SULU, sST-157i', or Jou"). The capital of the island and archipelago of the same name in the Philippines, situated on the northwest coast of the island of Sulu, 580 miles almost due south of Manila, and 99 miles southwest of Zambo anga, Mindanao (Map: Philippine islands, F 13). The old town, destroyed during the Span ish occupation of 1876-7S, was the residence of the sultans from the time of the traditional first leader, Carib, or Charib, who is reported to have conic from Mecca during the latter part of the seventeenth century. The new town, laid out on the hill by the Spaniards at the time of their permanent occupation. is well constructed and fortified. The harbor is provided with a long stone pier and a lighthouse, and the town is an important shipping place. Since the protocol of 1877 between England and the German Em pire and Spain, it has been a free port. The population is hut a few thousand.
SULU (Sp. Jou5) ISLANDS, or SOOLOO ISLANDS. The southernmost group of the Phil ippine Islands. It extends between the Sulu and Celebes Seas from the western ex tremity of Mindanao southwestward to the northeastern extremity of Borneo (Map: Philip pine Islands, F 13). Its combined area, exclud ing the Basilan group. which properly to - , Mindanao and forms a separate province, is estimated at 1029 square miles. The archipelago is arranged in two main pqrallel chains, and consists of several minor groups, each centred around a large island. Of the latter the two largest are Sulu Island in the north and Tawi Tawi in the south, whose areas, respectively, are 3S0 and 187 square miles. The number of islands counted is ISS. The larger islands are of vol canic formation, and consist of mountains from 1000 to 3000 feet high, with several extinct vol canoes. The mountains are generally surrounded by a coast zone of coral deposits, and most of the smaller islands are wholly of coral formation and very low, though all are built on the summits of a subterranean mountain range. The climate, being more tempered by the sea, is cooler and more equable than that of Mindanao. The soil, a mixture of volcanic and coral detritus, is ex tremely fertile, and the vegetation is luxuriant. The flora is more distinctly related to that of the Philippines, especially _Mindanao. than to the Borneo flora; the forests produce teak and other valuable timbers, and coeoanut and nipa palms are abundant.
Considerable areas in Sulu Island are cleared and cultivated, the chief crop being rice, while coffee, cacao, corn, hemp, cotton, and indigo are also raised. The industries include weaving for domestic use, the manufacture of cordage and of knives and hatchets, and pearl and shell fish ing, the last being probably the most impor tant. Trade is almost wholly in the hands of
Chinese merchants, and consists chiefly in the exportation of pearl shell to Singapore and Manila and the importation of manufactured goods. The dominant race among the inhabitants are the Moros, a tribe of Mohammedan Malays, who had invaded and conquered the islands be fore the arrival of the Europeans. They prac tice polygamy and a mild form of slavery, which the United States Government has agreed not to abolish, though it has insisted that hereafter no person shall be enslaved. The people are gov erned directly by local chieftains called datos, who are more or less nominally subject to the Sultan of Sulu. The latter was confirmed in his title and authority by the United States Gov ernment. The population of the archipelago is estimated at 22,630. The capital is Sulu (q.v.).
When the Sulu Archipelago was visited by Magellan in 1521 it was already occupied by the Toros, and formed, together with its posses sions in North Borneo, an independent State. The Toros showed a warlike and independent spirit, and remained almost up to the present time among the most formidable pirates in the Malay Archipelago. Spain claimed sovereignty over the islands and their dependencies, but did not exercise it beyond sending occasional punitive expeditions against the pirates, and her sov ereignty was disputed by England and Germany. By 1875. however, Spain had gradually gained a foothold and begun to assume actual control. In 1877 traffic was declared free in the archi pelago, and Spain abandoned her claim to North Borneo in favor of England. Finally in 1885 England and Germany formally recognized Span ish sovereignty in the islands. It had already been acknowledged by the Sultan in 1878. With the Philippine islands the Sulu Archipelago passed into the possession of the United States in 1S98. In December, 1S99, a treaty was defi nitely concluded between the Sultan and the United States by which American sovereignty over the islands was recognized. The rights and dignities of the Sultan were acknowledged and an annual stipend was conferred upon him. The Itloros were guaranteed immunity in the practice of their religion. Toward the end of 1903 hos tilities broke out between the Moro chiefs and the United States forces. The latter, under the command of General Leonard Wood, inflicted a severe defeat on the enemy in the last days of November.