Kingdom of Tondo

Tondo
Tundun (900 AD), Tundok (c.1500 AD)
Kingdom
1st millennium – 1571
Capital Tondo
Government Monarchy
History
 - Established 1st millennium
 - Conquest by Spain 1571

Tondo, also referred to as Tundo, Tundun, Tundok, and sometimes as the capital of the Kingdom of Luzon, was an ancient Philippine fortified settlement in the Manila Bay area, specifically north of the Pasig river, on Luzon island. It is one of the settlements mentioned by the Philippines' earliest historical record, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription. This kingdom initiated diplomatic ties with China during the Ming Dynasty and was a dominant force in regional trade. Its regional prominence sparked an attack from Brunei's Sultan Bolkiah in 1500. The Spanish first arrived in Tondo in 1570. They finally defeated the local rulers in the Manila Bay area in 1591, after which Tondo came under the administration of Manila, ending its existence as an independent city-state. This subjugated Tondo continues to exist today as a district of the city of Manila.

Contents

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (900 A.D.)

Laguna Copperplate Inscription (circa 900 AD)

The first reference to Tondo occurs in the Philippines' oldest historical record — the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI). This legal document, written in Kawi, dates back to Saka 822 - the year 900 AD. The first part of the document says that:

On this occasion, Lady Angkatan, and her brother whose name is Bukah, the children of the Honourable Namwaran, were awarded a document of complete pardon from the Commander in Chief of Tundun, represented by the Lord Minister of Pailah, Jayadewa.

Apparently, the document was a sort of receipt that acknowledged that the man named Namwaran had been cleared of his debt to the chief of Tundo, which in today's measure would be about 926.4 grams of gold. [1]

The article mentioned that other places in the Philippines and their chiefs: Pailah (Lord Minister Jayadewa), Puliran (Lord Minister Ka Sumuran), Binwangan (unnamed). It has been suggested that Pailah , Puliran, and Binwangan are the towns of Paila, Pulilan, and Binwangan in Bulacan,[1] but it has also been suggested that Pailah refers to the town of Pila, Laguna. [2] While the document does not describe the exact relationship of the chief of Tundun with these other chiefs, it at least suggests that he was of higher rank. [3]

Diplomatic ties with the Ming Dynasty (1373 A.D.)

Ming Dynasty Porcelain

The next historical reference to Ancient Tondo can be found in the Ming Annals (明史 [3]), which record the arrival of an envoy from Luzon to the Ming Dynasty (大明國) in 1373 AD.[4] Her rulers, based in their capital, Tondo (traditional Chinese: 東都; pinyin: dōngdū) were acknowledged not as mere chieftains, but as kings (王).[5] This reference places Tondo into the larger context of Chinese trade with the peoples of the Philippine archipelago.

Theories such as Wilhelm Solheim's Nusantao Maritime Trading and Communication Network (NMTCN) suggest that cultural links between what are now China and the nations of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, date back to the peopling of these lands.[6] But the earliest archeological evidence of trade between the Philippines and China takes the form of pottery and porcelain pieces dated to the Tang and Song Dynasties.[7] As the LCI points out, Tondo already existed at this time, and the archeological evidence indicates that both it and Namayan was part of this trade.[citation needed]

The rise of the Ming dynasty saw the arrival of the first Chinese settlers in the Philippines. They were well received and lived together in harmony with the existing local population — eventually intermarrying with them such that today, numerous Philippine people have Chinese blood in their veins.[7]

Statue of Luzon Sukezaemon at Sakai Citizens' Hall.

This connection was important enough that when the Ming Dynasty emperors enforced the Hai jin laws which closed China to maritime trade from 1371 to about 1567, trade with the Philippines was officially allowed to continue, masqueraded as a tribute system, through the seaport at Fuzhou.[8] Aside from this, a more extensive clandestine trade from Guangzhou and Quanzhou also brought in Chinese goods to Luzon.[9]

Luzon and Tondo thus became a center from which Chinese goods were traded all across Southeast Asia. Chinese trade was so strict that Luzon traders carrying these goods were considered "Chinese" by the people they encountered.[9]

This powerful presence in the trade of Chinese goods in 16th century East Asia was also felt strongly by Japan. The Ming Empire treated Luzon traders more favorably than Japan by allowing them to trade with China once every two years, while Japan was only allowed to trade once every 10 years. Japanese merchants often had to resort to piracy in order to obtain much sought after Chinese products such as silk and porcelain. Famous 16th century Japanese merchants and tea connoisseurs like Shimai Soushitsu (島井宗室) and Kamiya Soutan (神屋宗湛) established branch offices in the Luzon Empire. One famous Japanese merchant, Luzon Sukezaemon (呂宋助左衛門), went as far as to change his surname from Naya (納屋) to Luzon (呂宋).

Attack by Sultan Kingdom of Brunei (1500 A.D.)

A portrayal of the Tagalog Maginoo class. From the Boxer Codex, c.1595 AD. Maginoo like these would have formed the ruling caste of Tondo at the time.

