Spurred by the need to curb slave raiding once and for all and worried about the presence of other Western powers in the south (the British had established trading centers in Jolo by the 19th century and the French were offering to purchase Basilan Island from the cash strapped government in Madrid, Spain), the Spanish made a final bid to consolidate their rule in this southern frontier.

Gen. Jose Paulin (December 1876 – April 1877), Col. Carlos Martinez (Sept 1877 – Feb 1880), Col. Rafael de Rivera (1880–1881), Col. Isidro G. Soto (1881–1882), Col. Eduardo Bremon, (1882), Col. Julian Parrado (1882–1884), Col. Francisco Castilla (1884–1886), Col. Juan Arolas (1886–1893), Col. Caesar Mattos (1893), Gen. Venancio Hernandez (1893–1896) and Col. Luis Huerta (1896–1899).

In 1880 appointed Governor Colonel Rafael Gonzales de Rivera dispatched the 6th Regiment from Jolo to the Siasi and Bongao islands.

; The word "Ajuramentado" was coined by Spanish colonel Juan Arolas after witnessing several such acts while serving duty in Jolo garrison.

[3] Initially, Sultan Kiram was disappointed by the hand-over of control to the Americans and had expected to regain sovereignty over the Sulu archipelago after the defeat of the Spanish.

[citation needed] One particular clause, which recognized the Moro practice of slavery, also raised eyebrows in Washington, D.C. Bates later admitted that the treaty was merely a stop-gap measure, signed only to buy time until the war in the north was ended and more forces could be brought to bear in the south.

A week later, the other two battalions of the regiment left Mindanao and landed at Jolo, where they began fighting their way up heavily defended Mount Daho, the highest point on the island.

The Sultan of Jolo, Muhammad Janail Abirin the 2nd, leader of the archipelago's 300,000 Moslems, welcomed Col. William J. Moroney, commander of the 163rd, and promised to help rid the island of Japanese.

[6] Fighting on the island flared up again in February 2005 when between 4,000 and 5,000 Philippine troops clashed with around 800 Islamist militants from the Abu Sayyaf group, along with followers of Nur Misuari.

[citation needed] In the American film Plane (2023), an airliner makes an emergency landing on this island, with the survivors having to deal with local terrorists.