Initial recorded history[edit]

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription: The oldest known legal document from the Dynasty of Tondo.

During the period of the south Indian Pallava dynasty and the north Indian Gupta Empire Indian
culture spread to Southeast Asia and the Philippines which led to the establishment of Indianized
kingdoms.[42][43] The end of Philippine prehistory is 900,[44] the date inscribed in the oldest Philippine
document found so far, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription. From the details of the document,
written in Kawi script, the bearer of a debt, Namwaran, along with his children Lady Angkatan and
Bukah, are cleared of a debt by the ruler of Tondo. From the various Sanskrit terms and titles seen in
the document, the culture and society of Manila Bay was that of a HinduOld Malay amalgamation,
similar to the cultures of Java, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra at the time. There are no other
significant documents from this period of pre-Hispanic Philippine society and culture until
the Doctrina Christiana of the late 16th century, written at the start of the Spanish period in both
native Baybayin script and Spanish. Other artifacts with Kawi script and baybayin were found, such
as an Ivory seal fromButuan dated to the early 11th century[45] and the Calatagan pot with baybayin
inscription, dated to the 13th century.[46]
In the years leading up to 1000, there were already several maritime societies existing in the islands
but there was no unifying politicalstate encompassing the entire Philippine archipelago. Instead, the
region was dotted by numerous semi-autonomous barangays(settlements ranging in size from
villages to city-states) under the sovereignty of competing thalassocracies ruled by datus,
huangs,rajahs, sultans or lakans.[47] or by upland agricultural societies ruled by "petty plutocrats".
States such as the Kingdom of Maynila, the Kingdom of Taytay in Palawan (mentioned by Pigafetta
to be where they resupplied when the remaining ships escaped Cebu after Magellan was slain), the
Chieftaincy of Coron Island ruled by fierce warriors called Tagbanua as reported by Spanish
missionaries mentioned by Nilo S. Ocampo,[48] Namayan, the Dynasty of Tondo, the Sinitic
huangdoms of Ma-i and Pangasinan, the Kedatuan of Madja-as, the Indianized rajahnates
ofButuan and Cebu and the Muslim sultanates of Maguindanao and Sulu existed alongside the
highland societies of the Ifugao and Mangyan.[49][50][51][52] Some of these regions were part of the
Malayan empires of Srivijaya, Majapahit and Brunei.[53][54][55]

The Kingdom of Tondo[edit]

Main article: Kingdom of Tondo

Since at least the year 900, the thalassocracy centered in Manila Bay flourished via an active trade
with Chinese, Japanese, Malays, and various other peoples in East Asia. Tondo thrived as the
capital and the seat of power of this ancient kingdom, which was led by kings under the title "Lakan"
and ruled a large part of what is now known as Luzon from or possibly before 900 AD to 1571.
During its existence, it grew to become one of the most prominent and wealthy kingdom states in
pre-colonial Philippines due to heavy trade and connections with several neighboring nations such
as China and Japan. In 900 AD, the lord-minister Jayadewa presented a document of debt
forgiveness to Lady Angkatan and her brother Bukah, the children of Namwaran. This is described in
the Philippine's oldest known document, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription.[56]

The Huangdom of Pangasinan[edit]

Main article: Huangdom of Pangasinan
Pangasinan or Feng-chia-hsi-lan [57] in Chinese records, was a sovereign Prehispanic
Philippine state, notable for having traded with the Kingdom of Ryukyu, Japan and was a tributary
state to Ming China and specialized in the export of Torquise shells, horses and silver. The Chinese
records of this kingdom began when the first tributary King (Huang in Chinese), Kamayin, sent an
envoy offering horses and silver to the Chinese Emperor. The state occupies the current province
of Pangasinan. It was locally known the Luyag na Kaboloan (also spelled Caboloan),
with Binalatongan as its capital, existed in the fertile Agno River valley. Around the same period,
the Srivijaya and Majapahit empires arose inIndonesia that extended their influence to much of
the Malay Archipelago. Urduja, a legendary woman warrior, is believed to have ruled in Pangasinan
around the 14th century. The Luyag na Kaboloan expanded the territory and influence of Pangasinan
to what are now the neighboring provinces of Zambales, La Union, Tarlac, Benguet, Nueva Ecija,
andNueva Vizcaya. Pangasinan enjoyed full independence until the Spanish conquest.
In the sixteenth century Pangasinan was called the "Port of Japan" by the Spanish. The locals wore
native apparel typical of other maritime Southeast Asian ethnic groups in addition to Japanese and
Chinese silks. Even common people were clad in Chinese and Japanese cotton garments. They
also blackened their teeth and were disgusted by the white teeth of foreigners, which were likened to
that of animals. Also, used porcelain jars typical of Japanese and Chinese households. Japanesestyle gunpowder weapons were also encountered in naval battles in the area. [58] In exchange for
these goods, traders from all over Asia would come to trade primarily for gold and slaves, but also
for deerskins, civet and other local products. Other than a notably more extensive trade network with
Japan and China, they were culturally similar to other Luzon groups to the south.

The Huangdom of Mai[edit]

Main article: Huangdom of Ma-i
Around 1225, the Country of Mai, a Sinified pre-Hispanic Philippine island-state centered in Mindoro,
[59]

flourished as an entrepot, attracting traders and shipping from the Kingdom of Ryukyu to

the Yamato Empire of Japan.[60] Chao Jukua, a customs inspector in Fukien province, China wrote
the Zhufan Zhi ("Description of the Barbarous Peoples"[61]), which described trade with this precolonial Philippine state.[62]

The Kedatuan of Madja-as[edit]

Main article: Kedatuan of Madja-as

Left to right: [1] Images from the Boxer Codexillustrating an ancient kadatuan or tumao (noble
class)Visayan couple, [2] a royal couple of the Visayans and [3] a Visayan princess.

