| Republic of Maharlika Republik Mahardika |
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| Motto: "Bangsa Raya di Laut" ("Great Nation of the Sea") |
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| Anthem: "Lagu Kebangsaan Republik Mahardika" ("State Anthem of the Republic of Maharlika") |
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| Capital | Selurong (OTE: Manila) | ||||
| Official language | Maharlikan (national) English (working language) |
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| Government | |||||
| - | President | Ja'far Guinayamat | |||
| - | Prime Minister | Abu-Hamza Sri Laminta | |||
| Currency | Kati | ||||
| Drives on the | left | ||||
More coming..........under reconsruction and re-vamping
The Republic of Maharlika (Maharlikan: Republik Mahardika) is a country in Maritime Southeast Asia. Bordered by Taiwan to the north, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei to the south, the South China Sea to the west, the Maharlika Sea to the east, Maharlika consists of 1,708 islands, including a portion of northeastern Borneo.
Maharlika's history is very interconnected with that of the neighboring Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Maharlika's recorded history begins around 800 A.D., with the records of the islands in ancient Chinese, Siamese, Srivijayan, Majapahit and even Indian texts. Many trading kingdoms were established in modern-day Maharlika, with the most well-known being those of Ma-i, Bohol, Madja-as, Maynila (also known by "Selurong"), Tondo and Namayan. Later, Indianized mandalas in Visayas were formed with the arrival of migrants from Sumatra, such as Sugbu, Bohol and Palawan. Islam was introduced in the 1400s, due to the Islamization of the Malay world, and Christianity was introduced in 1521.
After the Spaniards failed to conquer and Christianized the archipelago, the Bruneians and Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu re-inforced their Pasig counterparts, eventually extending the Sultanate system which existed under a British and Portuguese protectorate.
However, in 1947, a large number of irredentist movements sought to unite the natives of the archipelago, similar to the events that united Indonesia and created Malaysia. In addition, the Catholicized natives began to reject the "Filipino" name and identity, favoring Maharlika. In 1950, the the First Constitution of Maharlika, known as the Tondo Constitution, was ratified. Bashir Kala became elected the first President and Joseph Abital becoming his first Prime Minister.
Maharlika is a founding member of ASEAN, and a member of APEC.
History[]
Pre-colonial history[]
The Sultan of Brunei peacefully occupied Palawan and the Indianized kingdoms of Maynila, Namayan and Tondo. Bruneian and Bornean missionaries introduced Islam to the native Kuyonese, Palawanese, southern Tagalogs and Kapampangans as far as Cavite. Rajah Aceh, the King of Maynila, became a naval commander in Brunei's forces.
Colonization & Spread of Islam and Christianity[]
In 1571, the First Luzon War ended in a failure when the combined forces of a young Rajah Sulayman, Chinese corsair Koxinga and Tarik Sulayman (unrelated to the Manila rajah muda) were defeated by Martin de Goiti.
Temporarily, the Spaniards were able to gain a firm foot on the islands, and convert its people to Catholicism en masse, until indigenous rulers whom the Spaniards relied on as vassals, initiated the Tondo Conspiracy which led to the Maharlika war that overthrew the Spaniards. Thus, begins the active spread of Islam, in which the Moros, Bruneians and Hui Muslims from the Ming Dynasty were free to spread Islam where they could.
The Moro-Spanish wars would ensue, which despite an initially and decisive victorious Moros, began to see them getting overwhelmed due to the decades upon decades of warfare, in which they requested help from the British Empire, a major enemy of Spain. Thus, the rulers of the archipelago adopted the sultanate system concurrent with British annexation.
Protestant missionaries converted natives who weren't Muslim. British Luzon, British Visayas, British Mindanao and British Sulu would form a new and valuable addition to the British East Indies. The Sultans allowed English Catholic missionaries and migrants to control areas already Catholic, descendants of datus that became Catholics under Spaniard rule, who either refused or didn't become Muslim.
Modern History[]
The original home of Datu Paras, today one of Maharlika's most important national sites
During the Second World War, the entire Maharlikan Archipelago was invaded by the Japanese Empire. The Islamic Maharlikan sultans adopted a policy of fighting the Japanese to the death, as they did against the Spaniards. Despite inflicting enough damange against the Japanese troops, this led to the horrific destruction of historical mosques, madrasahs, as well as cathedrals in Japanese aerial raids, causing significant damage to the Kota Raya Selurong and the Intramuros of Cavite.
Sultan Yusuf, the sultan of Mindoro at the time, united the other Visayan Islamic kingdoms and states, to form "the Visayan Empire" (Visayan: Karajaan sa Bisayas, Malay: Kerajaan Bisaya), to fight against the Japanese, using Sri Lumay's same tactic of scorched-earth tactic. Japanese soldiers considered it, "the land where we perish in the flames of martyrdom".
