Castilian War

Castilian War
Bruneian forces fighting Spanish forces
Date 16 April – 26 June 1578 Location Borneo, Mindanao, and Sulu Result Status quo ante bellum
Belligerents
Bruneian Empire Sulu Sultanate Maguindanao Supported by: Ottoman Empire Portuguese Empire	Spanish Empire Captaincy General of the Philippines Bruneian defectors
Commanders and leaders
Sultan Saiful Rijal Bendahara Sakam Pengiran Kestani	Francisco de Sande Pengiran Seri Lela   or   † Pengiran Seri Ratna  †
Strength
1,000 men (royal guards) an unknown number of indigenous warriors 62 guns 50 ships	2,200 men: 200 Spaniards 200 Mexicans 1,500 Filipinos 300 Bruneians 40 ships
Casualties and losses
Unknown 170 artillery pieces; 27 ships and galleys captured [1]	Unknown; presumably heavy [2] 17 men dead (by dysentery) [3]

The Castilian War, also called the Spanish Expedition to Borneo, was a conflict between the Spanish Empire and several Muslim states in Southeast Asia, including the Sultanates of Brunei, Sulu, and Maguindanao. It is also considered as part of the Ottoman-Habsburg War, and that war is the beginning of relations between the Ottoman state and Brunei in 1560 to 1578.

Spanish arrival in the Philippines

The Spanish settlements soon began to encroach on the aspirations that Brunei had in the Philippines. Between 1485 and 1521, Sultan Bolkiah's influence has reached the Manila Bay region, as recorded by the Spaniards during their encounter with Prince Ache in 1521, who was Bolkiah's grandson. The Islamic presence in the region was also strengthened by the arrival of traders and missionaries from the areas of Malaysia and Indonesia. ^[4]

Despite Bruneian influence, Spanish colonization continued in the archipelago. In 1571, Miguel López launched an expedition from his capital in Cebu to conquer and Christianize the city of Manila, which became the new capital for the Spanish administration. Furthermore, the Visayan peoples of Panay and Cebu (who historically fought against Brunei's allies of Sulu and Maynila) aligned themselves with the Spaniards against Brunei. In 1576, Governor-General Francisco de Sande sent a request to meet with Sultan Saiful Rijal, expressing a desire for good relations with Brunei. However, In 1573, the Governor-General De Sande demanded both permission to proselytize Christianity in the region, and an end to Brunei's proselytizing of Islam. De Sande regarded Brunei as a threat to Spanish presence and religious efforts in the region, stating that "the Moros from Borneo preach the doctrine of Mohammed, converting all the Moros of the islands". ^{[5] [6]}

War

Governor-General Francisco de Sande officially declared war against Brunei in 1578, and began preparations for an expedition to Borneo. De Sande assumed the title of Capitán-General and assembled a fleet carrying 200 Spaniards, 200 Mexicans, 1,500 native Filipinos (Luzones), and 300 Borneans. ^[7] The ethnic composition of the Spanish force was shown to be diverse by later documents that stated the infantry was made up of mestizos, mulattoes, and "Indians" (from Peru and Mexico), led by Spanish officers who had previously fought with native Filipinos in military campaigns across Southeast Asia. ^[8] The expedition began their journey in March, and the Bruneian campaign was one of several that was undertaken at the time, including action in Mindanao and Sulu. ^{[9] [10]}

In addition to native Malay warriors, Bruneian forces were supported by the Ottomans who had been sent in several expeditions to the nearby Sultanate of Aceh and were composed of Turks, Egyptians, Swahilis, Somalis, Sindhis, Gujaratis, and Malabars. ^[11] These expeditionary forces spread to nearby Sultanates and taught local mujahideen new fighting tactics and techniques to forge cannons. ^[12]

Aftermath

While the Spanish were unable to immediately subjugate Brunei, they did manage to prevent it from regaining a foothold in Luzon. ^[13] Relations between the two nations later improved and trade resumed, as evidenced by a 1599 letter from Governor-General Francisco de Tello de Guzmán in which he asked for a return to a normal relationship. ^[14]

As a result of the conflict, Brunei ceased to be an empire at sea. It gradually set aside its policies of territorial expansion and developed into a city-state, surviving to the modern day as the oldest continuously Islamic political entity. ^[15]

Notes

1. Saunders, Graham E. (1994). A History of Brunei. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 55. ISBN   967-65-3049-2.
2. Saunders, Graham E. (1994). A History of Brunei. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 57. ISBN   967-65-3049-2.
3. Bala, Bilcher (2005). Thalassocracy: A History of the Medieval Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. p. 160. ISBN   9789832643746.
4. Agoncillo 1990 , p. 22
5. McAmis 2002, p. 35.
6. Nicholl, Robert (1975). European sources for the history of the Sultanate of Brunei in the Sixteenth Century. Muzium Brunei. OCLC   4777019.
7. United States. War Dept (1903). Annual reports. Vol. 3. Government Printing Office. p. 379.
8. Letter from Fajardo to Felipe III From Manila, August 15 1620 (From the Spanish Archives of the Indies): "The infantry does not amount to two hundred men, in three companies. If these men were that number, and Spaniards, it would not be so bad; but, although I have not seen them, because they have not yet arrived here, I am told that they are, as at other times, for the most part boys, mestizos, and mulattoes, with some Indians (Native Americans). There is no little cause for regret in the great sums that reënforcements of such men waste for, and cost, your Majesty. I cannot see what betterment there will be until your Majesty shall provide it, since I do not think, that more can be done in Nueva Spaña, although the viceroy must be endeavoring to do so, as he is ordered."
9. McAmis 2002 , p. 33
10. "Letter from Francisco de Sande to Felipe II, 1578". Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
11. The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia by Nicholas Tarling p.39
12. Cambridge illustrated atlas, warfare: Renaissance to revolution, 1492–1792 by Jeremy Black p.16
13. Oxford Business Group 2009 , p. 9
14. "The era of Sultan Muhammad Hassan". The Brunei Times . 1 March 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
15. Donoso, Isaac (Autumn 2014). "Manila y la empresa imperial del Sultanato de Brunei en el siglo XVI". Revista Filipina, Segunda Etapa. Revista semestral de lengua y literatura hispanofilipina. (in Spanish). 2 (1): 23. Retrieved 29 December 2015.

References

• Agoncillo, Teodoro A. (1990), History of the Filipino people, R.P. Garcia, ISBN   978-971-8711-06-4
• McAmis, Robert Day (2002), Malay Muslims: the history and challenge of resurgent Islam in Southeast Asia, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, ISBN   978-0-8028-4945-8
• Saunders, Graham E. (2002), A history of Brunei, Routledge, ISBN   978-0-7007-1698-2
• Melo Alip, Eufronio (1964), Political and cultural history of the Philippines, Volumes 1-2
• The Report: Brunei Darussalam 2009, Oxford Business Group, 2009, ISBN   978-1-907065-09-5
• Frankham, Steve (2008), Footprint Borneo, Footprint Guides, ISBN   978-1-906098-14-8
• Atiyah, Jeremy (2002), Rough guide to Southeast Asia, Rough Guide, ISBN   978-1-85828-893-2