Asian Pearl
A Filipino AAR
Part VII
Paul I dies, Juann I takes power
Paul died in 1550, he had extended the power of his nation greatly by colonizing and exploring the pacific, his son Juann became king after him. Juann thought as his father had done, he also had a calm and modest personality but was not at all insecure about being king; he sat on the throne with big confidence and dignity. He would for the coming years continue his fathers colonization and exploration, extending the Philippines borders even further.
The first military campaign of the Philippines
In the Indonesian archipelago lies a small kingdom called “Bali”. This one-province minor has made a lot of noise for being so small; recently the ruler of Bali sent Juann I a message, upon receiving the message he ripped its pages and tossed it on the fire. Apparently the sultan of Bali considered Juann and all the Filipinos infidels and wished them to be crushed by the ocean waves. The nobles and court where outraged over Bali’s lack of respect, but they where protected by Malacca and Brunei. But, the sultan did never expected his two protectors to go to war with each other, in 1558 the first war of Malaccan aggression started. The Bali’s found themselves being completely defenceless, desperately they sent a apology to Juann I. Even though Juann, as any good Christian would, forgave them in his heart, he still considered it necessary to expend his borders and rid the world of the evil sultan. And so the war started.
It was a short war, the once so cocky Bali lay crushed and their full annexation was demanded. Missionaries eagerly went to the newly extended areas of the Philippines to spread the gospel, it took only 5 years for the population to see the light, it’s rumoured that even the former sultan accepted Christ. It became a great relief for the Bali population since just 13 years earlier the Sultan had unsuccessfully tried to forced his people to convert to Islam. Now through peaceful missionary work the people finally found God.
The Second Military Campaign
Several years after the conquest of Bali a new rouge state made too much noise; Makassar. This small Muslim trading nation had for a long time owned a Centre of Trade, and because of this they experience a strong immigration of Filipino merchants and their families. In many areas there only lived Filipinos, and by 1571 a majority in their capital where Filipinos, or at least Christians. This made the Makassarian sultan furious and ordered that all Filipinos to be moved by force and that all churches should be razed. Juann I could not accept his people being treated this way and ordered an attack on the nation on Makassar.
The strong fortress of Makassar was hard to break through but after a persistent siege the city finally surrendered. All Filipinos where saved and most churches. As usual missionaries came and managed to convert the province within a few years, the process was enhanced by the already existing Christian community.
Butterfly Effect
The integration of Makassar into our realm was not significant in itself but made a huge in-direct difference. Soon all of the Philippines traded through that trade centre; from Taiwan in the north to Java in the south. Makassar now rivalled Malacca, and with the Malaccan defeat against the Chinese in 1577 The Philippines became the largest trading nation in south-east Asia. Brunei; Malacca’s friend, attacked us in 1579, probably because they saw that their position had now gotten a whole lot worse. But their ability to view the situation was not matched by their ability to view the Philippine army, they didn’t have a chance against our western technology and where crushed. Two provinces where gained from the war that ended in 1580.
The Saint In Makassar
In Makassar there lived a peaceful monk, his name was John of Makassar. When the sultan choose to by force move all filipinos and destroy all churches he and many others saw thier lives ruined. But before him appeared an angel, telling him to lead the christians from his church and the neighborhood around it to a nearby cave where they would be for that night. John did so, he did not question the angels message. They held each other warm throughout the night, and John held a glorius teaching about Jesus. When they returned to Makassar they saw that thier church along with the houses next to it had been burnt to the ground. It was the sultan that had done it! But all survived, and John was now considered a Saint. After his death the Pope declared Johan of Makassar to be a Saint.
//Note: I realize that this update was very 'pro-christian'. I'm sorry if anyone feels upset about that, but that's just how the story goes
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Thank you for reading
Look out for the next update.