Many of their communities in Spain, Mexico, the United States, Australia, Canada, Latin America and the Philippines trace their origin to the early settlers from Europe and Southeast Asia during the Spanish colonial period and in recent overseas migration in the 1900s.

[23][24][25] Today, Hispanic Filipinos are found in all social classes worldwide, from upper wealthy to lower poor disadvantage backgrounds, and from high profiled individuals to ordinary unknown people.

In 1564, conquistadors led by Miguel López de Legazpi, prompted the colonization of the Philippine Islands that lasted for 333 years.

Their succeeding generation known as "Criollos" (Spaniards of pure White blood, born and raised in the colony) contributed to the population's development.

[35] For centuries several hundreds of White Spaniards settled in the islands along with their families to start a new beginning in the New World, to take advantage of the rich and exotic resources the colony had to offer.

Their descendance that consisted of "Criollos" or "Insulares" and "Mestizos" (those of mixed-blood individuals) became part of the island's indigenous society; some became town officers and farmers, and others became ordinary citizens.

In some provinces like, Vigan, Iloilo, Cebu, Pampanga, and Zamboanga, The Spanish government encouraged foreign merchants from Southeast Asia and the Asian continent to trade in the colony, along with the European and indigenous population, but they were not given certain privileges such as ownership of land.

Contacts with White Europeans, social intercourse between foreign merchants, and indigenous people resulted in a new ethnic group.

These group were called Mestizos (mixed-race individuals), who were born from intermarriages from White European Spaniards and indigenous Austronesian-speaking Filipino natives.

[36][37][38] According to a historical colonial conversation that was published, stated by a government official explains: "It is needful to encourage public instruction in all ways possible, permit newspapers subject to a liberal censure, to establish in Manila a college of medicine, surgery, and pharmacy: in order to break down the barriers that divide the races, and amalgamate them all into one.

This last plan appears to me more advisable, as the poll-tax is already established, and it is not opportune to make a trial of new taxes when it is a question of allowing the country to be governed by itself.

This regulation will produce an increase in the revenue of 200,000 or 300,000 pesos fuertes, and this sum shall be set aside to give the impulse for the amalgamation of the races, favoring crossed marriages by means of dowries granted to the single women in the following manner.

In the late 1700s to early 1800s, Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga, an Agustinian Friar, in his Two Volume Book: "Estadismo de las islas Filipinas"[1][2] compiled a census of the Spanish-Philippines based on the tribute counts (Which represented an average family of seven to ten children[40] and two parents, per tribute)[41] and came upon the following statistics: The Spanish-Filipino population as a proportion of the provinces widely varied; with as high as 19% of the population of Tondo province[1]: 539  (The most populous province and former name of Manila), to Pampanga 13.7%,[1]: 539  Cavite at 13%,[1]: 539  Laguna 2.28%,[1]: 539  Batangas 3%,[1]: 539  Bulacan 10.79%,[1]: 539  Bataan 16.72%,[1]: 539  Ilocos 1.38%,[2]: 31  Pangasinan 3.49%,[2]: 31  Albay 1.16%,[2]: 54  Cebu 2.17%,[2]: 113  Samar 3.27%,[2]: 113 Iloilo 1%,[2]: 113  Capiz 1%,[2]: 113  Bicol 20%,[42] and Zamboanga 40%.

[54] They contribute to some of the Philippines's most important investments in infrastructures such as telecommunication, technology, electricity, water, transport, banking, land economy, tourism, sport and entertainment, shipping trade and marketing.

Discourteous and hypocritical Filipino politicians influenced by third world Southeast Asian[57] corruption, political agendas, a failed government and economic system, extreme poverty and years of bleak uncertain future that still surrounds the Philippines[58] to this day, led to the People Power Revolution in 1986.

[59] In 2010, the former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a fluent Spanish speaker,[60] re-instated the language as a compulsory subject to be taught in schools and universities.

[61] One of the reasons of change was that she wanted to the Philippines to return to traditional ways of life, be bilingual, competitive, wealthy and respected, and able to compete in the world economy.

In addition, Chavacano (a creole language based largely in the Spanish vocabulary) is spoken in the southern Philippines and forms the majority of Zamboanga Peninsula and Basilan region.

[67] Hispanic art explores the rich history and story of the ancient world, combined with colonialism, religion[68] and contemporary way of life.