Sultanate of Sulu | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Flag (late 19th century) | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Map showing the extent of the Sultanate of Sulu in 1845, with Northeast Borneo lowlands being under its nominal control. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Bruneianvassal(1457–1578) Sovereign state(1578–1851) Spanishprotectorate(1851–1899) U.S. protectorate(1899–1915) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Tausug,Sama–Bajau,Malay | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Unitary Islamicabsolute monarchy[13] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sultan | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1457–1480 (first) | Sharif ul-Hāshim | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1894–1915 (last)[a] | Jamalul Kiram II | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Ruma Bechara | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Established | c. 1457 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1565–1898 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1902–1913 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 23 July 1914 | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Annexation to the United States | 22 March 1915 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Philippine Peso or barter for local use[14] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||||||||||||||
TheSultanate of Sulu (Tausug:Kasultanan sin Sūg;Malay:Kesultanan Suluk;Filipino:Kasultanan ng Sulu orSultanato ng Sulu) was aSunni MuslimTausūg[b]state that ruled theSulu Archipelago, coastal areas ofZamboanga City, and certain portions ofPalawan in today'sPhilippines, alongside parts of present-daySabah andNorth Kalimantan in north-easternBorneo.
The sultanate was founded either on 17 November 1405 or 1457[c] byJohore-born explorer and Sunnireligious scholarSharif ul-Hashim.Paduka Mahasari Maulana al Sultan Sharif ul-Hashim became his fullregnal name;Sharif-ul Hashim is his abbreviated name. He settled in Buansa,Sulu.[20][21] The sultanate gained its independence from theBruneian Empire in 1578.[22]
At its peak, it stretched over the islands that bordered the western peninsula ofZamboanga inMindanao in the east toPalawan in the north. It also covered areas in the northeast ofBorneo, stretching fromMarudu Bay,Sabah[23][24] to Tepian, Sembakung subdistrict,North Kalimantan.[25][26] Another source stated the area included stretched fromKimanis Bay, which also overlaps with the boundaries of theBruneian Sultanate.[27] Following the arrival ofwestern powers such as theSpanish, theBritish, theDutch,French,Germans, and theAmericans, the Sultanthalassocracy and its sovereign political powers were relinquished by 1915 through an agreement, known as the Carpenter Agreement, that was signed with theUnited States.[28][29][30][31]
InKakawin Nagarakretagama, the Sultanate of Sulu is referred to as Solot, one of the countries in the Tanjungnagara archipelago (Kalimantan-Philippines), which is one of the areas that is under the influence of the mandala area of theMajapahit kingdom in the archipelago.
The present area of the Sultanate of Sulu was once under the influence of theBruneian Empire before it gained its own independence in 1578.[22] During the 13th century the people of Sulu began migrating to present-dayZamboanga andSulu archipelago from their homelands in northeastern Mindanao. Scott (1994) writes that the Sulu are the descendants of ancientButuanons andSurigaonons from theRajahnate of Butuan, which was then Hindu, like pre-islamic Sulu. They moved south and established a spice trading port in Sulu. SultanBatarah Shah Tengah, who ruled as sultan in 1600, was said to be an actual native of Butuan.[32] The Butuanon-Surigaonon origins of the Tausugs are suggested by the relationship of their languages, as the Butuanon, Surigaonon and Tausug languages are all members of theSouthern sub-family of Visayan. Later, the earliest known settlement in this area soon to be occupied by the sultanate was inMaimbung,Jolo. During this time, Sulu was calledLupah Sug.[21] The principality ofMaimbung, populated by Buranun people (orBudanon, literally means "mountain-dwellers"), was first ruled by a certain rajah who assumed the title Rajah Sipad the Older. According to Majul, the origins of the titlerajah sipad originated from the Hindusri pada, which symbolises authority.[33] The principality was instituted and governed using the system of rajahs. Sipad the Older was succeeded by Sipad the Younger.
