Jonathan R. Matias Sulu Garden Miag-ao, Iloilo, Philippines www.sulugarden.com
May 7, 1754 was a pivotal day in Miag-ao’s 300 year - history as a town. Sadly, only the date and the key players in that Battle were recorded. The details of how the Battle developed between the Islamic raiders and the Miagaowanon defenders are not known. Perhaps there were records, but these were forever lost in the 262 years that followed. Oral stories handed down through the generations also faded from memory and were never passed on. Perhaps it was a painful event that Miagaowanons preferred not to remember.
To reconstruct an event without much in the way of material reference, one may only resort to a fictionalized historical narrative to recreate the passion and essence of that unique event in Miag-ao’s history. This meant using the excuse of taking “artistic liberty” in interpreting the event. We have attempted this on two consecutive blog articles and it is best for you to first read Part 1 and Part 2 of the Salakayan series in the Sulu Garden’s website (www.sulugarden.com).
Part 1. Defending Cotta: Thoughts of a Comisario in the morning of Salakayan. Read HERE.
Part 2. Attack on Cotta: Thoughts of an Iranun Warrior at Sunrise on the Day of Salakayan. Read HERE.
Foreword
Unlike the fictional main characters, Haji Ranom and Nong Fermin, from the first two-part series of this novella, the Spanish officer Captain Jose Echevarria in this story is a real character from the extant records. And so are the personages of the capitan del barrio (Agustin Gayo), another Spanish officer (Francisco Arbuno), and the parish priest (Rev. Father Pedro Alvares) [1]. We often take for granted that all Spaniards (Kastila) in our history are all the same. Regional and ethnic distinctions in Spain made for complicated interactions, very much the same as between the Tagalogs and the Visayans during the last three centuries of Spanish rule. Captain Jose Echevarria is a Spaniard, but of Basque origin [2], an ethnic minority in Spain that also experienced discrimination in the larger Spanish world they had to live in. Echevarria is the Spanish spelling of the Basque name Etxberria.
I never heard about Basques until I met Antonio M. de Ynchausti. Antonio is among the many prominent descendants of Basques who decided to remain in the Philippines after the Spanish-American War and prided himself to be as much a Filipino as any native [3]. In 1998, he came to Miag-ao for a visit with his friends who just arrived from the Basque country of Spain. That was an entertaining conversation about the Basques in the Philippines while watching sunset on the beach. It was then that I learned the Spanish phrase, “my last Filipino” which means “my last possession.” For example, when a Spaniard is holding a cigar and says to his friend that this cigar is my last Filipino, he simply means that it his last cigar. The phase was intended to be more endearing than derogatory to us. It wasn’t until few years later when I again read about Basques in the Trevanian novel entitled “Shibumi”[4]. From time to time in the last 20 years, the Basques were in the international news about bombings in Spain and France by Basque separatists.
The “Basque Country” is a vast region located in the Pyrenees Mountains. About 80% of the Basque people live on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees while the other 20% live across in France. Today, the Basque Homeland is an autonomous region of Spain with its own culture and language called Euskera. This language is so distinct from any of the Western languages that academics theorize that the Basques settled in the Pyrenees Mountains long before the Iberians, Celts, Gauls, and Germanic tribes migrated in the neighboring areas [5].
The Basques have always been a nation, their hallmarks being independence, isolation, and courage. They have always spoken their ancient language and have constituted a confederation of small republics, related by their common ancestry and language."
------- Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico de España, Pascual Madoz (1850)
In his book, Basques in the Philippines, Marciano R. de Borja wrote “The Basques, one of Spain's most distinct ethnic minorities, played a remarkably influential role in the creation and maintenance of Spain's vast colonial empire, including the Philippines. Basques were members of the Magellan expedition that discovered the Philippines in 1521, and a Basque-led expedition subsequently laid the foundation for Spain's conquest and pacification of the archipelago. Despite the small population of their native provinces, the Basques' unique skills as shipbuilders, navigators, businessmen, and scribes; their evangelical zeal; and their ethnic cohesion and work-oriented culture made them well suited to serve as explorers, colonial administrators, missionaries, settlers, merchants, and shippers in the trans-Pacific galleon trade between China, Manila, and Acapulco, Mexico. After the Wars of Independence deprived Spain of most of its empire, many Basques settled in the Philippines, fleeing political persecution and increasingly limited opportunities in their homeland. The Basque emigration from Spain to the Philippines continued through the first half of the twentieth century” [6]. The Basques have always been part of Philippine history. “Juan Sebastian Elcano, who was part of Magellan’s expedition and the first to circumnavigate the world, was a Basque from the province of Guipuzcoa as were many of the crew. The Urdaneta and Legazpi expeditions that followed Magellan’s voyage? They were Basques too. Soldiers, tradesmen, shipwrights, merchants, friars, and others mostly came from the Basque Homeland. Their descendants founded many of the largest and most successful companies in the Philippines.” [3].
Miag-ao in 1754 was a far cry from a town one would consider prosperous. The church did not exist, primarily because the Muslim raiders had looted and burned the church twice in 1741 and in 1747. The Augustinians had not arrived as yet to build the third church we see now in the poblacion. That third church was built in 1797. The center of religion and trade in Miag-ao was in the south of the present - day poblacion in Damilisan and Igbugo along the Oyungan River. This area is often the target of raids by Muslim raiders and bandits of all types [1]. What did the Oyungan Valley have that was worth the time for raiders to come? For now, no one really knows.
La Compaña de Jesus (Society of Jesus), often referred to as the Jesuits, ministered to the faithful and controlled the daily lives of the Christianized natives of Miag-ao. The Jesuits survived through the frequent Moro raids and the burning of their two churches. Their control lasted until 1768, 12 years after the event in Miag-ao called Salakayan. Pope Clement XIV issued a brief called Dominus ac Redemptor suppressing the activity of the Jesuits. That suppression act had a political rather that a religious underpinning. The Jesuits were becoming too autonomous and politically strong. That decree banned the Jesuits from all of Christendom. The news reached Manila in 1769. For the next two years, all the Jesuits in the Philippines were arrested, transported to Spain, and deported to Italy. The decree was reversed in 1814, allowing for the return of the Jesuits [7]. By then, The Augustinians have taken over the religious life in Miag-ao and have already built the third church that we see today on the high ground overlooking the sea and the Tumagbok River below.
There are three defensive watchtowers in Miag-ao. One is in Damilisan, now called Baluarte, where the Jesuits have their mission house. The other is in Baybay along the beachfront below Miag-ao’s plateau called Tacas, and the other , in Kirayan Sur across the Tumagbok River. Both watchtowers, called Cotta (kuta), in Baybay and Kirayan were meant to prevent the raiders from rowing their boats up the Tumagbok River and attack the pueblo from the rear and also entering the rich river valleys beyond. Today, the rivers are silted and shallow. But hundreds of years ago, the rivers were wide, deep, and fast-flowing.
How the Battle of Miag-ao was fought in that dark day of 1754 is a conjecture, a calculated guess. The terrain of Miag-ao’s coastal area favored a more defensive action on the part of the Miaga0wanons. That the Miagaowanons did not fight alone is very likely since there was a Spanish Officer- in - Charge. It is unlikely that a Spanish officer will be sent by himself in a fight like this. Winning means having some firepower and experienced troops to fight against the Moros arriving in 21 caracoas. Even a small contingent of 125 warriors in each caracoa (with 60 galley slaves) would have placed 2,600+ warriors on the field of battle in Miag-ao. And, even with 20% of the people in Miag-ao at the time (population of approximately 20,000) young enough to fight, it was likely that perhaps a maximum of 4,000 inexperienced Miagaowanons would have participated. Over a hundred years of Spanish rule and religion had transformed the Visayans into less warlike, more pious people. Against 2,600 experienced well-armed Moro raiders, that battle would have easily favored the raiders. But, history tells us that the Miagaowanons were able to repulse the invasion on the beaches, hence our conjecture that the Spanish officer had to have men and modern weapons to give the edge against a more powerful Moro army.
