El Decentralizado: Philippine HRE
- Thread starter Krueger
- Start date
The Arrival of Legaspi and Beginning of Suzerainty
THE ARRIVAL OF LEGASPI AND BEGINNING OF SUZERAINTY
(Chapter I)
Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, El adelentado
(Chapter I)
Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, El adelentado
After a long voyage, on February 13, 1565 Miguel Lopez de Legaspi arrived in the shores of the Rajahnate of Sugbu, the place where Magellan was killed 43 years prior. He had gotten some help and information from the Boholnon datu, Katuna. He failed to land shore however, due to the Sugbuanons' hostility towards them, echoing in their memory the Spaniards, of whom they tried to colonize Sugbu in honor of Charles I (V).
Sugbuanons encountering the Spanish vessels, 1565
Rather than attempting to return to Sugbu, they sailed towards the Philippine Islands (Samar and Leyte), where they temporarily stayed. He made blood compact with a local datu, Uraw, and proceeded next to Limasawa, where he met Bankaw, the datu of the island. Like with Uraw, he made blood compact with the datu, as well as embracing the Christian religion. Katuna, and later his brother Gala made another blood compact with Legaspi, on March 25 and 28 respectively.
On April 15, the Spaniards returned back to Sugbu, seeking to forge a pact with the rajah. Unfortunately, Tupas and his warriors fled into the interior after hearing this news, for they feared that the incident of 1521 fell on Humabon's nephew. Undeterred, the Spanish took control, made it their settlement and had declared that the Sugbuanons were Spanish subjects prior from 1521, and were merely rebelling against them. When Tupas heard of the news, he immediately challenged and tried to fend off the Spanish just like they had done previously, but the numerical superiority and prevalence of more artillery and rifles resulted in the defeat of Tupas.
After this battle, the settlement of the capital, or Singhapala, was badly destroyed and burned, due to cannon fire (most structures were made out of cogon and wood). In these ruins, the Spanish found the Santo Niño de Cebu, stored in a pine box at one of the houses. Its survival throughout Humabon until his death and Tupas, and in the midst of reembracing Sugbuanon polytheism was deemed miraculous, and was believed to have powers. The house on where they had found the image was where they constructed a church, named the Basilica del Santo Niño. On May 8, Tupas presented himself to the Spanish, signed the treaty of Cebu and was baptized as a Christian by Legaspi, taking the name Felipe, after the new Spanish king, Philip II. With this, Sugbu fell as under Spanish suzerainty.
A town crier declaring the treaty's outcome to locals in Cebu, 1565
Later, the Cebuanos would later become steadfast allies with Spain, as they assisted the Spanish in other conquests elsewhere.
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The premise is wild and i don't know what to expect, that said - give me more!
A HRE-like colonial government. OTL Philippines barely had Spanish presence, and mostly of those times Madrid had to rely on the friars and local lords to keep its authority on the islands. And no, what would happen in this ATL is that some pre-colonial polities (later some municipalities) shall become subsidiaries (grand duchies, duchies, principalities, or just barangays) of the Spanish, having only semi-autonomous status (under a province) until the First War of Luzon (in OTL, the rebellions of Maniago, Almazan and Malong), preceeded by some decentalization in some places.
In this case, it was a subsidiary of the Spanish.
Well, lets see what would happen if this moment had come in the near future.
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Dagami's Conspiracy and the Portuguese Blockade
DAGAMI'S CONSPIRACY AND THE PORTUGUESE BLOCKADE
(Chapter II)
A nobleman, named Dagami, datu of Gabi in the Palo municipality, Leyte wasn't exactly keen on surrendering his independence to the Spanish. Unlike his counterpart Bancao, who at first became a vassal of the Spanish (later he would rescind this), he decided to rebel in order to drove the Spanish away from their lands. On May 16, just a week after Tupas signed the treaty of Cebu, Dagami led a party of 16, hiding themselves from the Spanish settlement, intending to kill some Spaniards. Their first victim was Pedro de Arana, which was walking at the beach at the time, where he was captured, killed, and had his body impaled and beheaded. Seeing its success, Dagami continued to foment revolt, whilst also keeping the trust of the Spanish as datu of Gabi for some time.(Chapter II)
Fate had reached Dagami by December 1566, as after the mysterious deaths of two more Spaniards, Legaspi ordered an investigation, having the suspicion that one of Tupas's chiefs was behind these secret killings. All of them protested their innocence, and so to absolve they took two women and under torture, they implicated two others. Three of them was flogged while the fourth was sentenced to death, had her body quartered and displayed on the road. Later, the following year of 1567 Tupas betrayed Dagami to Legaspi. His death was to be performed in the same manner as what he did to Arana two years before. Tupas would later admit in his final years that Dagami was the most proudest of all chiefs in the islands, and he was the one that advised not to make peace with the Spanish, a decision whom he regarded as the biggest mistake.