SomeChams who migrated to Sulu were called Orang Dampuan.[34][unreliable source?] TheChampa civilization and the port-kingdom of Sulu engaged in commerce with each other which resulted in merchant Chams settling in Sulu, where they were known as Orang Dampuan in the 10th–13th centuries. In contrast to their cousins in the Butuan Rajahnate, who considered themselves diplomatic competitors of Champa for China trade,[35] (under Butuan's Rajah Kiling); instead, Sulu freely traded with the Champa civilization. The Orang Dampuans from Champa however were eventually slaughtered by envious native Sulu Buranuns due to the wealth of the Orang Dampuan.[36] The Buranun were then subjected to retaliatory slaughter by the Orang Dampuan. Harmonious commerce between Sulu and the Orang Dampuan was later restored.[37] TheYakans were descendants of the Taguima-based Orang Dampuan who came to Sulu from Champa.[38] Sulu received civilization in its Indic form from the Orang Dampuan.[39]
During the reign of Sipad the Younger, a Sunni Sufi scholar and mystic[40] namedTuan Mashā′ikha[d] arrived in Jolo in 1280 CE.[e] Little is known to the origins and early biography of Tuan Mashā′ikha, except that he is a Muslim "who came from foreign lands" at the head of a fleet of Muslim traders,[42] or he was issued from astalk ofbamboo and was considered aprophet, thus well respected by the people.[43] Other reports, however, insisted that Tuan Mashā′ikha together with his parents, Jamiyun Kulisa and Indra Suga, were sent toSulu byAlexander the Great (who is known asIskandar Zulkarnain inMalay Annals).[33] However,Najeeb Mitry Saleeby, a Lebanese American doctor who wroteA History of Sulu in 1908 and other studies of the Moros, dismisses this claim by concluding that Jamiyun Kulisa and Indra Suga were mythical names.[43] According totarsila, during the coming of Tuan Mashā′ikha, the people of Maimbung worshipped tombs and stones of any kind. After he preached Islam in the area, he married Sipad the Younger's daughter, Idda Indira Suga, who bore three children:[44] Tuan Hakim, Tuan Pam and 'Aisha. Tuan Hakim, in turn, begot five children.[45] From the genealogy of Tuan Mashā′ikha, another titular system of aristocracy called "tuanship" started in Sulu. Apart from the Idda Indira Suga, Tuan Mashā′ikha also married another "unidentified woman" and begot Moumin. Tuan Mashā′ikha died in 710A.H. (equivalent to 1310 AD), and was buried in Bud Dato near Jolo, with an inscription ofTuan Maqbālū.[46]
A descendant of the Sunni Sufi Shaykh Tuan Mashā′ikha named Tuan May also begot a son namedDatu Tka. The descendants of Tuan May did not assume the title oftuan, but instead, useddatu. This was the first timedatu was used as a political institution.[44][47] During the coming of Tuan Mashā′ikha, the Tagimaha people (literally means "the party of the people") fromBasilan and several places inMindanao, also arrived and settled in Buansa. After the Tagimaha came the Baklaya people, (which means "seashore dwellers"), who are believed to have originated fromSulawesi, and settled inPatikul. After these came theBajau people (orSamal) fromJohor. The Bajau were driven towards Sulu by a heavymonsoon, some of them to the shores ofBrunei and others toMindanao.[48] The population of Buranun, Tagimaha, and Baklaya in Sulu created three parties with distinct systems of government and subjects. In the 1300s the Chinese annals,Nanhai zhi, reported that Brunei invaded or administered the Philippine kingdoms ofButuan, Sulu andMa-i (Mindoro), which did not regain their independence until later date.[49] According to theNagarakretagama, theMajapahit Empire under EmperorHayam Wuruk invaded Sulu in 1365. However in 1369, the Sulus rebelled and regained independence and in vengeance assaulted the Majapahit Empire and its provincePo-ni (Brunei), as well as the northeast coast of Borneo[50] and thereafter went to the capital, looting it of treasure and gold. In the sacking of Brunei, the Sulus stole two sacred pearls from the Bruneian king.