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Stratton Photo, et al.

[The Moros of the Philippines photo archive.]

Jolo, Manila, Mindanao, and other Philippines locales, ca. 1900–1913. 31 unused real photo postcards, 11 unused photomechanical postcards, most colored (approx. 3.5” x 5.5”). Many images captioned in the negative, a few numbered in the negative. CONDITION: Very good, occasional staining along margins, many corners stubbed, creasing to one image.

An extensive and sympathetic archive of over forty photos and postcards of the Moro people taken during the era of the Moro Rebellion.

The Moros—Muslim Filipinos who inhabit the southern part of the Philippines—were at the center of the Moro Rebellion (1901–13) which took place following the Philippine-American War (1899– 1902). Many photos in this lot evoke the ongoing conflict and Moro resistance, including individual and group portraits of Moro warriors holding weapons; quarters of military troops (“Baguio Quarters”); sparring scenes involving Moro warriors holding shields and lances; Morro weapons (including a Lanca, Campilan, and Kris); “Moro Spearman”; Moro police; and a “War Dance.” Pictured are a range of different Moro people, providing a sense of Moro culture and custom: “Bagobo men”; a “Mountain Moro”; “Benguet Igorots at the Market”; “Bagobo From Dava[?]”; “Followers of Panglima Hasan”; “Bagobos of Mindanao”; and “Ifugao Wedding Costume.” Other images appear to show Moro leaders and prominent Moro families: “Sultan of Magindanao with his retinue,” “Datus and headmen,” etc. Among the most exceptional shots are portraits of individual Moros, and a scene of a raft with a flag carrying Moro women, children, and men.

Other images capture everyday Moro life showing ox-drawn carts; market scenes; evocative waterside scenes; the bathing of an ox; supply wagons and elephants crossing a river; Moro fishermen at work; and a “Filipino Ferry.” Various Moro women are pictured, including a “Moro Beauty,” several (apparent) child wives, and a named Moro slave. Buildings pictured include “Corral Malabang” and an “Old Spanish Block House and Pigot” in Jolo. Color postcards show a native family in Manila; Moro women; a Moro house on a hemp plantation; Bagobo Chief and family; Datto Mandi and family in Zamboanga, and so forth.

The Moro Rebellion involved sporadic confrontations between the Moros and U.S. soldiers who were overseeing the transition from Spanish to U.S. rule. Believing that once the Philippines was liberated from the Spanish they would be self-governing, the Moros resisted the U.S. takeover of the Philippines in 1899, mainly fighting on the island of Mindanao and in the the Sulu Archipelago. In 1902, President Roosevelt declared victory in the Philippine-American War, but the peace treaty did not apply to the Moros who continued fighting against U.S. forces. Less than a year later, the Roosevelt administration created the Moro Province and installed provincial military governor Leonard Wood, who was not able to pacify the Moros. Wood was then replaced by Tasker Bliss who served as military governor from 1903–09—an era of relative peace. John Pershing brought an end to the Moro Rebellion when he served as the final military governor from 1909–13 and disarmed the Moros.

REFERENCES: The Moro Rebellion at theodorerooseveltcenter.org

Item #7198

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