On May 23, 1578, Spanish Governor General Francisco de Sande ordered an expedition to Sulu and Maguindanao with the intent of making them vassals and checking the spread of Islam in the area through the preaching of Christianity. Led by Captain Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa, veteran of the war with Brunei which caused the fall of the Bruneian capital a month earlier, the Spanish managed to establish a foothold in Jolo by June 1578.
To prevent capture, Sulu Sultan Muhammad ul-Halim, identified in other sources as Rajah Ilo (Iro), decided to pay them a tribute of pearls and gold. Sande would later report how the Sulu sultan did not only have holdings in Brunei, he was also related to the Brunei Sultan Saiful Rizal (Seif-ur Rijal) by marriage, the latter's sister being married to Rajah Ilo.
Figueroa, however, failed to make progress in the exploration and conquest of Maguindanao. A later expedition from March to May 1579, this time under Captain Gabriel de Rivera, was more successful in charting the Pulangi area, but only made contact with a number of Maranao and Basilan datus. The Maguindanao sultan, known as Datu Dimasankay, apparently avoided by all means to establish first contact with the Spanish as he retreated further inland. It was reported that Rajah Ilo was also nowhere to be found, transferring with some 300 people to Borneo as Sulu supposedly suffered famine.
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