Spanish East Indies

TheSpanish East Indieswere the colonies of theSpanish EmpireinAsia and Oceaniafrom 1565 to 1901, governed through thecaptaincy generalinManilafor theSpanish Crown,initially reporting toMexico City,then later directly reporting toMadridafter theSpanish American Wars of Independence.

Spanish East Indies Indias orientales españolas(Spanish) Silangang Indiyas ng Espanya(Filipino)
1565–1901
Flag (1843–1899) Coat of arms
Motto:Plus Ultra "Further Beyond"
Anthem:Marcha Real "Royal March"
Spanish East Indies
Status	Colonies of theSpanish Empire Territories ofNew Spain(1565–1821)
Capital	Cebu(1565–1571) Manila(1571–1898) Iloilo(13 August 1898 – 10 December 1898)
Official languages	Spanish
Common languages	Philippine languages Micronesian languages East Formosan languages Hokkien
Religion	Catholicism(state religion), Islam,Philippine traditional religion,Micronesian traditional religion,Taiwanese aboriginal traditional religion,Overseas Chinese folk religion
Monarch
• 1565–1598 (first)	Philip II
• 1886–1898 (last)	Alfonso XIII
Legislature	Cortes Generales
Historical era	Spanish Empire
•LegazpicolonizesCebu	27 April 1565
•LossofSpanish Formosa	26 August 1642
•Philippine declaration of independence	12 June 1898
•United States annexation of the Philippines and Guam	10 December 1898
•Sale of the remaining islands to Germany	12 February 1899
•Remaining islands ceded to the United States	23 March 1901
Area
1877	345,155 km2(133,265 sq mi)
Population
• 1877	5,567,685
Currency	Spanish dollar,Spanish peseta
Preceded by Succeeded by Viceroyalty of New Spain 1642: Dutch Formosa 1897: Dictatorial Government of the Philippines 1898: Military Government of the Philippine Islands Naval Government of Guam 1899: German New Guinea
Today part of	Philippines Guam Taiwan Palau Northern Marianas Islands Indonesia North Sulawesi Federated States of Micronesia

Theking of Spaintraditionally styled himself "King of the East and West Indies" (Spanish:Rey de las Indias Orientales y Occidentales).

From 1565 to 1821 these territories, together with theSpanish West Indies,were administered through theViceroyalty of New Spainbased inMexico City.Afterindependenceof theMexican Empire,Manila reported directly to Madrid. The territories ruled included present-dayPhilippines,Guamand theMariana Islands,as well asPalau,part ofMicronesiaand for a brief periodNorthern Taiwanand parts ofNorth Sulawesiand theMoluccas(Dutch East Indies(VOC)).Cebuwas the first seat of government, which later transferred toManila.

As a result of theSpanish–American Warin 1898, theUnited Statesoccupied the Philippines and Guam, while Spain sold other smaller islands toGermanyin theGerman–Spanish Treaty of 1899.The few remaining islands were ceded to the United States when theTreaty of Washingtonwas ratified in 1901.

History

Main articles:Magellan Expedition,History of Guam,andHistory of the Philippines (1565–1898)

Exploration and Settlement (1521–1643)

Reception of theManila galleonby theChamorroin theLadrones Islands,Boxer Codex(c. 1590)

With thePortugueseguarding access to theIndian Oceanaroundthe Cape,a monopoly supported bypapal bullsand theTreaty of Tordesillas,Spanish contact with theFar Eastwaited until the success of the 1519–1522Magellan–Elcanoexpeditionthat found aSouthwest PassagearoundSouth Americainto thePacific.The expedition reached the outskirts of the East Indies on 6 March 1521, sighting theMarianas.Upon reaching thePhilippines,Magellan was able toconvertand ally withRajah Humabon,theRajahofCebuat that time, but died shortly thereafter in theBattle of Mactanwhile trying to shore up Humabon's control over nearby islands. When the expedition's new leaders refused to honor Magellan's will andfreehisMalayslaveEnrique,Enrique—who also acted as their interpreter—was able to turn Humabon against them, provoking a massacre of the Spanish on 1 May. Consolidated onto theTrinidadand theVictoria,the survivors were able to reach thecity-stateofTidorein theSpice Islandson 8 November. Its sultanAl-Mansurpromptly pledged his realm as Spain's vassal the next day,hoping to use them as a counterweight to Portuguese support of his rivalBayan SirrullahofTernate.Within a year, he was joined in this by Yusuf, sultan ofJailoloon nearbyHalmahera.In the event, though, Portuguese under Antonio de Brito forced Al-Mansur to surrender the Spaniards who had stayed in his realm and abjure any connection to Spain on 14 May 1522,theVictorialimped back to Spain to complete the firstcircumnavigation of the globeon September 6, theTrinidadsurrendered herself to De Brito to avoid starvation in November,andCharlesIsigned away any of his interests in the East Indies for 350,000ducatsin theCapitulation of Zaragozaon 22 April 1529.

