Bonifacio's Tondo : The Cradle of the Philippine Revolution

TONDO,the birthplace of Bonifacio is located north of the walled city of Manila (Intramuros).A legal document now known as the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI) ca.900 A.D gives its ancient name TUNDUN .Its name originated from the Sanskrit TUNDA meaning"beak,snout,trunck"
(Patanne. citing Zoelmulder. 1996:118).Postma belived that it "described the configuration of the Pasig River's mouth on the north side which is taken over by a jutting position of the sand that stick out of the bay.." ( ibid.)

When the Spanish conquistadores Martin de Goiti(1570) and Miguel Lopez de Legazpi(1571) reached Manila,they heard about Tondo then ruled by Lakan Dula.The rulers of Manilaand Tondo were Muslims and were related with the Sultan of Borneo(Majul 2009:79) and descendants of the rulers of the Madjapajit Empire.( Alip 1972:72 ; see genealogy in Henson 1965: 204-206)

The extent of Lakandula's Kindom of TUNDOK "included not only the present districts of Tondo,San Nicolas and Binondo ,but also regions to the north probably as far as Pampanga".
( Alip 1972:12 ).In Henson's research (1965: 4th Rev.Ed.:7-10), the original Pampanga comprised Pampanga,Bataan,Nueva Ecija,Tarlac,portions of Bulacan,Pangasinan and Zambales.

Filipinos proved to be not passive subjects of Spain.Sporiadic revolts erupted in various parts of the archipelago from 1571 and culminating in the Bonifacio's Revolution of 1896. While Lakandula
of Tondo stayed neutral and appeared to be friendly with the Spanish rulers, his relatives joined the Macabebes/Pampangan who fought the Spaniards in the battle of Bangkusay on June 3,1571( San Agustin 1698/1998 ' 553-557 ; Joaquin 1990:13-20)

In 1574,Lakandula of Tondo and Rajah Soliman of Manila revolted .It broked out simultaneous with the Chinese pirate Lim-Ah-Hong's attack of Luzon. Spanish writer Grijalva (1624) attributed its cause due to"colonial government's disregard of the rights enjoyed by Rajah Lakandola and Rajah Soliman over their patrimonies".( Zafra 1967:72). This uprising involved natives of Manila,Tondo and Mindoro.( for full account of the revolt see San Agustin 1698 /1998 : 671-677)

In 1587-1588, the so called Tondo Conspiracy,headed by Agustin de Legazpi of Tondo assisted by Martin Panga,chief of Tondo; Jeronimo Basi also of Tondo,Brother of Agustin Legazpi;Magat Salamat,another chief of Tondo,son of the late Rajah Matanda (of Manila--D) :Esteban Tasi ,chief of Bulacan;Felipe Salalila,chief of Maysilo ;Maghicon, chief of Navotas sought "to regain the freedom and lordship which their fathers had enjoyed before them".This plot was denounced to the authorities and the leaders were either executed or exiled in Nueva Espana / Mexico. Wenceslao Retana considered this conspiracy to be an early version of the Katipunan. (Zafra 1967:72)