On the outskirts of the town lay various kuta belonging to subordinate datus, which defended the approaches to the town. The most famous of these kuta was Daniel's Fort, the best stronghold of Sulu. On the site of this fort was built in 1878 the fort or redoubt of Alfonso XII, which was lately replaced by the present headquarters building of the military post of Jolo. Another strong fort was built at the foot of the hills just above the head of the delta above described; it defended the inland approach to the town. This was Panglima Arabi's kuta, on the site of which Fort Asturias was erected. Another kuta was located on Point Baylam.

The principal part of the town was formerly built over the shoal and beach at the head of the bay. Extensive rows of buildings stretched out into the roadstead and in front of the buildings now occupied as the clubhouse and military hospital. The present "Chinese pier" is constructed on the same plan. This extensive row of houses and shops begins at the lower point of the Tulay delta and stretches straight out into the sea. The bay is very shallow here and appears to be fairly well protected from severe storms. A variety of fish called tulay, after which the Moro town of Tulay is named, is caught in the bay. A swamp bounds the town on the south and west, affording it considerable protection from assault. However, it is open to attack from the sea and from the east. The land on the east is high and affords the only desirable site for residences. Here the strongest forts and defenses were erected.

The Spaniards built the central part of Jolo first. They raised it considerably above sea level by extensive fillings, and surrounded it by a loop-holed wall, 8 feet high and 1 1/2 feet thick, for protection from Moro assaults. The new town was beautifully laid out with broad, clean streets lined with double rows of arbol de fuego (fire trees), ylang-ylang, [11] acacia, and other varieties of trees, some of which are large and magnificent. Three parks, each one block in size, added considerable picturesqueness to the place. Substantial quarters were built for the officers, all houses were painted white or whitewashed, and none of them had the nipa roofs so common in the Archipelago. Business places, storehouses, a large market place, a church, a theater, two schoolhouses, and a hospital were erected and a public water supply provided. A stone pier was built extending 120 meters into the sea, and provided with a light-house at its outer end.

The town wall had five gates, two of which lay on the northwest or sea front, one at the foot of the pier, and the other close to it. Through the latter gate cargo was admitted from small boats, which can always come up to this point at high water. The three other gates lay on the land side, one at the south end of the town toward Tulay, another at the opposite extremity facing Busbus, and a third one at the southern end of Calle [12] Buyon, directly facing San Remondo. This last is the only gate of the three kept open at present and is the only entrance into the town from the land side. A tower called Torre de la Farola surmounts the gate. Near the Busbus gate and forming the northeast angle of the town was the fort or redoubt termed Alfonso XII. It was built on a prominent eminence and commanded an extensive view of the bay, the town, and the surrounding country.

In the immediate vicinity lay the Cuartel España, which was a large and substantial building occupying the northern extremity of the town, facing the bay on the side of Busbus. At the extreme end of the wall beyond the barracks was the tower or blockhouse called Torre Norte. Another similar tower at the south gate was termed Torre Sur. At the intersection of the south wall and the beach line was a strong building called Cuartel Defensivo de las Victorias. The block lying diagonally between this cuartel and the market had eight buildings which were known as Casas de la Colonia para Deportados.

Two roads and two bridges connected the south and southeast gates with San Remondo. The continuation of these roads formed the two main streets of this part of the town. San Remondo has six small town blocks, nearly all of which are on reclaimed swamp land. The buildings here are mere nipa huts and the streets are muddy and narrow, unlike those of the walled town. Back of the town lies a large coconut grove which extends to Blockhouse No. 2 on one side and Asturias on the other. A straight and well laid out road directly connects these two latter points and marks the southern limit of the town.

