 by the sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao but the former was more compact and better organized.
When the Philippine-American War broke out, the US had to concentrate its limited forces in the north. To hold at bay Moro resistance to its colonization of the Sulu Archipelago, the US, represented by Brig. Gen. John C. Bates, forged a treaty with Sulu Sultan Jamal ul-Kiram, known as the Bates Treaty.
The Spanish Treaty of Peace with the Sulu sultanate had allowed Spain to set up a small garrison on Siasi Island and in the town of Jolo. After their defeat by the U.S., the Spaniards turned over the Siasi garrison to the Sultan.
It was not until May 19, 1899 that the U.S. sent troops to take over the Spanish fort in Jolo. The Americans had not been able to get troops to Jolo sooner because they could not afford to send any troops outside the Luzon area. (Serious Moro resistance commenced in 1903).
In place of the Spanish treaty, the Bates Treaty included the recognition of U.S. sovereignty over Sulu and its dependencies, mutual respect between the U.S. and the Sultanate of Sulu, Moro autonomy, non-interference with Moro religion and customs and a pledge that the "U.S. will not sell the island of Jolo or any other island of the Sulu Archipelago to any foreign nation without the consent of the Sultan."
Sultan Jamal ul-Kiram (SEATED, CENTER), his staff, US Army officers and some foreign Muslims, circa 1899-1901.
In addition, Sultan Jamal ul-Kiram and his datus (tribal chiefs) were to receive monthly payments in return for flying the American flag and for allowing the U.S. the right to occupy lands on the islands.
The Sultan did not wish to acknowledge US sovereignty but was prevailed upon to accept it by his prime minister and adviser Hadji Butu Abdul Bagui (LEFT) and two of his top ranking datus, Datu Jolkanairn and Datu Kalbi. Hadji Bagui, recognizing the folly of armed resistance, exerted all his influence to prevent another bloody war. Hadji Bagui and his son, Hadji Gulamu Rasul later favored integration of Moros into the Philippine republic.
The Bates Treaty did not last very long. After the U.S. had completed its goal of suppressing the resistance in northern Philippines, it unilaterally abrogated the Bates Treaty on March 2, 1904, claiming the Sultan had failed to quell Moro resistance and that the treaty was a hindrance to the effective colonial administration of the area.
Payments to the Sultan and his datus were also stopped but were restored by the US Philippine Commission in November 1904.
But in reality, Bates never intended to ratify the treaty. As Bates would later confess, the agreement was merely a temporary expedient to buy time until the northern forces were defeated.
Filipinos in the Spanish army wading through a creek on Mindanao island, 1887. The Spaniards pitted Christian Filipinos against the Muslim Moros.
Filipinos in the Spanish army carrying their wounded on Mindanao island, 1887.
Jolo town, Sulu Archipelago, in 1891
May 17, 1892: Spanish troops at mass honoring King Alfonso XIII on his birthday. Photo taken in the Maranao Moro town of Momungan, in present-day Lanao del Norte Province, Mindanao Island. The Spaniards managed to establish several garrisons in Muslim Mindanao but their authority seldom extended beyond the range of their artillery.
May 17, 1892: Spanish troops at mass honoring King Alfonso XIII on his birthday. Photo taken in Momungan, Lanao del Norte, Mindanao Island.
May 1892: Spanish troops resting in the forest near their garrison in Momungan, Lanao del Norte, Mindanao Island.
1892: The Countess of Caspe, the wife of Spanish Governor-General Eugenio Despujol y Dussay, Count of Caspe, visiting Siasi Island, Sulu Archipelago. Photo probably taken in June 1892.
1890's: Two Spanish missionaries baptize a Moro convert to Catholicism. The number of christianized Moros was negligible; the vast majority remained true to their Islamic faith.
Original caption: "Moro women in the island of Mindanao. These are women of that unconquered Mohammedan tribe so famous in Philippine history." 1898 photo.
