THE ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY    

          King Charles of Spain commissioned Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese to search for the Spice Islands in the Pacific by sailing Eastward. Spice trade was very profitable because of increasing demand in Europe. From San Lucar, Spain Magellan left with 250 men and 5 ships on 20 September 1519.

          After 6 months of hardship, on 17 March 1521 Magellan sighted an island and named it " Archipelago of St. Lazarus" which is actually the Samar Island. Magellan stopped at Homonhon Island and disembarked at Limasawa in Leyte where the first Catholic mass in the Philippines was celebrated on 31 March 1521.

          Magellan sailed southwest and reached Mactan Island. The natives under Rajah Lapu-lapu refused the intention of the newcomers. The natives chose to fight to avoid submission. The famous Battle of Mactan took place on 27 April 1521. The Castilians armed with muskets, crossbows, swords, body armor and shields were defeated and Lapu-lapu slew Magellan.

          After the shambles in Mactan, King Charles I sent another expeditions. 1525 up to 1527 but all failed to produce good results. Because of bankruptcy, King Charles signed the Treaty of Zaragosa with Portugal on 22 April 1529 providing the delineation in the Pacific at 297.5 leagues east of Moluccas. With this treaty the Philippines and Moluccas now a colony of Portugal.

          Though the treaty is in effect, King Charles I sent expedition in 1542 under Roy de Villalobos to establish permanent hold in Islas de Poniente, the present Philippines. Villalobos with Augustinian priests landed in Sarangani on 1543. The aggressiveness of Moro and poverty of place drove the Spaniards from the island. On route, a crew named Bernardo dela Torre gave the name Las Islas de Filipinas in honor of Prince Philip, the heir to throne.

          Philip became king in 1556 and from accidental discovery, the new King made it a policy  to colonize the islands in his name. King Philip ordered Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to left Mexico for the Philippines on November 1564 with Fray Andres de Urdaneta. Legazpi landed in Panay Island on 27 April 1565 and conquered other areas. He ordered Captain Martin de Goiti to surmount the fortified town called Manila in Luzon Island.

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            Rajah Sulaiman Mahmud and Rajah Matanda rule Manila Sultanate( now Fort Santiago) and Rajah Lakandula  in Tondo. The Rajah were Bornean descendants and kin of Brunei Sultan. The Spaniards and Muslims had already hatred and prejudice for each other after the Fall of Granada in 1492. The Battle of Bangkusay took place on 3 June 1571 with Rajah Sulaiman, the last Muslim ruler of Manila perished. The fall of Manila was the start of Luzon and Visayas colonization within 11 years and the Spaniards ruled the land for 327 years.

          The Moro-Spanish war begun in 1578 after the Brunei campaign, followed in Sulu against Sultan Buddiman Pangiran of Sulu. The Spaniards were avoiding the alliance of Moros with other European colonizers who were also interested in spice trade.

          Governor-General Francisco de Sande ordered Captain Esteban de Figueroa to subdue the Moros. On 01 April 1596, Figueroa landed in Tampakan. Rajah Silongan and Datu Obal led the Maguindanaon defenders. A fierce battle took place with Captain Figueroa's head cut into halves by Datu Obal. Juan de Lara immediately left for Manila after the death of Figueroa.

          The Moros knew that Spaniards will retaliate. In 1599, the Moros conducted a counterstrike on Spaniards territory by raids and collected valuable items and led to capture of Jesuit priest Melchor Hurtado in 1603. In 1627 Sultan Bungsu with 200 men and 30 boats attacked the Camarines shipyard of Spanish and confiscated artillery, ammunitions and precious metals plus 300 prisoners. For almost 3 decades, the raiders were able to sold 20,000 prisoners in markets of Batavia, Ternate, Ambonia, Makassar, Java and the Madras.

          The Maguindanao reached its Golden Age under Sultan Muhammad Qudarat who was ascended in 1619. Cotabato, Lanao, Davao, Misamis, Bukidnon and Zamboanga were under his influence. The seafarers and merchants of Borneo, Basilan and Visayas pay tributes to him and the natives recognized Qudarat as the one sent by Allah to punish the Spaniards.

          On 13 March 1637,Governor-General Hortado de Corcuerra with the order to subdue the whole Mindanao left Zamboanga and landed in Lamitan. Corcuerra and his army of 800 men pushed inland and fighting intensified. Sultan Qudarat was wounded but able to escape and lost 8 canons, and 27 lantakas . The Sultan seek refuge in Lake Lanao, inspired the Maranao Sultans not to submit to Spaniards and declared Jihad with the invitation to rulers of Brunei, Sulu, Ternate, and Makassar to unite in defense of Islam. Consequently, attacks against his sultanate failed. Sultan Qudarat was never subdued and died of old age of 90. 

          Governor-General Corcuerra again led the assault in Sulu with 500 Spanish soldiers and 1,000 native allies on 04 January 1638. The fighting lasted for 3 months which ended in a truce with Sultan Bongsu who led the 4,000 defenders. On this period, Spanish soldiers were recalled to Manila to anticipate a pending invasion by the Dutch. Treaties were forged Sulu and Maguindanao Sultanates. For almost 50 years, relative peace prevailed enabling the  two sultanates to resume trade outside and consolidate its forces.

          The Dutch Invasion threat had passed. Spain decided to refortify the forts in Zamboanga, Sulu, and Palawan in 1718. The Moros were alarmed and prepared the impending presence of Spanish forces. A Royal Decree was passed in 1751 known as " Privateer System" encouraging the enlistment of individuals to join the expeditions against the Moros. The Moros retaliated by staging again raids on Spanish territories and took  captives to be sold in markets.

          A massive attack against the Moros took place on 27 February 1851 in Sulu. 2,876 Spanish soldiers with native allies matched with 10,000 defenders. Sulu was razed to the ground with casualties on both sides. The final assault in Sulu was launched by Governor-General Jose Malcampo on 21 February 1876. 9,000 troops, 10 steamboats, 11 gunboats and 11 transport ships made the cottas fell and retreated the defenders into the jungle interior.

         In Maguindanao, Datu Utto or Sultan Anwaruddin Utto took over in 1875 as the Buayan Sultan and married the daughter of Sultan Untong,  Rajah Putri. Datu Utto united the Sultanates along Pulangui River. The union reached the Spaniards and were threaten to see Datu Utto as a new Sultan Qudarat.

          In 1889, the new seated Governor-General Valeriano Weyler occupied  Parang, Malabang and pursued a military campaign against the Iranun and Maranaos. Amai Pakpak led the defenders and the Spaniards felt the campaign as unsuccessful thus, in September 1891 the campaign was halt .Ramon Blanco replaced Weyler as the Governor-General in 1895 and launched another campaign and this time Amai Pakpak perished on 10 March 1895 in Marahui( now Marawi City).

          For 377 years, Spain remained as the aggressor of Philippines for gold and next only is the Catholic propagation. The Spanish authorities failed to conquer Mindanao but successful in planting the hatred between the two Malay brothers,the Moros and the Filipinos.     

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