Prologue
Captain Jose Echevarria sailed in July 1753 from the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque territory and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to New Spain (Mexico). Disembarking in the port city of Veracruz on the eastern side of New Spain two months later, it took another month of hard ride by horse and horse-drawn carriages through the breadth of this Spanish colony to reach the western coastal city of Acapulco. There he anxiously
waited for another three months for the Manila Galleon, often referred to as the Nao de China. He watched the enormous galleon disgorge its load of silk and porcelain from China, spices smuggled through the Dutch-controlled islands around the Celebes Sea, ivory from Africa , and a lot more exotic things he could only dream of. It took another two weeks to load the ship with silver from the mines of Mexico and as far away as Peru. The treasure was to be used as payment for the riches of the Orient. He watched as the wretched Incas, Aztecs, African slaves, and assorted natives haul the boxes on their backs. He thought about how unfair the world could be. These half-starved virtual slaves carried the riches of their own lands for their new masters. “It is the prize of failure. The winner takes all,” he thought to himself. But deep down, he felt bad about the poor Indios.
The voyage across the Pacific was fairly smooth, except for a few days when they encountered terrifying weather—typhoons the Chinese called turbulences. But, even more forbidding was the thought of being intercepted by Dutch pirates and British privateers. Spain had already lost a dozen galleons to these pirates. This ship, Nuestra Senora de la Santisima Trinidad, is heavily laden with silver and supplies for Spain’s conquered territories in the islands called Las Islas de las Filipinas. The old Basque mariners of Gipuzkoa tell tall tales of gold, spices, and exotic lands there for the taking.
Five long months at sea finally brought him safely to the harbor of Manila, in the protective shadow of the fortress called Intramuros. Manila was a city in the making. Buildings were being built. The harbor was filled with ships of all kinds. Merchant ships from China, Java, and as far away as Siam crowded the harbor, along with galleons and warships of the Empire.
There was not enough time to get used to the feel and smell of Manila. As he disembarked, a young cavalry officer met Echevarria with orders to proceed to his final destination—the City of Iloilo. A brigantine was already on the other side of the wharf and due to leave for the three-day voyage on the next tide. There was not even time to protest. The young lieutenant had some porters load his meager baggage into the waiting carriage. “Welcome to the Orient,” he said to himself with a sigh.
As the ship sailed past many exotic, uninhabited- looking islands, he had plenty of time to talk with other Spanish marines also en route to Iloilo. A few of them were from the Basque country that had already been in some battles with Islamic raiders. They talked mostly about the major sea battle the year before and how fortunate they were to survive that one. Both sides lost thousands of men who were maimed, killed, or drowned on burning ships that sank to the ocean depths. But the Spanish armada prevailed and drove back the invasion, saving hundreds of Christian galley slaves in the process.
Like any other typical harbor defense, the fortress they call Nuestra Senora del Rosario seemed to just emerge from the depths of the mouth of a big river that snakes itself into the vast hinterlands of Panay. The marines simply call it Fuerza de San Pedro, after the main boulevard, Calle San Pedro, connecting the fortress to the City. Like Manila, the harbor was filled with all kinds of shipping, including small cascos and boats of all types with outriggers. The banks of the river were bustling with activity as many ships were being built. Three more galleons were almost nearing completion. Lined up like a parade along the river banks were thousands of logs cut from the interior, floated down river, for the frenetic shipbuilding taking place.

Fort San Pedro- from Historical Landmarks and Monuments of Iloilo by Henry Florida Funtecha and Melanie Jalandoni Padilla.
He was tired by the time the brigantine docked. The smell of the Basque homeland that once permeated his sweat-soaked uniform was long gone, replaced by the mix of acrid smell from the Atlantic to the Pacific. His elation at finally arriving was cut short by another messenger. “Capitan Echevarria, I presume?” He simply nodded. It was too noisy in the wharf. “I am sorry that there will be no time to rest. I have instructions to bring you to the fortress at once. No need to change your uniform,” the messenger shouted. “You are to report to Vice-Admiral de Lezo inside the fortress, “he added. As Captain Echevarria entered the carriage, he said to himself,” At least the man in command is also a Basque, though not much comfort in that.”
