27 Oct Spanish Moro Wars, Phase 2: Stronghold”

Make a role play script/dialogue of the “Spanish Moro Wars, Phase 2: Stronghold” below. With narrator. 

PHASE TWO: STRONGHOLDS The second phase of the conflict started with the Spaniards trying to establish forts and colonies in Muslim lands, to exact tribute from the Muslim and to wean them from their alliance Ternate. It ended around 1599. In this phase, the Sulu Sultan paid a modest tribute, so did some of the chieftains in the Pulangi. Here also the 1587 conspiracy of Tondo chieftains led by Magat Salamat failed. Salamat tried to contact the Brunei Sultan for help against the Spaniards but failed in his endeavor. In 1591, the Spanish government decided to colonize Mindanao and incorporate it into its Philippine colony. It was planned to use Mindanao as a base for the eventual conquest of the Moluccas and the intimidation of Borneo and Java. In April 1596, the newly-designated governor of Mindanao, Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa, landed in Cotabato, where he failed to contact the Maguindanao Sultan. In the interior, Rodriguez was struck on the head with a Kampilan. He remained alive only for a few hours. Nevertheless, the Spaniards were able to build a fort around Sampakan (Tampakan), which was midway between the Maguindanao and Buayan settlements. The Maguindanao and Buayan Sultanates tried to dislodge the Spaniard. Eight hundred warriors from Ternate, under the leadership of an uncle of the Ternate sultan, came to help the Muslims, to no avail. Eventually, lack of supplies and difficulty in communication led the Spaniards to abandon their fort. They retreated to the area of Zamboanga, where they built a fort in La Caldera. Continuous harassment, however, made them abandon this strong fort in 1597. The second phase… thus ended in defeat for the Spanish invaders. Something to note in this phase is that the Tematan aid came not only on account of kinship relations between the leading families of Mindanao and the Moluccas and religious ties, but also because the Ternatans realized that the loss of Mindanao would mean that it could serve as a base for Spanish operations against them. At least a strong Maguindanao and Buayan meant a strong defense line for ternate.