| Date |
Historical Event |
|
| January 23, 1878 |
Sultan of Sulu leases North Borneo (Sabah) to
the North Borneo Chartered Company (British). This caused much alarm
to the Spaniards (SZ, p.83). It gave Baron Gustavo Von Overbeck the
title of Rajah of Sandakan and Datu Bandahara, absolute power over the
people of the area. The lease in Tausug said "pajak" and in
English it was "ceded.". For the text of the "lease"
or "Land Grant", please refer to the History of the Filipino
People by Teodoro A. Agoncillo, p. 266).
To prevent northeast coast of Borneo from falling
into Spanish hands, Jamalul Azam leased his domain to Baron Gustavo Von
Overbeck for annual payment of $5,000. (SZ, p. 134. Wright, The
Origins of British North Borneo, pp. 148-154, K.B.. Tregoning, A
History of Modern Sabah, 1881-1963, pp. 13-29).
The English translation of the document said "grant"
whereas the Tausug version used the word "pajak" which means lease.
The lease was for $5,000 annually. The money somehow was stopped
at some point after the death of Jamalul Kiram in 1936.
On the Philippine side, Quezon refused to recognize
a successor to the sultanate because he said it was incompatible with the
notion of sovereignty (Noble, page 36-37). The Philippine government
even sent a letter to the British Consul in Manila that it had decided
not to recognize the "continued existence of the Sultanate."
The niece, Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao Kiram and
8 other relatives sued the government of North Borneo (This was, at the
time, only a charter of the British Crown. It became under British
rule after 1946.).. The government did not challenge the suit once
it was clear that the plaintiffs were merely interested in resumption of
the payments and not reopening the issue of sovereignty and ownership. |
| July 22, 1878 |
Last treaty signed by the Sultan Jamalul Alam
with Spain after another defeat by Spain in 1876. This treaty had the same
translation flaws as the one entered into in 1851, where the Spanish version
stated it had sovereignty over Sulu whereas the Tausug version had the
description of the relationship as being a protectorate rather than a dependency
and Sulu customs, laws, religion were not subject to Spanish jurisdiction.
The differences are material and would have repercussions in 1899 in the
territories that Spain ceded to the U.S. (Treaties and Other International
Acts of USA, edited by Hunter Miller, Vol. 4, 1836-1846, p. 355; also
History of Sulu by Najeeb Saleeby, pp. 124-129 )
This treaty made Jolo a sort of protectorate of
Spain (Muslim in the Philippines, Cesar Majul, p. 299) while retaining
a great deal of autonomy. The Sultan didn't have much interest in Jolo
at this point and relocated his seat to Maimbung. |
| December 10, 1898 |
Treaty of Paris was signed between Spain and
the United States ceding the whole Philippine archipelago (including Mindanao
and Sulu) in exchange for $20,000,000. |
| May 1, 1899 |
Spaniards departed Jolo and on same day Americans
occupied Jolo. When the Spaniards left, the Sultan thought that the town
of Jolo would again be in their hands. But the Americans told the
Sultan that they were now in charge. The Americans demanded
that the Sultan renew the terms of the July 22, 1878 Treaty with Spain
only this time substituting the U.S. for Spain. The Sultan refused.
The U.S. had no idea that the treaty was merely the Sultan's modus vivendi
with Spain, whose presence the Moro barely tolerated. General Bates
enticed the Sultan telling him that it would be to his interest to be associated
with a rich and powerful country like the U.S. The Sultan was said
to have asked Bates, "Why is it that if your country is so rich and powerful
would you want a place like ours?" (Vic Hurley, Swish of the Kris) |
| August 9, 1899 |
The Sultan, after feigning illness for some time,
finally presented a "16-point proposal"
to the Americans. According to Vic Hurley, prior to the Sultan's
gesture, there was a great deal of preliminary discussions and numerous
attempts by the Tausugs to frighten the American occupants. Among
the key terms of the proposal were recognition of the sovereignty of the
Sultanate and that the U.S. was not to sell Jolo to any other nation without
consulting the Sultan. |
| August 20, 1899 |
General Bates rejected the Sultan's "16-point
proposal" because it did not recognize American sovereignty. He countered
with a 15-point proposal which Sultan Jamalul Kiram II hesitatingly signed
with Gen. John C. Bates. (Bates Treaty
or Senate Document No. 136, 56th Congress, lst Session, Serial
3851). A very critical error of translation exists in this treaty. The
Tausug version states "The support, aid, and protection of the Jolo Island
and Archipelago are in the American nation," whereas the English version
read: "The sovereignty of the United States over the whole Archipelago
of Jolo and its dependencies is declared and acknowledged." The word "sovereignty"
was not used anywhere in the Tausug version. (Peter Gowing, Mandate
in Moroland. The American Government of Muslim Filipinos 1899-1920,
p. 122).
