Spanish–Moro Wars

Spanish–Moro Conflict
Christian Filipinos, who served under the Spanish Army in Mindanao, searching for Moro rebels c. 1887.
Date 1500s–1900 Location Zamboanga, Sulu, Mindanao, Visayas, Palawan Result Spain failed to completely subjugate Moros. While Spain conquered portions of Mindanao, the Sulu Sultanate on Sulu submitted to protectorate status through Spain's extensive use of military sources after centuries of Spanish failure to completely subjugate Moroland, demoralizing attacks by Moro warriors against the Spanish continued up until the American occupation where the Moro war against American occupation begins
Belligerents
Spanish Empire Spanish East Indies	Sulu Sultanate Maguindanao Sultanate Lanao Confederacy
Commanders and leaders
Various Kings of Spain Various Governor-Generals of the Philippines	Various sultans of Sulu Various sultans of Maguindanao Various Datus
Strength
Spanish and Christian Filipino soldiers	Moro Fighters, Chinese rebels

 Spanish Empire

The Spanish–Moro Conflict was a series of wars lasting over several centuries from the beginning of Spanish colonization of the Philippines, to the Spanish–American War when Spain finally began to subjugate Moroland after centuries of failing to do so.

The Moros had a history of resistance against Spanish, American, and Japanese rule for over 400 years. The violent armed struggle against the Japanese, Filipinos, Spanish, and Americans is considered by current Moro Muslim leaders as part of the four-century-long "national liberation movement" of the Bangsamoro (Moro Nation). The 400-year-long resistance against the Japanese, Americans, and Spanish by the Moro Muslims persisted and morphed into their current war for independence against the Philippine state.

The Spanish initiated the conflict by conquering the Philippines and invading Moro territory in an effort to subjugate the region to their rule since the 1500s. The Spanish conquered the Muslim Kingdom of Maynila a vassal of the Sultanate of Brunei, the islamized rajah, Rajah Sulayman resisted the Spanish. Manila then became the capital of the Spanish Philippines after the conquest, with the Spanish forcibly converting people to Catholicism. The Spanish–Moro Wars started with the Castille War, a war between Spaniards and the Sultanate of Brunei (the term Moro included Muslim Tagalogs who were ruled by the Sultanate of Brunei). Spain was under Inquisition which ordered Jews and Muslims to convert to Roman Catholicism or leave or face death penalty, thus Spaniards tried to ban and suppress Islam in areas they conquered, this was so because Spain had undergone the reconquista, a period when they tried to rehispanize and rechristianize the areas of Spain invaded by the Umayyad Caliphate. They then turned to attack the Moro Muslim sultanates in the south at Mindanao. The Moro Datus and sultans raided and pillaged Spanish towns in the northern Philippine islands in retaliation for Spanish attacks, and terrorized the Spanish invaders with their constant piracy. The Spanish were prepared to conquer Mindanao and the Moluccas after establishing forts in 1635, but the Chinese threatened the Spanish with invasion which forced them to pull back to defend Manila. At one point several thousand Chinese who were evicted by the Spanish joined the Moros.

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