From Four Nodes of History: The Human Rights Challenge in the Philippine Security Sector to see the conflict between their captors (the Spaniards) and the “Moros” as a protective act of their captors. They then became willing to help defend the Spaniards. 6. Who was Sultan Kudarat and how did he bring peace to the Moro areas of Sulu and Mindanao? What was his legacy to the traditions of the Philippine military? The Muslim resistance found an able leader in Sultan Kudarat (Qudratullah Katchil Sultan, 1619-1671). Kudarat grew up at a time when Moro wars were being waged in Luzon and the Visayas. He became the Sultan of Maguindanao in 1619. Prior to the ascendancy of Sultan Kudarat, the Maguindanao Sultanate had already been launching retaliatory attacks against Spanish strongholds. Battle-ready: Warriors from Sulu in combat stance. (c) Public domain 5. What were the Moro Wars? The Moro Wars were basically wars to defend the Moro lands from the invasion of foreign powers, and can generally be divided into two historical periods: the Spanish colonial period (1521-1898) and the American colonial period (1898-1946). 16 Sultan Kudarat started his reign by trying to find a peaceful settlement with Spanish forces. He saw an opportunity for peace in the light of the war for colonial possessions between the Dutch and British on one hand, and the Spanish and Portuguese on the other hand. Banking on this situation, he first secured a peace treaty with the Dutch (who were attacking and displacing Portugal for control of Indonesia) and then negotiated an assurance with the Spaniards. But when Spanish authorities confiscated the gold of Maguindanao traders in Manila, Sultan Kudarat went on the warpath.