ZAMBOANGA CITY HISTORY

EARLY PHILIPPINE HISTORY

The principal peoples of the Philippine archipelago were the Negritos, proto-Malays, and Malays. The Negritos are believed to have migrated by land bridges some 30,000 years ago, during the last glacial period. Later migrations were by water and took place over several thousand years in repeated movements before and after the start of the Christian era.¹

Not much is known of the early inhabitants of the Mindanao Island peninsula during this time line.  Although Western time line puts Philippine history in accordance to their discovery of the islands, this short-sighted view point cannot erase the factual history of the people who discovered and inhabited the islands long before the western world arrived.  The barangay method of government of these peoples, in use for over a thousand years, was the biggest dividing line between their nation of small enclaves and the present geographically defined country that is The Philippines.

900 A.D. - Western timeline is pushed back a few hundred years

A Philippine Document - The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI) reveals a literate population.

1000 A.D.

The vegetation and flowers are growing profusely and beautifully, just waiting to be discovered.

1100 A.D.

The vegetation and flowers are growing profusely and beautifully, still waiting to be discovered.

1200 A.D. – The Beginning

In the beginning, there was Jambangan, the ancient place that was settled in the 1200^s by the Subanons, who are considered by historians to be the founding fathers of the place they called the “Land of Flowers.”  They are of Malayan decent who traveled away from their homeland in Indonesia to find their new home on the tip of the Mindanao island peninsula.  They are a farming-based people who choose to settle along the banks of the rivers (called suba in their native tongue) and consequently derived their ethnic name from it.  The Subanons (“People of the River”) mostly grew root and tree crops, along with their rice staple, which they still do to this day.

One can only imagine how Jambangan must have looked back then, with its profusion of native vegetation and flowers.  It is said that Marco Polo’s ship probably spent some time exploring the coasts of Mindanao and Sulu in 1292 while waiting many months on the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia for a favorable monsoon to deliver a royal bride from the court of Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan and supreme leader of the vast empire of Mongolia (1215-94), to the Khan of Persia and may have made contact with the new inhabitants of the region.  The monsoons around this area of Southeast Asia were constant and reliable, well known to all the seasoned mariners and widely credited for the profusion of early commerce in the area.²

1300 A.D. – The Malayan influx

Then came the Badjaos and the Samals from Malayan decent who settled along the Jambangan shoreline in the 1300^s.  They made contact with the founding Subanons who told them the namesake of their newfound home.  The new settlers however preferred to call it Samboangan, which to this day is what they sentimentally call it.  One can only imagine the migration route that was founded by the Malayan settlers into Jambangan and Mindanao, and the trade route that ensued along the Sulu Archipelago between them, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the traders from the Middle East, India, China, and Japan who were plying the waters of this area.

The Tausugs came next along with the Yakans, both of Malayan decent also.  The Tausugs eventually became the most dominant and aggressive ethnic group of the entire region, establishing their own Sultanate based in the island of Jolo, and was part of the bigger Sultanate of Brunei in north Borneo, a thriving trade center of more than 70,000 people.  The Yakans would establish themselves in the island of Basilan.  The world at this time was in a trading frenzy and the Malays were leading the way to new products, commerce, and exotic shores, and Jambangan was a contributor to this trade activity.

The Badjaos, Samals, Tausugs, and Yakans from Malaysia and Borneo/Brunei still consist a big majority of the minority group that make up today's area population, but the founding Subanons of Indonesia have long moved on to the hinterlands of the Mindanao Island peninsula to pursue their ancient ways.

1400 A.D. – Mohammedanism takes hold

In the 1400^s, the new settlers of Jambangan, Mindanao Island, and the Sulu Archipelago region experienced a spiritual transformation that is evident to this day.  Mohammedanism was introduced to these people of Malayan decent, and eventually spread out to the Visayas and as far north as Manila, and preceded the Spanish arrival by only sixty years.

1500 A.D. – The Spaniards arrive

The early 1500^s brought along the Spaniards and their Catholic religion into the Philippine Islands, in search of spices and riches.  The Spanish presence in Jambangan can be dated as far back as November 1596, when a small garrison was briefly established in the Caldera Bay area called Recodo, located about fifteen miles north-east of present downtown Zamboanga City.  Juan Ronquillo built a blockhouse as a base of their operations against the Cotabato Moros, and left Captain Paches behind to man it.  Repeated Moro attacks eventually eliminated this small heroic detachment that history completely forgot.