[51] A fleet from the Majapahit capital succeeded in driving away the Sulus, butPo-ni was left weaker after the attack.[52] Since Chinese historiographies later recorded there to be a Maharaja of Sulu, it is assumed that the Majapahit did not take it back, and it was a rival to it. By 1390 CE,Rajah Baguinda Ali, a prince of thePagaruyung Kingdom, arrived at Sulu and married into the local nobility. At least in 1417, when Sulu rivaled Majapahit according to Chinese annals, three kings (or monarchs) ruled three civilized kingdoms in the island.[53] Patuka Pahala (Paduka Batara) ruled the eastern kingdom (Sulu Archipelago) -- he was the most powerful; the western kingdom was ruled by Mahalachi (Maharajah Kamal ud-Din), ruler ofKalimantan in Indonesia; and the kingdom near the cave (or Cave King) was Paduka Patulapok from Palawan Island.[54] The Bajau settlers were distributed among the three kingdoms. During this time, Sulu avenged itself for Majapahit Imperialism by encroaching upon the Majapahit Empire as the alliance of the three Sulu kings had territory that reachedEast andNorth Kalimantan, which were former Majapahit provinces.[55]
Moumin's descendants the son of Tuan Mashā′ikha populated Sulu.[clarification needed] After some time, a certain Timway Orangkaya Su'il was mentioned by the second page of tarsila; he received four Bisaya slaves (people from the Kedatuan of Madja-as) from Manila (presumably Kingdom of Maynila) as a sign of friendship between the two countries. The descendants of Su'il also inherited the title Timway, which means "chief". On tarsila's third page, it accounts the fact that the slaves were the ancestors of the inhabitants in the island to Parang, Lati, Gi'tung, and Lu'uk respectively.
The fourth page then narrates the coming of the Buranun (addressed in thetarsila as "the Maimbung people"), Tagimaha, Baklaya, and finally the drifted Bajau immigrants from Johor.[56] The condition of Sulu before the arrival ofIslam can be summarized as such: The island was inhabited by several cultures, and was reigned over by three independent kingdoms ruled by the Buranun, Tagimaha, and Baklaya peoples. Likewise, the socio-political systems of these kingdoms were characterized by several distinct institutions: rajahship, datuship, tuanship and timwayship. The arrival of Tuan Mashā′ikha afterwards established a core Islamic community in the island.
The Sulu Archipelago was anentrepôt that attracted merchants from south China and various parts of Southeast Asia beginning in the 14th century.[57] The name "Sulu" is attested in Chinese historical records as early as 1349,[58] during the lateYuan dynasty (1271–1368), suggesting trade relations around this time.[59] Trade continued into the earlyMing dynasty (1368–1644); envoys were sent in several missions to China to trade andpay tribute tothe emperor. Sulu merchants often exchanged goods withChinese Muslims, and also traded with Muslims ofArab,Persian,Malay, orIndian descent.[57] Islamic historianCesar Adib Majul argues that Islam was introduced to the Sulu Archipelago in the late 14th century by Chinese and Arab merchants and missionaries fromMing China.[58][59] The seven Arab missionaries were called "Lumpang Basih" by the Tausug, and were Sunni Sufi scholars from theBa 'Alawi sada of Yemen.[60] A yellow-colored flag was used in Sulu by the Chinese community.[61]
Around this time, a notable Arab judge,SunniSufi andreligious scholarKarim ul-Makhdum[f] fromMecca arrived in Malacca. He preached Islam, particularly the Ash'ari Aqeeda and Shafi'i Madh'hab as well as theQadiriyya Tariqa, and many citizens, including the ruler ofMalacca, converted to Islam.[62] Sulu leaderPaduka Pahala and his sons moved to China, where he died. Chinese Muslims brought up his sons inDezhou, where their descendants live and have the surnames An and Wen. In 1380 CE,[g] Karim ul-Makhdum arrived inSimunul island from Malacca, again with Arab traders. Apart from being a scholar, he operated as a trader; some see him as a Sufi missionary from Mecca.