Seeking to develop trade between theEast Indiesand theAmericasacross the Pacific Ocean,Antonio de Mendozaencouraged the exploration of these Asian territories and commissioned the expedition of hisin-lawRuy López de Villalobosto the Philippines in 1542–1543.Miguel López de Legazpiset out from Mexico, and established the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines in 1565, which became the town ofSan Miguelin present-day Cebu. That same year, another member of the expedition,Andrés de Urdaneta,discovered a maritime route from the Philippines to Mexico, across the Pacific, leading to the important transpacific transport link of theManila-Acapulco Galleons.

Routes of early Spanish expeditions in the Philippines.

In 1571, exploiting a rivalry between the states of Tondo and Maynila, the later being a city-state established by Bruneian Muslim colonists, meant to supplant Tondo, the Spaniards captured Maynila and renamed itManila,a former satellite-state of the Brunei Sultanate and then Manila was made the seat of the SpanishCaptaincy General of the Philippines.The HinduRajahnate of Butuanand theKedatuans of DapitanandMadja-aswillingly joined the Spaniards to ally against their common Muslim rivals (Spain recently expelled the Muslims who invaded their homeland at the culmination of theReconquista), Zamboanga was also taken from theSultanate of Suluvia the efforts of Spanish and Peruvian soldiersand native allies as all these territories were incorporated into the Spanish East Indies.

The Philippines became the center of operations for further Spanish wars in Asia including theCastilian Waragainst the Sultanate of Brunei, raids against the Ottoman protectorate of the Sultanate of Aceh, the brief conquests of the Sultanates of Tidor and Ternate as well as Spanish campaigns intoCambodiaand Taiwan. These and other Asian territories claimed by the Spanish crown were to be governed from the Viceroyalty of New Spain in Mexico City.

The Manila-Acapulco galleons shipped products gathered from both Asia-Pacific and the Americas, such as silk, spices, silver, gold and other Asian-Pacific islander products to Mexico. Products brought from Asia-Pacific were sent toVeracruzand shipped to Spain and, via trading, to the rest of Europe, while Spanish-Mexican navigators brought with them Hispanic and indigenous Mexican customs, religion, languages, foods, and cultural traditions to the Philippines, Guam, and the Mariana Islands.

In 1606, the Spanish established trade links with theMaluku Islands,which continued until 1663. Contacts withJapanwere also established andSebastián Vizcaínowas sent as ambassador in 1611, until Japan closed its trading post in 1630. In northeastern Taiwan, the Spaniards builtFort Santo DomingonearKeelungin 1626 and a mission inTamsuiin 1628, which they occupied until they lost in theSecond Battle of San Salvador.Several Pacific islands were visited by Spanish ships in the 16th century, includingNew Guinea(Yñigo Ortiz de Retezin 1545), theSolomon Islands(Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboain 1568), and theMarquesas Islands(Álvaro de Mendaña de Neirain 1595), but they made no effort to trade with or colonize them.

During the first half of the seventeenth century, there were a number of clashes with the Dutch in and around the Spanish East Indies as the Dutch expanded their interests in South East Asia. The most important of these werea series of naval battlesin 1646, when the local Spanish forces defeated a concerted effort of the Dutch to take control of the Philippines.

In 1668,BlessedDiego Luis de San Vitoresestablished the first mission on Guam, where he and SaintPedro Calungsodwere later martyred.

