History of the Philippines (900–1565)
The recorded pre-colonial history of the Philippines, sometimes also referred to as its "protohistoric period" begins with the creation of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription in 900 AD and ends with the beginning of Spanish colonization in 1565. The inscription on the Laguna Copperplate Inscription itself dates its creation to 822 Saka. The creation of this document marks the end of the prehistory of the Philippines at 900 AD, and the formal beginning of its recorded history. During this historical time period, the Philippine archipelago was home to numerous kingdoms and sultanates and was a part of the Indosphere and Sinosphere.
Sources of precolonial history include archeological findings; records from contact with the Song dynasty, the Brunei Sultanate, Korea, Japan, and Muslim traders; the genealogical records of Muslim rulers; accounts written by Spanish chroniclers in the 16th and 17th centuries; and cultural patterns that at the time had not yet been replaced through European influence.
Societal categories
Early Philippine society was composed of diverse subgroups such as fishermen, farmers and hunter-gatherers, with some living in mountainside swiddens, some on houseboats and some in commercially developed coastal ports. Some subgroups were economically self-sufficient, and others had symbiotic relationships with neighboring subgroups. Society can be classified into four categories as follows:Social classes
The fourth societal category [|above] can be termed the datu class, and was a titled aristocracy.The early polities were typically made up of three-tier social structure: a nobility class, a class of "freemen", and a class of dependent debtor-bondsmen:
- Datu and Maginoo
- Maharlika/''Timawa
- Alipin, classified into aliping namamahay and aliping saguiguilid''
Laguna Copperplate Inscription
Text
The text of the LCI was mostly written in Old Malay with influences of Sanskrit, Tamil, Old Javanese and Old Tagalog using the Kawi script. Dutch anthropologist Antoon Postma deciphered the text. The date of the inscription is in the "Year of Saka 822, month of Vaisakha", corresponding to April–May in 900 AD.The text notes the acquittal of all descendants of a certain honorable Namwaran from a debt of 1 kati and 8 suwarna, equivalent to 926.4 grams of gold, granted by the Military Commander of Tundun and witnessed by the leaders of Pailah, Binwangan and Puliran, which are places likely also located in Luzon. The reference to the contemporaneous Medang Kingdom in modern-day Indonesia implies political connections with territories elsewhere in the Maritime Southeast Asia.
Politics
Emergence of Independent polities
Early settlements, referred to as barangays, ranged from 20 to 100 families on the coast, and around 150–200 people in more interior areas. Coastal settlements were connected over water, with much less contact occurring between highland and lowland areas. By the 1300s, a number of the large coastal settlements had emerged as trading centers, and became the focal point of societal changes. Some polities had exchanges with other states across Asia.Polities founded in the Philippines from the 10th–16th centuries include Maynila, Tondo, Namayan, Kumintang, Pangasinan, Caboloan, Cebu, Butuan, Maguindanao, Buayan, Lanao, Sulu, and Ma-i. Among the nobility were leaders called datus, responsible for ruling autonomous groups called barangay or dulohan. When these barangays banded together, either to form a larger settlement or a geographically looser alliance group, the more esteemed among them would be recognized as a "paramount datu", rajah, or sultan which headed the community state. There is little evidence of large-scale violence in the archipelago prior to the 2nd millennium AD, and throughout these periods population density is thought to have been low.