[63] He preached Islam, and was accepted by the core Muslim community. He was the second person to preach Islam in the area, after Tuan Mashā′ikha. To facilitate conversion of nonbelievers, he established a mosque in Tubig-Indagan, Simunul, the first Islamic temple to be constructed in the area, or in thePhilippines. This later became known as theSheik Karimal Makdum Mosque.[64] He died in Sulu, although the exact location of his grave is unknown. In Buansa, he was known as Tuan Sharif Awliyā.[33] On his alleged grave in Bud Agad, Jolo, an inscription reads "Mohadum Aminullah Al-Nikad". InLugus, he is referred to as Abdurrahman. InSibutu, he is known by his name.[65] The differing beliefs about his grave's location came about because theQadiriShaykh Karim ul-Makhdum travelled to several islands in theSulu Sea to preach Islam. In many places in the archipelago, he was beloved. It is said that the people ofTapul built a mosque honouring him and that they claim descent from Karim ul-Makhdum. The customs, beliefs and political laws of the people changed and adapted to adopt the Islamic tradition.[66]
Sulu abruptly stopped sending tributes to the Ming in 1424.[59]Antonio Pigafetta recorded in his journals that the sultan of Brunei invaded Sulu to retrieve the two sacred pearls Sulu had previously pillaged from Brunei.[67] A sultan of Brunei,Sultan Bolkiah married a princess (dayang-dayang) of Sulu, Puteri Laila Menchanai, and they became the grandparents of the Muslim prince ofMaynila,Rajah Matanda. Manila was a Muslim city-state and vassal to Brunei before the Spanish colonized it and converted it from Islam to Christianity.[citation needed] Islamic Manila ended after the failed attack ofTarik Sulayman, a MuslimKapampangan commander, in the failure of theConspiracy of the Maharlikas, when the formerly Muslim Manila nobility attempted a secret alliance with the Japanese shogunate and Bruneiean sultanate (together with her Manila and Sulu allies) to expel the Spaniards from the Philippines.[68] Many Tausugs and other native Muslims of Sulu Sultanate already interacted with Kapampangan and Tagalog Muslims calledLuzones based in Brunei, and there were intermarriages between them. The Spanish had native allies against the former Muslims they conquered like Hindu Tondo which resisted Islam when Brunei invaded and established Manila as a Muslim city-state to supplant HinduTondo.
The Sulu sultanate became notorious for its so-called "Moro Raids" or acts of piracy on Spanish settlements in the Visayan areas in Northern Philippines and from coastal and river villages in North Borneo (Sabah), with the aim of capturing natives to be sold at slave markets in the Sulu Island (Jolo Island) and Tawi Tawi Island.[69] Tausug pirates used boats known collectively by Europeans asproas (predominantly thelanong andgaray warships), which varied in design and were much lighter than the Spanish galleons and could easily out-sail these ships, and also often carried large swivel guns orlantaka and also carried a crew of pirates from different ethnic groups throughout Sulu, such as theIranun,Bajaus and Tausugs alike. By the 18th century, Sulu pirates had become virtual masters of the Sulu seas and the surrounding areas, wreaking havoc and conducting raids to kidnap natives living in Spanish and Brunei North Borneo settlements for the slave trade.[70] This prompted the Spaniards to build a number of fortifications[71] across the Visayan islands of Cebu and Bohol; churches were built on higher ground, and watchtowers were built along coastlines to warn of impending raids.
The maritime supremacy of Sulu was not directly controlled by the sultan; independentdatus and warlords waged their own wars against the Spaniards and even with thecapture of Jolo on numerous occasions by the Spaniards, other settlements likeMaimbung,Banguingui andTawi-Tawi were used as assembly areas and hideouts for pirates.
The sultanate's control over the Sulu seas was at its height around the late 17th to early 18th centuries when Moro raids became very common for the Borneo natives, Visayans and Spaniards.