Echevarria had a bad feeling about this. “Rushing to a meeting like this only meant there was trouble and it always somehow managed to involve me , ” so he thought as he entered the Vice-Admiral’s office.
The Vice-Admiral shook his hands warmly and spoke in Euskera as if meeting a long- lost friend. Basque comradeship goes beyond rank. But, the familiarity made the Castilian Spaniards in the room uneasy or maybe jealous. The messenger who fetched him at least gave him a quick background about the Vice-Admiral before the Captain entered the fortress. The Vice-Admiral is Juan de Lezo, the youngest brother of the famous Basque Admiral, Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta, hero of the Battle of Cartagena de Indias. In 1741 the Admiral defeated the English fleet in South America. Success in that battle kept South America a territory of the Spanish Empire. Blas de Lezo was the pride of the Basque Homeland, especially more so for the Captain since de Lezo was born is his home province of Gipuzkoa.
“Captain Echevarria, let me explain to you briefly about our situation in this island of Panay,” said the Vice-Admiral from Gipuzkoa who now switched to Castilian. “Last year, we destroyed the Muslim fleet at sea. It was only God’s will that we prevailed. And, it was a narrow victory at best. This fortress guards the mouth of the great river the natives call Irong-Irong. The Chinese cannot pronounce the ‘r’ and call it Ilong-Ilong. It is hard for us to pronounce either one so we simply call it Ilo-ilo. North of here is the flat agricultural plains of this island. Crops that are grown in this island supply food for the cities of Cebu and Manila. The forests in the far mountains supply the hard wood to build the galleons, the frigates, and the merchant ships of the Far East. Each galleon requires 7,000 trees. The vast forests near the city are denuded and we are now cutting timber from the far south of this island. The cut timbers are floated down the rivers and dragged by cascos along the seashore to this city.
“The harbor is filled with merchant ships coming and going from all parts of the world. This harbor is the only one in the Visayas, east of Cebu. This is the closest defensive post and the springboard for retaliatory attacks against the Moros of the southern islands. This miserable fortress is the only one that keeps the Moros from burning the ships and the rice fields of this island. We lost many soldiers last year. Our losses in men, ships, and supplies are yet to be replenished.
The Vice-Admiral continued, “South of this fortress is the area marked here as Guimbal, Bongol, and Damilisan in the map you are looking at. It is our new source of timber for our shipbuilding. And it is our least-defended territory. The pueblo of Miag-ao is at the center of this region, the commercial center where all the goods of the southern territory are bartered, sold, or purchased. The timber comes from the interior and floated downriver in Miag-ao. This pueblo is not small. It has a population of over 20,000 Christianized natives and a friar. No church. The Moros burned the last two churches the friars built in Miag-ao. And the Moros are coming back this time again for loot and slaves. They are especially coming back for revenge.
“This fortress is too impregnable for the Moros to overcome. They will go for the softer underbelly of Iloilo and it will be Miag-ao. Our spies told us that the Moro tribes have assembled already for a bigger invasion of Miag-ao and it will happen soon before the monsoon winds change. It will not be small raiding parties but a force of about 2,000 or more warriors of the Iranuns, Tausugs, and Maranaws. My force here is spread thin to protect the northern flank and the ships in this harbor. I cannot spare any ships to defend Miag-ao, nor do I have enough men to send this far south. Even the nearby pueblo of Oton must fend for itself.
“I am sending you south with a company of riflemen, a platoon of dragoon, and three cannons by road. I have sent instructions for all available cuadrilleros and the local militia from Guimbal and San Joaquin to meet you in Miag-ao. Perhaps you will have in total another 500 men to augment your troops. The rest must come from the Indios that occupy these arabals and pueblos. Prevent the towns from emptying and people running to the hills. Make them stand and fight.”
The Vice-Admiral introduced me first to Teniente Francisco Arbuno, the artillery officer to be my second in command. Then followed the introduction to the gobernadorcillos and cabezas of the different pueblos and arabals of the southern territories who were themselves visibly terrified at the prospect of the coming battle. Echevarria murmured to Arbuno, “ I think these appointed ‘leaders’ of the towns are likely to be the first to run away at the sight of the Moros. “ When the perfunctory introductions were done, the Vice-Admiral dismissed everyone but asked Captain Echevarria to remain.
