During the reign of Sultan Bolkiah from 1485 to 1521 , the Bruneian Empire invaded , wanting to take advantage of Tondo 's China trade by attacking its environs and establishing " كوتا سلودوڠ Kota Saludong " ( The Kingdom of Maynila ) . They ruled under and gave yearly tribute to the Sultanate of Brunei as its satellite state . They established a new dynasty under the local leader who accepted Islam and became Rajah Salalila or Tariq Sulayman I. He also established a trading challenge to the already rich House of Lakan Dula in Tondo . Islam was further strengthened by the arrival of Muslim traders from the Arab @-@ Indian area and Southeast Asia . Manila was temporarily besieged by the invasion of Chinese pirate @-@ warlord Limahong ( 1574 ) but was thwarted by the local inhabitants , before it became the seat of the colonial government of Spain .