Castille War - Background

Background

Since the middle of the 16th century, Europeans were eager to gain a foothold in South East Asia because of the spice trade. During that period, all the land routes from the Middle East to South East Asia were controlled by the Arabs and Turks. The Europeans attempted to control the maritime route to South East Asia so they could trade with the Malays. At the time, Brunei Darussalam was an established empire ranging from the Philippines to Borneo Island.

It was during the reign of Sultan Saiful Rijal when the Castille War broke out. He faced two main problems which was that the Spanish wanted to spread Christianity and invade the Philippines.

In 1565, the Spanish captured Cebu in the Philippines. They turned it into a trading post and a center for spreading Christianity and Hispanicization. Because of this, Spain's goals came to clash with those of their main rival, Brunei. Between 1485 and 1521, the Sultanate of Brunei had established the state of Kota Serudong (in modern-day Manila) as a Bruneian satellite state. Islam was further strengthened by the arrival to the Philippines of traders and proselytizers from present-day Malaysia and Indonesia. The multiple states that existed in the Philippines simplified Spanish colonization. In 1571 Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founded Manila, which was made the capital of the Philippine Islands, also becoming a hub for spreading Christianity.