Sultanate of Sulu

“ 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. ”

“ Arolas and Sultan Harun had to march against Parang and invest the kuta of Panglima Damang. After the surrender of Damang an expedition was sent to Lati and another to Tapul Island. This latter campaign was extremely difficult and trying. The country was rough, the forest thick, and the enemy fierce. Panglima Sayadi would not recognize Harun’s sultanate and would not obey the mandates of the governor of Sulu, so his chastisement was decreed and Tapul was attacked. Sayadi and his men fought like tigers at bay, and Governor Arolas was compelled to lead his troops in person. ”

“ If we take into consideration the very weak authority of the Sultan over his subjects, and the scarcity of his means in the midst of datus or chieftains who, with their families and slaves, constitute distinct communities which are haughty, ambitious and dangerous to him, we find that there is in Sulu no moral force on which to rely for the execution of a treaty, even should there be the best faith and good will on the part of the Sultan. ”

“ The subjects of her Britannic Majesty shall have complete liberty to enter, reside, carry on business, and pass with their merchandise through all parts of the dominions of his Highness the Sultan of Sulu, and they shall enjoy in them all the privileges and advantages with respect to commerce or in connection with any other matter whatever which are at this time enjoyed by, or which in the future may be granted to, the subjects or citizens of the most favored nation ”

“ 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. ”

“ This was done by a decree issued in 1894 by Governor-General Blanco directing [258] that a census be taken of Sulu and a poll tax of 1 “real” per capita be collected. Advantage was taken at that time of the strong desire of Raja Muda Amirul Kiram to become sultan. Sultan Harun was persuaded to resign, and the measure adopted for the collection of the tribute resulted in the payment of a sum of money or its equivalent by Amirul Kiram and the latter’s appointment as sultan. ”

“ The leading idea in said treaties is one of distrust towards the people of Sulu, on account of their treacherous, cruel and perfidious nature. As this is the only idea which prevails in all our relations with the island, as well as in the Royal order of August 28, 1751, and the documents attached thereto, without referring to older time, I can not be persuaded that the policy of peace and alliance adopted with the Sultan of Sulu can give our shipping and commerce any substantial and permanent advantage. ”

“ With the approval of the agreement, the only difficulty to a satisfactory settlement of the Sulu affairs will arise from discontent on the part of the Sultan personally because of a supposed decrease in anticipated revenues or the machinations of the insurgents of Mindanao, who are endeavoring to create a feeling of distrust and hostility among the natives against the United States troops. "The Sultan's government is one of perfect despotism, in form at least, as all political power is supposed to center in his person ”

“ He offers the protection of his Government and the aid of fleets and soldiers for the wars which the Sultan shall find necessary to wage against enemies who shall attack him, or in order to accomplish the subjection of the peoples who rebel in all the confines of the islands which are found within Spanish jurisdiction, and which extend from the western point of Mindanao as far as Borneo and Palawan, except Sandakan and the other lands tributary to the Sultan on the coast of Borneo. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Article 7. The Sultan shall be allowed to issue passports to Sulu craft; but when any of said craft has to leave the Sulu Archipelago, the owners will first have to go before the Governor; the principal datus and some other persons serving under commissions from the Sultan are to be excepted from this formality; but the Sultan shall report all such cases to the Governor.
Article 8. We will use all our efforts to cause pirates and malefactors to desist from their evil inclinations ”

“ Above all, one of the advantages of importance which our merchants recognize in the relations now established, the benefits of which they have begun already to experience, is that the Sultan and Datus together guarantee the credits left in Sulu as a result of commercial operations, which advantage they have not heretofore enjoyed, but waited on the will and good faith of the debtor, who paid if he pleased and when he pleased, or perhaps never, and there existed no means of compelling him as there now is by recourse to the Government. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It shall not be right for the Sultan and the Datus to make treaties with Malay datus or any nation other than Spain, whether that nation is Spain’s ally or not. Should such treaties be made they would be null. So also they can not make any contracts with any persons other than Spaniards, nor any agreement contrary to the previous ones. Such agreements, if made, will not be binding because Spain is in all the islands of Sulu as she is in her Philippine Islands, and Sulu has previous friendship treaties with Spain. ”

“ I am convinced that besides flying the national flag and having the sovereignty of Spain recognized in a formal manner, the principal guaranty must be—and I shall require it unconditionally—that they shall agree to let us garrison with Spanish troops the principal fort of Sulu, the residence of the Sultan. ”