To prevent such incident from happening again, Legaspi declared that all lands of Leyte conquered by the Spanish shall automatically went to Cebuano jurisdiction. Barangays such as Carigara, Hilongos, Abuyog and others became either part of Cebu proper of vassals of Cebu.
After this, Cebu remained quiet until the next year, when on October 31, 1568, the Portuguese blockaded the island in an effort to starve and expel the Spanish. They fired upon native villages, killing a number of people, and harassing any merchant ship that could pass onto the islands' waters. Subsequent with this was Tupas's death months prior to the blocakade, initiating a succession crisis. Ultimately, Tupas's brother-in-law Makyo, father of Charles I Humabon of Cebu became the successor and as such, was crowned Charles II Maquio of Cebu, after being baptized.
The Spanish remained firm on their position, and on New Years' Eve, January 1, 1569, the Portuguese decided to left for Malacca since the blockade resulted in vain, and also because they have been ravaged by typhoid fever that killed many of the sailors.
Legaspi now concluded that he needed a much more secure location for the establishment of his capital, one that has economic and strategic advantages. Thus, days after the blockade, Legaspi and his crew sailed to Panay, where they heard of the Madyas, a prosperous and powerful entity from whatever information they obtained from the Cebuanos.
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Voyage of Panay
VOYAGE OF PANAY
(Chapter III)
(Chapter III)
Before 1569, the Spanish already established two settlements in Panay: Oton and Panay (previously Bamban) in which where they would purchase some necessities such as rice and meat. Due to its abundance in the said island, Legaspi prepared over 300 men to sail towards Panay to establish his new capital. Along with him was Pedro Manuel Manooc, the son of Pagbuaya of Dapitan, a relative of Sikatuna where both were baptized in separate occasions. Whilst Charles II, or Makyo of Cebu defended the island from further Portuguese and Moro raids and blockade. Also in 1565, there were already Christians, at least in Aklan.
Arrival of Legaspi onto the shores of Panay
They helped in establishing settlements in Buglas, which itself was divided between Iloilo and Cebu. Control was limited to the southern parts of Panay, since the north is either mostly forest or hostile for settlement. It was where some Ilonggos who remained animist retreated here, establishing small patches of isolated villages.
The sakup of Hamtik was the next target, and like Irong-Irong, the people accepted en masse baptism and became an ally of Spain. Unlike the Ilonggos however, the Harayas, were not given an independent state due to the extremely thin coast unsuitable for large population centers. The capital of Malandog, was baptized Hantique (reference to another name Hamtik, itself came from large ants that made the "tik" sound). It and its satellite barangays became vassals of the Spanish through Iloilo.
Panayanons, fleeing to the highlands to avoid colonial domination
The loyalty of the Panayanons was immense that they immediately replaced the Cebuanos, which were regarded as potentially disloyal due to Tupas's actions in 1565 and in 1521. Together with Cebu and Dapitan, they became the primary allies to conquer Luzon next.
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I first thought of the Karayas as potential settlers of Buglas, but I immediately digress.
What is now Negros (Buglas back then) was barely populated, with only the Negritos roaming around the island, while probably some Hiligaynons and Cebuanos settled but few to sustain a large population.
And we'd see an earlier immigration of these people to Buglas in this scenario.
Sulayman's Blunder
SULAYMAN'S BLUNDER
(Chapter IV)
On May 1570, Martin de Goiti, a subordinate of Legaspi had reached the shores of what is now Manila bay, seeking to forge an alliance with the local datus. Banaw, the lakan at neighboring Tondo attempted to receive the Spanish, but since Tondo was not fortified, de Goiti ignored this approach of the lakan and instead went immediately to Maynila, where Matanda welcomed him in his domain.(Chapter IV)
Much later, Matanda and Banaw's nephew, Sulayman recently returned to Maynila and was also open in negotiating with the Spanish to permit their stay just like what happened previously in Cebu and Iloilo. However, the young heir apparent would later became suspicious of the Spanish when some merchants told Sulayman that the Spanish had stolen some of their most valuable goods before arriving in Maynila. In addition, rumors circulate that the Spanish began to demand tribute from the Maynila and Tondo natives as sign of their suzerainty.
