Spanish East Indies
The Spanish East Indies (Spanish: Indias orientales españolas Spanish pronunciation: [ˈindjas oɾjenˈtales espaˈɲolas]; Filipino: Silangang Indiyas ng Espanya) were the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire in Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1901, They were governed from Mexico City and Madrid through the captaincy general in Manila.
Areas
[change | change source]The territories are:
- the Captaincy General of the Philippines (1565–1898) (now the Philippines)
- Palaos (1574–1899)
- the Marianas (1667–1898 or 1899) (now Guam and Northern Mariana Islands)
- the Carolines (Nuevas Filipinas) (1686–1899) (now the Federated States of Micronesia)
- the Marshall Islands (1874–1885)
- parts of Formosa (now Taiwan) (1626–1642)
- parts of Sulawesi (Celebes) and of the Moluccas (Maluku Islands) (1580–1663) (now parts of Indonesia)
History
[change | change source]The King of Spain called himself "King of the East and West Indies".
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, they were ruled directly from 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 of America occupied the Spanish 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.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ https://photos.state.gov/libraries/164311/tratados_bilaterales/Insular%20Possessions%20Bevans%20623.pdf [dead link]
- ↑ Population of the Philippines Census Years 1799 to 2007 Archived 2012-07-04 at the Wayback Machine. National Statistical Coordination Board.