Sultan was married to his sister. He and the Sultan both owned shares in the ship (named the Far East) which helped smuggled the weapons. The Spanish launched a surprise offensive under Colonel Juan Arolas in April 1887 by attacking the Sultanate's capital at Maimbung in an effort to crush resistance. Weapons were captured and the property of the Chinese was destroyed and the Chinese were deported to Jolo. Spanish control In 1876, the Spanish attempted to gain control of the Muslims by burning Jolo and were successful. In March 1877, The Sulu Protocol was signed between Spain, England and Germany which recognized Spain's rights over Sulu and eased European tensions in the area. The Spanish built the smallest walled city in the world in Jolo. Trading decline Trade suffered heavily in 1892 when three steamers used for trade were lost in a series of storms on the trade route between Singapore and Jolo. The traders in Singapore lost so heavily as a result that they refused to accept trade unless it was paid for in cash. Along with the fear of increased taxation, many Chinese left to other parts of the Archipelago as Jolo lost its role as the regional entrepot. The Tausug had already abandoned trading when the Chinese arrived. Thus, Jolo never fully gained its previous trading status. However, the Chinese continued to dominate trade throughout the Archipelago and Mindanao. American Colonial Period In 1899 following the Treaty of Paris of 1898, sovereignty over the Philippines was transferred from Spain to the United States who attempted to forcibly incorporate the Muslim areas into the Philippine state. The American colonizers eventually took over the southern regions with force (see Moro Rebellion). The Sultanate of Sulu was abolished in 1936. Geography The town of Jolo is located on the north-west side of the Jolo Island, which is located south-west of the tip of Zamboanga Peninsula on Mindanao island. The island is situated between the provinces of Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, bounded by Sulu Sea to the north and Celebes Sea to the south. Jolo is a volcanic island, which lies at the center of the Sulu Archipelago covering . The Sulu Archipelago is an island chain in the Southwest Philippines between Mindanao and Borneo, which is made up of 900 islands of volcanic and coral origin covering an area of . There are numerous volcanoes and craters around Jolo with