Mape of the Lake Lanao (Philippines)

José David Sánchez-Ibargüen y Corbacho, a navy officer born in Montellano (Seville), was sent to the Philippines to appease the growing insurrection of the natives. In May 1897 he was appointed Commander of the Section of Naval Forces of Lake Lanao (on the island of Mindanao), at the base camp of Marahui. In command of a flotilla composed of four gunboats, three barges and three boats, he harassed the subversive indigenous “rancherías”(small rural settlements) of the area for several years, in a permanent state of conflict that would last until the end of the Spanish rule. There are 84 “rancherías” located on the map, 11 of them marked “punished” (10 on the lake itself and 1 on land) and 13 considered hostile, as they harassed convoys in the area. Seven “cotta” or indigenous fortresses, are also marked. Likewise, there are four anchored gunboats which, in all probability, were the Lanao, General Blanco, Almonte and Carguera.