Zamboanga City

“ The famous tropical port of Zamboanga lived up to its reputation as an exotic place. As the taxi carried the Spindrifters from the airport past the waterfront area, Rick saw bright-colored sails mixed with the drab steel of cargo ships. There were many Moros, but Christian Filipinos seemed to be in the majority. ”

“ But no foreigners are allowed to reside at Zamboanga. Surely the permission for them to do so is worthy the attention of a government which has established and is supporting, at considerable expense, the colony of Labuan for the object not only of extending our trade and the use of the products of our manufacturing population, but also with the more generous and noble idea of civilizing the people in its neighbourhood by their influence, and of teaching them the blessings that flow from industry and peace. ”

“ Father Zuñiga, who, in 1799, published an account of the visit of General Alava, gives many particulars of the then state of the island, and suggests many plans for extending Spanish influence.
Zamboanga is not likely to become a port of much importance unless it is wholly emancipated from fiscal restrictions. The introduction of the custom-house has driven away the whalers that formerly visited the harbours; there is little capital, and the trading establishments are on a very small scale. The roads in the immediate neighbourhood are in very tolerable order ”

“ The archbishop governed these islands for the space of two years with much prudence, and gave great satisfaction to the public, preserving in Manila the utmost harmony among all the different classes of inhabitants, and making due preparations against the Moors, who shewed a disposition to attack the garrisons which had been established to keep them in check. That of Zamboanga was an object of much jealousy to the Moors of Mindanao; and Dulasi, King of Butuy, sent a powerful armament to attempt to get possession of it by assault ”

“ Lastly, when the reverend Jesuit fathers left the islands, the administration of Zamboanga was adjudged to us in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight, as well as the villages of Lubungan, Dapitan, and Misamis (and consequently their barrios—some of which, as time went on, came to be villages) . ”

“ Verily, Datto Mandi and the presidente had been right, Americans were unlike the Spaniards, and Zamboanga had never experienced so peaceful a year in all her history. Small wonder the fiesta was a success, and that the “Viva America’s” were uttered from [169] full hearts. But it is primarily to Datto Mandi and the presidente that the people of Zamboanga should be grateful. Citizens of the world these men are, and statesmen, too, although their sphere is comparatively circumscribed. ”

“ Many of the Spaniards opposed this plan under different pretexts, and experience has shewn what little purpose this fort has answered, its only use being to enrich one military man, who is Governor for three years, and who draws twenty or thirty thousand dollars profit from the supplies furnished the soldiers. The Moors, not in the least checked by the fort of Zamboanga, have continued, to this hour, committing the same ravages as before; and the Indians, who are each taxed a measure of rice for its maintenance, have received neither security or benefit from it. ”

“ Don Lorenzo Olaso had been named by the Viceroy of Mexico to succeed him pro tempore. Nothing particular occurred under his administration, which only lasted a year, when Don Juan Zerezo of Salamanca was appointed to succeed as Governor ad interim. Immediately on his arrival at Manila, with a view to repress the insults of the Moors, and on the representation of the Jesuits, he determined to form a garrison at Zamboanga. ”

“ It is interesting to read in a recent number of the Manila Times that Zamboanga, which seemed so like a picture handed down from Spanish days, has absorbed a good share of American progressiveness and is said to stand in a class by itself among Philippine towns. [Pg 350] Waterworks and a hydro-electric plant are under construction, the water for which is to be brought along the mountainside, a part of the way through tunnels. To dig these, "experienced Igorot tunnel makers from Benguet were imported," who are getting along amicably with the Moros. ”

“ When the American army first occupied this region they treated the Moros well and found them friendly. Take for instance Zamboanga in the south, an especially interesting region. When the American soldiers entered, the Spanish guard left the garrison, and the Spanish population and the priests followed. The Americans found outside the town gates a large barbed wire bird cage, where the Moros had been compelled to leave their arms before entering the town at night, to avoid an uprising. The government of Zamboanga at this time was reorganized by the American officers. ”