A good road runs outside the wall connecting Busbus and Tulay. Later usage has applied the term Tulay to all parts of the town lying west of Suba' Bawang. Formerly the name Tulay was applied only to that part lying west of Suba' Ligayan, while the intermediate section was known as Pueblo nuevo. The bridge across the mouth of Suba' Bawang was termed puente del sultan. On the other side of the bridge this street extends through Pueblo nuevo and along the central strip of u-laya, or the delta, to Fort Asturias, thus separating the waters of Suba' Bawang from Suba' Ligayan. Midway between Tulay and Asturias stands an obelisk-like monument erected by General Arolas and bearing the date 1892. Further fillings in Tulay have provided for several streets, the chief one of which is the direct street running to the Chinese pier and then on to the blockhouse of the playa [13] and the Ligayan River. A large bridge crosses this river to Tulay proper. The road ends at the beach a little beyond the bridge. In the central plaza at Tulay stands a monument erected by General Arolas in 1891 in memory of the three renowned conquerors of Jolo. On one side the monument bears the inscription "A la gloria de los que con su esfuerzo hicieron esta tierra Española;" the second side bears the inscription "Corcuera, 17 de Abril de 1638;" the third side, "Urbistondo, 28 de Febrero de 1851;" the fourth side, "Malcampo, 29 de Febrero de 1876." A straight road about three-fourths of a mile long called the Asturias Road directly connects Asturias with the main entrance of the walled town. Another road starts at this latter point and running along the right bank of Tubig Hasa'an reaches the cemetery on the opposite side of Blockhouse No. 2. The old bridge connecting a branch of this road with the one running from Asturias to Blockhouse No. 2 was washed away by a severe freshet in 1904, thus breaking what had formerly been a complete circle of roads around the town.

Busbus is wholly occupied by Moros. Its houses are dilapidated nipa huts built on piles over the water. Back of the town is a marsh which extends a little way toward the base of the hills. The water from the marsh escapes into the bay by two rivulets, the first of which runs through the settlement and is known as Tubig Uhang; the other is artificial, forms the outer limit of the town, and is called Buyung Canal. Persons convicted of capital crimes in the days of the independent sultanate were tied to a tree at this place and there their bodies were chopped to pieces; hence the name "Busbus" which means to "chop up" or "dress wood."

TRADE

Jolo lies about 4 miles from the point of intersection of latitude 6° north and longitude 121° east. It is about 540 nautical miles due south from Manila and 81 nautical miles distant from Zamboanga. The harbor is deep and free from currents. The bay is well protected on the north by the Islands of Pangasinan and Marongas and is safe from all storms except those from the northwest.

Sulu occupies the most nearly central position of any island in eastern Malaysia. It lies between Mindanao on the east and Borneo on the west, and separates the Sulu Sea from the Celebes Sea. The commercial advantages of this position are unique. To the north lie the Bisayas, Palawan, Luzon, Formosa, China, and Japan; to the east Mindanao and Basilan; to the south, the Moluccas, Celebes, and Java; to the west, Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula. Besides, the Sulus are natural-born sailors, and their famous pearl industry has prompted them to trade since time immemorial. Their boats brought silk, amber, silver, scented woods, and porcelain from China and Japan; gold dust, wax, dyes, saltpeter, slaves, and food stuffs from Luzon, the Bisayas, and Mindanao; gunpowder, cannon, brass, copper, iron, rubies, and diamonds from Malacca and Bruney; [14] pepper and spices from Java, the Moluccas, and Celebes. Chinese merchants traded with Sulu long before the arrival of Legaspi, and while Manila and Cebu were still small and insignificant settlements Jolo had reached the proportions of a city and was, without exception, the richest and foremost settlement in the Philippine Islands. Jolo, with the exception of Bruney, had no rival in northeast Malaysia prior to the seventeenth century.

Such commercial importance naturally attracted the attention of the early Spanish Governors-General and was one of the causes which led to the early invasion of Sulu. The long period of warfare which followed this invasion retarded the progress of Jolo and reduced its trade. Again, the rise of Spanish commerce in the north tended to restrict the trade of Jolo. The growth of Manila, Cebu, and Iloilo naturally diverted the commerce of Luzon and the Bisayas and the north coast of Mindanao to those cities. The later commercial decline of Jolo was probably brought about more in this way than as a result of actual clash of arms. Jolo, however, remained an important port and a transshipping station to Mindanao until a late date.