BRIDGING THE GAP
Contributory factors to Moro incursions in Iloilo
In the previous two column articles, it was pointed out that the Ilonggo-Bisaya, after having been subjugated and converted to Christianity by the Spaniards, began to be utilized by the latter to pursue their colonial ambitions. They were frequently employed by the conquerors as sailors and soldiers in their military campaigns against the Moros of Mindanao and Sulu. The Moros, vice-versa, also conducted many raiding expeditions against the Spaniards and their Ilonggo-Bisaya subjects in Panay. Evidently, Iloilo was the primary target of these series of Moro raids.
Aside from the struggle between the Christians and the Muslims, and the corresponding "jihad" associated with it, there were other factors which explained the frequent Moro incursions in Iloilo.
First, Iloilo had been a progressive place since the pre-colonial days up to the Spanish period. Early Spanish writers like Loarca described Panay, with specific reference to Iloilo, as "the most fertile and well-provisioned of all the islands discovered, aside from the island of Luzon"(Blair & Robertson 1903-1909. Hereafter referred to as B & R). Because of its fertile lands, Morga, Loarca and Diaz observed that the province abounded in rice production (Morga 1890, Loarca in B & R 1903-1909, Diaz 1890). Legaspi, the famous Spanish conquistador, sailed to Iloilo from Cebu to secure food supplies in it. It appeared, therefore, that Iloilo was already a leading rice producing area of the archipelago in early times. Father Medina, an Augustinian missionary, noted that "Iloilo was the granary of all the islands in the archipelago" (Medina in B & R 1903-1909).
Other than rice, Iloilo also, according to Loarca, "abounds in swine, fowls, wax and honey" and in the writings of Morga was "abundant in wine-producing palm-trees and all kinds of food supplies"(Loarca in B & R 1903-1909; Morga 1890). Moreover, Iloilo was producing a great quantity of cotton and other textile fabrics. These products enabled Iloilo to sustain frequent commercial and social relations with neighboring provinces and islands, as well as with foreign traders. Thus, the province attracted Moro raiders from the south.
The second factor lies in the population of Iloilo. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, Iloilo was already well populated. This became an attraction to the Moros in terms of the demand for slaves. The population census of the Philippine Islands published in 1864 showed Iloilo leading other provinces, including Manila, in population. While Manila had only 323,683 inhabintants, Iloilo already had 565,500 (Barrantes 1869), a difference of 141,817.
Iloilo,s population continued to increase in a remarkable manner. Thus, in the 1890s, it was still considered as one of the most populated provinces in the archipelago.
The major motivation of the frequent Moro attacks in Iloilo is attributed to the province's wealth in trade and pillage. As McClintock (1903) says:
It is partly because of the leading position of Iloilo
that it suffered greatly from the raids of the Moros and
the Dutch during the second half of the 16th century and
the beginning of the 17th. Forts were established but the
pirates of the high seas continued their attacks...
McClintock further stated that the reason for Moro attacks could be traced to the prosperous life the Chinese and mestizo inhabitants of Iloilo were leading.
The third factor is geography. The island of Panay is a short distance away from Mindanao and Sulu, and is open to sea traffic from the outside. Thus, aside from the wealth that Iloilo offered. it was also strategically convenient to attack the province from the south.
The last factor is Iloilo's strategic and demographic importance. Iloilo became the seat of the politico-military and religious activities of the Spaniards, as well as their base of operations in western Visayas and Mindanao. Towns such as Oton and Arevalo became associated with Spanish expeditions to Mindanao and Sulu. Oton, for instance, was the first town founded by the Spaniards in Iloilo. It served not only as the seat of the government for the island of Panay but also as the rallying point of the Spanish armada in their repeated and futile expeditions against the Moros, British and the Dutch. Oton also became the site for shipyards while Arevalo served as a Spanish naval station and residence of encomenderos in Panay. Both served as provision posts for more Spanish expeditions from either Manila or Cavite to Mindanao, Sulu and the Moluccas. In these expeditions, the Spaniards would stop over at the productive towns of Oton and Arevalo to gather rice, meat, wine and other food supplies (Blair & Robertson 1903-1909).
In retrospect,what motivated the Moros to conduct raids in Iloilo were its agricultural goods, trade products, its young population for slave trading purposes, and its being the administrative and religious capital of their bitter enemies, the Spaniards.