Tondo became so prosperous that around the year 1500 AD, the Kingdom of Brunei under Sultan Bolkiah attacked it and established a city with the Malay name of Selurong (later to become the city of Maynila)[10]

[11] on the opposite bank of Pasig River. The traditional rulers of Tondo, the Lakandula, retained their titles and property but the real political power now resides in the House of Soliman, the Radjahs of Manila.[12]

Notable Kings of Tondo (1150-1550)

1. Lakan Timamanukum
2. Rajah Gambang
3. Rajah Lontok
4. Dayang Kaylangitan
5. Rajah Sulaiman I
6. Rajah Matanda (Sulaiman II)
7. Rajah Sulaiman III
8. Magat Salamat



The Spanish advent (1570–1591)

Spanish colonizers first came to the Manila Bay area and its settlements in June 1570, while Governor-General Legazpi was searching for a suitable place to establish a capital for the new territory. Having heard of a prosperous Muslim settlement on the island of Luzon, Legaspi had sent Martin de Goiti to investigate. When Maynilad's ruler, Rajah Soliman, refused to submit to Spanish sovereignty, De Goiti attacked. De Goiti eventually defeated Soliman, claimed Maynilad in the name of the King of Spain, then returned to report his success to Legazpi, who was then based on the island of Panay.

Legazpi himself returned to take the settlement on June 19, 1591. When the Spanish forces approached the natives burned Maynilad down and fled to Tondo and other neighboring towns.

Legaspi began constructing a fort on the ashes of Maynilad and made overtures of friendship to Rajah Lakandula of Tondo, who accepted. The defeated Soliman refused to submit to the Spaniards, but failed to get the support of Lakandula or of the Pampangan and Pangasinan settlements to the north. When Soliman and a force of Tagalog warriors attacked the Spaniards in the battle of Bangcusay, he was finally defeated and killed.

This defeat marked the end of rebellion against the Spanish amongst the Pasig river settlements, and Lakandula's Tondo surrendered its sovereignty, submitting to the authority of the new Spanish capital, Manila. [13]

Historical theories associated with Ancient Tondo

Lakandula as a Title

While most historians think of Lakan Dula as a specific person, with Lakan meaning "chief" and Dula being a proper name, one theory suggests that Lakandula is a hereditary title for the chiefs of the Kingdom of Tondo.[14]

The heirs of Lakandula

In 1587 Magat Salamat, one of the children of Lakan Dula, and Augustin de Legazpi, Lakan Dula's nephew, and the chiefs of the neighboring areas of Tondo, Pandacan, Marikina, Candaba, Navotas and Bulacan were executed for secretly conspiring to overthrow the Spanish colonizers. Stories were told that Magat Salamat's descendants settled in Hagonoy, Bulacan and many of his descendants spread from this area.[15]

David Dula y Goiti, a grandson of Lakan Dula with a Spanish mother escaped the persecution of the descendants of Lakan Dula by settling in Isla de Batag, Northern Samar and settled in the place now called Candawid (Kan David). Due to hatred for the Spaniards, he dropped the Goiti in his surname and adopted a new name David Dulay. He was eventually caught by the Guardia Civil based in Palapag and was executed together with seven followers. They were charged with planning to attack the Spanish detachment.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Morrow, Paul (2006-07-14). "The Laguna Copperplate Inscription" (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  2. ^ Tiongson, Jaime (2006-11-29). "Pailah is Pila, Laguna" (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-02-05.[unreliable source?]
  3. ^ Santos, Hector (1996-10-26). "The Laguna Copperplate Inscription" (HTML). Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  4. ^ 明史 [1]
  5. ^ Volume 5 of 東西洋考 (A study of the Eastern and Western Oceans) mentions that Luzon first sent tribute to Yongle Emperor in 1406. [2]
  6. ^ Solheim, Wilhelm G., II (2006). Archaeology and Culture in Southeast Asia: Unraveling the Nusantao. Diliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press. pp. 316. ISBN 971-542-508-9. 
  7. ^ a b Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of the Philippines (October 15 2003). Embassy Updates: China-Philippine Friendly Relationship Will Last Forever. Press release. http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ceph/eng/sgdt/t83710.htm. Retrieved on 2008-02-05. 
  8. ^ Ebrey, Patricia Buckley (1999). Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge University Press. pp. page 211. ISBN 052166991X. 
  9. ^ a b San Agustin, Gaspar de (in Bilingual (Spanish and English)). Conquistas de las Islas Philipinas 1565-1615. Translated by Luis Antonio Mañeru (1st bilingual ed [Spanish and English] ed.). Intramuros, Manila, 1998: Pedro Galende, OSA. 
  10. ^ *Scott, William Henry (1994). Barangay: Sixteenth Century Philippine Culture and Society. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press. ISBN 971-550-135-4. 
  11. ^ del Mundo, Clodualdo (September 20, 1999). "Ako'y Si Ragam (I am Ragam)" (html). Diwang Kayumanggi. Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
  12. ^ Santiago, Luciano P.R., The Houses of Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman [1571-1898]: Genealogy and Group Identity, Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 18 [1990]
  13. ^ Gardner, Robert (1995-20-04). "Manila - A History" (html). Philippine Journeys. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  14. ^ Santiago, Luciano P.R., The Houses of Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman [1571-1898]:Genealogy and Group Identity, Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 18 [1990].
  15. ^ a b "lakandula". Retrieved on 2008-10-18.

Additional reading

LCI Era

Bolkiah Era

Spanish Era

v • d • e
History of Asia
Sovereign
states
Dependencies,
autonomies,
other territories
Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country.  1 Sometimes included in Europe, depending on the border definitions.  2 Also known as Myanmar.  3 Sometimes included in Oceania, and also known as Timor-Leste.  4 Transcontinental country.  5 Commonly known as Taiwan. 
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Tondo"

This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.