In 1762, British troopscaptured Manilaand held it for twenty months as well as making unsuccessful attempts to take control of Bulacan, Pampanga, and parts of Ilocos during theSeven Years' War.With an army made up mostly of local allied forces, the Spanish were able toresist the British invasionand kept the British confined to Manila and nearbyCavite.Rebellions by local leaders at the instigation of the British, such as that ofDiego Silangand his wifeGabriela,were crushed by the Spanish.Under the peace settlement, Manila was exchanged, along with British-occupiedHavana,forFloridaandMenorca.Manila was ceded back to Spanish authorities in April 1764.

Colonial government

See also:Viceroyalty of New Spain,Captaincy General of the Philippines,andGovernor-General of the Philippines

Manila,capital of the Spanish East Indies, 1899.

The Seven Years' War promptedCharles IIIto initiateextensive governmental reformsthroughout the overseas possessions. Anintendenciawas established in Manila in 1784 to handle the government finances and to promote the economy. (The plan to introduce more intendencias throughout the Philippines did not materialize.) In a similar vein, to promote innovation and education among the residents of the islands,Governor-GeneralJosé Basco y Vargasestablished theEconomic Society of the Friends of the Country.

For over 256 years, the Spanish East Indies were governed by a governor-captain general, and anaudiencia.All economic matters of the Philippines were managed by the Viceroyalty of New Spain, located in Mexico. Because the eastward route was more widely used for military purposes, in addition to commerce that included theManila-Acapulco galleontrade, most government correspondence went through Mexico, rather than directly to Spain (with the exception of a short period at the end of the 18th century).

In 1821, the New Spanish Viceroyalty collapsed following theMexican War of Independence,which resulted in theFirst Mexican Empire.All control of the Spanish East Indies government was then transferred to Madrid, until the United States annexed most Spanish territories in the Asia-Pacific region after theSpanish–American Warof 1898.

The Audiencia and Captaincy General

Main articles:Captaincy General of the PhilippinesandReal Audiencia of Manila

In 1574 theCaptaincy General of the Philippineswas created as a dependency of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The Real Audiencia of Manila was created on 5 May 1583 and the first session was held on 15 June 1584as the highest tribunal of the Spanish Empire in the East Indies, that had the Governor-General of the Philippines as itsex officiohighest judge. Both institutions were created by the Royal Decree ofKing Felipe II.

Law XI (Audiencia y Chancillería Real de Manila en las Filipinas) of Title XV (De las Audiencias y Chancillerias Reales de las Indias) of Book II of theRecopilación deLeyes de los Reynos de las Indiasof 1680—which compiles the original decree and the one of 25 May 1596—describes the limits and functions of the Audiencia and its president.

"In the city of Manila on the Island of Luzon, Head of the Philippines, shall reside another Royal Audiencia and Chancellery of ours, with a president, who shall be governor and captain general; four judges ofcivil cases[oidores], who will also be judges ofcriminal cases[alcaldes del crimen]; a crown attorney [fiscal]; a bailiff [alguacil mayor]; a lieutenant of the Gran Chancellor; and the other necessary ministers and officials; and which shall have for district said Island of Luzon, and the rest of the Philippines, theArchipelago of China,and itsMainland,discovered and to be discovered. And we order that the governor and captain general of said Islands and Provinces, and president of their Royal Audiencia, have exclusively the superior government of the entire district of said Audiencia in war and peace, and shall make provisions and favors in our Royal Name, which in conformity to the laws of this Compilation and the rest of theKingdoms of Castileand the instructions and powers that We shall grant, he should and can do; and in gubernatorial matters and cases that shall arise, that are of importance, said president-governor should consult on them with the judges of said Audiencia, so that they give their consultive opinions, and having heard them, he should provide the most convenient to the service of God and ours and the peace and tranquility of said Province and Republic ".

Territories

TheSpanish Empire's"Islas Filipínas, Marianas y Carolinas"under the Spanish East Indies Captaincy General based inManilaand other formerly planned and former possessions and adjacent islands. 1858, Fragment.