In Sulu and in the Mindanao interior, the slave trade flourished and majority of the slaves that were being imported and exported were of Visayan ethnicity; the termBisaya eventually became synonymous to "slave" in these areas. Its maritime supremacy over the Spaniards, at the time, the Spaniards acquired steam-powered ships that began to curb Muslim piracy in the region, the Moro piratical raids began to decrease in number until GovernorNarciso Clavería launched theBalanguingui expedition in 1848 to crush the pirate settlements there, effectively ending the Moro pirate raids. By the last quarter of the 19th century, Moro pirates had virtually disappeared and the maritime influence of the sultanate became dependent on theChinese junk trade. The piracy and slave trade was brought to an end by the Spanish who destroyed the Sulu Sultanate in 1878 with a formal surrender and capitulation of the Sultanate once and for all. Once the Americans arrived, further attempts at resurrection to their old piracy ways were put down swiftly.
In 1746,Sultan Azim ud-Din I, with Spanish assistance, carried out punitive expeditions around theSebuku region against theTidungs to reconsolidate his power in Borneo. By April 1747, the expeditions were declared a success and the chief ofTarakan declared his allegiance to Sulu. After the Sultan returned to Sulu, he brought back 50 captives who were previously under the hands of the Tidung and among them was a friar, while others were Tidung chiefs. Two of the Tidung chiefs were left in Jolo while the rest were brought to Zamboanga.[73] Tausug traders began settling in Tarakan. However, things began to complicate after the Tidungs made a political marriage with Bulungan, placing the Tidungs also under theSultanate of Bulungan.[74]
In 1789, amidst the civil war inBerau, Sultan Azim ud-Din II raided Berau and Tarakan, which led to the de facto independence of Bulungan from Berau by the 18th-19th century. Sulu became the dominant power in the region and Bulungan was placed under the sphere of influence of the former. Tausug vessels began arriving in the region at a large scale to conduct trade. The status of Bulungan as a subject of Sulu however would later change after they stopped paying tribute to Sulu in 1855. This would later become official after the British annexation of North Borneo and the Dutch annexation of Bulungan in 1878.[73][75][76]
In the 18th century, Sulu's dominion covered most of northeastern part of Borneo. However areas like Tempasuk and Abai had never really shown much allegiance to its earlier ruler, Brunei, subsequently similar treatment was given to Sulu.Alexander Dalrymple, who made a treaty of allegiance in 1761 with Sulu, had to make a similar agreement with the rulers of Tempasuk and Abai on the north Borneo coast in 1762.[77] The Sultanate of Sulu totally gave up its domain over Palawan to Spain in 1705 and Basilan to Spain in 1762. The territory ceded to Sulu by Brunei initially stretched south to Tapean Durian (now Tanjong Mangkalihat) (another source mentioned a southernmost boundary at Dumaring),[78] near the Straits of Macassar (nowKalimantan). From 1726 to 1733, the Sulu sultanate restarted their tributary relationship with China, now theQing Empire, about 300 years after it had ended.[79]
By 1849, the areas gained from Brunei had been effectively controlled by theSultanate of Bulungan in Kalimantan, reducing the boundary of Sulu to a cape named Batu Tinagat and theTawau River.[80]
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In 1848 and 1851, the Spanish launchedattacks on Balanguingui and Jolo respectively. A peace treaty was signed on 30 April 1851[84] in which the sultan could only regain the capital if Sulu and its dependencies became a part of the Philippine Islands under the sovereignty of Spain. There were different understandings of this treaty; although the Spanish interpreted it as the sultan accepting Spanish sovereignty over Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, but the sultan took it as a friendly treaty amongst equals. These areas were only partially controlled by the Spanish, and their power was limited to military stations and garrisons and pockets of civilian settlements. This lasted until they had to abandon the region as a consequence of their defeat in theSpanish–American War.