After a relatively easy time in subjugating the Luzon and Visayan islanders, the Spaniards would suffer many losses against the marauding and murdering surprise attacks of the Moros who retreated to their strongholds in Mindanao Island and the Sulu Archipelago.  They would roam the gamut of the Philippine Islands on their numerous deadly pirate raids, taking loot, capturing slaves and women as harems for the sultans who made merry with them, and slaughtered thousands of village people left behind.  The Visayas Islands were constant targets and suffered the most.  It would take the ill-prepared Spaniards over thirty years to recover from these crippling attacks and make another attempt at conquering the Moros in the southern Philippines.

During the time of Alimud Din, the Spaniards forfeited all claim to sympathy in the conduct of their feud with the Moros. The Mohammedans of Mindanao and Sulu have indeed proved to be barbarians of the first order.  However, history does not elaborate which ones of the handful of Malayan tribes that made up this part of the southern Philippines their new home accountable for the attacks on the other islands' residents.  In contrast, the Spaniards also had their share of barbarism against their Filipino captives.²

1600 A.D. – A formidable Fort, militant Catholicism, Zamboanga, and Chavacano arrives

In the 1600^s, Jambangan would experience its transition from the Muslim community it has become into the Catholic dominated city it is today.  In 1635, Don Juan Cerezo de Salamanca, Governor-General of the Philippines, received reports relative to the Moro power concentrated near the site of the present downtown of Zamboanga. During that year, Padre Juan Batista Vilancio, who had been for years a captive in Jolo, escaped to Manila and brought to the ears of the Governor-General an account of the town where "the nobility of Mindanao held court."

Salamanca resolved to take possession of this strategic peninsula, hoping in this manner to strike a heavy blow on to the Moro power. A fortress in Jambangan would command the Basilan Straight, the waters of which were the ordinary course of the Moro pirate vessels infesting the coasts of the Visayas. The region of Jambangan, while not as important as the seats of the Sultans of Sulu and Mindanao, was nevertheless the territory of a minor Moro king whose authority reached along both sides of the peninsula for a hundred miles on either side. Salamanca hoped to divide this unbroken front and his efforts would prove successful.

After due preparation, an expeditionary force under the command of Captain Juan de Chaves landed at Jambangan on April 6, 1635. There, de Chaves temporarily founded the town of Bagumbayan, which was the first Spanish-given name for Jambangan, and from this station he soon attacked and reduced the towns of Recodo in Caldera Bay and Balvagan, and eventually the rest of the Jambangan peninsula.

After Captain de Chaves' force of 300 well armed Spaniards from Luzon and 1,000 Cebuanos had cleared the peninsula temporarily of hostile Moros, the construction of one of the finest and most important Spanish forts in the East was put into effect. Upon careful choice of locating the fort at the southern-most tip of the peninsula for its military vantage point, the foundations of the grand fortress of Fuerza de San José was laid by Father Melchor de Vera, a Jesuit priest and engineer of the Spanish army on June 23, 1635, establishing a permanent Spanish presence here brick-by-brick.²

Along with the new formidable fort, the Spaniards would forever change the area’s Jambangan name that stood for over four centuries into its present one – Zamboanga.

Another historical transformation will take place henceforth and will forever embody the character of Zamboanga – the evolution of the Chavacano Dialect and its People - the Chavacanos.  June 23, 1635 should also be symbolically known as “Dia del Chavacano de Zamboanga.”

Thus, the vail of Catholicism began to slowly spread across the region with the spirited drive of the militant Jesuits.  With no spices or gold to enrich the king’s coffers, the Jesuits refocused the Spanish government’s agenda and made religion the object of their expansion and conquest.  It is conceivable that eight hundred years of Moorish domination over Spain that ended in 1492 with the fall of Granada must have left bad blood in the Spanish conquerors’ dealings with the region's transplanted Malayan residents who were converted to Mohammedanism.  In this crossroads of Zamboanga’s storied history, Filipino people of the same Malayan decent fought each other to the death in battles for religious domination.  The Spaniards and Filipinos from the Visayan and Luzon Islands, backed by the bigger guns and resolve of the Spanish empire to stop the murdering Moros, eventually made their secure foothold in Mindanao with the strategically placed San José Fort in Zamboanga and have not relinquished it to this day – 366 years later.

