Pre-colonial period (900 AD to 1535)[edit]

Main article: History of the Philippines (9001521)

Before the Western contact, the Philippine archipelago had its own rulers and
kingdoms, which were Malayan, Sinified , Indianized or Islamic.
Initial recorded history[edit]

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription: The oldest known legal document from
the Dynasty of Tondo.
During the period of the south Indian Pallava dynasty and the north Indian
Gupta Empire Indian culture spread to Southeast Asia and the Philippines
which led to the establishment of Indianized kingdoms.[42][43] The end of
Philippine prehistory is 900,[44] the date inscribed in the oldest Philippine
document found so far, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription. From the details
of the document, written in Kawi script, the bearer of a debt, Namwaran,
along with his children Lady Angkatan and Bukah, are cleared of a debt by
the ruler of Tondo. From the various Sanskrit terms and titles seen in the
document, the culture and society of Manila Bay was that of a HinduOld
Malay amalgamation, similar to the cultures of Java, Peninsular Malaysia and
Sumatra at the time. There are no other significant documents from this
period of pre-Hispanic Philippine society and culture until the Doctrina
Christiana of the late 16th century, written at the start of the Spanish period
in both native Baybayin script and Spanish. Other artifacts with Kawi script
and baybayin were found, such as an Ivory seal from Butuan dated to the
early 11th century[45] and the Calatagan pot with baybayin inscription, dated
to the 13th century.[46]
In the years leading up to 1000, there were already several maritime
societies existing in the islands but there was no unifying political state
encompassing the entire Philippine archipelago. Instead, the region was
dotted by numerous semi-autonomous barangays (settlements ranging in
size from villages to city-states) under the sovereignty of competing
thalassocracies ruled by datus, huangs, rajahs, sultans or lakans.[47] or by
upland agricultural societies ruled by "petty plutocrats". States such as the
Kingdom of Maynila, the Kingdom of Taytay in Palawan (mentioned by
Pigafetta to be where they resupplied when the remaining ships escaped
Cebu after Magellan was slain), the Chieftaincy of Coron Island ruled by fierce
warriors called Tagbanua as reported by Spanish missionaries mentioned by
Nilo S. Ocampo,[48] Namayan, the Dynasty of Tondo, the Sinitic huangdoms

of Ma-i and Pangasinan, the Kedatuan of Madja-as, the Indianized rajahnates

of Butuan and Cebu and the Muslim sultanates of Maguindanao and Sulu
existed alongside the highland societies of the Ifugao and Mangyan.[49][50]
[51][52] Some of these regions were part of the Malayan empires of Srivijaya,
Majapahit and Brunei.[53][54][55]
The Kingdom of Tondo[edit]
Main article: Kingdom of Tondo
Since at least the year 900, the thalassocracy centered in Manila Bay
flourished via an active trade with Chinese, Japanese, Malays, and various
other peoples in East Asia. Tondo thrived as the capital and the seat of power
of this ancient kingdom, which was led by kings under the title "Lakan" and
ruled a large part of what is now known as Luzon from or possibly before 900
AD to 1571. During its existence, it grew to become one of the most
prominent and wealthy kingdom states in pre-colonial Philippines due to
heavy trade and connections with several neighboring nations such as China
and Japan. In 900 AD, the lord-minister Jayadewa presented a document of
debt forgiveness to Lady Angkatan and her brother Bukah, the children of
Namwaran. This is described in the Philippine's oldest known document, the
Laguna Copperplate Inscription.[56]
The Huangdom of Pangasinan[edit]
Main article: Huangdom of Pangasinan
Pangasinan or Feng-chia-hsi-lan [57] in Chinese records, was a sovereign
Prehispanic Philippine state, notable for having traded with the Kingdom of
Ryukyu, Japan and was a tributary state to Ming China and specialized in the
export of Torquise shells, horses and silver. The Chinese records of this
kingdom began when the first tributary King (Huang in Chinese), Kamayin,
sent an envoy offering horses and silver to the Chinese Emperor. The state
occupies the current province of Pangasinan. It was locally known the Luyag
na Kaboloan (also spelled Caboloan), with Binalatongan as its capital, existed
in the fertile Agno River valley. Around the same period, the Srivijaya and
Majapahit empires arose in Indonesia that extended their influence to much
of the Malay Archipelago. Urduja, a legendary woman warrior, is believed to
have ruled in Pangasinan around the 14th century. The Luyag na Kaboloan
expanded the territory and influence of Pangasinan to what are now the
neighboring provinces of Zambales, La Union, Tarlac, Benguet, Nueva Ecija,
and Nueva Vizcaya. Pangasinan enjoyed full independence until the Spanish
conquest.
In the sixteenth-century Pangasinan was called the "Port of Japan" by the
Spanish. The locals wore native apparel typical of other maritime Southeast