The Vice-Admiral switched to Euskera, “I am sure you want to know why I specifically asked for you to be assigned to this command. Your father is Juan Andres Echevarria, am I correct?” The Captain was surprised and just nodded. “I knew your father well. We fought side by side in 1718 during the matxinadas, the Basque uprising against taxation and meddling on Basque trading by the Spanish King. Your father was a brave man. He died in my arms by the side of the River Aizkorri, still clutching his saber on his right hand. His last wish was that I look after you. You were four years old then in the care of your grandparents.” The Vice-Admiral continued, “I watched your military career from a distance, waiting for the chance to fulfill what I promised. You being here is not part of that promise. I need real soldiers here, not the dandies who got appointed to senior rank by simply knowing or being related to some royalty. I have plenty of those already and they are good at getting my soldiers killed and often themselves too.
“We are Basques, an ethnic minority in a land of the Spaniards, surrounded here by conquered people of different allegiances. The only thing that holds the Indios together is the promise of heavenly hereafter preached by those wretched friars. You will be meeting one of them in Miag-ao, the Jesuit friar, Reverend Father Pedro Alvares. Be careful with him. He hates Basques and I have yet to find out the reason why.
“You are to leave by tomorrow at first light. The men and supplies are assembled, waiting for your arrival. The three cannons are all I can spare. Teniente Arbuno is one of my best artillery officers. The platoon of cavalry will help. Use them wisely. You are to assume command of all the cuadrilleros in each town you pass along the way. Drive the population along the coast towards Miag-ao. Let the old men and children hide in the hills, but integrate all the able bodied men into your army.
“The Moros have few firearms and prefer to fight one-on- one with swords and lances. You cannot win a one-on- one confrontation with the Moros. Most of them are experienced fighters with over 100 years of fighting us to draw experience from. Use the old tercio formation from a hundred years ago. You are an experienced soldier and will know what to do when you get there. I am only afraid that you might not have enough time to organize your defense the way you will normally fight in a European war. This is a fight where neither side gives any quarters. And this is a fight we cannot afford to lose. You are at the end of our southern flank. And you must hold and break the Moro invasion in Miag-ao.”
“Why are you certain that they will attack Miag-ao and not the other neighboring towns?” Echevarria asked. The Vice-Admiral replied with a smile, “A little strategic disinformation goes a long way. I had our spies pass information to the Dutch in Java which, of course, reached the ears of the Sultan of Jolo. I let it be known that we are secretly mining gold and silver in the mountains of Miag-ao. Hopefully they will not expect your presence in that pueblo.
“There is really nothing in this island worth anything except crops, cattle and horse farms, lumber for our shipyards, pineapple for the fibers woven into fine cloth, and people to build our churches and ships. I know you are here to also seek your fortune, just like all Basque adventurers. Do not worry. There are fortunes to be made later from the trade with Chinese. Win this battle and I will help you find your fortune.”
“Farewell, Captain. May God follow you on this adventure.”
Organizing the Defenses
The forced march along the narrow road to the south was frustratingly slow. The "road" turned to narrow paths in some places. The even narrow wooden bridges needed to be shorn up to carry the weight of the cannons. Often, there were no bridges, most washed out by the floods of the previous rainy season. The cannons and supplies had to be floated across on small barges, nearly losing one of the cannons in the fast current of the Tumagbok River before reaching Miag-ao.
May 1, 1754
On the low plateau the natives refer to as Tacas overlooking the sea are the local market and a few large homes, presumably occupied by the wealthier mestizos, traders, and the principalia – the landed descendants of the datus that once ruled the villages a century ago. No church, no plaza. Hundreds of houses made of bamboo. Nothing yet that resembled a prosperous pueblo. There were hundreds of people assembled to welcome our little "army" of barely 320 men and three muddy cannons. Captain Echevarria whispered to his second in command, “Not much here worth defending, don’t you think, Teniente Arbuno?” The artillery officer replied with a jovial retort, “Can’t we just give them to the Moros and go home then? That will save a lot of pain and trouble for all of us. I got a young, beautiful, vibrant, and passionate mestiza waiting for me with an exquisite bottle of wine I just received from my father in Madrid.”