“ Consequently Sultan Harun was relieved in 1894, and he returned to his home in Palawan. During his incumbency Sultan Harun lived at Mubu in the vicinity of Jolo. The house he occupied was the best building ever occupied by a Sulu sultan. He was ambitious and willing to reform his people, but he never had a strong following and was very unfortunate in that he had to fight so hard and so often for a nominal allegiance and false support from his people. ”

“ After the fall of Jolo and its destruction by General Malcampo, Sultan Jamalul A’lam removed to Bud Datu and later to Likup. The datus dispersed in all directions, but Datus Asibi and Pula, the strongest chiefs after the sultan, remained in the neighborhood of Jolo, at Tandu and Patikul. The Sulus were united at that time and formed one party, which was faithful and loyal to the sultan. They regarded the establishment of a Spanish garrison at Jolo as an intrusion upon their soil and an intolerable humiliation and offense. The common people resented the invasion as bitterly as the datus. ”

“ Those that I saw at the Sultan’s were like the Malays, and had light complexions, with very black teeth. The Datu thought them very handsome, and on our return he asked me if I had seen the Sultan’s beauties. The females of Sulu have the reputation of ruling their lords, and possess much weight in the government by the influence they exert over their husbands.
Superiority of women.It may be owing to this that there is little jealousy of their wives, who are said to hold their virtues in no very great estimation. ”

“ After months of inactivity the Spaniards burnt down an unarmed place on the coast, committing many barbarities on the occasion, but drew back when the warriors advanced to the combat. The ports of the Sulu archipelago are closed to trade by a decree, although it is questionable whether all navigators will pay any regard to it. Not long since the sovereignty of his district was offered by the Sultan of Sulu to the King of Prussia ”

“ The King was represented here by Colonel Don José María de Carlos y O’Doyle, Politico-Military Governor of the Province of Zamboanga and islands of Basilan, Pilas, Tonkil, and others, who was given power and authority by General Don Antonio de Urbiztondo, Marquis of Solana, Governor and Great Captain of the Philippine Islands.
Article I. The Mahasari Mawlana Sultan of Sulu and his ministers together with the datus mentioned above have the great desire to state that they had good intentions toward the people of Spain, on January 1, of this year. ”

“ Besides that, the Spanish officials at Zamboanga showed exceedingly poor judgment, and their action aroused the indignation of all parties in Sulu, and led to the renewal of hostilities.
In 1773 a majority of the leading datus favored an alliance with England against Spain. In 1775 the English party weakened and the garrison of Balambangan was treacherously attacked and destroyed by Sulu agents and forces secretly sent there by Sultan Israel and his council. The conduct of the Sulus in this incident depicts very clearly a marked trait of the Sulu character. ”

“ The first consists of 6 articles, by which the Spanish Government grants the Sultan its protection, which is accepted by the latter, with a mutual assurance of coöperation between them against any nation not European. Spanish boats are to be admitted freely in Sulu, and Sulu boats in Zamboanga and Manila. It is agreed that a Spanish factory shall be established in Jolo, so as to avoid damages and delays to our commerce, the same right being given the Sulus in Manila. Certain rules are established in order to distinguish friendly from hostile boats. ”

“ Americaʼs policy with regard to the Sultan of Sulu and all other Sultans and Dattos, as expounded to me by the best American authorities, is as clear as crystal. They wish all these petty potentates were elsewhere; but as that cannot be, they must be shorn of all power, princely dignity being out of harmony with American institutions. Nevertheless, they can call themselves what they like among their own people, provided that in their relations with the Government of the Islands they are to be simple citizens with dominion over their own [589] personal property, but not over that of others. ”

“ There is ground to fear that national jealousy was desirous of striking its puny blow at an European rival, through the degradation of the Sultan of Sulu—that he has incurred, in fact, the resentment of the Spanish colonial governors, by those commercial treaties with ourselves which were but lately concluded by Sir James Brooke.2
On the 11th day of December, 1850, Urbiztondo left Manila in command of a force consisting of 100 troops of artillery, 500 of infantry, 2 mountain howitzers, and a number of irregular troops and workmen. ”

“ And in case of the death or retirement from office of the said Datu Bandahara then his duly appointed successor in the office of supreme ruler and governor-in-chief of the company’s territories in Borneo shall likewise, if appointed thereto by the company, succeed to the title of Datu Bandahara and Raja of Sandakan, and all the powers enumerated above be vested in him.
“Done at the palace of the Sultan, at Likup, in the Island of Sulu, on the nineteenth of Muharam, A. H. 1295, being the 22nd day of January, A. D. 1878.” ”