Old Jolo and Zamboanga: 1268–1945 (Academica Filipina +)

Old Jolo and Zamboanga, 1268–1945 is an ethnohistory of two of the most misunderstood sites in the Philippines, exploring the ethnic origins, languages, cultures, beliefs, and traditions that have shaped the people of this region since precolonial times. It narrates the conflicts between the colonizers and the natives, and how Jolo and Zamboanga managed to remain the Sama core of the archipelago even through years of conquest, rebellion, cultural assimilation, and world war.Mindanawon scholar Mark Francis Francisco weaves together a tale of these two vital cities from primary documents and accounts as well as perspectives from renowned historians and scholars, both local and foreign. With a multidisciplinary approach, Old Jolo and Zamboanga, 1268–1945 endeavors to widen the scope of scholarship about the southern Philippines and present thorough diverse accounts of the realities that exist within this cultural matrix, particularly in the Moro lands.In laying out the key roles these two centers have played in the archipelago and in Southeast Asia, Old Jolo and Zamboanga, 1268–1945 clearly demonstrates to modern readers that the history of Mindanao is the history of the Philippines.Mark Francis Francisco has written a valuable historical study of Jolo and Zamboanga, two connected spaces that are often neglected in the scholarly literature of the Philippines and, more broadly, island Southeast Asia. Old Jolo and Zamboanga, 1268–1945 centers cultural hybridization and regional exchange, demonstrating in vivid detail how we can think around and beyond colonial narratives by tending to local actors whose identities and affinities complicate standard historicalbinaries. The book is a welcome addition to the growing literature on the poly-cultural peoples and places of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago.— Oliver Charbonneau, University of GlasgowWonderful achievement to help advance Mindanawon literature, especially in the fields of history, anthropology, and church history. It is such a good model for doing local history, not just focused on one particular region, but relating two regions as one entity that somehow interface with one another and which—for better or worse—have influenced each other’s historical timeline. The extent of this work being truly multi-disciplinary given the anthropological-ethnographic data, rich historical information, aspects of philosophy, theology, linguistics, and culture studies. The identification of key individuals and personalities among those who contributed to how history would unfold in this region, from the colonizers to the sultans, from the princesses to the guerrilla leaders, to groups and communities who need to be recognized, e.g., Bud Dajo men, women,and children, is excellent.— Bro. Carlito M. Gaspar, CSSR, Mindanawon socio-anthropologist, theologian, interfaith scholar, missionary, artist, and peace advocate Read more