Sultan Yusuf regarded the Visayan Empire to be the successor to the Srivijayan and Majapahit Empires, and proclaimed to be the "High King", or "Sultan Raya", Sultan of all Visayas.
After the Second World War, the Maharlikan Archipelago began to fracture into many independent states. The Tagalog Sultanate, State of Pangasinan, Republic of Luzon, the Visayan Empire (West Visayas), Kingdom of Visayas (East Visayas), Sultanate of Sulu, Islamic Republic of Lanao, State of Maguindanao and the Republic of Agusan-Surigao to be specific.
The Muslim Visayan Empire would eventually unite with Catholic East Visayas to form the Visayan Republic, despite Sultan Yusuf practically having claimed the entire Visayas region under his domain..
However, Atiqullah Gumabay, a Tagalog Muslim nationalist, pan-Malayan and one of the first "Maharlikan nationalists" who had deeps ties to Sukarno of Indonesia and Tunku Abdul-Rahman of Malaya, initiated the seeds for what would, become the unification of Maharlika. Gumabay chose Malay to be Maharlika's national language, and much like the situation in Indonesia, Maharlikan Malay was nationalized simply as Maharlikan, or Bahasa Maharlika, adding many indigenous loanwords into it. One large distinction from Indonesian and Malaysian, is that Maharlikan lacks Arabic loanwords, apart from Islamic terms.
There were also strong contemplations of re-integrating Brunei into the Maharlika, or even altogether forming a large Bruneian state, as many of the Muslims of the would-be Philippines regarded the Sultan of Brunei as having significantly contributed to their struggle against the Spaniards. However, the creation of Malaysia was opposed by both Maharlikan and Indonesian leaders.
Many of the Catholic Maharlikans began to drop their Spanish surnames, reverting back to their Old Sanskrit and Old Malay names, with the exception of the Portuguese Maharlikan community, who were allowed special protections. Members of native elite also began to an aggressive pogrom to purge eastern Maharlika from Spanish influence, targeting other elite - who had served under the former American and Spanish administrations, seizing their property. The first such was Sergio Campavilla, who changed his surname to Old Sanskrit name to Dula Tangkas, and Cavite native Don Pablo Mendez, who changed his name to Paras Sri Magtanggol.
Known by "Datu Paras", he led a personal raid on Intramuros, and took over it, ordering all of its inhabitants to drop their Spanish surnames, and adopt Old Malay and Austronesian names, and encouraged a mosque to be built inside of it, to signify the unity between Catholics and Muslims, though this said-mosque was never actually built.
There were fears and common rumors that Datu Paras had converted to Islam and that he was trying to convert eastern Maharlikans to Islam, however Datu Paras stated in his Cavite Speech, that he was a Roman Catholic and that mass-converting eastern Maharlikans to Islam was not in his goal. Datu Paras had in reality, ordered his forces to treat the Catholic clergymen with respect, as well as the families that they had come in contact with.
Datu Paras issued a public apology to the Muslims of western Maharlika "for the sins of my ancestors", referring to native Christianized Filipinos who aided the Imperial Spanish Army in their war against the Muslims of western Maharlika. Datu Paras targeted the descendants of Filipino soldiers in the former American and Spanish administrations, ordering them to support the revolution and renounce their ancestors' service to colonial powers.
Sri Magtanggol convinced future Maharlikan prime minister José Havantes to change his name to Labaya Abital (from Old Sanskrit "Avitar"), Sri Magtanggol, Abital and Tangkas were responsible for indigenizing and syncretizing the Roman Catholic Church in Maharlika, and re-introducing pre-colonial practices back to the Christian communities of eastern Maharlika.
After his death, succeeding city governor Bantuk Marikit renamed Cavite to Datu Paras, and Intramuros was renamed Kota Raya Kedatuan, or "fort of the datus". During the Cold War, the Maharlikan government chose a path of neutrality with the United States and the Soviet Union. It allowed both to dock warships at Selurong Bay, however out of convenience, Maharlika remained militarily closer to the Soviet Union, purchasing a large number of Soviet warplanes.
In 1970, under the ultranationalist leadership of president Pua Magundadatu, a descendant of Sultan Kudarat, and Catholic prime minister Sri Manibog Timbankaya, a descendant of Lakan Dula, the Catholic church in Maharlika broke ties with the Vatican, due to associations the Vatican with colonialism. This led to an influx of Maharlikans out of the country, thanks to President Mangudadatu and Prime Minister Timbankaya's iron-first dictatorship.
President Mangudadatu fostered close ties with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
However, sectarian violence mushroomed between Muslims and Christians, with Islamist groups carrying out attacks on Catholic churches.
Leonid Brezhnev agreed with Pua Mangudadatu to support the Maharlikan claim on Sabah, and to protect Maharlika from China if Maharlika orbited around the Soviet Union, to which President Mangudadatu and Prime Minister Timbankaya agreed to.
