China Business Philippines SuluThe Heart of a Trading Zone

8/9/2019 China Business Philippines SuluThe Heart of a Trading Zone

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Sulu: The Heart of a Trading Zone

The recent hostage situation in Sulu depicted the southernmost tip of the Philippines as an area

people should stay away from. But todays impoverished chain of islands was the center of

international commerce during the height of Sulus glory. In the late 19th century, the Sultanate

of Sulu took part in the bold European expansion throughout Southeast Asia, where the Dutch,

British, and Spanish angled for a share of the highly profitable Chinese trade.

When Manila and Cebu were yet small settlements, the isles of the Sulu archipelago were home

to one of the richest and foremost settlements in Spanish-era Philippines. Sulu bridged two

distinct worlds and lay at

the most strategic point for maritime trade.

China, the Philippines, and Mindanao were situated to the north, Borneo to the southwest and,

to the southeast, the Celebes and the Moluccas. A watershed on the landscape of insular

Southeast Asia, Sulu separated the autonomous Muslim maritime world from the agrarian,

Christianized Philippines administered by Spanish authorities from Manila.

The political and commercial advantages of the Sultanates location were both enviable and

unique. Being situated at the crossroads of international trade and politics offered Sulu

opportunities for development and challenges for defending what was right and just.

The Sultanates central position in relation to Asian routes of trade and exchange, as well as its

abundant natural resources for export to China attracted the attention of the West, while Sulus

sizable population attracted neighboring merchants.

Sulus supremacy as a market center and regional power depended on expansive trade. Thearchipelagos location and natural resources fit perfectly with the requirements of Europes trade

with China.

To barter for tea in Chinese ports, for instance, the British needed another set of products to

trade, other than opium and manufactures. The maritime and jungle products found within

Sulusea slugs, birds nest, and mother of pearlwere highly sought after and had been

traded between Sulu and China for the longest time. The British gained access to these goods,

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which they brought to China, by trading arms with the Sultan of Sulu.

By fitting into the patterns of Chinese and European commerce, the Sultanate of Sulu

established itself as a powerful commercial center, dominating trading activities involving

Borneo, Celebes, Singapore and Labuan, as well as Manila, Palawan, and southern Mindanao.

The Sulu archipelago was stimulated by European expansion and commerce, but it gradually

developed its own patterns of trade in defiance of the British, Spanish, and Dutch empires.

Complex interrelationships from trading activities enabled Sulu to consolidate its power over

areas of the Sulu trading zone in the margins of nearby European colonies and China. The

trade Sulu established with Bengal, Manila, Macao, and Canton, and later with Singapore,

initiated the large-scale importation of weapons, luxury goods, and foodstuffs. The annual

arrival of Chinese junks and Bugis prahus at the capital city of Jolo reflected a regular demand

for local products.

Throughout the 19th century, the Jolo market offered British-made brassware, glassware,

Chinese earthenware and ceramics, fine muslins, silk and satin garments, Spanish tobacco and

wines, and opium from India.

There was a constant increase not only in the variety, but also in the quality of objects of trade.

Luxury goods for personal adornment, pleasure, and households were used by the Sulu

aristocracy to form the material basis of their social prestige. Firearms, weapons, andgunpowder further strengthened the Sultunates military might. Sulus economy was organized

around collecting and distributing its labor-intensive marine and jungle products. This, in turn,

drove the demand for slaves. Such needs further intensified Sulus retaliatory raids for captives,

especially from Spanish-held areas in the Philippines, many of whom were later assimilated into

the population of Sulu. This is how external trade became a vital element of the Sulu social

system. Within a short span of several decades, the Sulu Sultanate established itself as a

regional power.

By the end of the century, Sulus population was heterogeneous and changingsocially,

economically, and ethnicallyas a direct result of external trade. The people of Sulu enjoyed

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active economic, sociocultural, and political interactions with their Asian neighbors, particularly

China and the rest of Southeast Asia. Out of contact with these foreigners emerged a hybrid

Sulu culture, which historically resisted assimilation into the heavy Spanish-American oriented

Philippine culture.

Traces of this hybrid culture are manifested in Sulus religious practices, customs, arts, and

languages. From the Chinese, the Sulus learned culinary habits, use of porcelain dishes,

umbrellas and white cloth for mourning. The exclusive use of the color yellow is believed to be

influenced by the royal court of China.

From the Hindus, the people of Sulu learned the burning of incense during rituals and the

observance of panulak balah, a water-cleansing day traced to the Ganges River holy bath of the

Hindus.

Arab influence can be noted in the use of Arabic script locally called jawi, Moorish arts, and theuse of firearms. The Arabs most remarkable gift to Sulu and other Islamized people was the

introduction of Islam and its accompanying legacies of beliefs, ritual practices, and organized

socio-political institutions.

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The story of the economic, political, and social forces that consolidated Sulus power as centralto the trade between Europe and China is explored via a new exhibit at the YuchengcoMuseum. Called Beyond the Currents: The Culture and Power of Sulu, the exhibit presents theindependent Sulu Sultanates culture and geographical reach as the heart of a trade zone,market center, and regional power.Curated by a team led by University of the Philippines- Diliman Art Studies professor Dr.Abraham Sakili and cultural historian and antique collector Ramon Villegas, the exhibit presentsan alternative picture of Sulu that can help change perceptions of the region.Special highlights of the exhibit are the artifacts of powerarchival photographs, prints,tradeware ceramics, jewelry, and weapons of defense, to name a fewwhich are a testimony toSulus power and pursuit of liberty.In the midst of the present volatile situation in parts of Mindanao, Sulus artifacts serve asreminders of the urgent need to bring social justice, lasting peace, and meaningful developmentto southern Philippines.

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China Business Philippines SuluThe Heart of a Trading Zone