Battle of Manila (1365)
The Battle of Manila (Filipino: Labanan sa Maynila) (1365) is an unspecified and disputed battle occurring somewhere in the vicinity of Manila between the forces of the kingdoms in Luzon and the Empire of Majapahit.
Even though the exact dates and details of this battle remain in dispute, there are claims of the conquest of the area around Saludong (Majapahit term for Luzon and Manila) according to the text of the Nagarakretagama which claims that Saludong (Luzon) and Solot (Sulu) were parts of Majapahit. This claim may be mythical because a couple of years later, warriors from Sulu had successfully attacked Borney (Brunei) which was a Majapahit vassal (Although at this point, the seeds of Islam had already planted and their eventual rebellion to Majapahit was there but only gestating but at the point they were still a loyal Majapahit province but before hand the secretly Muslim Bruneians living under Hindu Majapahit rule sent Rajah Ahmad a person with a Muslim name but a Hindu honorific to attack and incorporate Selurong), and nevertheless the Sulus subsequently repulsed a Majapahit invasion force after they were once invaded by Majapahit, and because outside of the Nagarakretagama, there is no evidence among pre-Hispanic Philippine documents that Saludong or Sulu was ever enslaved by the Majapahit empire. In fact, this claim was only mentioned in passing in a lone eulogy poem to Maharajah Hayam Wuruk and was not really a part of statecraft. Furthermore, the earlier Laguna Copperplate Inscription mentioned that Dongdu (Kingdom of Tondo) had diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Medang, not with Majapahit.
Nevertheless, there may have been a battle for Manila that occurred during that time but it was likely a victory for Luzon's kingdoms considering that the Kingdom of Tondo had maintained its independence and was not enslaved under another ruler. Alternatively, Luzon may have been successfully invaded but was able to regain its independence later. Scholars are still in dispute over this.
There is information however in Chinese and Bruneian records that when Sulu rebelled against Majapahit when some Datus were freed from the grip of Empire and they sacked Brunei which was then a part of Hayam Wuruk's empire as stated in the Nagarakretagama, the state "Sulu" (Solot) split into three kingdoms then and afterwards a Datu from the successful sack of Brunei went to towadS the undercurrent towards Luzon and established a Barangay in Cavite near the polity of Selurong (Present day Manila) and thus allying Selurong with Sulu in an alliance against a powerful empire. Thus inspiring them to fight against said empire.
Nevertheless, Sulu and Selurong are still enriched and also exploited by the brief Majapahit occupation of their kingdoms. The martial prowess of the Filipino kingdoms were later proven when during the age of exploration, Filipinos (Some Lucoes) and others descended from the Bisaya or Visayans, were empoyed all across Southeast Asia and even elsewhere in key naval and military positions, this was due to the skills and expertise which was facilitated by incessant inter kingdom conflicts, trade and exchanges across the states in the islands of the archipelago which are also prone to natural disasters; frequent deaths and slavery due to war and natural disasters and frequent intermarriage and family branch outs tested with said wars and disasters pruned and refined the Filipino people then as a result that eventually Lucoes (Filipino) Generals and officers from humble and poor beginnings earned command of the Malaccan, Bruneian and Timorese navies were; Temegung Regimo de Raja was Chief General of Malacca under the Portuguese , Admiral Rajah Sulayman was head of the fleet of Brunei, Sapetu Diraja was commander of the Aceh (Sumatra Garrison) and Enrique a Kampapangan was a commander in Timor. A simple hypotheis; all are proof that: the Datus of, and the Rajahs, and Sultans, Wangs, Haris and Lakans and etc. of the Philippines were great military figures in the region, justifying the successful rebellion of these states from Imperial occupation.
Even though the exact dates and details of this battle remain in dispute, there are claims of the conquest of the area around Saludong (Majapahit term for Luzon and Manila) according to the text of the Nagarakretagama which claims that Saludong (Luzon) and Solot (Sulu) were parts of Majapahit. This claim may be mythical because a couple of years later, warriors from Sulu had successfully attacked Borney (Brunei) which was a Majapahit vassal (Although at this point, the seeds of Islam had already planted and their eventual rebellion to Majapahit was there but only gestating but at the point they were still a loyal Majapahit province but before hand the secretly Muslim Bruneians living under Hindu Majapahit rule sent Rajah Ahmad a person with a Muslim name but a Hindu honorific to attack and incorporate Selurong), and nevertheless the Sulus subsequently repulsed a Majapahit invasion force after they were once invaded by Majapahit, and because outside of the Nagarakretagama, there is no evidence among pre-Hispanic Philippine documents that Saludong or Sulu was ever enslaved by the Majapahit empire. In fact, this claim was only mentioned in passing in a lone eulogy poem to Maharajah Hayam Wuruk and was not really a part of statecraft. Furthermore, the earlier Laguna Copperplate Inscription mentioned that Dongdu (Kingdom of Tondo) had diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Medang, not with Majapahit.
Nevertheless, there may have been a battle for Manila that occurred during that time but it was likely a victory for Luzon's kingdoms considering that the Kingdom of Tondo had maintained its independence and was not enslaved under another ruler. Alternatively, Luzon may have been successfully invaded but was able to regain its independence later. Scholars are still in dispute over this.
There is information however in Chinese and Bruneian records that when Sulu rebelled against Majapahit when some Datus were freed from the grip of Empire and they sacked Brunei which was then a part of Hayam Wuruk's empire as stated in the Nagarakretagama, the state "Sulu" (Solot) split into three kingdoms then and afterwards a Datu from the successful sack of Brunei went to towadS the undercurrent towards Luzon and established a Barangay in Cavite near the polity of Selurong (Present day Manila) and thus allying Selurong with Sulu in an alliance against a powerful empire. Thus inspiring them to fight against said empire.
Nevertheless, Sulu and Selurong are still enriched and also exploited by the brief Majapahit occupation of their kingdoms. The martial prowess of the Filipino kingdoms were later proven when during the age of exploration, Filipinos (Some Lucoes) and others descended from the Bisaya or Visayans, were empoyed all across Southeast Asia and even elsewhere in key naval and military positions, this was due to the skills and expertise which was facilitated by incessant inter kingdom conflicts, trade and exchanges across the states in the islands of the archipelago which are also prone to natural disasters; frequent deaths and slavery due to war and natural disasters and frequent intermarriage and family branch outs tested with said wars and disasters pruned and refined the Filipino people then as a result that eventually Lucoes (Filipino) Generals and officers from humble and poor beginnings earned command of the Malaccan, Bruneian and Timorese navies were; Temegung Regimo de Raja was Chief General of Malacca under the Portuguese , Admiral Rajah Sulayman was head of the fleet of Brunei, Sapetu Diraja was commander of the Aceh (Sumatra Garrison) and Enrique a Kampapangan was a commander in Timor. A simple hypotheis; all are proof that: the Datus of, and the Rajahs, and Sultans, Wangs, Haris and Lakans and etc. of the Philippines were great military figures in the region, justifying the successful rebellion of these states from Imperial occupation.
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