By the 1300s, a number of the large coastal settlements had emerged as trading centers, and

became the focal point of societal changes.[9] The Barangic Phase of history can be noted for its
highly mobile nature, with barangays transforming from being settlements and turning into fleets and
vice versa, with the wood constantly re-purposed according to the situation. [56] Politics during this era
was personality-driven and organization was based on shifting alliances and contested loyalties set
in a backdrop of constant inter-polity interactions, both through war and peace. [57]
Legendary accounts often mention the interaction of early Philippine polities with
the Srivijaya empire, but there is not much archaeological evidence to definitively support such a
relationship.[9] Considerable evidence exists, on the other hand, for extensive trade with the
Majapahit empire.[58]
The exact scope and mechanisms of Indian cultural influences on early Philippine polities are still the
subject of some debate among Southeast Asian historiographers, [9][59] but the current scholarly
consensus is that there was probably little or no direct trade between India and the Philippines, [9]
[59]
 and Indian cultural traits, such as linguistic terms and religious practices, [58] filtered in during the
10th through the early 14th centuries, through early Philippine polities' relations with the
Hindu Majapahit empire.[9] The Philippine archipelago is thus one of the countries, (others include
Afghanistan and Southern Vietnam) just at the outer edge of what is considered the "Greater
Indian cultural zone".[59]
The early polities of the Philippine archipelago were typically characterized by a three-tier social
structure. Although different cultures had different terms to describe them, this three-tier structure
invariably consisted of an apex nobility class, a class of "freemen", and a class of dependent debtor-
bondsmen called "alipin" or "oripun." [9][57] Among the members of the nobility class were leaders who
held the political office of "Datu," which was responsible for leading autonomous social groups called
"barangay" or "dulohan".[9] Whenever these barangays banded together, either to form a larger
settlement[9] or a geographically looser alliance group,[57] the more senior or respected among them
would be recognized as a "paramount datu", variedly called a Lakan, Sultan, Rajah, or simply a
more senior Datu.[56][9][60]

Initial recorded history[edit]

During the period of the south Indian Pallava dynasty and the north Indian Gupta Empire, Indian
culture spread to Southeast Asia and the Philippines which led to the establishment of Indianized
kingdoms.[61][62]
The date inscribed in the oldest Philippine document found so far, the Laguna Copperplate
Inscription, is 900 AD. From the details of the document, written in Kawi script, the bearer of a debt,
Namwaran, along with his children Lady Angkatan and Bukah, are cleared of a debt by the ruler
of Tondo. It is the earliest document that shows the use of mathematics in precolonial Philippine
societies. A standard system of weights and measures is demonstrated by the use of precise
measurement for gold, and familiarity with rudimentary astronomy is shown by fixing the precise day
within the month in relation to the phases of the moon. [63] From the various Sanskrit terms and titles
seen in the document, the culture and society of Manila Bay was that of a Hindu–Old
Malay amalgamation, similar to the cultures of Java, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra at the time.
There are no other significant documents from this period of pre-Hispanic Philippine society and
culture until the Doctrina Christiana of the late 16th century, written at the start of the Spanish period
in both native Baybayin script and Spanish. Other artifacts with Kawi script and baybayin were
found, such as an Ivory seal from Butuan dated to the early 10th-14th centuries [64][65] and
the Calatagan pot with baybayin inscription, dated to not later than early 16th century. [66]
A Boxer Codex image illustrating the ancient kadatuan or tumao (noble class).

In the years leading up to 1000, there were already several maritime societies existing in the islands
but there was no unifying political state encompassing the entire Philippine archipelago. Instead, the
region was dotted by numerous semi-autonomous barangays (settlements ranging in size from
villages to city-states) under the sovereignty of competing thalassocracies ruled by datus,
wangs, rajahs, sultans or lakans.[67] or by upland agricultural societies ruled by "petty plutocrats". A
number of states existed alongside the highland societies of the Ifugao and Mangyan.[68][69] These
included:

 the Kingdom of Maynila
 the Kingdom of Taytay in Palawan (mentioned by Antonio Pigafetta to be where they
resupplied when the remaining ships escaped Cebu after Magellan was slain)
 the Chieftaincy of Coron Island ruled by fierce warriors called Tagbanua as reported by
Spanish missionaries mentioned by Nilo S. Ocampo,[70]
 the Namayan
 the Kingdom of Tondo
 the Sinitic wangdom of Pangasinan
 the nation of Ma-i
 the Kedatuans of Madja-as and Dapitan
 the Indianized rajahnates of Butuan and Cebu
 the sultanates of Maguindanao, Lanao and Sulu
Some of these regions were part of the Malayan empires of Srivijaya, Majapahit and Brunei.[71][72][73]

The Polity of Tondo[edit]

Main article: Tondo (historical polity)
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, c. 900 CE. The oldest known historical record found in the Philippines,
which indirectly refers to the polity of Tondo

