Rajah Sulayman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rajah Sulayman (سليمان in Arabic) was a native Muslim king who, together with Rajah Matanda and Rajah Lakandula, the king of the Tondo area, ruled a large population of Tagalogs in the southern part of the Pasig River and the city of Manila in the Philippines, during the 16th century.
Sulayman welcomed the Spanish conquistadors, Martin de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo soon after they arrived. He befriended and offered them spices and women as gifts. But as the weeks passed on, the Spaniards began to abuse him and he soon realized that they were not there just to visit the islands, but to take control and steal the rich resources of his land. He opposed the Spanish settlements and led a coup to throw the Spaniards out of the city.
On the morning of May 24, 1570, The Battle of Bangkusay, a district of present day Tondo, took place between thousands of native warriors against 300 Spanish soldiers. Defenseless against Spanish steel, and the fury of rival and Christianized tribes, Sulayman, Lakandula and Matanda's armies were defeated and the city burned to the ground.
The three kings were captured and held as a prisoners by Martín de Goiti. Sulayman's surviving troops along with Rajah Lakandula and Matanda's defeated warriors, retreated to the jungles of Manila and later organized a rebellion where they laid siege on the Spanish settlement for several months. The Spaniards eventually drove them out and on June 24, 1571 after many months of fighting, the natives surrendered soon after the Spanish General, Miguel López de Legazpi arrived. They were converted to Roman Catholicism and Rajahs Lakandula and Matanda served as puppet-rulers for the Spanish government.[citation needed]
