 Towards the second part of the 18th century, pirate raids from Sulu increasingly harassed the Spanish settlement in nearby Zamboanga, usually using their heavily fortified base in Maluso as a staging ground for some of their more successful forays.The Tausug raids reached a fevered intensity by 1754.By this time, a flourishing kingdom of Yakans and Samals was established in the area of modern-day Lamitan City.