In traversing and up-streaming the saga of the Bangsamoro encounters against the Spanish colonial expansion in Mindanao and Sulu, as elsewhere in the Philippines, it is important to remember two common elements which provided Spanish pretext for intervention. The first was the natural consequence of the reconquista—pacification. This was often followed by a process of reduccion by which the Spanish missionaries sought to convert some of the native population into Christianity. The idea was to bring them under civil administration as well as under the Catholic Church.
The conduct of Spain in dealing with the Magindanao (Maguindanao) and Sulu Sultans under treaty relations on the pretext of policy of attraction was actually part of the pacification strategy which is part of the topics in the succeeding slides. These treaties, were mostly defensive-offensive, alliance, political, commercial and military for these related to peaceful co-existence, commerce, armistice, and settlement of territorial disputes and delimitation of boundaries between Magindanaw (Maguindanao) and Filipinas, as well as commercial activities with Great Britain (Abdulhaq, 2011: p. 50).
Nua’ain Bin Abdulhaq (2011). Bangsamoro Dossier: Historical notes on the status of the Bangsamoro Homeland under Moro treaties with foreign powers. Agency of Youth Affairs-MILF.