At the head of the throng is the Jesuit, Reverend Father Pedro Alvares, wearing the traditional robe of a friar, sweating, face sunburned, clutching his wooden cross in front as if trying to protect himself from the devil. “I think I am the devil that just arrived, “ Echevarria thought to himself. He dismounted, kissed the Jesuit’s hand, and stood beside him as the rest of the troops passed. The detachment assembled in the open space before the market where about 400 cuadrilleros from all the barrios stood on parade, each grouped according to the pueblo of origin. Most were from Oton, Tigbauan, Guimbal, and San Joaquin.
Excusing himself from the throng, Captain Echevarria opened his water- damaged map and nodded to Arbuno. The cavalry quickly dispersed, taking the road going south towards San Joaquin while the others proceeded to all roads towards the mountain.
“Where are your dragoons going, Captain?” asked Father Alvares. Pointing to his map, Captain Echevarria said that the cavalry was going to Damilisan and up the Oyungan River to Igbugo.” “Why?” the priest asked. “They are going to bring all the ablebodied men and women from the Oyungan Valley into Miag-ao. The rest are proceeding with all haste beyond Tacas to do the same and block the paths leading to the mountains. Only old men and women and those women with young children may go hide in the hills. The rest of the Indios will assemble in Tacas and Mat-y --the men are to be trained as infantry; the women, to set up camp and prepare meals for the troops.”
In his towering voice, Father Alvares said, “Captain, there is nothing worth defending here in Tacas. Damilisan and Igbugo are the centers of religion and commerce in Miag-ao. I want you to stop what you are doing and send your troops down to protect Damilisan. The mission house of the La Compaña de Jesus is there. I want you...” The Captain gripped the priest’s right hand firmly before he finished his sentence, looked at him straight in the eyes, and shouted, “Father, I take my orders from the Vice-Admiral. Not from you ! Damilisan is not defensible. The raiders will just row their boats up the Oyungan River as they have always done and devastate the countryside as usual."
Captain Echevarria stood up on the table with his cavalry sword drawn out of its scabbard for everyone to see and shouted, “People of Miag-ao ! No longer will you run to the hills to hide from the Moros. Your young men and women will no longer be sacrificial lambs to be carried off to slavery. We are here to stand and fight. There will be no retreat. Desertion is punishable with death. It is time for this pueblo to show the infidels the strength of your Christian faith.”
To the priest, Captain Echevarria addressed him in a low, menacing voice. "Father, I was told you hate Basques. You already know just from my name alone that I am one of them. And to make us even, I hate priests, most especially Jesuits. If you and the other Jesuits stand in my way, I will have you chained to a donkey and sent to the Augustinians in Oton. And if I am in a really bad mood, I will put all the Jesuits on a boat, row you and your entire lot out to sea, and leave you there. You can test your faith when the raiders come over from the horizon in a matter of days. Then you will know personally if the God of Abraham is stronger than the God of Mohammed.”
May 2, 1754
On horseback and on foot for most of the morning, Captain Echevarria surveyed the beach, the hills, and the riverside. At the same time, his sergeants began forming the companies based on where they came from. To improve the cohesiveness, each company comprised of men mostly from the same barrio and arabal. There were companies made up of men from Guimbal and another group from the adjacent sitios of Miag-ao. Each company was led by a junior Spanish officer and a senior cuadrillero. Inserted into the midst were 20 riflemen, armed with flintlocks, protected by 100 Indios with lances. Behind the lancers were another 100 men armed with swords and bolos. The company of about 300 men was arranged in a hollow square, called a cuadra, with riflemen at the attacking or defending side, with the rest of the lancers and swordsmen forming the square. Teaching the men to move as one and recognize the commands were the hard part and there was so little time. But, if the men could move in unison and not panic, the cuadra could be an impregnable moving fortress on its own provided the attackers were not fully armed with rifles. They managed to form four cuadras out of this motley group of men. Now they were fighting as a tercio regiment.
