BRIDGING THE GAP
Encounters between the 'Bisaya' and 'Moro' in the 1600s (2)
In the previous column, it was pointed out that engagements between the "Bisaya" and the "Moro" during the initial years of Spanish rule occurred as early as 1578. In that year, the Spaniards launched their first military expedition to the south due to "the necessity of opposing raids, outrages, piratical expeditions and differences in religion." (Landor 1904) Such expedition was followed by other well-publicized expeditions throughout the 16th up to the 19th centuries, many of which were organized in Iloilo.
By the start of the 17th century, on January 20, 1603, a fleet under the command of Capitan Juan Gallinato left Iloilo with Bisayan warriors (Blair and Robertson 1903-09). The expedition attacked Jolo and besieged it for three months, after which, the attackers returned to Iloilo.
On April 6, 1635, Capitan Juan de Chavez with 300 Spaniards and 1,000 Bisayan warriors attacked Zamboanga and wrested it from the Moros (Montero y Vidal 1888). Immediately, a stone fortress was built by the Spaniards in the area to secure it through the help of their Bisayan allies.
In 1637, the first hostile encounter between the Spaniards and the Islamized Maranaos of Lanao occurred. (Isidro and Saber 1968) In this encounter, the Spaniards were again aided by their Bisayan allies. Two years later, in 1639, Gov. Gen. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera launched the first Spanish expedition to Lake Lanao under the joint command of Capitan Francisco de Atienza and Padre Agustin de San Pedro for the "exploration and conversion of the region". (Murillo 1749) About a thousand Bisaya were under their command. These Spaniards gained the distinction of being the first Europeans to see Lake Lanao.
Before leaving Lake Lanao, Atienza sent a report on the result of the operation to General Almonte, in charge of the whole operation. In return, Almonte sent out a second expedition headed by Sargento-Mayor Don Pedro Fernandez del Rio. They ascended the lake with 70 Spanish soldiers and 500 Bisaya warriors. (Combes 1667) The expedition, however, failed.
In 1662, the Moros staged their own punitive expedition against the Spaniards in Iloilo. They landed in the shores of Oton and pillaged the town. Having set fire on the convent and other parts of the town, they captured some of the young inhabitants and sold them to slavery. (Tiongco 1969)
These actions and counter-actions of both the Moros and the Spaniards, with the Bisaya serving as pawns, continued up to the 19th century in a sporadic manner. A noted historian, Miguel Bernad, has argued that Moro raids on Visayan waters reached their peak during the middle part of the 18th century.(Bernad 1968)
The character of the Spanish warfare against the Moros is revealed in a set of instructions from Governor-General de Sande to Capitan Figueroa, commander of an expedition against the Moros of Mindanao and Sulu in 1578. The instructions included four basic points, namely: 1) Get the Moros to acknowledge Spanish sovereignty over their territory. 2) Promote trade with the Moros while obliging them to limit their trade to the Philippine islands and discover the natural resources of the Moroland with a view to their commercial exploitation. 3) Bring an end to Moro "piracy" against Spanish shipping and an end to Moro raids on the Christianized settlements in the north, especially in the Visayas. 4) Begin the Hispanization and Christianization of the Moros.
The last instruction is worth noting for. It clearly advanced the grand plan of the Spaniards to Hispanize and Christianize the Moros. This grand plan was the standard procedure of Spain applied to all conquered territories. It was the basic foundation of her colonial policy.