A monument to Sulayman, in the Malate district
Goiti, not long after began to sense danger when his troops noticed the ever increasing number of maharlikas gathering in the polity itself. He decided that it was time to depart back to Mindoro, where they recently subjugated two Moro strongholds used for raiding as well as the remnants of Ma-i, after a native which served as their interpreter bring news that Banaw allegedly planned to attack the Spanish, but was denied by Sulayman since he was already considered a friend of the Spanish.
A native (probably Visayan) soldier in Goiti's force during the battle
At May 24, 1570, Goiti, now in their ships fired their cannons as a sign to depart as well as a farewell to the Tagalogs living there. However Sulayman mistakenly interpreted the event as an attack and thus, having no choice ordered to fire back against the Spanish. Amid the chaos and cannonfire, the Spanish repeatedly uttered their battle cry since the Reconquista: Santiago, Santiago!, then precceding to land ashore once again to confront Sulayman's forces. By whatever reason, due to their patron Saint James's blessing of war after 800 years, as well as the bravery of their allied Luzone and Visayan troops, they were able to maneuver and acclaim victory against Sulayman that same day. Sulayman, defeated, ordered his surviving troops to burn Maynila to make it unusable for the Spanish to continue on their conquest, fleeing to other barangays such as Tondo, Tambobong, Namayan and Pandakan.
After the battle, the Spanish and their allies feasted on the spoils of war, especially in Sulayman's palace where there are numerous coins, wax, steel, bronze, porcelains, cotton, blankets and wine cellars were taken by the Spanish, while any booty by Sulayman's dead were taken by the Visayans and some Tagalogs from Balayan. It was reported that Sulayman's possessions, counting only those of the house, reputedly cost 5,000 pieces of silver. The Chinese who were also present were given back their rudders and sails by Goiti, then immediately sailed back to China to avoid war. Back in the mainland itself, there are about 40 Chinese, and 20 Japanese families residing in the area. One forced himself to join Goiti.
Fearing a retaliation by Sulayman in the future, and that seasonal winds may change, Goiti immediately ordered a departure, first landing on Mindoro then to Panay by June 15, 1570. Legaspi was impressed with the success although he disagreed on why Maynila was burnt during the battle.
New Castile: The Formal Establishment
NEW CASTILE: THE FORMAL ESTABLISHMENT
(Chapter V)
A little over a year later, Legaspi himself brought the entire Spanish government and force to Luzon in 1571, and took control of the now recovered, but weakened Maynila, where Banaw welcomed them in, as is Matanda. The two elder maginoos pulled Sulayman at first out of the negotiations to prevent a repetition last year, but over time Sulayman would later join in as well. The Pasig River triumvirate would later declare allegiance to Spain on May 18, 1571, and on the next day Legaspi took possession of Maynila in a ceremony attended by the triumvirate. Banaw gave the Spanish some ammunition an artillery, which was appreciated by the Spanish since they were beginning to ran low on the latter. Later, Matanda, Banaw and their respective children were baptized as Catholics, only Sulayman remained Muslim. Banaw took the name Carlos, of whom he later became the duke Lacandola I Carlos, the name Lacandola coming from a Spanish misconception of his name, Lakan Banaw Dula.(Chapter V)
Afterwards, Tondo became a duchy, with the barangays of Baybay, Dongos, Dibag and a strip of land in the Dagat-dagatan called Aromahan, as well as the Gagalangin area, included as part of its terrirory. Its vassals were Tambobong, Maycatmon, Maysilo, Catanghalan, Binuangan, Polo and Butas. Sulayman was granted the Malate area, whilst Matanda retired as rajah completely.
An illustration of an old Tagalog maginoo couple, c. 1590s
Another example of Tagalog resistance was in the fortified Kainta, where they unsuccessfully withstood a Spanish siege which caused 200 deaths, including their leader, Gat Maitan. This defeat resulted in other barangays, such as Taguig, Pasay and Palanyag becoming Spanish vassals.
As they gradually took control of the lands which now constitute the province of Tondo, they expanded onto other lands, notably in Pampanga and Bulacan. In Bulacan, the vassal villages of Lihan, Kalumpit, Maysulaw, Mayto and Hagonoy were directly annexed to the Spanish, although Hagonoy would later be returned as part of Tondo proper in the 17th century. In Pampanga, the datu of Macabebe, Tarik Sulayman refused to submit, and he thus began to create an alliance to expel the Spanish out. He approached the two old men of Manila, where Matanda refused, but Lacandola had told the datu that once Tarik defeated the Spanish, he too shall join in expelling them out.
