Editing Isabela, Basilan (section)

====The French blockade====
By the 1840s, colonial interests other than Spanish focused over western Mindanao, particularly the territories under the Sulu sultanate. The British, French, Germans, and Americans all became interested in these rich islands.

In 1843, the French Foreign Minister [[François Guizot]] sent a fleet to [[Vietnam]] under Admiral Cécille and Captain Charner,<ref name="Google page 5">Chapuis, p.5 [{{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=9RorGHF0fGIC |page=5 }} Google Books] Quote: ''Two years later, in 1847, Lefebvre was again captured when he returned to Vietnam. This time Cecille sent captain Lapierre to Danang. Whether Lapierre was aware or not that Lefebvre had already been freed and on his way back to Singapore, the French first dismantled masts of some Vietnamese ships. Later on April 14, 1847, in only one hour, the French sank the last five bronze-plated vessels in the bay of Danang.''</ref> which started the French intervention in Vietnam. The move responded to the successes of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] in [[China]] in 1842, and France hoped to counterbalance these successes by accessing China from the south. The pretext, however, was to support British efforts in China, and to fight the persecution of French missionaries in Vietnam.<ref>Tucker, p.27</ref> The fleet, accompanied by the diplomat Lagrene, tried to seize the island of [[Basilan]] in order to create a base similar to [[Hong Kong]], but projects had to be abandoned following the strong opposition of [[Spain]] claiming the island was part of the [[Philippines]].<ref>Chapuis, p.5</ref>

When the [[France|French]] under [[Admiral Cécille]] blockaded Basilan in 1844–45,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jamalashley.wordpress.com/2007/04/17/bangsa-moro-conflict-historical-antecedents-and-present-impact/ |title=Bangsa Moro Conflict - Historical Antecedents and Present Impact |publisher=The Setting Sun |date=April 17, 2007 |access-date=October 5, 2008}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=October 2008}} an island which they called Taguime, intent on establishing a network of naval stations to protect French trade in the area, the Spanish governor protested that Basilan had recognized Spain's sovereignty just the year before, in February 1844. The French then forced the Basilan datus to sign a document affirming the "absolute independence of Basilan vis-a-vis Spain" on January 13, 1845, aboard the steamer Archimede.

[[File:Basilan Expanded 1824-1845.jpg|thumb|250px|Basilan island 1824–1845]]
On February 20, 1845, France forced the Sulu Sultan to formally cede Basilan Island to France in exchange for 100,000 piastres or 500,000 French francs. The French Admiral totally ignored Spanish protests. However, the inhabitants of Pasangen who remained loyal to Spain, fought against the French for a year, forcing the French King, Louis Philippe, also a Bourbon, to ultimately decide against taking Basilan although the French Cabinet already approved the annexation, even allocating the budget for Basilan for that year.

France's claims on Basilan were based on a formal cession from the Sultan of Sulu as well as formal written agreement from the Basilan datus. These claims were eventually withdrawn by France, formalized in a proclamation dated August 5, 1845, turning over full sovereignty of the island to Spain. During the same year, a US survey mission studied the potentials of the Sulu archipelago, but U.S. intervention did not start until 1899.