elcano and Reina Castilla.

Cleveria used the ship's artillery to bombard the forts of Balangini Island. For once, the usually stoic raiders were shaken. Taking advantage of the damage done by the barrage of artillery fire, the Spanish stormed the forts. This time, it was the raiders who outnumbered. The men were actually out during their slave expeditions.

So they were met in all the forts by men who remained behind with their women and children. But what the Spanish found awaiting them inside the fort was not what they were expecting. Faced with certain capture, the raiders resorted to an unthinkable act. But the other men killed the women and the women also killed their children. So it was, they'd rather kill themselves than be taken captive of the Spaniards.

450 Samao died in battle. All four of Balangini's forts and 150 raiding ships were destroyed. The Spaniards granted clemency to the 350 Samal men and women who were captured alive. Panglima Taupan was not amongst them. But they did capture his pregnant wife, Noila.

After years of failed attempts, the Spanish had finally succeeded in destroying the raiding base of Palangini Island. Eventually, because his family was taken captive in Sibisa by the Spaniards, he decided to surrender. And from his surrender in 1858, he was brought to Zamboanga City by the Spaniards.

With most of their fleet destroyed and their bases of operation dismantled, the slave raiding activities dwindled. They were now at the mercy of the Spaniards. Governor General Cleveria used this advantageous position and his flotilla of steamships to deal one final blow to the slave raiders. The critical demarcation point comes with the introduction of steamships.

Because steamships now are not dependent on the wind. They can chase a sailing ship anywhere. They can be armed with guns and they can attack really anyone they want to.

Cleverere's secret weapon put the Spaniards well ahead of the raiders. His coal-burning steamships were faster than the slave-powered raiding vessels. And better yet, the steamships were not dependent on the winds. They were better built and were able to carry a significantly more lethal battery of armaments. In short, they marked the end of the once-feared navies of the Sultanates.

Because of this successful colonial response, the sense of hopelessness began to enter into Muslim consciousness. There are only two choices. First, to follow the rest of the country and become a subjugated people.

Or they continue to resist. The slave raiders, however, would go down fighting. Even with their fleet of ships destroyed, some amongst them continued to resist the rule of the Spanish. But it would be in vain. The Spanish-American War in the late 19th century saw the Philippines shift from one colonial power to another.

The Americans not only got control of the Philippines, but also inherited their predecessors'problems with the raiders, albeit on a much smaller scale. The thorn in the American side was a Taosuk raider called Jikiri. Jikiri and his men killed Americans in the area. This incensed the new colonial masters and they responded with a vengeance. The Americans ruthlessly hunted and killed Jikiri and other raiders.

You! To the Americans, like the Spanish before them, the Raiders were mere pirates and bandits. J'Kiri would eventually meet the same fate as his predecessors, Raja De Lassi and Panglima Taupan. Defeat.

Hold your fire! The days of raiding in the Philippines were over. Fire! When you look at the Taosug economy in the southern Philippines, which had really depended heavily on, gained a great deal of income from buying and selling slaves and using slaves in their own economy, when the market for slaves dried, up by the late 19th century, by the 1870s or thereabouts.

Their economy was in a very marked decline because it had depended so heavily on the slave, selling slaves for revenue. The Sultanates eventually lost their political and economic hold in Sulu and it was gradually assimilated into the jurisdiction of the Philippine government. But it retained its autonomy. Today the once wealthy and powerful Sultanates are a distant memory.

This southern region of the Philippines faces new challenges. Social, economic and cultural. But some things it would seem haven't changed. 600 years on and there are still conflicts in this region. I don't want my children to grow up seeing Holo like this.

Because wherever they go, they would still be Tausu. They cannot cover land. They are Tausu. And I don't want them to be embarrassed with their homeland. So I want to be an example that we can change.

We can change everything. We can get back what was lost. Let Holo stand up again.

Let them realize how glorious our Holo is before. Tau Suglekhalman Abubakar are proud of their heritage and do what they can to keep the memory of their ancestors alive. Together with the Ilanun and Samal, they once ruled a mighty empire.

Whether these tribes are considered brutal pirates, bandits or freedom fighters is a question of perspective. But they were excellent mariners, builders of the most superior sea-going vessels of their time, fearless warriors and skilled fighters. And there's little doubt they've earned their place in history as the raiders of the Sulu Sea.

Transcript for:Raiders of the Sulu Sea Overview

Transcript for:
Raiders of the Sulu Sea Overview