Monument to Tarik Sulayman in Macabebe
This massive defeat of the natives created a domino effect, wherein various datus and chiefs across the Katagalugan began to plead for peace fearing that Tarik's fate might as well befall on them once they opposed the Spanish. The most significant of these surrenders was the establishment of Bay, as the capital of a new province called Laguna, since the barangay was the major port of the lake, of whom they named Laguna de Bay. Another was the vassalization of Gat Pangil, the pamagat of 4 barangays, wherein Pangil supported the evangelization of Christianity beyond the Tagalog heartland.
The rest of Pampanga would later found itself a close ally of the Spanish, as would be witnessed in the next generations to come. Pampanga in its entirety, as well as the coastal areas of the Bataan peninsula and the Bulacan region were merged into a kingdom (in the islands only, still considered a petty vassal to Philip II), and its first king was Lacandola I Carlos.
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Pardon me if I have been recently inactive these days on updating the TL, I have just been busy in personal matters, schoolwork, and as of the moment, translating the Estado geográfico, topográfico, estadístico, històrico-religioso, de la santa y apostólica provincia de S. Gregorio Magno into Tagalog.
Limahong's Failed Gambit
LIMAHONG'S FAILED GAMBIT
(Chapter VI)
(Chapter VI)
By the year 1573, a large portion of Luzon was already under Spanish control after Juan de Salcedo and other Spaniards had subjugated Ilocos, Ibalon and other regions of the Katagalugan and nearby islands. Caboloan, a polity just south of Ilocos and north of Pampanga, was left for whatever reason. The Cordilleras were left out largely because the terrain was too rough and high to conduct a large-scale invasion.
Due to Manila's already renowned reputation as a major port for Asian trade, and its transformation as part of Spain's galleon network which took in hoards of silver and other goods from its New World empire in exchange for Chinese goods such as porcelain, it attracted many pirates from across the high seas, most notably a Chinese wokou pirate by the name of Limahong, which was already in Luzon and had established a fortified trading base when he had heard of Manila after capturing a Chinese merchant ship laden with Spanish gold and silver, which led him to believe that more was to be retrieved south.
Limahong, the pirate that sacked Manila
Limahong as a threat to Spanish sovereignty wasn't immediately recognized by the colonial government in Manila until Salcedo received word from surviving Spanish and native marines that a Chinese warlord had assembled a massive force along with a substantial number of settlers to conquer Manila and establish his authority over the islands. Salcedo had sent envoys back to Guido de Lavezares in Manila to warn of a attack, and that he was on his way from Vigan to assist in the defence.
On November 30, Limahong, along with his aide Sioco landed to execute a night raid and capture the city by surprise. However, it would fail catastrophically as the Spanish prisoners he had taken hostage were executed, losing vital information on the city itself. Nevertheless, Sioco went to attack the city, he would later fell into dangerous currents and mistakenly towed towards Parañaque, forcing him to march on foot towards Manila. The pirates were discovered after a group of locals spotted them and mistaken as Moro pirates plundering as usual.
The attack in Manila, portrait by La Illustracion Filipina, c. 1894
Later, tactical mistakes and the Spanish taking the high ground caused Sioco to retreat, where he and Limahong rested and planned for a second attack.
On December 2, Limahong himself joined Sioco's army to raid Manila once again. At this point Salcedo had arrived shortly after the first raid, along with him 150-200 Iberian soldiers and 300 Ilocanos from Bauang, as well as some militiamen. The pirates had fired artillery pieces against the Spanish forces, and after setting fire to houses and the San Agustin Church by using grenades, Sioco divided his force into 3 contingents hoping to attract the Spanish outside from their walls. This failed, and thus Sioco was forced to assault the wall under heavy fire in a two-pronged attack.
Battle inside the city had begun after a bulwark was opened after one of the Spanish commanders' death, in which everyone had fought hand-to-hand, soldiers fired each other using guns and bows, and artillery was fired on both sides. Francisco de Leon, Manila's mayor fought the Chinese, but was later killed in the streets. Sioco himeslf was killed after a Spanish marksman took the advantage of him fighting the Spanish and natives, and the pirates were forced to flee onto the open seas, receiving heavy casualties from Salcedo as they retreat. Limahong briefly forced them to return after he arrived with 1000 additional reinforcements, but later retreated since he deemed continuing the attack pretty useless.
