The
Kingdom of Seludong or
Saludung, which after colonization became
Manila, capital of the
Philippines, was one of three major city-states that dominated the area around the upper portion of the Pasig River before the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 1500s.
The early inhabitants of the present-day Manila engaged in trade relations with its Asian neighbors as well as with the Hindu empires of
Java and
Sumatra as confirmed by archaeological findings. Trade ties between
China became extensive by the
10th century, while contacts with Arabs reached its peak in the
12th century.
[. Accessed September 08, 2008.]During the reign of
Sultan Bolkiah (1485-1521) the Kingdom of Brunei decided to break the Tondo's monopoly in the China trade by attacking Tondo and establishing the city state of
Seludong as a Bruneian satellite. This is narrated through
Tausug and
Malay royal histories, where the names
Seludong,
Saludong or
Selurong are used to denote Manila prior to colonization.
Because of the presence of plants called "
nila" (
Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea), this new city was eventually named "May-nila," which transliterates as "There is nila (here)". Maynila is also sometimes called
Maynilad because
nila is popularly referred to as
nilad by people unfamiliar with the plant, a correction asserted by historians
Ambeth Ocampo and
Carmen Guerrero Nakpil.
In the mid-16th century, the areas of present-day Manila were sultanates and they were governed by Muslim rajahs.
Rajah Sulayman and
Rajah Matanda ruled the Muslim communities south of the
Pasig River, including the Kingdom of Maynila, while
Rajah Lakandula ruled the
Kingdom of Tondo north of the river. These settlements held ties with the sultanates of
Brunei,
Sulu, and
Ternate in present-day
Cavite.
See also