Among the other terms of the treaty were:
1) Non-interference with religion, social and
domestic customs or internal economic or political affairs of Moros unless
requested to do so.
2) The U.S. was not to give or sell Sulu or any
part of it to any other nations.
3) Continuation of the $250.00 monthly allowance
that was initiated by the Spaniards.
4) Slaves allowed to purchase their freedom.
It was obvious that the U.S. signed this peace
treaty as a way of stemming any resistance to its occupation in the South
while it was suppressing the resistance in the north.
According to Sixto Orosa, the District Health
Officer in Sulu during the American occupation "The people did not wish
to come under American sovereignty; but Hadji Butu, 'recognizing the folly
of armed resistance,' exerted all his influence to prevent another useless
and bloody war." (The Sulu Archipelago and Its People, Sixto
Orosa, p. 108-109)
|
| November 7, 1900 |
The U.S. pays Spain another $100,000 to incorporate
the islands stretching as far as Sibutu to Cagayan de Sulu. The southernmost
outlying islands of the Philippines--Turtle Island and Taganak were incorporated
at a much later time period. They were part of the territories originally
"ceded" (leased according to Tausug translations of the documents) by the
Sultan Jamalul Alam to the North Borneo Company since 1763. |
| 1901 |
"Policy of Disarmament" implemented by Gen. John
"Black Jack" Pershing met with resistance that culminated in the Battle
of Bud Dajo on March 7, 1906 |
| May 2, 1902 |
First recorded pitched battle fought between Americans and Moros when
the Americans toke the Moro cottas, or forts, of Binadayan
and Pandapatan in Lanao under the command of Col. Frank D. Baldwin. (Muddy
Glory, Russell Roth, p. 26) |
| July 4, 1902 |
President Theodore Roosevelt issued a presidential
proclamation formally ending the Philippine "Insurrection" covering only
the Independence War or the "Christian Front". In its second preamble
of the proclamation reads:
"Whereas, the insurrection against the authority
and sovereignty of the United States is now at an end, and peace has been
established in all parts of the archipelago except in the country inhabited
by the Moro tribes, to which this proclamation does not apply;
This proclamation also suggest that there was
an on-going war in the Morolands at the time the proclamation was given
and that the U.S. had not been able to contain it. Moreover, this
proclamation also leaves no doubt to the fact that the U.S. had implemented
a "divide and conquer" strategy in conducting the colonial war, thus creating
the "Muslim Moro Front" as the second front of the war that would last
longer than the Christian front. By mere happenstance, it would seem
to appear as if the U.S. had waged a religious war in the Philippines --against
the Christians and the Muslims, one after another. |
| June 1, 1903 |
| Creation of the Moro Province, of
which Sulu was a part of, under Gen. Leonard Wood, the first governor of
that province.
Gov. Gen. Wood imposed a head tax of P2 for each
person. This created resentment and dissatisfaction among the Tausugs which
led to a series of Cotta (trench) wars against the Americans led
by Panglima Hassan.
(Orosa, p. 37). Among the best known are Bud Dajo and Bud Bagsak massacres. |
Photo of Gen. Leonard
Wood, the first Governor
of the Moro Province. |
|
| September 2, 1903 |
Moro Province Legislative Council was organized. |
| March 2, 1904 |
The U.S. unilaterally abrogates the Bates Treaty,
upon recommendations by Moro Province Governor Wood, for two main
reasons: the Sultan’s failure to quell Moro resistance and the treaty's
hindrance to effective colonial administration of the area. Payments
to the Sultan also stopped. |
| April 1904 |
The Sultan protests the unilateral abrogation
of the Bates Treaty. He argues that he couldn’t stop the Moro conflict
against the Americans because of U.S. had imposed poll and land taxes on
the population, a practice which the Moros were not used to. He urged the
Americans not to...
