No Spanish Philippines

My problem with all this speculation is that we have so few primary sources on the Philippines in this era of history. Though there are syllabaries, there are no specific native historical records before the Spanish. In essence, we're dealing with prehistory or proto-history.

Writing a story from this period is like trying to write a story set in the time of Gilgamesh or the age of the Roman Kingdom. The region and the cultures therein will be totally different.

The Soliman/Salalila were cutting off the main branch of the Bolkiah and calling themselves the Rajah of the Tagalogs, the Gold from the Cordilleras were being extracted by the Bruneians, I think Luzon could be a 1st to 2nd world country if it becomes independent from Bruneian yoke due to the Gold reserves of Luzon.

Both Cagayan and the Central Luzon would be the heart and agricultural center of this independent Luzon.

you're putting too much emphasis on the economics of the modern world of OTL, which, with this PoD, may not even resemble ATL at all.
 
My problem with all this speculation is that we have so few primary sources on the Philippines in this era of history. Though there are syllabaries, there are no specific native historical records before the Spanish. In essence, we're dealing with prehistory or proto-history.

Writing a story from this period is like trying to write a story set in the time of Gilgamesh or the age of the Roman Kingdom. The region and the cultures therein will be totally different.



you're putting too much emphasis on the economics of the modern world of OTL, which, with this PoD, may not even resemble ATL at all.

The Bruneians do have some historical records about Luzon and the Kingdom of Sulu and Maguindanao have their own history.
 
There is also a possibility of the trading center to shift from Manila to Lingayen because the chinese are also trading in Lingayen.

Everyone trades, the question would be if that area is attractive enough for the Chinese merchants to abandon Manila.

That area/place in what is to known as Lingayen is very far from the advancement in Manila even during those times. It's like comparing Istanbul to any fishing village.

even Lingayen city/town itself was founded by the Spanish in otl while Manila already existed as a flourishing trade port before the Spanish came.

There are reasons why local kingdoms, Majapahit, Brunei, Spanish even Ameircans chose to center around Manila in the their Luzon presence. One of it was geographic.
 
Everyone trades, the question would be if that area is attractive enough for the Chinese merchants to abandon Manila.

That area/place in what is to known as Lingayen is very far from the advancement in Manila even during those times. It's like comparing Istanbul to any fishing village.

even Lingayen city/town itself was founded by the Spanish in otl while Manila already existed as a flourishing trade port before the Spanish came.

There are reasons why local kingdoms, Majapahit, Brunei, Spanish even Ameircans chose to center around Manila in the their Luzon presence. One of it was geographic.


Manila is known for it being easy to capture by invaders, that is why I think the capital might shift, especially if the rebels against Brunei establish a better city in Agno and Pampanga rivers that could serve a better capital.
 
Is it possible that Brunei could have dominated the archipelago more thoroughly in the absence of Spanish invaders?

perhaps, but unlikely, seeing the tendency towards soft power and hegemony in place of centralization in Southeast Asia.

the Majapahits and Srivijayas did it to half of Indonesia before they collapsed into disparate states until colonization, which is telling of how difficult it would be.
 
I think having no Spanish around means Luzon and Mindanao has time for their own nation building which did not happen, Wheel has never been adopted in Luzon and Mindanao because wheels are practically useless across muddy flood plains.
 
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