Sulaco

“ On crossing the imaginary line drawn from Punta Mala to Azuera the ships from Europe bound to Sulaco lose at once the strong breezes of the ocean. They become the prey of capricious airs that play with them for thirty hours at a stretch sometimes. Before them the head of the calm gulf is filled on most days of the year by a great body of motionless and opaque clouds. On the rare clear mornings another shadow is cast upon the sweep of the gulf. ”

“ It was only when it dawned upon me that the purloiner of the treasure need not necessarily be a confirmed rogue, that he could be even a man of character, an actor and possibly a victim in the changing scenes of a revolution, it was only then that I had the first vision of a twilight country which was to become the province of Sulaco, with its high shadowy Sierra and its misty Campo for mute witnesses of events flowing from the passions of men short-sighted in good and evil. ”

“ The shores on the gulf are steep-to all round; these uninhabited islets basking in the sunshine just outside the cloud veil, and opposite the entrance to the harbor of Sulaco, bear the name of "The Isabels." ”

“ It's lucky that we shall be able to settle in a coast town. You've heard its name. It is Sulaco. I am so glad poor father did get that house. He bought a big house there years ago, in order that there should always be a Casa Gould in the principal town of what used to be called the Occidental province. ”

“ But this is the idlest of dreams; for I did understand perfectly well at the time that the moment the breath left the body of the Magnificent Capataz, the Man of the People, freed at last from the toils of love and wealth, there was nothing more for me to do in Sulaco. ”

“ Do you know why I am here before, so to speak, my anchor has fairly bitten into the ground of this port of Sulaco?"
"You are welcome like a son," the old man declared, quietly, staring away upon the sea. ”

“ He wanted to become the most brilliant statesman of South America. He did not desire supreme power. He would have been afraid of its labor and risk, in fact. Before all, Pedrito Montero, taught by his European experience, meant to acquire a serious fortune for himself. With this object in view he obtained from his brother, on the very morrow of the successful battle, the permission to push on over the mountains and take possession of Sulaco. Sulaco was the land of future prosperity, the chosen land of material progress, the only province in the republic of interest to European capitalists. ”

“ Gould, without severity.
“Absolutely. I am not deceiving myself about my motives. She won’t leave Sulaco for my sake, therefore Sulaco must leave the rest of the Republic to its fate. Nothing could be clearer than that. I like a clearly defined situation. I cannot part with Antonia, therefore the one and indivisible Republic of Costaguana must be made to part with its western province. Fortunately it happens to be also a sound policy. The richest, the most fertile part of this land may be saved from anarchy. Personally, I care little, very little ”

“ The police would have laid the Italian by the heels if it had not been for fear of the cargadores, a turbulent body of men, quite apt to raise a tumult. Nowadays it was not so easy to govern Sulaco. Bad characters flocked into it, attracted by the money in the pockets of the railway workmen. The populace was made restless by Father Corbelàn's discourses. And the first magistrate explained to Charles Gould that now the province was stripped of troops any outbreak of lawlessness would find the authorities with their boots off, as it were. ”

“ The brother of the victorious general, he had assured them, could be expected at Sulaco at any time now. This news (as he anticipated) , when shouted out of the window by Señor Gamacho, induced a rush of the mob along the Campo road towards Rincon. The two deputies, also, after shaking hands with him effusively, mounted and galloped off to meet the great man.
"I have misled them a little as to the time," the chief-engineer confessed. "However hard he rides, he can scarcely get here before the morning. ”

“ The dominion of the Sultan of Sulu was complete and his power was well respected throughout the Archipelago. Between Mindanao and Borneo 150,000 people—Yakans, Samals, and Sulus—lived and obeyed one man. True, the Sulus had no standing army or navy, but they had innumerable boats, forts, and firearms, and every able-bodied man was a soldier and a sailor, always armed, and always ready for a call to arms. ”