"put yokes on our necks that we cannot bear,
and don’t make us do what is against our religion and don’t ask us to pay
poll tax forever and ever as long as there is sun and moon, and don’t ask
taxes for land which are our rights of the Moro people, including all that
grows (is planted) in Jolo and its islands." (Letter to Gov. Gen, Luke
Wright in Peter Gowing, p. 350-351) |
| November 12, 1904 |
U.S. Philippine Commission restores annual payments
to the Sultan and his advisers. |
| March 5-7, 1906 |
"Death List is Now 900", blazed the headline
announcing the massacre at Bud Dajo where General Wood ordered his men
to "Kill or capture those savages." Of the 1,000 men, women and children
who fortified themselves in the 50 ft. deep crater atop this mountin six
miles east of the of Jolo, only six men survived the two-day massacre.
The well-equipped Americans were no match for the Tausugs who were armed
with only krises, spears and a few rifles. The American forces were
supported by two quick-firing guns from a gunboat. Many of the dead
had as many as fifty gunshots. (Vic Hurley, Swish of the Kris, page 186). |
| 1910 |
First 100 families from Cebu were brought by Gen. John Pershing to
settle in Cotabato, Mindanao. |
| June 11-16, 1913 |
| Battle of Bud Bagsak. Ten years after
its Disarmament Policy, the Moros continued to resist the American rule.
From January-June, the whole ward of Lati with a population of between
6,000 to 10,000, fortified themselves in a cotta in Mt. Bagsak. On June
11, Gen. John Pershing ordered the attack with the assistance of Charlie
Schuck who reported that it was easy to attack the cotta. Though official
estimates accounted for only 300 Moro casualties (Orosa, p.27), John McLeod,
who was in Manila at the time of the massacre, reported that 2,000 were
killed including 196 women and 340 children. Pershing was later criticized
for his actions but a Congressional investigation into the massacre never
materialized. (Gowing, pp. 240-241). |
Gen. John Pershing,
known as the "Moro
Pacifier." |
|
| August 13, 1913 |
People in Talipao municipality on island of Jolo
refused to pay road tax. They fortified themselves in Mt. Talipao. On Oct.22,
1913, engagement ensued and the Moros were defeated. (Orosa) |
| July 24, 1913 |
Department of Mindanao and Sulu created. (Orosa) |
| March 22, 1915 |
| Sultan signs an agreement with Gov.
Gen. Frank Carpenter (Carpenter Agreement)
relinquishing his claims of sovereignty and reduced the Sultan to a mere
spiritual and religious head of the Moro people.
Prior to this agreement, the Sultan maintained
both
de jure and de facto sovereignty and was recognized
by the U.S. when it was referred to as "The Government of the Sultan" in
the Bates Treaty. The Sultan neither abdicated nor renounced his sovereignty
or lost it to the U.S. by conquest. This became a concern for Carpenter
who feared the issue might come to haunt the U.S. Thus, he said wrote
in his 1916 report it became "necessary and opportune definitely to extinguish
all claims of the Sultan to any degree of temporal sovereignty." (Gowing,
p. 287 and
Sulu and Sabah, Nicholas Tarling, p.317 |
Photo of His Highness
Jamalul Kiram II, the
"Last Sultan of Jolo." |
|
| September 1, 1913 |
Moro Province is abolished and replaced
with Department of Mindanao and Sulu. |
| December 16, 1913 |
Military rule officially ended and civilian rule
begins. Frank Carpenter, a civilian governor of the Department of Mindanao
and Sulu and Guy N. Roher was the governor of Sulu. |
| June 9, 1921 |
Petition signed by 57 leaders in Sulu declaring that "it is the desire
of the people of Sulu that the Sulu Archipelago be made permanent American
Territory. |
| 1924 |
Muslims petitioned the Governor-General to grant them separate sovereignty
from the rest of the Philippines in the event America withdraw, lest blood
shed and warfare break out. |
| Feb 8, 1935 |
Adoption of the Philippine Constitution by the Constitutional Convention.
Delegate Tomas Cabili representing Lanao, a Christian, did not sign the
Constitution because he found the document to be discriminatory against
the Moro people. |
| March 18, 1935 |
Declaration of the Bangsa Moro (Dansalan Declaration) in a gathering
of 121 Moro datus held in Dansalan, Lanao. In a prophetic vision, the documents
states:
"We do not want to be included in the Philippine Independence. For once
an independent Philippines is launched, there will be troubles between
us and the Christian Filipinos because from time immemorial these two people
have not lived harmoniously...It is not proper to have two antagonizing
people live together under one flag, under the Philippine independence...
