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Greeting,
I'm currently on the process of writing a Timeline concerning a larger Sulu that would eventually become the Empire of Malaya. I present you a rough-draft of the map-circa.1840.
The Gun trade in Sulu had been going on for a decade now. It had been a long horrendous process, but eventually the new business venture is blooming and gun running is on a all time high. During this time period, the Sultan of Sulu is planing to expand his business in Arms trade, specifically producing rifles and muskets.
The Sultan had been generous and open minded enough to hire foreign contractors that would help him establish the right infrastructure to produce guns in large quantities. It had been a hit and miss process, but he eventually got the hand of it.
While the majority of Sulu's army still uses bow and swords, the Sultan's royal guardsmen are trained as rifle-wielding infantry.
*Somewhere during the 1712 the Sultanate of Brunei, either by royal marriage or conquest or both, cedes its territory to the Sultanate of Sulu.
The question is how long before another country declares war at them and dismantles Sulu.