“ Let the Sulu be idolatrous or a fire worshiper and he will “go juramentado” on the strength of his faith in wooden or fire gods before he yields to a master or serves as a slave. He will die before he surrenders. Such metal is what makes the Sulus brave, independent, and unyielding. [251]
The Sulus watched the progress of Legaspi at Cebu, Panay, and Luzon, saw how the pagan chiefs were subjugated, and witnessed the expulsion of their brother Mohammedans from Manila. ”

“ There is no chief who can raise 20 taes of gold. Rice is very scarce; in the hills is found a small amount, which is used for food by the chiefs only. There are some swine, and a few fowls that are very cunning, and less fruit.45
These early expeditions of the Spaniards against the Moros undoubtedly aroused in the latter a great desire for vengeance. The forces the Spaniards sent to conquer Mindanao and Sulu were very small. Such forces would have been strong enough to reduce any island of the Bisayan group, or even Luzon, but against the Moros they proved insufficient and inadequate. ”

“ Tulayan lies north of Tandu and is separated from it by a narrow strait. It has a good harbor on the southern side. It was ceded to the English in 1763 by Sultan Alimud Din I out of appreciation of the favor done in releasing him from prison in Manila and reinstating him as Sultan of Sulu. The English, however, never made any use of the island.
Pata is, next to Sulu, the largest island of the group. It is mountainous and well populated. The description of the Island of Sulu is given separately at the end of this chapter. ”

“ The harbor is deep and free from currents. The bay is well protected on the north by the Islands of Pangasinan and Marongas and is safe from all storms except those from the northwest.
Sulu occupies the most nearly central position of any island in eastern Malaysia. It lies between Mindanao on the east and Borneo on the west, and separates the Sulu Sea from the Celebes Sea. The commercial advantages of this position are unique. To the north lie the Bisayas, Palawan, Luzon, Formosa, China, and Japan; to the east Mindanao and Basilan; to the south, the Moluccas, Celebes, and Java ”

“ At the time the Spaniards came to the Philippines, Sulu seems to have been rich in her own natural and industrial products, and richer still through the large commerce which their exchange enabled her to carry on with the Chinese vessels which in large numbers frequented her coasts. Situated almost midway between the Philippines and the Moluccas, close to two rich islands so fertile and densely populated as Mindanao and Borneo, it seemed destined by nature to be the emporium of the commerce of the south. ”

“ It was an easy matter for General Arolas to defeat one party or chief alone, but the necessity of [249] fighting each chief by himself defeated his purpose and efforts in the end. Unconsciously, Spain brought on an abnormal condition of affairs in Sulu, extremely difficult to manage and for which she never found the proper remedy. The ruling sultan, though well supported by the greater mass of the people, had neither the knowledge, the tact, nor the strength necessary to correct the wrong done, and things in general tended rather to the worse than to the better. ”

“ The Sulus have in their families many Bisayan, some Spanish slaves, whom they purchase from the Ilanun and Magindanao cruisers. Sometimes they purchase whole cargoes, which they carry to Passir, on Borneo, where, if the females are handsome, they are bought up for the Batavia market. The masters [189] sometimes use their slaves cruelly, assuming the power of life and death over them. ”

“ The island of Sulu and its dependencies having been declared an integral part of the Philippine Archipelago, which belongs to Spain, commerce under the Spanish flag in all the ports of the Sultanate shall be free and unmolested, as it is in all the ports belonging to the Nation. ”

“ From this city and Island of Borneo, God willing, you shall go to the Islands of Sulu, where you shall endeavor to reduce that chief and his people to the obedience of his Majesty. You shall bargain with them as to what tribute they shall pay, which shall be in pearls, as they are wont to give to the King of Bruney. You shall exercise great care and, if possible, much mildness; for it is of importance that those islands should not become depopulated ”