"Should the American people grant the Philippines an independence, the
islands of Sulu and Mindanao should not be included in such independence...Our
public land must not be given to other people other than the Moros..."
|
| July 4, 1946 |
Proclamation of Philippine Independence formally creating the Philippine
REpublic. Morolands were incorporated against their wishes. Few months
later, Haji Kamlon started building his armed resistance in Luuk, Sulu
to defy the Manila-based Christian government. |
| 1956 (to be verified) |
Establishment of the Economic Development Corps (EDCOR), the government
program to resettle landless communist Hukbalahaps (Huks) on homesteads
in Mindanao and Palawan. |
| 1957 |
Creation of the Commission of National Integration (CNI) under R.A.
1888 aimed at alleviating the "economic, social and political advancement
of the non-Christian Filipinos." |
| 1961 |
Rep. Datu Ombra Amilbangsa introduced House Bill 5682 calling for "Granting
and REcognizing the Independence of the Province of Sulu. |
| Dec 1969 to Feb 1972 |
Christian "Ilaga" raids against Muslim villages. Casualties: 2,606
Moros; 1,238 Ilagas. Damages: 2,561 houses; 11 mousques. |
| March 17, 1968 |
The "Jabidah Massacre" in Corrigedor Island killing 28 trainees (16
still missing and presumed dead) of the Jabidah Special Forces who were
supposed to carry out an invasion of Sabah under "Operation Merdeka." |
| 1971 |
The Committee on National Minorities of the Philippine Senate issued
a thoughtful analysis of the "Moro problem in its senate document:
"Through either indifference, insincerity, or lack of foresight, the
seeds of discord were sown when the Commonwealth government embarked on
a policy of bringing settlers from Luzon and Visayas to Mindanao without
a parallel program of helping the natives legitimize their landholdings
or assisting them in making their farms productive.. After the second world
war, the influx of settlers and immigrants to the verdant valleys of Cotabato
continued... the prior rights of the natives were disregarded and even
trampled upon..." |
| October 1971 |
Armed Muslim group called "Barracudas" staged an ambush against Constabulary
patrol in Magsaysay killing 17 troops out of the 22-man patrol. |
| Sept 21, 1972 |
Declaration of Martial Law by Pres. Marcos. Moro rebellion renewed
after a quarter century of dormancy when Marcos ordered the Muslims to
lay down their arms. |
| Nov 14, 1972 |
The official emergence of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF),
chaired by Nur Misuari. |
| Dec. 23, 1976 |
Signing of the Tripoli Agreement between the MNLF and the Philippine
Republic." |
| March 1977 |
Pres. Marcos set up a "Provisional Autonomous Government" for
an "autonomous region" made up of 13 suthern provinces. |
| Oct 10, 1977 |
MNLF force led by Commander Usman Salih assassinated Brig. Gen. Teodulfo
Bautista in Patikul, Jolo. |
| Dec 1977 |
A power struggle within the MNLF led to the formation of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF), chaired by Hashim Salamat. |
| 1983 |
MNLF military activities wane as the New Peoples Arrmy (NPA) emboldens. |
| Aug 21, 1983 |
Ninoy Aquino assassinated at Manila International Airport, galvanizing
nationwide anti-Marcos protest. |
| 1986 |
EDSA People Power ousts Pres. Marcos. |
| Sept. 1986 |
Pres. Cory Aquino visits MNLF camp for peace talks, ignores MILF. |
| Oct 15, 1986 |
Adoption of the new Philippine Constitution which provides among others,
the regional autonomy for Muslim Mindanao and the Cordillera regions. |
| 1989 |
Congress passes bill creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM). |
| 1992 |
Fidel Ramos wins presidency. Government initiates new negotiations
with MNLF. |
| 1993 |
Indonesia govrnment hosts talks between Philippine government and MNLF. |
| 1995 |
Abu Sayya, a more militant Muslim group, raided the town of Ipil, Zamboanga,
killing 50 people. |
| Sept 2, 1996 |
Peace agreement finally signed betwen the Philippine government and
the MNLF. Misuari wins election for ARMMM governor. |
| 1997 |
Heavy fighting erupts in Maguindanao between government forces and
MILF. |
| 1998 |
Joseph Estrada wins Philippine presidency. Formed new panel to talk
to MILF. |
| March-Jun 2000 |
MILF expands territorial control in Central Mindanao. Abu Sayyaf takes
foreign hostages putting the Philippines in international headlines. Government
attacks MILF and Abu Sayyaf camps. Thousands of mostly Muslim residents
fle while Estrada's low approval rating rise. |