On 22 January 1878, an agreement was signed between Sulu and businessmanGustav Overbeck, who would later establish theNorth Borneo Chartered Company, granting Overbeck total control over the sultan's lands in northeastern Borneo, a region known asSabah. The ambiguity in the treaty of whether this was a cession or only a lease of the territory would later lead to theNorth Borneo dispute.[85][86]
Following the defeat of theMoro Rebellion, the Sultanate of Sulu's existence effectively ceased on 22 March 1915, when American commanders demanded SultanJamalul Kiram II signed an agreement called the Carpenter Agreement. By this agreement, the sultan relinquished all sovereignty over territory then under control of the United States, retaining only his religious authority as head of Islam in Sulu.[31]
As a result of the language used in the treaty signed in 1878 to approve Sulu's cession of the eastern part ofSabah, a territorial dispute emerged between thePhilippines andMalaysia, known as theNorth Borneo dispute. The English version states SultanJamal ul-Azamceded the region in exchange for annual payments, whereas theMalay version has the termpajakkan, which some interpret aslease. Using the former interpretation, theBritish protectorate ofNorth Borneo was formed in 1881, later becoming part ofMalaysia in 1963 under the name of Sabah. The Philippines, acting as thesuccessor state of Sulu, has claimed Sabah as its territory based on the idea that Sulu only rented the region.[87]
Malaysia views the dispute as a "non-issue",[88] as it not only considers the agreement in 1878 as one of cession later confirmed in a 1903 agreement,[89][90] but it also deems that the residents had exercised their act of self-determination when they joined to form the Malaysian federation in 1963.[91][92] It stood by the contract until 2013, issuing annual cheques in the amount ofRM5,300 (approx.₱77,000 or US$1,710) to the legal counsel of the heirs ofJamalul Kiram II, the last sovereign sultan of Sulu.[93]
The heirs to the Sulu royals have also staked their claims to Sabah. In 2013, during theLahad Datu standoff, a group of armed individuals sent by one of the claimants to the Sulu throne,Jamalul Kiram III, arrived inLahad Datu, Sabah, in an attempt to assert their territorial claim.[94] A total of 72 people were killed in the incident, which led Malaysia to suspend the annuities. Seven of the invaders were later sentenced to death.[95][96]
The suspension of the annual fees led the Sulu heirs tosue Malaysia for breach of contract. Their use offorum shopping led to an initial award of at least US$14.92 billion by a Paris arbitration court.[97] After litigation in Spanish, French, and Dutch court systems,[98] Malaysia obtained consistent victories, culminating in a dismissal by the FrenchCourt of Cassation on 6 November 2024.[99]
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Chinese who lived in Sulu ran guns across a Spanish blockade to supply the Moro datus and sultanates with weapons to fight the Spanish, who were engaging in a campaign to subjugate the Moro sultanates onMindanao. A trade involving the Moros selling slaves and other goods in exchange for guns developed. The Chinese had entered the economy of the sultanate, taking almost total control of the sultanate's economies in Mindanao and dominating the markets. Though the sultans did not like one group of people exercising exclusive control over the economy, they did business with them.
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The Chinese set up a trading network betweenSingapore, Zamboanga, Jolo and Sulu. The Chinese sold small arms like Enfield and Spencer Rifles to the Buayan Datu Uto. They were used to battle the Spanish invasion ofBuayan. The datu paid for the weapons in slaves.[100] The population of Chinese in Mindanao in the 1880s was 1,000. The Chinese ran guns across a Spanish blockade to sell to Mindanao Moros. The purchases of these weapons were paid for by the Moros in slaves in addition to other goods. The main group of people selling guns were the Chinese in Sulu. The Chinese took control of the economy and used steamers to ship goods for exporting and importing.Opium,ivory, textiles, and crockery were among the other goods which the Chinese sold.
The Chinese onMaimbung sent the weapons to the Sulu sultanate, who used them to battle the Spanish and resist their attacks. AChinese-Mestizo was one of the sultan's brothers-in-law, the sultan was married to his sister. He and the sultan both owned shares in the ship (named the Far East) which helped smuggle the weapons.[100] The Spanish launched a surprise offensive under ColonelJuan Arolas in April 1887 by attacking the sultanate's capital at Maimbung in an effort to crush resistance. Weapons were captured and the property of the Chinese were destroyed while the Chinese were deported to Jolo.[100]
After the destruction of the pirate haunts ofBalanguingui effectively ending the centuries of slave raids, which the Sulu sultanate's economy had so depended on, along with the economy of mainland Mindanao, the sultanate's economy experienced a sharp decline as slaves became more inaccessible and the islands' agricultural produce wasn't enough, thus it became dependent on the Mindanao interior even forrice and produce.[101] Although the Spaniards thought they had dealt the death blow for the sultanate when they captured Jolo in 1876, rather, the sultanate's capital and economic and trading hub was moved to Maimbung on the other side of the island. Up until the American occupation, this was the residence and economic center of Sulu. This is where the Sultan Jamalul Kiram II and his adviser Hadji Butu began the Sulupearling industry to increase the sultan's wealth, they organized the Sulu pearling fleet, which remained active well into the early 20th century. In 1910, the sultan reportedly sold a giant pearl in London for $100,000.[citation needed]
Among the people of the Sultanate of Sulu, nobility could be acquired only by lineage, a closed hereditary system.
