Piracy, raiding of native villages in the Philippines, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Temasek and Malaya were done as a means to an end for the slave trading business conducted in the islands of the Sulu Sea by the Sulu Sultanate for over 200 years.
There has been a very long history of attacks and raids by these pirates from the Sulu Sea who originated in the southern parts of the Philippines.
The Sulu raiders were mostly composed of the Balangingi, Ilanun and the Samal group of sea nomads as well as the influential Tausug aristocrats from Jolo Island.
Natives from coastal villages in Borneo were kidnapped and sold as slaves in the slave markets on Tawi Tawi Island and Sulu Island (Jolo) in a lucrative trade that enriched the Sulu Sultanate.
Listen to expert historical opinions from Dr Samuel Tan (National Historical Institute, Philippines), Professor Barbara Watson Andaya and Dr. Julius Bautista (Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore) on the slavery industry by Sulu pirates.