S O O L O O. 353 



history of Sooloo that has made any of the reigns of the sultans memo- 

 rable, although fifteen have since ascended the throne. 



Sooloo has from all the accounts very much changed in its character 

 as well as population since the arrival of the Spaniards, and the esta- 

 blishment of their authority in the Philippines. Before that event, some 

 accounts state that the trade with the Chinese was of great extent, and 

 that from four to five hundred junks arrived annually from Cambojia, 

 with which Sooloo principally traded. At that time the population is 

 said to have equalled in density that of the thickly-settled parts of China. 



The government has also undergone a change; for the sultan, who 

 among other Malay races is usually despotic, is here a mere cipher, 

 and the government has become an oligarchy. This change has 

 probably been brought about by the increase of the privileged class of 

 datus, all of whom were entitled to a seat in the Ruma Bechara until 

 about the year 1810, when the great inconvenience of so large a 

 council was felt, and it became impossible to control it without great 

 difficulty and trouble on the part of the sultan. The Ruma Bechara 

 was then reduced until it contained but six of the principal datus, who 

 assumed the power of controlling the state. The Ruma Bechara, how- 

 ever, in consequence of the complaints of many powerful datus, was 

 enlarged ; but the more powerful, and those who have the largest 

 numerical force of slaves, still rule over its deliberations. The whole 

 power, within the last thirty years, has been usurped by one or two 

 datus, who now have monopolized the little foreign trade that comes to 

 these islands. The sultan has the right to appoint his successor, and 

 generally names him while living. In default of this, the choice 

 devolves upon the Ruma Bechara, who elect by a majority. 



From a more frequent intercourse with Europeans and the discovery 

 of new routes through these seas, the opportunities of committing 

 depredations have become less frequent, and the fear of detection 

 greater. By this latter motive they are more swayed than by any 

 thing else, and if the Sooloos have ever been bold and daring robbers 

 on the high seas, they have very much changed. 



Many statements have been made and published relative to the 

 piracies committed in these seas, which in some cases exceed, and in 

 others fall short, of the reality. Most of the piratical establishments are 

 under the rule, or sail under the auspices of the Sultan and Ruma 

 Bechara of Sooloo, who are more or less intimately connected with 

 them. The share of the booty that belongs to the Sultan and Ruma 

 Bechara is twenty-five per cent, on all captures, whilst the datus 

 receive a high price for the advance they make of guns and powder, 

 and for the services of their slaves. 



vol. v. 2 E 2 45 



