Elephants in Philippine History
 

This is an offshot of another thread.

just got hold of a xeroxed copy of some of the articles contained in the book "Mindanao: A portrait."

The title "The Colonial Encounter" (page 87 of the said book).

Canoy notes on page 88:

"The conflict (moro wars) began with the invasion of Sulu by Captain Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa in 1578. With quick-loading arquebusses, heavy cannons and war elephants from Borneo, the Spaniards made short shrift of the kutas or earthen fortifications that protected Jolo."

In the same book but on another article (Mindanao and Sulu in Southeast Asia: Early Cultural Contacts by Heidi K. Gloria):

"While these demands were being negotiated to avert conflict with Japan, the king of Cambodia sent his emissary to the Philippines bringing two elephants as gifts for the Spanish governor and asking his help against the King of Siam (Thailand)." (page 84)

An interesting passage in this article mentions something about opium:

"The Tausug exchanged captives, opium and Bengal cloth for gunpowder and spices brought by the Buginese of Pasir and Berau." An early drug trade? :confused:

Elephants in Sabah
 

The closest landfall for the Moros was what is today the state of Sabah in northern Borneo. I've read recent reports about the elephants in this state which are considered an unusual sub-species of the Asian elephants, due to their smaller size.
Could these be the very desecendants of those war elephants brought to the PI? Maybe not big enough to mount a shooting platform or howdah but a stampeding war elephant of any size could probably do some serious damage to infantry. :confused: And their smaller size would have made the logistics much easier.
Perhaps John can help us with more information since it's his home territory.

Yes, the pygmy elephants in the wilds of Sabah are smaller, tamer and have straighter tusks. See;

http://www.wwf.hu/en/sajtokozlemeny.php?id=261

No idea about them ever been used for military purpose.