Asian ethnic groups in addition to Japanese and Chinese silks. Even common
people were clad in Chinese and Japanese cotton garments. They also
blackened their teeth and were disgusted by the white teeth of foreigners,
which were likened to that of animals. Also, used porcelain jars typical of
Japanese and Chinese households. Japanese-style gunpowder weapons were
also encountered in naval battles in the area.[58] In exchange for these
goods, traders from all over Asia would come to trade primarily for gold and
slaves, but also for deerskins, civet and other local products. Other than a
notably more extensive trade network with Japan and China, they were
culturally similar to other Luzon groups to the south.
The Huangdom of Mai[edit]
Main article: Huangdom of Ma-i
Around 1225, the Country of Mai, a Sinified pre-Hispanic Philippine islandstate centered in Mindoro,[59] flourished as an entrepot, attracting traders
and shipping from the Kingdom of Ryukyu to the Yamato Empire of Japan.[60]
Chao Jukua, a customs inspector in Fukien province, China wrote the Zhufan
Zhi ("Description of the Barbarous Peoples"[61]), which described trade with
this pre-colonial Philippine state.[62]
The Kedatuan of Madja-as[edit]
Main article: Kedatuan of Madja-as

Left to right: [1] Images from the Boxer Codex illustrating an ancient
kadatuan or tumao (noble class) Visayan couple, [2] a royal couple of the
Visayans and [3] a Visayan princess.
During the 11th century several exiled datus of the collapsing empire of
Srivijaya[63] led by Datu Puti led a mass migration to the central islands of
the Philippines, fleeing from Rajah Makatunao of the island of Borneo. Upon
reaching the island of Panay and purchasing the island from Negrito chieftain
Marikudo, they established a confederation of polities and named it the
Confederation of Madja-as centered in Aklan and they settled the surrounding
islands of the Visayas. This confederation reached its peak under Datu
Padojinog. During his reign the confederations' hegemony extended over
most of the islands of Visayas. Its people consistently made piratical attacks
against Chinese imperial shipping.[64]

The Rajahnate of Cebu[edit]

Main article: Rajahnate of Cebu
The Rajahnate of Cebu was a classical Philippine state which used to exist on
Cebu island prior to the arrival of the Spanish. It was founded by Sri Lumay
otherwise known as Rajamuda Lumaya, a minor prince of the Chola dynasty
which happened to occupy Sumatra. He was sent by the maharajah to
establish a base for expeditionary forces to subdue the local kingdoms but he
rebelled and established his own independent Rajahnate instead. This
rajahnate warred against the 'magalos' (Slave traders) of Maguindanao and
had an alliance with the Butuan Rajahnate before it was weakened by the
insurrection of Datu (Lord) Lapulapu.[65]
The Rajahnate of Butuan[edit]
Main article: Rajahnate of Butuan
By year 1011 Rajah Sri Bata Shaja, the monarch of the Indianized Rajahnate
of Butuan, a maritime-state famous for its goldwork[66] sent a trade envoy
under ambassador Likan-shieh to the Chinese Imperial Court demanding
equal diplomatic status with other states.[67] The request being approved, it
opened up direct commercial links with the Rajahnate of Butuan and the
Chinese Empire thereby diminishing the monopoly on Chinese trade
previously enjoyed by their rivals the Dynasty of Tondo and the Champa
civilization.[68] Evidence of the existence of this rajahnate is given by the
Butuan Silver Paleograph.[69]

A golden statuette of the Hindu-Buddhist goddess "Kinari" found in an

archeological dig in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur.
The Sultanate of Lanao[edit]
Main article: Confederation of sultanates in Lanao
The Sultanates of Lanao in Mindanao, Philippines were founded in the 16th
century through the influence of Shariff Kabungsuan, who was enthroned as
first Sultan of Maguindanao in 1520. The Maranaos of Lanao were acquainted
with the sultanate system when Islam was introduced to the area by Muslim
missionaries and traders from the Middle East, Indian and Malay regions who
propagated Islam to Sulu and Maguindanao. Unlike in Sulu and Maguindanao,
the Sultanate system in Lanao was uniquely decentralized. The area was
divided into Four Principalities of Lanao or the Pat a Pangampong a Ranao
which are composed of a number of royal houses (Sapolo ago Nem a
Panoroganan or The Sixteen (16) Royal Houses) with specific territorial

jurisdictions within mainland Mindanao. This decentralized structure of royal

power in Lanao was adopted by the founders, and maintained up to the
present day, in recognition of the shared power and prestige of the ruling
clans in the area, emphasizing the values of unity of the nation (kaiisaisa o
bangsa), patronage (kaseselai) and fraternity (kapapagaria)