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| Moros of Sulu |
The Spaniards - and mostly likely the Jesuit
missionaries - knew the Moros were intending to raid the Pintados (Visayan) islands.
Slave trading was a profitable enterprise at that time, and to the Moro tribes
in Mindanao, the market in nearby Borneo was just too tempting to resist.
Moreover, the Pintados had become the sworn enemies of the Moros after they
embraced Christianity and allowed themselves to become subjects of the Spanish
king. Given their widely dispersed settlements, they had become easy targets
for more organized and better armed Moro marauders.
The confirmation came on May 29, 1602 when men of Juan
Juarez Gallinato, the purveyor general assigned near San Buangan (Zamboanga)
captured a Lutao native from the place and subjected him to interrogation. This
was witnessed by one Antonio de Alarcon, commander of the patrona, while Pedro
Navarro, the encomendero of Baybay and Canamucan (Inopacan) served as
interpreter. Evidently his years of stay in Baybay had enabled him to speak the
language fluently.
The Lutao native who identified himself as Saliot, a
freeman and a native of the place, said he was sent by his chief called Bato to
pose as a merchant and bring with him fowls, wax and fish to trade in the port
where the Spanish fleet was anchored, find out where the entire fleet was, who
was in it, what sort of ships these were, and who was expected to come. But unluckily
for him, he was captured.
He also disclosed that there were about a hundred
ships in the river of Mindanao, both large and small, which were intending to
plunder the Pintados, Oton (in Panay) and whatever regions they could find. A
large number of men were going with these vessels because they took a hundred
fighters from each village. Some of the leaders were Silonga, Raxamora and
Buwisan. Liguana, chief of Taguima, and
his sons were going with him, and all the chiefs of his country. Thirty-five vessels
were going from San Buangan, Tragima and Basilanban, and would be sailing in 10
days from that day, Saliot said.
Another spy named Onarano, who was captured and
interrogated also by Gallinato with interpreter Navarro, likewise made
startling revelations. The spy, also a Lutao from the village of Lumian near
Jolo, said that the king of Jolo was helping the Mindanao Muslims in their
fight against the Spaniards. They were
preparing a great fleet to attack the provinces of the Pintados and against the
Spaniards. Onarano said that he had
heard from other subject of the kingdom of Jolo that, as long as the Spaniards
remained in the aforesaid kingdom, all the natives will rise up against them.
The interrogators also found out that the moros were
no longer acting by themselves only but were in some sort of alliance with
other Muslim groups outside Mindanao. Onarano said some 50 ships were sailing
from nearby Maluco and Ternate (Indonesia), besides the Sangils and Togolandans who were brought by
Buwisan, said to be master-of-camp to the one called Captain Lant. He added that the groups from Mindanao had 40
large caracoas, 20 carangailes and bireyes, in addition to one caracoa from
San Buangan (Zamboanga) and Tagima. If the Spaniards were to be found in Jolo,they
were going to be attacked, if not they would plunder in Pintados, Cebu and
Oton, said the captured spy. The assembled Moro fleet was scheduled to leave in
10 days.[i]
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