There were two royal classes:[103]
Maharlika, or commoners, do not trace their descent from royalty. The upper subclasses held administrative roles:
The men who hold the offices above were addressed by the title of nobilityTuan (the title is directly attached to the office), followed by the rank of the office they hold, their given name, surname and region. The women who held offices above shall be addressed by the title of nobilitySitti (the title is directly attached to the office), followed by the same name order.
A very large part of the Sulu society, as well as in theSultanate of Maguindanao were slaves captured from slave raids or bought from slave markets. They were known as thebisaya, reflecting their most common origin – ChristianizedVisayans from Spanish territories in the Philippines – although they also included captured slaves from other ethnic groups throughout Southeast Asia. They were also known asbanyaga,ipun, orammas. It is estimated that as much as 50% of the population of Sulu in the 1850s werebisaya slaves and dominated the Sulu economy. For the most part, they were treated like commoners, with their own houses and were responsible for cultivating farms and fisheries of Tausug nobility. But there were harsh punishments for attempts to escape, and a large number of the slaves were sold to European, Chinese,Makassar, andBugis slavers in theDutch East Indies.[104][105]
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The Sultanate of Sulu, along with the rest of Mindanao, has a long tradition of decorative arts known asukkil orokir. Ukkil is the Tausug word for "wood carving" or "engraving". The Tausug andMaranao peoples traditionally carved and decorated their boats, houses and even grave markers with ukkil carvings. Aside from wood carvings, ukkil motifs were found on various clothing in the Sulu archipelago. Ukkil motifs tend to emphasise geometric patterns and a flowing design, with floral and leaf patterns as well as folk elements. The Tausug also decorated their weapons with these motifs, and variouskris andbarong blades have finely decorated handles as well as blades covered in floral patterns and the like.[106] Bronzelantaka also bear some ukkil patterns.
The Sultanate of Sulu existed for almost five centuries, i.e., from around 1450 to 1915 when Sultan Jamalul Kiram II gave up his temporal powers in favor of American colonial rule under the Carpenter agreement of 1915
[...] although the Government of the Philippines abolished the political powers of the Sultanate of Sulu on March 22, 1915, it did not, of course eliminate the Sultan. He secured a pension and remained the spiritual head of the Suluks. It should be recognized then that the abolition of the Sultanate did not abolish the Sultan nor his line of succession; and the successor of the Sultan is not the Government of the Philippines.
The Sultanate of Sulu was in no wise abolished by the Carpenter Agreement; but the sultan and his council merely relinquished their temporal powers to be exercised by regularly appointed or elected officials of the Philippine Government. It is generally believed that only the Sulu people themselves (through a plebiscite or an elected popular assembly) could legitimately abolish the Sultanate.
Over the years, the once powerful sultanate of Sulu has lost influence to other groups, becoming essentially a symbolic organization, said Richard Javad Heydarian, a political science professor at De La Salle University in Manila.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)The area from Kimanis Bay to the Paitan River not from Sulu but from Brunei
Sultan of Brunei cedes the lands east of Marudu Bay to the Sultanate of Sulu.
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Media related toSultanate of Sulu at Wikimedia Commons
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| History of Sabah |
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| History of Sarawak | ||
| History of Labuan | ||
1 Covers the three territories | ||
| Sovereign states |
|
|---|---|
| States with limited recognition | |
| Dependencies and other territories | |
6°03′07″N121°00′07″E / 6.05194°N 121.00194°E /6.05194; 121.00194
