The Moro Legacy His early efforts in uniting the Muslims into a cohesive force against the Spaniards started in Maguindanao, where he first settled factional disputes in the Pulangi area. As a result, he was able to consolidate his hold on the lands controlled by the Sultanate that included Maguindanao, the coastal areas of present-day Sultan Kudarat, parts of South Cotabato, Saranggani, parts of Lanao, Davao del Sur, Oriental, and the eastern part of Zamboanga. Sultan Kudarat had vision and exceptional skills in diplomacy and organization which he used to strengthen the resistance. These were skills that had to take into consideration existing sultan and datu rivalries. He was able to get the trust and respect among the major resistance leaders that emerged in the Moro struggle. His resistance army was composed of independent armed forces raised and led by clan leaders. In 1632 Kudarat married the daughter of Sultan Mawallil Wasit of Sulu (Rajah Bongsu, 1600-1640). This forged a strong bond between the Sultanate of Maguindanao and the powerful Sultanate of Sulu. Wasit, a royal member of the Sultanate of Brunei, became the de facto Sultan of Sulu because of his marriage to the daughter of the former Sulu Sultan. Wasit was himself an able commander with a string of military victories. He had brought with him a staff led by the able inter-datu organizer Acheh, who became his right-hand man. This alliance with Sultan Kudarat produced an army with a contingent of 1,500 warriors that concentrated their operations against Spanish forces in Dapitan, Leyte and Bohol. Among Wasit’s previous military achievements as Sultan of Sulu were the following: • In 1627, Wasit led 2,000 Tausug warriors which attacked and completely destroyed Spanish ship yards in Camarines Sur, crippling their ability to 17