 The agreement was a mutual non-aggression pact which obligated the Americans to recognize the authority of the Sultan and other chiefs who, in turn, agreed to fight piracy and crimes against Christians.However, the Muslims did not know that the Treaty of Paris, which had ceded the Philippine archipelago to the Americans, included their land as well.After the Philippine-American War, the Americans established direct rule over the newly formed "Moro Province", which then consisted of five district—Zamboanga, Lanao, Cotabato, Davao, and Sulu.