In the history of Spanish conquest, there is no other place that symbolizes their greatest achievement as the success of the Zamboanga campaign and the formidable San José Fort that saved them, erasing almost a century of their failure to win against the resilient Moros.  The erection of this fortress was accompanied by serious interruptions in the way of Moro attacks. With only a portion of the massive walls in place, the Spaniards awoke one morning to meet the attack of some 5,000 Moros, who entered Rio Hondo and attacked the unfinished fortification.  Canons were hastily mounted upon the fragmentary walls and the Spaniards retired to the partial shelter to pour a terrible canon fire towards the advancing Moros. The Moro wave broke on the uncompleted walls and the force eventually retired, with severe casualties inflicted upon the Spaniards.

With the completion of the San José Fort, a convenient base of operations paved the way for a long-awaited Spanish victory in Moroland. This strong fortress, only ninety miles from the Moro capital of Jolo, always remained as a serious deterrent to Moro aggression. The meter-thick walls withstood numerous attacks, and in all of the long history of this fort, the Moros never captured it.

The first victory for the men of the fortress and also the first major victory for Spain was the destruction of a Moro pirate fleet. In 1636, Tagal, brother of the Sultan of Mindanao, gathered a large fleet recruited from Mindanao, Sulu and Borneo and made a cruise to the Visayan Islands. The result was a glorious field day for the pirates. Every town of importance on the whole coast of the Visayas was attacked and looted.  When Tagal wearied of the slaughter and raised his hand to turn the prows of the pirate vessels to the south again, 650 captives lay trussed like chickens in the pirate hold.

One hundred miles from Jolo, a Spanish fleet that was operating from their base in Zamboanga, intercepted the victorious Tagal as he rounded the treacherous angle of rough water at Puenta Flecha. Hampered by the hundreds of captives in the holds, the garays (a Moro-built pirate ship) of Tagal were slow and unwieldy, and in the naval engagement that followed the Moros suffered a crushing defeat. Three hundred Moros, including Tagal, were killed, and 120 captives were set free. Tagal jettisoned many of the captives as the tide of battle turned against him, and the sharks at Puenta Flecha fed well on the bound bodies of Christian slave girls bound for the harems of Jolo.²

1700 A.D. – Divine Intervention and Expansion

The San José Fort of Zamboanga was demolished and rebuilt in 1718.  It was greatly strengthened to ward off continued Moro resistance and other invaders from foreign countries, and was renamed Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragosa.  The new fort was said to have miraculous powers from its namesake statue that was placed in 1734 as a religious centerpiece above the East wall.  As a result of the fabled miracles of the Lady of the Pilar, the statue was converted into an open-air shrine with an altar and section for worship.  The shrine’s miraculous tales not only attracts Christian worshipers today, but also some Muslims who feel they have been touched by the miracles attributed to the Lady of the Pilar.

1800 A.D. – The Climax and The Transition

1900 A.D. – The Birth of a City and a Nation

With the presence and administration of the American conquerors, Zamboanga was made the capital of the Moro province, encompassing the island of Mindanao and other nearby islands.  The importance of Zamboanga was elevated to seat of regional government and diocese of Catholicism in southern Philippines.

2000 A.D. – The Future of Zamboanga City and its People

Over the past four hundred years, it is not known how many of the thousands of captured Christian Filipino and Spanish women from the islands of Visayas and Luzon actually became pregnant and delivered children fathered by their Muslim captors in harems of the Mindanao and Sulu Sultanates.

It is highly likely that thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of Moros living today may have some descendant bloodline of their captive mothers.  The issue of actual lineage from these enslaved women may be culturally suppressed by the Moros in the name of war trophies or dominance over their enemies, but the genetic makeup of their ancestry cannot be denied in the eyes of reality.

It is possible that generations of descendants from these captured women are now facing each other as Moros and Christians, all the while related as brothers and sisters from a terrible past.  However, if the opposite is to be attested by the Moros of today, then it would only mean that all the thousands of women captured over the centuries were systematically eliminated by their captors before or after they became pregnant with their children.  Is anyone brave enough to tell the world, which one is the truth?

The vegetation and flowers are growing profusely and beautifully once again, waiting to be discovered by someone special like you.  The city is peaceful and hopeful with friendly people eager to indulge a curious visitor.  The spirit is lively and the future is prosperous.  The Filipino brothers whose ancestors once fought each other all coexist in harmony with each other in this place they call home.  The wounds of ancient battles lie deep, but the natural desire to be at peace with each other is even greater.