The earliest historical record of local polities and kingdoms is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription,
which indirectly refers to the Tagalog polity of Tondo (c. before 900–1589) and two to three other
settlements believed to be located somewhere near Tondo, as well as a settlement near Mt. Diwata
in Mindanao, and the temple complex of Medang in Java. [citation needed] Although the precise political
relationships between these polities is unclear in the text of the inscription, the artifact is usually
accepted as evidence of intra- and inter-regional political linkages as early as 900 CE. [56][57] By the
arrival of the earliest European ethnographers during the 1500s, Tondo was led by the paramount
ruler called a "Lakan".[56][57] It had grown into a major trading hub, sharing a monopoly with
the Rajahnate of Maynila over the trade of Ming dynasty[74] products throughout the archipelago.
[56]
 This trade was significant enough that the Yongle Emperor appointed a Chinese governor named
Ko Ch'a-lao to oversee it.[75][76]
Since at least the year 900, this thalassocracy centered in Manila Bay flourished via an active trade
with Chinese, Japanese, Malays, and various other peoples in Asia. Tondo thrived as the capital and
the seat of power of this ancient kingdom, which was led by kings under the title "Lakan" which
belongs to the caste of the Maharlika, who were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society.
They ruled a large part of what is now known as Luzon from Ilocos to Bicol from possibly before 900
AD to 1571, becoming the largest pre-colonial state. The Spaniards called them Hidalgos.[77][78]
The people of Tondo had developed a culture which is predominantly Hindu and Buddhist, they were
also good agriculturists, and lived through farming and aquaculture. During its existence, it grew to
become one of the most prominent and wealthy kingdom states in pre-colonial Philippines due to
heavy trade and connections with several neighboring nations such as China and Japan.
Due to its very good relations with Japan, the Japanese called Tondo as Luzon, even a famous
Japanese merchant, Luzon Sukezaemon, went as far as to change his surname from Naya to
Luzon. In 900 AD, the lord-minister Jayadewa presented a document of debt forgiveness to Lady
Angkatan and her brother Bukah, the children of Namwaran. This is described in the Philippines'
oldest known document, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription.[79]
The Chinese also mention a polity called "Luzon." This is believed to be a reference to Maynila
since Portuguese and Spanish accounts from the 1520s explicitly state that "Luçon" and "Maynila"
were "one and the same",[56] although some historians argue that since none of these observers
actually visited Maynila, "Luçon" may simply have referred to all the Tagalog and Kapampangan
polities that rose up on the shores of Manila Bay.[80] Either way, from the early 1500s to as late as the
1560s, this seafaring people was referred to in Portuguese Malacca as Luções, and they set up
many overseas communities across Southeast Asia where they participated in trading ventures and
military campaigns in Burma, Malacca, and Timor,[81][a][83] as traders and mercenaries.[84][85][86] One
prominent Luções was Regimo de Raja, who was a spice magnate and a Temenggung (Jawi: ‫)تمڠݢوڠ‬
[87]
 (Governor and Chief General) in Portuguese Malacca. He was also the head of an international
armada which traded and protected commerce between the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca,
the South China Sea,[88] and the medieval maritime principalities of the Philippines.[89][90]

1. ^ The former sultan of Malacca decided to retake his city from the Portuguese with a fleet of
ships from Lusung in 1525 AD.[82]

Caboloan (Pangasinan)[edit]
Main article: Caboloan
In northern Luzon, Caboloan (Pangasinan) (c. 1406–1576) sent emissaries to China in 1406–1411
as a tributary-state,[91] and it also traded with Japan.[citation needed] Chinese records of this kingdom, named
Feng-chia-hsi-lan (Pangasinan), began when the first tributary King (Wang in Chinese), Kamayin,
sent an envoy offering gifts to the Chinese Emperor. [92] The state occupies the current province
of Pangasinan. It was locally known the Luyag na Kaboloan (also spelled Caboloan),
with Binalatongan as its capital, existed in the fertile Agno River valley. It flourished around the same
period, the Srivijaya and Majapahit empires arose in Indonesia which had extended their influence to
much of the Malay Archipelago. The Luyag na Kaboloan expanded the territory and influence of
Pangasinan to what are now the neighboring provinces of Zambales, La
Union, Tarlac, Benguet, Nueva Ecija, and Nueva Vizcaya. Pangasinan enjoyed full independence
until the Spanish conquest.
In the sixteenth century Pangasinan was called the "Port of Japan" by the Spanish. The locals wore
native apparel typical of other maritime Southeast Asian ethnic groups in addition to Japanese and
Chinese silks. Even common people were clad in Chinese and Japanese cotton garments. They
also blackened their teeth and were disgusted by the white teeth of foreigners, which were likened to
that of animals. Also, used porcelain jars typical of Japanese and Chinese households. Japanese-
style gunpowder weapons were also encountered in naval battles in the area. [1] In exchange for
these goods, traders from all over Asia would come to trade primarily for gold and slaves, but also
for deerskins, civet and other local products. Other than a notably more extensive trade network with
Japan and China, they were culturally similar to other Luzon groups to the south.
In northern Luzon, Caboloan (Pangasinan) (c. 1406–1576) sent emissaries to China in 1406–1411
as a tributary-state,[91] and it also traded with Japan.[93]