With the Portuguese guarding access to the Indian Ocean around the Cape, a monopoly supported by papal bulls and the Treaty of Tordesillas, Spanish contact with the Far East waited until the success of the 1519–1522 Magellan–Elcano expedition that found a Southwest Passage around South America into the Pacific.

When the expedition's new leaders refused to honor Magellan's will and free his Malay slave Enrique, Enrique—who also acted as their interpreter—was able to turn Humabon against them, provoking a massacre of the Spanish on 1 May.

Its sultan Al-Mansur promptly pledged his realm as Spain's vassal the next day,[3] hoping to use them as a counterweight to Portuguese support of his rival Bayan Sirrullah of Ternate.

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,[4] the Victoria limped back to Spain to complete the first circumnavigation of the globe on September 6, the Trinidad surrendered herself to De Brito to avoid starvation in November,[5] and Charles I signed away any of his interests in the East Indies for 350,000 ducats in the Capitulation of Zaragoza on 22 April 1529.

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 the Manila-Acapulco Galleons.In 1571, exploiting a rivalry between the states of Tondo and Maynila, the later being a city-state established by Bruneian Islamic colonists, meant to supplant Tondo, the Spaniards captured Maynila and renamed it Manila, a former satellite-state of the Brunei Sultanate and then Manila was made the seat of the Spanish Captaincy General of the Philippines.

The Hindu Rajahnate of Butuan and the Kedatuans of Dapitan and Madja-as willingly joined the Spaniards to ally against their common Muslim rivals (Spain recently expelled the Muslims who invaded their homeland at the culmination of the Reconquista), Zamboanga was also taken from the Sultanate of Sulu via the efforts of Spanish and Peruvian soldiers[6] and native allies as all these territories were incorporated into the Spanish East Indies.

In northeastern Taiwan, the Spaniards built Fort Santo Domingo near Keelung in 1626 and a mission in Tamsui in 1628, which they occupied until they lost in the Second Battle of San Salvador.

Events/Artifacts (north to south) Events/Artifacts Artifacts In 1762, British troops captured Manila and held it for twenty months as well as making unsuccessful attempts to take control of Bulacan, Pampanga, and parts of Ilocos during the Seven Years' War.

In a similar vein, to promote innovation and education among the residents of the islands, Governor-General José Basco y Vargas established the Economic Society of the Friends of the Country.

Because the eastward route was more widely used for military purposes, in addition to commerce that included the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade, 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).

[9] "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 of civil cases [oidores], who will also be judges of criminal 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, the Archipelago of China, and its Mainland, 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 the Kingdoms of Castile and 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".The Spanish East Indies came to be defined as:[citation needed] The timeline of the territories ruled by Spain included:[citation needed] The Spanish used several names that are not currently used.

Also, because of the introduction of new tools, products, crops and technology by Spaniards in the three centuries of colonial rule, many Spanish loanwords entered the native languages of these countries.