Chaos outside Manila erupted, laborers and slaves broke free from their bondage, the Pasig river was turned into an arena of chaos as the latter were drowned after their boats overturned, and that some natives took the chance to take revenge from previous disputes. Sulayman and Lacandola I revolted, taking many Christians and tortured them with fire. Sulayman's son Bago and its cousin Numamantay were hanged on the false belief that they supported the pirates, and riots broke out in Tondo and Mindoro that were immediately taken down. Limahong raided Parañaque where he too was defeated by a certain Galo, which was awarded the title of Don for his bravery and service for Spain. He subsequently became the prince of Parañaque.
Limahong would later retreat to Pangasinan, established a settlement on an island in the Agno, and detained some chiefs for provisions. He also spread propaganda of a government free from taxes and a defeated Spain. This would be concluded by a combined group of Ilocanos, Tagalogs, Visayan allies, soldiers from Spain and Latin America as well as Pangasinenses after a 4-month siege. The polity of Caboloan itself was incorporated into the East Indies, ending the last independent state in Central Luzon. The state would later become the Grand Duchy of Pangasinan, with Lacandola I as its first grand duke.
The Christening of Butuan and conquest of Samar and Leyte
THE CHRISTENING OF BUTUAN AND CONQUEST
OF SAMAR AND LEYTE
(Chapter VII)
OF SAMAR AND LEYTE
(Chapter VII)
Before these more well known political events in Panay and Luzon have taken place, Butuan, a state in northeastern Mindanao have already submitted itself to Spanish authority back in 1567, and had its rajah, Linampas, declare allegiance to Spain. This however would proved to be short-lived of his as he later died on 1567, leaving his baptized son, Silongan (Silongan I Philip) as the new rajah, later duke of Butuan.
Since Silongan's sons have no interest in ruling, upon his death the position would pass on to the monarch of Cebu. When the house of Cilomay in Cebu (Si Lumaya or Sri Lumay) became extinct upon Charles's death in 1579, Pedro Manooc, son of Pagbuaya of Dapitan, inherited the throne of Cebu, as well as Dapitan, now a principality under personal union with Cebu. Sikatuna, baptized as Joaquin in his later years, was earlier considered by the Spanish to be Maquio's successor, but they ultimately decided to settle on Manooc since they couldn't find Sikatuna's whereabouts.
Manooc, being famous for his zeal for conquest and glory, had previously assisted the Spanish in establishing their authority on Luzon, including establishing municipalities in southern Ibalon, and defending them from Moro raids as a testament of his ancestors' defiance against them who sacked Bohol in 1563. He supported the Christianization of Butuan through his daughter, Maria Uray which successfully convinced Silongan to be baptized into the Christian faith, as well as his subjects. The reason, like many others was to gain certain privileges as well as to better their social status in the new situation they are in. It was, for many, an interesting doctrine they were intrigued to heard of. It was also to gain allies to fend off the Lutaos, the Butuanons' nemesis since the latter was Visayan, and the former were Lumads driven away from the coast by these Visayan settlers.
The Christianization and conquest of Samar and Leyte began with its roots through the allegiance of Bancao to the Spanish, initially signified by his baptism, although he would later leave this faith in his later years. Meanwhile, the first conquests of Leyte were achieved by their outposts in Carigara and Abuyog in 1569, and in 1585 in Samar through their first outpost at Abuyog. The conquest of these islands was a slow, ardous process as not only the two islands were heavily hostile due to its terrain and sparsely populated, it was also among the most rebellious of all Philippine regions. Nevertheless, with the settlement and migration policies of the Spanish, the western portions of Leyte became Cebuano through the years. All of these lands were declared as being part of Cebu, as simplified in its decree earlier in 1565.
I have decided that El Decentralizado: Philippine HRE shall be my main priority from this day, my Novales timeline, although had improved from the previous two iterations, still lacks some elements as it was rushed immediately after the part where the Philippines became independent in 1825, and lacked the "book" parts were certain chapters were amalgamated to tell a particular event.
Castillian War
CASTILLIAN WAR
(Chapter VIII)
Islam first came to the islands in the year 1380, where an Arab Sufi missionary by the name of Karim-ul Makhdum had arrived in the Sulu archipelago to preach his religion to the Tausugs and other nearby tribes there, where he established what would become the oldest mosque in the country, in what is now Tawi-Tawi. Ten years later, a Malay prince from the Indonesian islands, Baguinda Ali had arrived to live among with the already islamicized Tausugs, which at first tried to sink his boats due to their suspicions, but later accepted his desire to live among them, thus becoming their leader. (Chapter VIII)
He would be followed by a certain Sharif ul-Hashim, a Johorean of Arab descent where he migrated to Sulu by 1457, where he established himself as the most powerful figure in the area, later taking the title of sultan by the year 1457.
