Human slavery, circa 1892

When Fr. Saturnino C. Urios, SJ, arrived in Davao on 15 September 1892 as its new local superior, many of the areas that were largely converted to Christianity continued to embrace their animist practices. Among the Bagobos, despite the stern warnings from the colonial authorities against doing it, the issue of human slavery, chiefly practiced by the Moros of Davao Gulf, persisted. Worse, in remote forest settlements, human sacrifice among the Bagobos, though scarcely reported, continued to persevere.

Three weeks into his visits of the missions south of Davao town, Father Urios wrote a comprehensive letter dated 24 October 1892 that was addressed to the Mission Superior in Manila:

“The whole region of Davao is so steeped in slavery, that it breaks one’s heart to see how the poor pagans are being maltreated. All the old and the new Christians of Davao and the reductions keep slaves, some treating them well, others badly. Some have just bought them, oe encounters slaves in the farms, in the houses and everywhere… “One will hardly encounter any enslaved Bagobo, Guianga or Bilaan from the island of Balut, while on the other hand the Moros enslave even their fellows; they also buy the slaves and are even the principal perpetrators in this hateful treatment of human beings. At any time one can ask for slaves, male or female from the Moros, especially from those who live near the rivers where in nearby locations there are pagan tribes to be found. The Moros will provide them, and those who order them will decide in what condition the victim has to be. If it is a girl, she has to be nicely looking; if a man, he should be strong and of well-proportioned stature.”

In the closing decades of Spanish rule, the Davao Gulf remained one of the frontier regions where colonial authority was weak and where longstanding maritime traditions continued to shape political and economic life. For centuries the gulf had been linked to the regional trading networks of Sulu, whose coastal villages engaged in commerce, seafaring, and at times raiding expeditions that captured slaves from the coastal and upland populations of eastern Mindanao. These captives, often from indigenous groups, were absorbed into a system of slavery that sustained labor demands in the maritime societies of the Sulu zone. In the late nineteenth century, however, Spanish missionaries in the gulf began confronting this system directly and became among the most determined actors trying to reduce the incidence of slavery in the region.

The return of the Jesuits to Mindanao marked a major turning point in missionary activity in the southern Philippines. They gradually extended their influence along the eastern coast of Mindanao and around the shores of the gulf of Davao. They established mission stations that served both religious and protective purposes. From these outposts, the clergy ventured into the interior, building relationships with upland communities that had long suffered from coastal raids.

Slave raiding had been embedded in the economic structure of the maritime world of Mindanao for generations. In the societies connected to the Sulu Sultanate, slaves were an essential labor force used for agriculture, pearl diving, domestic service, and maritime expeditions. Captives also functioned as commodities within a wider regional trade network. By exchanging slaves for firearms, textiles, metal goods, and food supplies, Moro traders and datus strengthened both their economic standing and their political power. Control over large numbers of dependents, including slaves, enhanced the prestige and authority of local chiefs.

For the upland and coastal populations of the Davao Gulf, however, these raids brought repeated devastation. Villages were attacked, families were separated, and entire communities were forced to abandon their homes to escape capture. Jesuit missionaries encountered these realities firsthand as they traveled through the region, and their writings frequently described the fear that raids instilled among indigenous populations.