Mexican settlement in the Philippines territory subject to the designs of Washington, D.C. During the Spanish period, the islands formed part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, coupled with other areas of the Pacific Ocean such as the Marianas and the Caroline Islands and during a short period in northern Taiwan. The Spaniards made trade routes from Mexico to the Philippines, the main ports of Mexico today to start their starting points were Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta with their final destination to Manila, the current capital of the Philippines. The Spanish ships on these routes were known as the Manila galleons. After the arrival of
Ecoregions in the Philippines Ecoregions in the Philippines The Philippine archipelago is one of the world's great reservoirs of biodiversity and endemism. The archipelago includes over 7000 islands, and a total land area of 300,780 km². The Philippines was never connected to mainland Asia via land bridges, so the flora and fauna of the islands had to cross ocean straits to reach the Philippines. The Philippines is part of the Indomalaya ecozone, and its flora and fauna is mostly derived from tropical Asia. Botanically, the Philippines are part of Malesia, a floristic province that includes the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, and New Guinea. Most of