Spanish East Indies

Spanish East Indies
Indias orientales españolas (Spanish)
Silangang Indiyas ng Espanya (Filipino)
1565–1898[1]
Motto: Plus Ultra
"Further Beyond"
Anthem: Marcha Real
"Royal March"
  Spanish East Indies
StatusColony of the Spanish Empire
Capital
Official languagesSpanish
Common languagesPhilippine languages
Micronesian languages
East Formosan languages
Hokkien[a]
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
Governor-General 
• 1565–1572 (first)
Miguel López de Legazpi
• 1898 (last)
Diego de los Ríos
LegislatureCortes Generales
Historical eraSpanish Empire
• Legazpi Colonizes Cebu
27 April 1565
26 August 1642
28 September 1821
12 June 1898
10 December 1898[1]
Area
1877[2]345,155 km2 (133,265 sq mi)
Population
• 1877[2]
5,567,685
CurrencySpanish dollar, Spanish peseta
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Ancient Barangays
Military Government of the Philippine Islands
Guam
Today part ofPhilippines, Guam, Taiwan, Palau, Northern Marianas Islands, North Sulawesi, Federated States of Micronesia

The Spanish East Indies (Spanish: Indias orientales españolas; Filipino: Silangang Indiyas ng Espanya) were the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire in Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1898, governed through the captaincy general in Manila for the Spanish Crown, initially reporting to Mexico City, then Madrid, then later directly reporting to Madrid after the Spanish American Wars of Independence.

The King of Spain traditionally styled himself "King of the East and West Indies (Spanish: Rey de las Indias Orientales y Occidentales; Filipino: Hari ng Silangang at Kanlurang Indiyas).

From 1565 to 1821 these territories, together with the Spanish West Indies, were administered through the Viceroyalty of New Spain based in Mexico City. After independence of the Mexican Empire, Manila reported directly to Madrid. The territories ruled included present-day Philippines, Guam and the Mariana Islands, as well as Palau, part of Micronesia and for a brief period Northern Taiwan and parts of North Sulawesi and the Moluccas. Cebu was the first seat of government, which later transferred to Manila.

As a result of the Spanish–American War in 1898, the United States occupied the Philippines and Guam, while Spain sold other smaller islands to Germany in the German–Spanish Treaty of 1899. The few remaining islands were ceded to the United States when the Treaty of Washington was ratified in 1901.

  1. ^ "United States–Spain Treaties in Force, January 1, 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-09. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  2. ^ Population of the Philippines Census Years 1799 to 2007 Archived 2012-07-04 at the Wayback Machine. National Statistical Coordination Board.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).