During the 11th century several exiled datus of the collapsing empire of Srivijaya[63] led by Datu Puti
led a mass migration to the central islands of the Philippines, fleeing from Rajah Makatunao of the
island of Borneo. Upon reaching the island ofPanay and purchasing the island from Negrito chieftain
Marikudo, they established a confederation of polities and named it the Confederation of Madjaas centered in Aklan and they settled the surrounding islands of the Visayas. This confederation
reached its peak under Datu Padojinog. During his reign the confederations' hegemony extended
over most of the islands of Visayas. Its people consistently made piratical attacks against
Chinese imperial shipping.[64]

The Rajahnate of Cebu[edit]

Main article: Rajahnate of Cebu

The Rajahnate of Cebu was a classical Philippine state which used to exist on Cebu island prior to
the arrival of the Spanish. It was founded by Sri Lumay otherwise known as Rajamuda Lumaya, a
minor prince of the Chola dynasty which happened to occupy Sumatra. He was sent by
the maharajah to establish a base for expeditionary forces to subdue the local kingdoms but he
rebelled and established his own independent Rajahnate instead. This rajahnate warred against the
'magalos' (Slave traders) of Maguindanao and had an alliance with theButuan Rajahnate before it
was weakened by the insurrection of Datu (Lord) Lapulapu.[65]

The Rajahnate of Butuan[edit]

Main article: Rajahnate of Butuan
By year 1011 Rajah Sri Bata Shaja, the monarch of the Indianized Rajahnate of Butuan, a maritimestate famous for its goldwork[66] sent a trade envoy under ambassador Likan-shieh to the Chinese
Imperial Court demanding equal diplomatic status with other states. [67] The request being approved, it
opened up direct commercial links with the Rajahnate of Butuan and the Chinese Empire thereby
diminishing the monopoly on Chinese trade previously enjoyed by their rivals the Dynasty of
Tondo and the Champa civilization.[68]Evidence of the existence of this rajahnate is given by
the Butuan Silver Paleograph.[69]

A golden statuette of the Hindu-Buddhist goddess "Kinari" found in an archeological dig inEsperanza, Agusan
del Sur.

The Sultanate of Lanao[edit]

Main article: Confederation of sultanates in Lanao
The Sultanates of Lanao in Mindanao, Philippines were founded in the 16th century through the
influence of Shariff Kabungsuan, who was enthroned as first Sultan of Maguindanao in 1520. The
Maranaos of Lanao were acquainted with the sultanate system when Islam was introduced to the
area by Muslim missionaries and traders from the Middle East, Indian and Malay regions who
propagated Islam to Sulu and Maguindanao. Unlike in Sulu and Maguindanao, the Sultanate system
in Lanao was uniquely decentralized. The area was divided into Four Principalities of Lanao or the
Pat a Pangampong a Ranao which are composed of a number of royal houses (Sapolo ago Nem a
Panoroganan or The Sixteen (16) Royal Houses) with specific territorial jurisdictions within mainland
Mindanao. This decentralized structure of royal power in Lanao was adopted by the founders, and
maintained up to the present day, in recognition of the shared power and prestige of the ruling clans
in the area, emphasizing the values of unity of the nation (kaiisaisa o bangsa), patronage (kaseselai)
and fraternity (kapapagaria)

The Sultanate of Sulu[edit]

Main article: Sultanate of Sulu

The official flag of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu under the guidance of Ampun Sultan Muedzul Lail Tan Kiramof
Sulu.

In 1380, Karim ul' Makdum and Shari'ful Hashem Syed Abu Bakr, an Arab trader born in Johore,
arrived in Sulu from Malacca and established the Sultanate of Sulu. This sultanate eventually gained
great wealth due to its diving for fine pearls.[70]

The Sultanate of Maguindanao[edit]

Main article: Sultanate of Maguindanao
At the end of the 15th century, Shariff Mohammed Kabungsuwan of Johor introduced Islam in the
island of Mindanao and he subsequently married Paramisuli, an Iranun Princess from Mindanao,
and established the Sultanate of Maguindanao.[71] By the 16th century, Islam had spread to other
parts of the Visayas and Luzon.

The Bruneian Empire and the expansion of Islam[edit]

The Islamic center in Marawi city.

During the reign of Sultan Bolkiah in 1485 to 1521, the Bruneian Empire decided to break
theDynasty of Tondo's monopoly in the China trade by attacking Tondo and defeating Datu
Gambang and then establishing the State of Selurong (Kingdom of Maynila) as a Bruneian satellitestate.[72][73] A new dynasty under the Islamized Rajah Salalila[74] was also established to challenge the
House of Lakandula in Tondo.[75] In addition to establishing the satellite state ofManila,
Sultan Bolkiah also married Laila Mecana, the daughter of Sulu Sultan Amir Ul-Ombra to expand
Brunei's influence in both Luzon and Mindanao. Furthermore, Islam was further strengthened by the

arrival to the Philippines of traders and proselytizers from Malaysiaand Indonesia.[76] The multiple
states competing over the limited territory and people of the islands simplified
Spanish colonization by allowing its conquistadors to effectively employ a strategy of divide and
conquer for rapid conquest.