What Was the Philippines Called Before the Spanish Era?

 

For this blog, I will refer to the pre-Spanish Philippines simply as “the archipelago.” In the distant past, the archipelago in Southeast Asia that is now known as the Philippines was already active in trade with other ancient civilizations such as China, India, Vietnam, Japan, and the various kingdoms of the Malay Archipelago.

Trade was not a one-sided affair. Local polities such as Butuan also sailed to trade with other regions like Borneo, Malacca, Sumatra, and Java. Although many places in the archipelago were visited by Chinese and other Asian traders, several ports stood out as major trading destinations in the pre-colonial era.

Maynila and Tondo

Maynila, now known as Manila, was an important trading port. Foreign traders often referred to the surrounding region as Luzon, which appeared in foreign records as Lucon, or Lusong. The name is believed to come from the Tagalog word “lusong,” a wooden or stone mortar used for dehusking rice.

Maynila was a rajanate situated along the Pasig River and maintained close ties with the Sultanate of Brunei. Nearby was Tondo, another major trading center frequently visited by Chinese merchants.

Ma-Yi and Mindoro

The island of Mindoro may have been referred to by Chinese traders as Ma-Yi (also spelled Ma-I, Mai, or Mayi). This place was recorded in documents from the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and later in the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).

Ma-Yi was also mentioned in records connected with the Sultanate of Brunei. However, some historians propose that Ma-Yi might instead have been located in Bay, Laguna. Local traditions in Mindoro also say that the island’s old name was Mait, a name used by the indigenous Mangyan people.

Sugbo (Cebu)

Sugbo, now Cebu City, was another important trading rajanate and a central hub in the Visayas. It traded with neighboring polities such as Butuan and with merchants from China.

Historical records also suggest dynastic connections between Cebu and Butuan. For example, Rajah Humabon of Cebu was related to Rajah Siagu of Butuan. A Chinese work written in 1225 called Zhu Fan Zhi mentioned a place called “Suwo,” which historians believe referred to Cebu.

9th Century Gold Tara found near Agusan River

Butuan

The polity of Butuan in northern Mindanao was a prosperous and gold-rich trading center with strong Hindu-Buddhist cultural influences. Chinese records from the Song Dynasty referred to it as P’u-tuan, showing that it was already an international trading port by the 10th and 11th centuries.

Butuan possessed one of the most advanced societies in the archipelago before Spanish arrival. Its people were highly skilled in gold craftsmanship and boat building, producing large wooden vessels known as balangay. These boats traveled throughout Southeast Asia and even reached Champa, located in present-day central Vietnam.

Sulu and Maguindanao

In the southwestern part of the archipelago were powerful Islamic states such as the Sultanate of Sulu and the Sultanate of Maguindanao. These sultanates actively traded with merchants from China and other parts of the Malay world.

One notable historical figure was Paduka Pahala, a ruler of Sulu who traveled to China and died there on October 23, 1417 while visiting the Ming emperor. He was buried in China, where his tomb still exists today.

Trade in the Archipelago

Chinese merchants were among the most active traders in the archipelago. They brought goods such as porcelain, ceramics, silk, jewelry, iron tools, and weapons.

In return, local communities traded gold, pearls, beeswax, rattan, timber, animal skins and horns, tortoise shells, and other natural products. At the time, paper money was not widely used, so most trade was conducted through barter.

Independent Port States

The major trading ports mentioned above were regarded by foreign traders as separate political entities, each independent from the others. They were not part of a unified state covering the entire archipelago.

Each polity had its own ruler—often called a datu, rajah, or sultan—and their own customs and traditions. Communities were organized into barangays, which served as the basic social and political units. These polities sometimes formed alliances but could also become rivals depending on political or economic interests.

The Arrival of the Spanish

In 1521, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing under the Spanish crown, reached the islands of Leyte and Samar. He called them “Las Islas de San Lázaro” (the Islands of Saint Lazarus).

Later, in 1542, the Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named these islands “Filipinas” in honor of Philip II of Spain, who was then the Prince of Asturias. At first the name referred only to Leyte and Samar, but later Spanish authorities applied “Las Islas Filipinas” to the entire archipelago.

Later Names of the Country

During the revolution against Spain in 1898, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the country the Republica Filipina (Philippine Republic).

After the Philippine–American War, the United States referred to the territory as the Philippine Islands. In 1935, it became the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

Finally, after independence from the United States on Philippine Independence Day (1946), the country officially adopted the name Republic of the Philippines, which remains its official name today.

The “Maharlika” Misconception

Some people claim that the Philippines was once called Maharlika, but there are no reliable historical records supporting this claim.

In pre-colonial Tagalog society, maharlika referred to a social class of freemen or warrior-nobles, not the name of a country. The idea of renaming the Philippines to Maharlika appeared much later during the 20th century, but it never gained widespread support.

Conclusion

Before the arrival of the Spanish, the islands that now form the Philippines did not have a single unified name. Instead, foreign traders referred to the specific places they visited—such as Ma-Yi, Lusong, Butuan, Cebu, and Sulu—rather than to the entire archipelago.

The modern territorial concept of the Philippines emerged later during the colonial period, when European powers such as Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands established political boundaries throughout Southeast Asia.

In this sense, Spanish rule helped shape the geographic and political framework that eventually became the modern Philippine nation.

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