Farouk Sharif - Spanish Conquest of Lanao

Spanish Conquest of Lanao

In 1637 Sebastean Hurtado de Curcuera decided to send an expedition to subdue the Datus and the people of Lake Lanao. As early as September 1637 he had promised the lake area to the Jesuits, who would get the moment it was conquered.

The conquest of the maranaos was entrusted to captain Francesco Atienza, the alcalde mayor of caraga. With fifty Spaniards and five hundred caragaus, the captain landed in Bayug, then proceeded to maranao territory, reaching the lake on 4 April 1639, there we around 500 families or 800 inhabitant. The Spaniards brought with them six collapsible boats which they fitted out in the lake.

The Datus of Lanao initially offered allegiance to the Spaniards they promised tribute and accepted the missionaries. What appeared ominous was the movement of inhabitants into the interior at the same time; the Maranaos could easily muster 6,000 warriors from among the four confederation of Lanao. Lack of firearms was the disadvantages. Governor Al Monte dispatched Major Pedro Fernandez del Rio with seventy Spaniards and 500 Visayans to join with the forces of Atienza. The expedition had to pass through the area of Butig. Sharif Amatonding an Iranon Datu married to Gayang, a sister of sultan Kudarat who was Qudarat nephew, after a most difficult passage made by the fierce resistance of Sharif Amatonding, Pedro del Rio made it to the shores of the lake where he join the forces of Atienza. In the middle of April, Atienza and part of his troops left for Bayug and fortified it with a stockade and sailed for Caraga.

In October of the same years, an additional force of fifty Spaniards and five hundred Boholanos arrived under the command of Captain Pedro Bermudez de Castro who had orders to build fort in Marawi to establish Spanish sovereignty.

Sultan Kudarat visited his son in laws in Lanao. Balindong Bzar and Dianaton of Butig, they gather the Datus of Lanao and delivered a speech. In this form:

What have you done? Do you realize what subjection would reduce you to? A toilsome slavery under the Spaniards! Turn your eyes to the subject nations and look at the misery to which such glorious nation had been reduced to, look at the Tagalog and Visayan: Are you better than they? Do you think that the Spaniards consider you of better stuff? Have you not seen the Spaniards trample them under their feet? Do you not see everyday how they are obliged to work at the oars and the factories with all their rigors? Can you tolerate anyone with little Spanish blood to beat you up and grasp the fruits of your labor? Allow your selves to be subjects (today) and tomorrow you will be at the oars; I, at least will be a pilot, the biggest favor they will allow a chief. Do not let their sweet words deceive you; their promises facilities their deceits, which little by little, enable them to control everything, reflect on how even minor promises to the chief of other nations were not honored until they become master of them all, see now what is being done to these chief and how they are being led by rod.48

The Maranaos took up arms against the newly built fort they used indigenous means to get at the fort and set it on fire. Three of the Spanish boats, brought from Bayug was captured. Atienza formed a relief expedition and saved the Spanish, the Maranao warriors after 29 days of siege left their position afraid to experience once more the horrors of siege, proceeded to burn their own fort, retreat to back to Iligan. In 1640 Atienza make one more try to conquer the Maranaos for the second time, the Spaniard burned the fields and retired to the coast, but not without losing some men on the way due to ambushes. After the second attempts to colonize and Christianized the Maranaos had utterly failed. In payment for their freedom the Maranaos lost the harvest.