1888 map showing the Spanish East Indies, including Palau Islands (map without Philippines)

The Spanish East Indies came to be defined as:

• Las Islas Filipinas (today the Republic of the Philippines): Manila,Luzon,the Visayas, Palawan, Balambangan Island, Northern Mindanao, Zamboanga, Basilan, Jolo, Palmas Islands, Spratly Islands; including isolated outposts inKeelung,Taiwan, and in the islands of Gilolo,Ternate,andTidorein the Maluku Islands andManadoin Northern part of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes).
• Islas Carolinas(theFederated States of Micronesia)
• Islas Marianas(Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islandsand the United StatesTerritory of Guam)
• Islas Palaos(Republic of Palau)

The Murillo Velarde Map(Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas Dedicada al Rey Nuestro Señor por el Mariscal d. Campo D. Fernando Valdes Tamon Cavallº del Orden de Santiago de Govor. Y Capn), (Manila, 1734)

The timeline of the territories ruled by Spain included:

• theCaptaincy General of the Philippines(1565–1898) (now thePhilippines).
• Palau(1574–1899).
• theMarianas(1667–1898 or 1899) (nowGuamandNorthern Mariana Islands).
• theCarolines(Nuevas Filipinas) (1686–1899) (now theFederated States of Micronesia).
• parts ofFormosa(nowTaiwan) (1626–1642).
• parts ofSulawesi(Celebes) and of the Moluccas (Maluku Islands) (1580–1663) (now parts ofIndonesia).

The Spanish used several names that are not currently used. Gran Moluca (Great Molluccas) for the island of Mindanao and Nueva Castilla (New Castile) for Luzon.

Because Spanish interest in the region was primarily focused on its use as a base for trade with East Asia, direct Spanish control over the area expanded slowly. TheBatanesIslands were conquered in the 18th century byJosé Basco.The highlands of Luzon remained outside Spanish control until the early 19th century, and the southernmost tip ofPalawan,not until the late 1890s. The rest ofMindanao(Caesarea Karoli)—aside from outposts in Northern Mindanao,Zamboanga,Cotabato,and the islands ofBasilanandJolo,the rest was nominally under Spanish control, recognizing Spanish rule, but left to administer their own affairs, as in the cases of theSulu,and theMaguindanaosultanates, as well as a number of otherLumadtribes not affiliated with either. Similarly, Palau and the vast majority of the Caroline Islands were not governed by Spanish missions until the early 19th century.

Cultural influence in the former Spanish East Indies

Hispanic

Main article:Spanish influence on Filipino culture

Spain's influence on its former territories in Asia-Pacific is significant to this day. The majority of the people of the Philippines, Guam and the Mariana Islands belong to theCatholic faithwhich was introduced by Spanish missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries. A large part of the population in these countries were forced to useSpanish namesand surnames, many of which are still in use. Also, because of the introduction of new tools, products, crops and technology by Spaniards and Mexicans in the three centuries of colonial rule, many Spanish loanwords entered the native languages of these countries. Art forms such as music, architecture and fashion also have much Spanish influence. The national cuisines of these countries also have a few Mexican and Spanish elements.

Filipino

A sizeable proportion of the current population of the Northern Marianas Islands (45–55%) and Guam (30–45%), as well as that of Palau (15–25%) is of Filipino descent. Some of the local peoples in the previously stated territories also use Filipino names and surnames (one example is the surname Pangelinan, which comes from the Filipino surname Pangilinan). The currentChamorropopulation is believed to be partly of Filipino descent, both because of the historic links between Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands and the Philippines during Spanish rule, and currently through different waves of migration.The cuisines of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau are also heavily influenced by Filipino cuisine, with dishes likePancit,Lumpia,Kelaguen,Halo-haloandOkoybeing the most noticeable.

See also

• Spanish Filipino
• Dutch East Indies
• Captaincy General of the Philippines
• Spanish American wars of independence

Bibliography

• Cunningham, Charles Henry (1919).Stephens, H Morse;Bolton, Herbert E(eds.).The Audiencia in the Spanish Colonies as illustrated by the Audiencia of Manila (1583–1800)(Project Gutenberg).Publications in History. Berkeley:University of California Press.OCLC19679822.
• Phelan, John Leddy (1959).The Hispanization of the Philippines: Spanish Aims and Filipino Responses, 1565–1700.Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.ASINB0007DMLSE.

External links

• Web oficial Asociación Española de Estudios del Pacífico(archived 11 August 2007)
• Philippine "The Early Spanish Period"
• The Impact of Spanish Rule in the Philippines(archived 1 October 2007)
• Guam History and Culture(archived 3 November 2012)