“ The state of Sulu is small, * * * containing scarce above 60,000 inhabitants; yet are these powerful, and have under them, not only most of the islands that compose that Archipelago, but a great part of Borneo, some of which they have granted to the English. They have the character of being [190] treacherous, and of endeavoring always to supply by fraud what they can not effect by force. * * *
Only seven years have elapsed since the Sultan of Kulan * * * on the northeast of Borneo, was at war with the Sultan of Buru, on the same coast. ”

“ The Spanish Government of Sulu was entirely under martial law, and the Europeans (mostly military men) were constantly on the alert for the ever-recurring attacks of the natives.
The general aspect of Sulu (Joló) is cheerful and attractive. The day scene, enlivened by the Moro, passing to and fro with his lithe gait, in gay attire, with the bárong in a huge sash, and every white man, soldier or civilian, carrying arms in self-defence, may well inflame the imaginative and romantic mind. One can hardly believe one is still in the Philippines. ”

“ Many Spaniards seemed to regard Sulu as a very desirable country for colonization and offered many suggestions as to the most favorable sites for factories, the best industries that could be developed, and the best methods and means of exploitation. Several farms were started in the vicinity of Jolo, but they were abandoned even before the evacuation of the islands, and no effective step can be said to have been taken by Spain to colonize Sulu except the building up of the town of Jolo itself. ”

“ The Dusun villagers keep bees and export wax in quantity, and most of the tribes collect the varied natural products of the sea or of the forests in their respective districts. The Sulus were until quite recently a warlike race inhabiting the large island of Sulu, between Borneo and the Philippines. They were independent and ruled by a Sultan, who held Sulu, Tawi Tawi, and the north of Borneo, including the fine harbour of Sandakan. ”

“ Furthermore, Sulu and the small adjacent islands produce nothing; even the rice and fish which the people use for their food come from our neighboring possessions: what business reasons are there therefore, capable of calling our attention, or whose profits would pay the expenses of a fleet placed in observation there? All the produce of the islands consists of bêche-de-mer and shell which are gathered by the slaves;59 the clothing and foodstuffs are furnished them, on credit, by our own ships; gold, wax and edible nests come from Mindanao. ”

“ In case of assistance against a foreign nation, the expenses of the war were to be defrayed by the party requesting aid. The Spanish Government recognized the supreme authority of the Sultan of Sulu from Tawi-tawi to Tutup and Pagahak, reserving sovereignty rights for the King of Spain over Tapul, Siasi, Balangingi, and Pangutaran only. In return for the evacuation of Jolo, and as a sign of brotherhood, the Sultan of Sulu promised to send yearly to Zamboanga three boats, 8 fathoms long, full of rice, and to allow the Jesuit priests to come to Jolo unmolested. ”

“ The intentions of the East India Company in fortifying Balambangan were regarded with suspicion by the Spaniards, who employed every method possible to incite hostilities between the Sulus and the English. The English agents at Jolo won the sympathy of a party headed by the strong datus in chief command of the Sulu forces. The Spaniards had the sultan and his party on their side. This question of national policy was a matter of serious and important concern to the people. It stirred up the whole Sulu community, and party issues were ardently and publicly discussed. ”

“ Humanity called for different action on both sides; but it evidently made no impression on the Sulus. Not satisfied with just measures of war and direct retaliation, they developed an abnormal propensity for piracy, invaded the Spanish domain frequently for the procurement of slaves and for other wicked purposes, and committed unspeakable horrors and atrocities. But to treat evil with evil adds no virtue to the credit of the other side. We rarely read of wounded Moros after an engagement, and, strange to say, all wounds of Moros were invariably immediately fatal. ”

“ For this reason, Sulu, which contains a population of pirates and slaves, is nothing more than a shipping point where certain products are collected from the other islands of the south. It is surrounded by islands and islets, which form the archipelago bearing its name, and has a length from east to west of about ten leagues, a width of four and a half, and a circumference of thirty-two. The total population credited to the Archipelago is from 149,000 to 150,000 souls, 6,800 of which inhabit Jolo, and in this number are included 800 Chinese. ”