WHEN you think of the Aztecs, you probably picture step pyramids and chocolate — not the jungles of Borneo.
Yet, legend has it they might have traded their feathered headdresses for a stint in Southeast Asia.
Is it true that the mighty Aztecs fought in an invasion of Brunei?
Verdict:
TRUE
Yes, the Aztecs did invade Brunei—in a manner of speaking. However, they did not arrive on their own; the Spanish brought them there to fight on their behalf during the Castilian War, also known as the Spanish Expedition to Borneo, in 1578. Furthermore, they did not refer to themselves as Aztecs.
The Spanish, led by the Governor of the Philippines, Francisco de Sande, sought to expand their influence in Southeast Asia and diminish the power of the Muslim sultanates in the region.
De Sande assumed the title of Capitán-General and assembled a fleet carrying 200 Spaniards, 1,500 native Filipinos, 300 Borneans and, more importantly to this story, 200 Mexicans.
The expedition started its journey in March 1578, with the Bruneian campaign being one of several undertaken that saw the Spanish invade other areas, including Mindanao and Sulu.
Now, going back to the question of whether the Aztecs invaded Brunei, it depends on your definition of Aztec. You see, Aztec is actually an exonym, meaning it was a name given to them by others, not what they called themselves.
The Aztecs would have referred to themselves as Mexica or by the city-state they came from, such as Tenochca (for the city of Tenochtitlan) or Colhuah (for the city of Culhuacan).
The word Aztec comes from the words aztecatl and aztecah, which mean people from Aztlan, the mythical place of origin for several ethnic groups in Central Mexico.
The word appears in the migration accounts of the Mexica, where it describes the different tribes (who were not all Mexica) that left Aztlan together for their respective lands.
Western scholars in the modern age latched on to the word "Aztec" as a descriptor for the most dominant empire in Central Mexico during the Spanish conquest, so it wasn't even a word the Conquistadors would have used to refer to the Mexica.
The Spanish conquered Mexico in 1521 after Hernan Cortes led a small army of soldiers and defeated the Tenochca to take their city of Tenochtitlan and annex the "Aztec Empire" to establish the Kingdom of New Spain.
This means that during the Castilian War, which happened a scant 57 years later, some of the "Mexicans" the Spanish brought with them would have been the grandchildren or even the children of people who would have considered themselves Mexica. In fact, there's a high likelihood that these people would also have considered themselves Mexica or, in the context of this story, Aztec.
So yes, the Aztec did fight in Brunei, but what happened during the war?
Well, the Spanish were initially successful. They took the then-Bruneian capital of Kota Batu but faced significant resistance from the defenders.
Additionally, an epidemic struck the Spanish army, forcing them to retreat and give back all of the territory they had won in Borneo by June of the same year.
Relations between the two nations later improved, and trade resumed, as evidenced by a 1599 letter from Governor-General Francisco de Tello de Guzmán in which he asked for a return to a normal relationship.
References:
2. https://sitbatan.blogspot.com/
3. https://revista.carayanpress.
4. www.history.com/news/hernan-
5. www.britannica.com/place/