Therefore, the Maharlikan invasion of Sabah was Soviet-supported, beginning the Sabah War, against the NATO-backed Malaysia. Indonesia supported Maharlika, thanks to Malaysia being weaker and smaller, Maharlikans emerged victorious. Soviet Navy warships backed and reinforced the Sulu Sea, and stationed forces in southern Palawan.
In 1982, Pua Mangudadatu was murdered by the Ampatuans, leading Sri Manibog to become President of Maharlika, the first Christian president of a predominantly-Muslim nation. However, Sri Manibog continued the tyrannical rule.
Politics[]
Maharlika currently runs on a presidential parliamentary republican form of government. The president is considered the head of state, as the prime minister is considered the head of government. The president and prime minister are both elected every five years in Maharlika.
Maharlika is divided into four main regions, Luzon, Sri Visayas, Mindanao and Sulu.
Culture[]
Languages[]
Maharlika is Southeast Asia's second-most linguistically diverse nation, home to over 202 languages, with the overwhelming majority being part of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages. Most belong to the Borneo-Maharlika sub-group.
The most spoken are Maguindanaoan, Tagalog, Sri Visayan languages, Ilocano.
The Maharlikan language, Bahasa Mahardika, is Maharlika's national register of the Malay language, the most-spoken language in Maritime Southeast Asia. Much like the differences between Indonesian and Malaysian, Maharlikan contains differences that makes it unique from both Indonesian and Standard Malay/Malaysian.
Maharlikan contains many loanwords from indigenous languages, containing loanwords mostly from Tagalog, Maguindanaoan and Sugbonese, albeit the maharlikas were a Tagalog nobility.
One thing Maharlikan is known for is the lack of Arabic loanwords, other than Islamic terms, to which other Malay dialects, including Indonesian and Malaysian, is known for being riddled with. This was done by Maharlikan nationalists in order to promote national unity, and not favor either Islam or Christianity, something that noted Maharlikan nationalists such Paras Sri Magtanggol, Jabar Sri Abidin, Muhsin Sulayman and Najibuddin Dangwa brought up. Instead, Arabic loanwords have been replaced with either those from indigenous languages, or those of Old Sanskrit origin.
However, regional dialects still incorporate much Arabic and Islamic terminology, such as the Manila, Marawi, and Sulu dialects, known colloquially as "Manila Malay", "Marawi Malay" and "Sulu Malay" respectively.
Two languages that aren't Austronesian languages are English and Chavacano. Thanks to the friendly relations between the Maharlikans and British colonists, Portuguese remains widely-spoken in Maharlika, with 61% of Maharlikans reporting in some fluency in English. Maharlika, along with Malaysia and Singapore, are considered the most Anglophone nations in Asia.
Chavacano on the other hand, is a Spanish-based creole, known as Chavacano de los Maradicanos. However unlike English, due to the negative connotation attached to Spanish colonialism, Chavacano is widely dying out. It is mostly spoken in the former Spanish Philippines, native to Cavite.
| Maharlikan | Malaysian | Indonesian | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| keperanatan | wilayah | wilayah | province |
| keragutan | akuntabilitas | akauntabliti | accountability |
| pengmendir | gereja | gereja | church |
| kesuratan | kitab | kitab | book |
| surat | nulis | nulis | to write |
| beraman kristan | pedari | pedari | priest |
| beraman raya kristan (katolik for Catholic bishops) | biskop | uskup | bishop |
| beraman agung kristan (katolik for Catholic bishops) | biskup agung | uskup agung | archbishop |
| Rabiba | Ahad | Minggu | Sunday |
| gintu | emas | emas | gold |
| gubernasi | kerajaan | kerajaan | government |
| Prameia | president | ||
Religion[]
Religious makeup of Maharlika, Islam (green), Christianity (light blue)
Islam forms 70% of Maharlika's religious composition, followed by 25% Christianity, 5% other faiths, namely Buddhism, Hinduism and Animism. Although the majority of Maharlika's Muslims claim to be Sunni, many follow Folk Islam, especially in southern Luzon where many pre-Islamic pagan practices are part of daily spiritual life.
Although Maharlika is not an "Islamic state", it is considered the world's 2nd-largest population of Muslims, second only to its southern neighbor Indonesia.
Of the Christians, 65% are Protestant, Evangelical, that was introduced during the British era, mostly populations that the Moro Muslims never converted to Islam, who became the prime targets of British missionary activity, and Roman Catholics form the rest, mostly in Visayas and northern Mindanao, spread by the Spaniards.
Economy[]
The Maharlikan economy is diverse, and is one of the world's largest exporter of palm oil and coconut oil.
The current currency of Maharlika is the kata, and the coin denominations are the suwarmas. These are both of ancient origin, dating back to the first recorded use of currency trade in modern-day Maharlika. Currently, 1 kata is equivalent to 60 suwarmas, and the exchange rate of the Maharlika kati equates $0.40 per 1 kata. The kata is denoted by the Baybayin symbol "
".