A generation later, around the rise of Brunei under Bolkiah, the Suluan sultanate was raided in retaliation for the earlier raid at Brunei (then Buni) after the former regained its independence from the Majapahit, as well as retrieving the two pearls they took back in 1368. Over the years, Sulu remained a vassal and ally of Brunei, assisting Bolkiah in his raids at Palawan and Mindoro between 1498-99 and the sack of Tondo, where the Raj of Maynila was established as a result of these developments.
Fast forward to the 1570s, Maynila fell and became the capital of a Catholic domain spanning from Islas de Paragua in the west to the Pacific islands of the east. It was here that the Spanish first had contacts with Brunei through trade. However, due to Spain's zeal of Catholicism, as well as the animosity of non-Muslim Indios, especially the Visayans many in Manila began to saw Brunei as a threat to their turf. In 1576, Francisco de Sande, the governor-general of Manila sent a request to meet with Sultan Saiful Rijal, expressing a desire for good relations with Brunei. However, he demanded both permission to proselytize Christianity in the region, and an end to Brunei's proselytizing of Islam. Tensions rose as Brunei felt the need for the Philippines to be wiped out of infidel influence.
A skirmish between Bruneians and Spanish-allied Indios
Around early March, they had set sail and reached Bruneian soil, where they first experienced skirmishes, ultimately that by April 16, they enlisted the help of two disgruntled Bruneian nobles, Seri Lela and Seri Ratna, where they were instated as the new rulers of Brunei under Spanish suzerainty. Saiful Rijal, the sultan and his remaining followers retreated to Jerudong, where they recovered and prepared to retake the capital.
The battle of Kota Batu, 1578
The war itself was only short, lasting only for a 72-day period from April to June. However, it damaged Brunei's power, in which it would be the start of a long, continuous decline that would remain for the next centuries. As for Spain, although they have been defeated, have achieved some form of victory as they managed to prevent Brunei from regaining a foothold in Luzon, and that the major force behind Islam in the Philippines have been heavily dealt with. It also marked the beginning of a centuries long war between Spain and Brunei's former vassals, the Spanish-Moro war.
Piratical Conclusion
PIRATICAL CONCLUSION
(Chapter IX)
A wokou raid
Since at least the 1350s, wokou raids took to increase its presence by plundering the coasts of China, Korea and Japan, as well as raiding and looting merchant ships they come by on board. They have also established temporary, some of them becoming permanent as a haven for pirates fleeing the navies of each state or as a trading outpost, of usually stolen goods.(Chapter IX)
A wokou raid
In the year 1580, these pirates, under the leadership of a certain Tay Fusa, a Japanese pirate had subjugated the Ibanags in north into submission, establishing a pirate state which extracted resources from the local population and had brought hard labor to the natives. As a response, the captain-general Gonzalo Ronquillo had sent a force to pacify them and to establish Spain's authority over the last lands of Luzon not yet controlled.
Agustin and his cabinet were called upon to send reinforcements to assist the Spanish conquest of Cagayan, expecting to just cooperate as his granduncle had did before his death. To the Spaniards' dismay, he refused, most likely due to his cousin, the lord of Hagonoy, Magat Salamat having a taste of distrust. Nevertheless, Kapampangans and a few Pangasinenses voluntarily joined the corps.
As they passed the Cape Bojeador, they have spotted a fleet of 18 sampans and a junk, laden with hundreds of wokou and recruited native warriors, who were abusing the local population by hard labor and taxes. After a brief naval engagement, the Spanish boarded the ship and had dealt damage to the pirates, who disintegrated and fled to the Cagayan river separately. Eventually, they chased down the pirates and had encountered a fort, probably made to exert authority in the interior, where they ordered a bombardment campaign after they refused the pirates' offer to receive gold in return for their leave from Luzon. Later, a land battle ensued, where the Spanish had won albeit nearing to disaster as they began to ran out ammunition and gunpowder, as well as increasing pirate dominance of the high ground. The plundered weapons were kept as trophies, with some being offered as gifts to the grand dukes of Tondo-Namayan and Cebu.
The subjugation of Cagayan marked the last, and complete solidification of Spanish dominance in the Philippine islands, with the Moro sultanates and the island of Mindanao being left as potential sites for conquest and evangelization.