| Polity / Kingdom | Period | Today part of |
| Ijang | Unknown – 1790 | Batanes |
| Lawan | Unknown − 1605 | Samar, parts of Eastern Visayas |
| Samtoy | Unknown – 1572 | Ilocos Region |
| Ibalon | Unknown – 1573 | Bicol Region |
| Kumintang | Unknown – 1581 | Batangas City |
| Taytay | Unknown – 1623 | Northern Palawan |
| Cainta | Unknown – 1571 | Rizal |
| Bo-ol | Unknown − 1595 | Bohol, parts of Northern Mindanao |
| Tondo | Before 900–1589 | Manila, parts of Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Bicol |
| Ma-i | Before 971 – c. 1339 | Mindoro Island, parts of Southern Luzon |
| Sanmalan | Before 982–1500s | Zamboanga |
| Butuan | Before 989–1521 | Butuan, parts of Northern Mindanao and Caraga |
| Caboloan | Before 1225–1572 | San Carlos City, Pangasinan |
| Sandao | Before 1225 – c. 1300s | Calamian, Palawan, and parts of Luzon |
| Namayan | Before the 11th century – 1571 | Manila, parts of Calabarzon |
| Madja-as | After the 11th century | Western Visayas |
| Pulilu | Before 1225–1571 | Polillo, Quezon |
| Pangasinan | Before 1225–1576 | Pangasinan, parts of Northern Luzon |
| Lubao | 14th century – 1571 | Pampanga |
| Sultanate of Buayan | c. 1350–1905 | Parts of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Cotabato, South Cotabato and General Santos City |
| Sugbu | c. 1400–1565 | Cebu, parts of Central Visayas |
| Sultanate of Sulu | 1457–1915 | Sulu Archipelago, parts of Southern Palawan, Sabah, North and East Kalimantan in north-eastern Borneo |
| Maynila | c.1500–1571 | Manila, parts of Central Luzon |
| Sultanate of Maguindanao | 1515–1899 | Maguindanao, parts of Bangsamoro, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen and Davao Region |
| Confederate States of Lanao | 1616 – Present | Lanao, parts of Bangsamoro |
Other political systems by ethnic group
In Luzon
In the Cagayan Valley, the head of the Ilongot city-states was called a benganganat, while for the Gaddang it was called a mingal.The Ilocano people in northwestern Luzon were originally located in modern-day Ilocos Sur and were led by a babacnang. Their polity was called samtoy which did not have a royal family but, rather, was a collection of certain barangays.
In Mindanao
The Lumad people from inland Mindanao are known to have been headed by a datu.The Subanon people in the Zamboanga Peninsula were ruled by a timuay until they were overcome by the Sultanate of Sulu in the 13th century.
The Sama-Bajau people in Sulu who were not Muslims nor affiliated with the Sultanate of Sulu were ruled by a nakurah before the arrival of Islam.
Trade
Trade with China is believed to have begun during the Tang dynasty, but grew more extensive during the Song dynasty. By the 2nd millennium AD, some Philippine polities were known to have sent trade delegations which participated in the Tributary system enforced by the Chinese imperial court, trading but without direct political or military control. The items much prized in the islands included jars, which were a symbol of wealth throughout South Asia, and later metal, salt and tobacco. In exchange were traded feathers, rhino horns, hornbill beaks, beeswax, bird's-nests, resin, and rattan.Indian influence
Indian cultural traits, such as linguistic terms and religious practices, began to spread within the Philippines during the 10th century, likely via the Hindu Majapahit empire.Writing systems
reached the Philippines in the form of the Kawi script, and later the Baybayin writing system. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription was written using the Kawi script.Baybayin
By the 13th or 14th century, the baybayin script was used for the Tagalog language. It spread to Luzon, Mindoro, Palawan, Panay and Leyte, but there is no proof it was used in Mindanao.There were at least three varieties of baybayin in the late 16th century. These are comparable to different variations of Latin which use slightly different sets of letters and spelling systems.
In 1521, the chronicler Antonio Pigafetta from the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan noted that the people that they met in Visayas were not literate. However, in the next few decades the Baybayin script seemed to have been introduced to them. In 1567 Miguel López de Legaspi reported that "they have their letters and characters like those of the Malays, from whom they learned them; they write them on bamboo bark and palm leaves with a pointed tool, but never is any ancient writing found among them nor word of their origin and arrival in these islands, their customs and rites being preserved by traditions handed down from father to son without any other record."