Today’s Zamboanga City is a linguistic babel exhibiting a cornucopia of sights, sounds, and frantic activity that pronounces its enduring position as a center of international trade and eclectic living.  Nowhere else can this description be aptly applied to another significant place in the Philippine Islands.  The allure of the City of Flowers continues to prosper its growth and diversity.  We only hope that skillful planning and management will help it blossom to its beautiful potential.  Peace be with us all.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Zamboanga City is a chartered city located on the western most peninsula of the big island of Mindanao, The Philippines.  It is a busy international port strategically located on the Basilan Straight.  The city is shaped like a thick ladle, and is bounded by the marine-rich bodies of water of the Sulu Sea to the West, the Moro Gulf and Celebes Sea to the East, and is also surrounded by Tungawan Bay, Taguiti Bay, Malasugat Bay to the East, Tictabon Channel and Basilan Straight to the South, and Caldera Bay to the West.  In physiography, it is bounded by the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte to the north and by Zamboanga del Sur to the west, and also the Basilan Island to the south.  It is sheltered geographically from typhoons by the mountainous Basilan Island, Sulu Archipelago, Palawan Island, and the main island of Mindanao.

The city's immediate coastal lowlands are narrow, with low, rugged hills located a short distance inland.  It's highest peak is Batorampon Point, measuring 1,335 meters high ( 4,380 feet ).  A large international seaport accommodates local inter-island shipping and international ocean going vessels and ferries.  Zamboanga City exports rubber, pearls, copra, mahogany, and other fine hardwoods, fish, abaca, and fruit products; rice is still imported.  The city is the southernmost terminus of the Pan-Philippine Highway, providing vital land transportation access to all the major cities of the country.  It also has an international airport that is serviced by daily flights from three major national airlines, and is increasing its international air traffic within the participating countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines' East Asia Growth Area, or better known for its acronym BIMP-EAGA.

Founded by the Spaniards in 1635 on the site of a native settlement, its name is derived from the Malay word Jambangan ( "place of flowers" ); bougainvillea, orchids, and other tropical flowers line its roadsides and landscape.  Incorporated as a city in 1936, it has an area of 1,671 square kilometers ( 645 sq. Miles ), which encompasses 98 official barrangays ( barrios or wards ) and 68 smaller districts of some larger barangays, in addition to the administrative city center in downtown Zamboanga, and over 28 beautiful  islands.  The city was largely rebuilt after the severe devastation of World War II, of which a few buildings remain that reflect its glorious past.  Its mountainous backdrop combine with a climate that is cooler and less humid than that of Manila and other sections of the country, to make it a favorite tourist spot.

Fort Pilar, with its world-renowned religious shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar, was built in the 17th century by the Spanish soldiers, along with their Jesuit counterparts, for the protection of Christian settlers against Moro ( Muslim ) pirates, and other marauding invaders from nearby Chinese and Dutch outposts.  It now houses the Fort Pilar Museum, one the few national historic museum chain, that houses cultural artifacts of the region, and a wealthy display of its surrounding rich marine and natural life.  

The city has long been a bastion of Spanish intelligentsia, and is home to some of the finest educational institutions in the country and around Asia.  The literacy rate of the region, and of the country in general, is one of the highest in all of Asia.

Rio Hondo, Taluksangay, and Campo Muslim are nearby Muslim villages built on stilts over water.  Indigenous peoples include the Tau Sugs, Samals, and Yakans.  The colorful Bajau, or sea gypsies, ply the waters of the Basilan Straight for fish, coral, and shells; they live on board their multi-hued vintas ( sailboats ) and take temporary shelter in stilt-raised homes during storms.

Chavacano is the unique native dialect of the city, a mixture of Spanish and various other local dialects and international languages, and is one of the oldest spoken language in the country reflecting a rich linguistic history of its people.  English is widely spoken around town, and is the main language of education and international commerce.  Numerous international languages, like German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Italian, and Spanish, are spoken here, giving light to its historical importance as an international investment and destination haven for over three-hundred years.

Zamboanga City is also a center for Moro brassware and bronze ware, and a collecting point for numerous varieties of shells, which are exported or used locally for button manufacture and many other products and souvenirs.  The Philippine Archipelago is home to over a third of the world's known sea shells, and Zamboanga's Great Santa Cruz Island is home to many shells and corals, and the pristine "pink" sand - a coloration effect of the white sand and red coral sand mixed together.

Zamboanga City's Population in 2000: 602,560 ( 6th largest city in the Philippines - 76,320,126 )

[ Source: National Statistical Coordination Board ]

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