RAIDERS OF THE

SULU SEA
 Raiders of the Sulu Sea
 Raiders of the Sulu Sea” A Historiography Documentary film focusing on Zamboanga City
depicting how the Spaniards defended the city with the Fort Pilar as Spain’s last stronghold
and bastion of defense and economic expansion in the South of the Philippines . It depicts the
Southeast Asian flourishing free trading in the area and the adverse effects and repercussions
when Europeans such as the English, Dutch and Spanish who wanted to control the economy
as well to colonize and Christianize.

 The film focuses on the slave raiding as retaliation on colonizers- the sophisticated ancient
maritime vessels such as the Lanong, Garay and the Salisipan and tools of war such as the
Barong, Kris, and the Kampilan and the well organized forces that is launched for slave
raiding the coasts of Mindanao Visayas, and Luzon, between July to October called as the
Pirate wind “ Pirate monsoon”

 It also focused on the fate of the Captured Balangingi Leader called Panglima Taupan and his
family who eventually was exiled to the north of Luzon in Cagayan, and was made to work in
the Tobacco Plantation- and his descendants who went back to Zamboanga and settled in the
outskirts of Taluksangay with the surname Dela Cruz Nuno- Maas Nuno, the ancestor of the
present Nuno clan of Zamboanga.
.
December 8, 1720- Spanish occupied the Philippines, stands a Zamboanga city
protecting the city is fort pilar.
fort pilar 1720 Zamboanga, southern Philippines
The Spanish established their colony on the southern tip of Mindanao in
Zamboanga. Fort Pilar was constructed with ten (10) meter-high wall fortification all
around. This was the base of the Spaniards to facilitate their trade. Zamboanga is
very close to Basilan, the Tawi-tawi and Sulu group of islands and the Maguindanao
area where there we three different tribes of seafaring Filipino Muslims. The three
tribes were known as Balangingi-Samal, Ilanuns and Sultanate of Sulu, all which were
employing Taosugs who were excellent warriors.
The battle for fort pilar is about to begin Zamboanga city southern tip of
peninsula of the Philippines
Zamboanga is geographical advantage that made it valuable to the catholic
Spaniards the colonized in the 16th century to protect the Spaniards colonized
build fort pilar.

December 8, 1720 Attacks on fort pilar in Zamboanga city, attack by the king of
maguindanao king Rajah Dalasi
king Rajah Dalasi was planning to attack on Zamboanga City together with the
force of the Sulu Sultanate.

Sulu and maguindanao sultanate within in two main kingdom controlling the
Muslim colony of the southern Philippines.
The slavery trade of the three tribes ended only when the
Spaniards ordered three steamboats from England. The
steamboats were faster, easier to navigate and had various
armaments to take on the tribes. Spaniards were now able to
chase and follow the boats to their bases and conduct raids. It
was said that the conflict between the tribes and the Spaniards
did not stem from business or trade but was more on belief,
religious belief.
 Piracy in the Sulu Sea historically occurred in the vicinity of Mindanao, where frequent
acts of piracy were committed against the Spanish. Because of the continual wars between
Spain and the Moro people, the areas in and around the Sulu Sea became a haven for piracy
which was not suppressed until the beginning of the 20th century. The pirates of that period
should not be confused with the naval forces or privateers of the various Moro tribes.
 HISTORICAL PIRACY
• History- The Spanish engaged the Moro pirates frequently in the 1840s. The expedition to Balanguingui in 1848
was commanded by Brigadier Jose Ruiz with a fleet of nineteen small warships and hundreds of Spanish army
troops. They were opposed by at least 1,000 moros holed up I four ports with 124 canons and plenty of small
arms. There were also dozen of proas at Balanguingui but the pirates abandoned their ships for the better
defended fortifications. The Spanish stormed three of the positions by forces and captured the remaining one
after the pirates had retread. Over 500 prisoners were freed in the operation and over 500 moros were killed or
wounded, they also lost about 150 proas. The Spanish lost twenty-two men killed and around 210 wounded. The
pirates later reoccupied the island in 1849.

• In 1840s, James Brooke became the white Rajah or Sarawak and led a series of campaigns against the Moro
pirates. 1843 Brooked attacked the pirates of Malludu and in June 1847 he participated in a mayor battle at
Balanini where dozens of proas were captured sunk. Brooked fought in several more anti-piracy actions in 1849 as
well during one engagement off Mukah with Illanun sulus in 1862, his nephew , ex-army captain Brooked, sank
four proas, out of six engaged, by ramming them with his small four-gun steamship rainbow. Each pirate ship had
over 100 crewmen and galley slaves aboard and was armed with three brass swivel guns. Brooked lost only a few
men killed or wounded while at least 100 pirates were killed or wounded. Several prisoners was also released.
• Despite Spanish efforts to eradicate the pirate threat, piracy persisted until the early 1900s. Spain ceded the
Philippines to the united states as a result of the Spanish-American War in 1898, after which American
troops embarked on pacification campaign from 1903 that extended American rule to southern Philippines
and effectively suppressed piracy.
THANK YOU!