Merdicas from Moluccas

An interesting event of Maharlikan history about the Merdicas (meaning "men of the sea" or "free people" ) from Moluccas from the blog of Danny V. Leonera;

excerpt:

Noted for their bravery. The Merdicas were Malays from Ternate in the Moluccas Archipelago, who volunteered to come to Manila along with the Spanish garrison that was pulled out of the Island by Spanish Governor General Manrique de Lara in 1662 to reinforce the defenses of Manila in preparation for a threatened invasion by the Chinese pirate-patriot Koxinga, after he had conquered Formosa from the Dutch. To forestall the repetition of the disastrous Limahong invasion of 1574, the Spanish governor-general ordered the withdrawal of Spanish forces from Zamboanga and the Moluccas and concentrated them in Manila, ready to repel the Koxinga attack. Fortunately for the city residents, the Chinese warlord fell ill and died before he could make a good threat.

Under an agreement with the Spanish governor general the Merdicas were required to provide protection against attacks by Moro pirates, and in return for their services they were taken to the Barra de Maragondon because of frequent Moro raids in that area. The Merdicas chose as a site of their new homes a place near the mouth of the Maragondon River, calling it Gala-la, derived from the name of a tree grew there. They set up a watchtower on top of a hill which they called Mira.

Aside from fishing, the Merdicas cleared the land and tilled the soil. They eventually intermarried with the natives of neighboring villages, building up a community that grew up rapidly and expanded. The most prominent families of the community bore surnames Pereira, Estuebar, De leon, Ramos, De la Cruz, Nigoza, and Ninofranco.
In 1850 the burgeoning Merdica population were able to build from their own funds a stone church, a casa real (tribunal or municipal building), and a school house Under the leadership of Florencio Ninofranco, the community became a regular pueblo or town, and they named it Ternate in memory of their ancestral birthplace in the Mollucas. Pablo de Leon, a wealthy Merdica leader, became the first gobernadorcillo of Ternate. Another source says that Ternate was separated from Maragondon and became an independent municipality in 1863.

http://loversmoon-danny.blogspot.com/2008/11/history-of-ternate-by-danny-leonera.html

Mardjikers

Excerpts about the Mardjikers, from www.jakarta.go.id:

The term for city dwellers from the group of people of Portuguese descent, originally from India, Indonesia and the other Catholic. They generally are the prisoners who were slaves-purchase by the Dutch. Mostly as maids Dutch artisans to make meubelair that brought together the Company. They were promised to be given the freedom of the condition would be a member of Reformation Church, the Christian church, therefore they are called Mardijkers or "freedmen". Mardijkers Sanskrit  maharddhika, maharika, or grootmachlig which literally means "freedom from slavery" or "have a great power". In Batavia and Maluku are used to designate a group of people who are ethnically very diverse, which is formed by the descendants of former slaves from Angola or Indians and descendants of mixed marriages Portuguese and other Europeans during the 16th century. In the Moluccas (Ambon, Ternate) the title of "Swarten Christenen", is the remnant of Portuguese contact products in eastern Indonesia generally come to be known as the Portuguese-speaking Mardijkers.

 http://www.jakarta.go.id/jakv1/encyclopedia/detail/1810