“ The largest of these towns, B’graa, was a marvel of finely wrought gold, and Zamacona studied the curiously ornate architecture with avid interest. Buildings tended toward height and slenderness, with roofs bursting into a multitude of pinnacles. The streets were narrow, curving, and occasionally picturesquely hilly, but Gll’-Hthaa-Ynn said that the later cities of K’n-yan were far more spacious and regular in design. All these old cities of the plain shewed traces of levelled walls—reminders of the archaic days when they had been successively conquered by the now dispersed armies of Tsath. ”

“ This population, loyal and devotedly Catholic, never failed to sustain the defense of this isolated [267] Spanish outpost, and contributed brave volunteers to every expedition against the Moro islands.
Activity of Other Nations.—But Spain’s maintenance of Zamboanga was insufficient to sustain her claims of sovereignty over the Sulu and Tawi-Tawi groups. ”

“ True it is, and it may be said, equally fortunate, that they are greatly divided into [449] parties, subject to a variety of “datus,” or independent chiefs, in name only inferior to the one who styles himself the sultan of the whole Island. As, however, the fortresses and districts of Caraga, Misamis, and Zamboanga occupy nearly three parts of the circumference of the Island, these Moros freely possess no more than the southern part, commencing at about twenty-five leagues from Cape San Augustin, and ending in the vicinity of Zamboanga ”

“ And thus, because of the fateful and predestined loves of Aziel the prince, and Elissa the priestess and daughter of Sakon, three thousand years and more ago, the ancient city of Zimboe fell at the hand of king Ithobal and his Tribes, so that to-day there remain of it nothing but a desolate grey tower of stone, and beneath, the crumbling bones of men. ”

“ For the value of a few shillings we filled the ship with those highly esteemed fruit. On the 21st of February we proceeded to Samboangan, a Spanish penal settlement at the south extremity of Mindanao. The town, which is insignificant, is built on a plain. Most of the houses are constructed of leaves and bamboo, supported by stakes. The governor, however, and some of the most respectable of the inhabitants, occupy neat little white-washed cottages. There is a fine fort, in good condition, and mounting several guns, which is garrisoned by about 400 Manilla troops. ”

“ You know how things are between me and the lady Elissa and her father Sakon and the city which he governs. They stand thus: Unless within eight days she is given to me in marriage, I have sworn that I will make war upon Zimboe. Ay, and I will make it, for, filled with hate for the white man, already the great tribes are gathering to my banners in ten armies, each of them ten thousand strong. Once let them march beneath yonder walls, and before they leave it Zimboe, city of gold, shall be nothing but a heap of ruins, and a habitation of the dead. ”

“ For these two centuries past these islanders have been plundering the coasts of our provinces, have taken an immense number of vessels, pillaged many villages, burnt many towns, destroyed many inhabitants, and made slaves of a very great number of the clergy, both Spaniards and Indians1.
We have in Mindanao the garrison of Zamboanga, with a Spanish governor, to [7] check these depredations; but as yet we have found little benefit from this establishment. ”

“ A number of the Zambals, including their leaders, hear mass with much reverence, and even confess to the priests, saying that many of their men have come on this raid through fear, rather than their own inclination. Most of the troop, however, proceed to loot the village; the people take refuge in the bishop’s house and the church, thus saving their lives, although they endure great suffering and privation by being shut up indoors for two days, with little food or drink. Finally the fathers persuade the Zambals to let the people return to their houses. ”

“ In January, 1720, the fort at Labo in the island of Paragua is abandoned, notwithstanding the entreaties of the Recollect missionaries there that it be maintained and reënforced—a measure for which Concepción accounts by the hatred felt toward Bustamante, who had established that post; and by the readiness of the Manila government to keep up the fort of Zamboanga, under the pressure exercised by the Jesuits, whose “astute policy” secured votes for that action, desired by them for the protection of their missions in Mindanao—an influence which the Recollects lacked. ”

