The Midland Journal

History of Sulu Islands Colored by Ade Comedy

War has brought the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines to serious public notice, but a generation ago it had entertaining recognition in the United States through George Ade's comic opera "The Sultan of Sulu." The sultan was pictured as an amusing semi-savage, a not too accurate idea that showed little regard by the writer for the fact that the sultan effectively ruled hundreds of islands and part of British North Borneo.

The sultan partly acknowledged the temporal sovereignty of the United States in 1899, and gave complete recognition in 1915. He was the spiritual leader of the Mohammedan Moros, a member of the Philippine senate, an aviation enthusiast, and traveled in the United States. From the American government he annually received about $3,000. He had his own flag, and was royally received by British officials on his visits to North Borneo.

After the death of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II in June, 1936, without heir, his niece and adopted daughter, Princess Hadji, Piandao, transferred in April, 1940, many of the islands to the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Title to the sultanate became a matter of dispute, and stirred conjecture that it also might be transferred to the Philippine government.