The Kingdom of Seludong or Maynila, which after colonization became Manila, capital of the Philippines, was one of three major Kingdoms that dominated the area around the upper portion of the Pasig River before the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 1500s.
The early inhabitants of the present-day Manila engaged in trade relations with its Asian neighbors as well as with the Hindu empires of Java and Sumatra as confirmed by archaeological findings. Trade ties between China became extensive by the 10th century, while contacts with Arabs reached its peak in the 12th century.
During the reign of Sultan Bolkiah (1485-1521) the Kingdom of Brunei decided to break the Tondo's monopoly in the China trade by attacking Tondo and establishing the city state of Seludong as a Bruneian satellite. This is narrated through Tausug and Malay royal histories, where the names Seludong, Saludong or Selurong are used to denote Manila prior to colonization.
Because of the presence of plants called "nila" (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea), this new city was eventually named "May-nila," which transliterates as "There is nila (here)". Maynila is also sometimes called Maynilad because nila is popularly referred to as nilad by people unfamiliar with the plant, a correction asserted by historians Ambeth Ocampo and Carmen Guerrero Nakpil.