“ We always had peace in Zamboanga District; except during the revolution of the Filipinos in the year 1899, when for seven or eight months there was in existence the so-called Filipino Republic. During that time there was much robbing and killing; the life of a man was worth no more than that of a chicken; men killed one another for personal gain; enemies fought one another with the bolo instead of settling their differences before the law. It was a time of bloodshed and terror. There was no justice. Because of this the Moros were opposed to the Filipinos. ”

“ The army officers and their families still form the aristocracy of the Philippines. While army life is not all like Camp Wallace and the gay Luneta, in the larger posts throughout the provinces, both the officers and soldiers are housed very comfortably. The clubhouse down at Zamboanga has a pavilion running out over the water, where the ladies sit at night, or where refreshments are served after the concert by the band. ”

“ Storms and earthquakes are frequent visitants. The forests are said to be extensive, and filled with gigantic trees, but travellers report the jungle to be impenetrable. Mines of gold, quicksilver and sulphur are said to abound. Besides Zamboanga, the Spaniards have settlements in Misamis, Caraga and New Guipuzcoa, but they are reported to be unhealthy from the immense putrefaction of decaying vegetables produced by a most feracious soil, under the influence of a tropical sun. Beyond the Moros, and in the wildest parts of the mountains, are coloured races in a low state of savage existence. ”

“ In order to perpetuate by might his new but tyrannical dignity, he summoned to his aid the Zambal tribe—a people who know no more civilized mode of life than the savage abode of the mountains and rocks; and without recognizing any one as king save him who, most barbarous of all, distinguishes himself as most courageous. ”

“ Many American customs that do not entrench on the Holy Law have been adopted with no little avidity by the Moros, and the Stars and Stripes float over the home of every native fortunate enough to possess a flag. This is particularly noticeable in and around Zamboanga, but an officer belonging to the regiment stationed there told us a tale illustrating the Moro’s love for things American, that reads like a romance. ”

“ The datto proved himself a most delightful man, with an earnest, sensitive face and a manner indicative of such innate refinement that we found ourselves most favourably contrasting him with some of the Tagalog and Visayan dignitaries already met.
It is said that after Spain’s evacuation, and before the arrival of American troops in the southern islands, several insurgent leaders proposed to resist the landing of Americans in Zamboanga. ”

“ The inhabitants of the island of Mindanao, who are under the subjection of Spain, are about ten thousand in number, of whom five or six thousand are at or in the neighborhood of Zamboanga. The original inhabitants, who dwell in the mountains and on the east coast, are said to be quite black, and are represented to be a very cruel and bad set; they have hitherto bid defiance to all attempts to subjugate them. When the Spaniards make excursions into the interior, which is seldom, they always go in large parties on account of the wild beasts, serpents, and hostile natives ”

“ A magnificent view is obtained by mounting the hill immediately south of the town, crossing the valley watered by the Ain Ayat. The contrast between the past and present, even of the most modern times, is very striking. Almost every alternate house is in ruins, and the population, which M. Guérin states to have been 2,900 in 1860, has now diminished to little more than 700. We particularly noticed the urbanity and good humour of the people of Zaghouan. ”

“ But all of them were driven back with like slaughter, until they gave over their obstinacy, and sought the shelter of their galleons with the loss of a hundred men; while our men suffered no other loss in this encounter than a single man killed when Zamboanga was bombarded—namely, Captain Don Luis de Rojas, whose head was carried away by a cannon-ball. The Dutch, despairing of being able to come out of the matter with credit, retired to the port of La Caldera, and returned thence to Batavia thoroughly scared. ”

“ In reality the fathers had arrived at Zamboanga. When the Moros found themselves obliged to receive the fathers in their kingdoms, according to the promise which they had given in their replies to our king and to the governor of Manila, the two sultans agreed between themselves that after they had admitted the fathers [to their countries] they would treacherously kill them, and so that their murder could not be attributed to the influence of the sultans. ”