Spanish East Indies Spanish Empire in the East Indies, that had the Governor-General of the Philippines as its "ex officio" highest judge. Both institutions were created by Royal Decree from King Felipe II Law XI (Audiencia y Chancillería Real de Manila en las Filipinas) of Title XV (De las Audiencias y Chancillerias Reales de las Indias) of Book II of the "Recopilación de Leyes de los Reynos de las Indias" of 1680—which compiles the original decree and the one of —describes the limits and functions of the Audiencia and its president. "In the city of Manila on the Island of Luzon, Head of
East Indies World was initially thought to be the easternmost part of the "Indies" by explorer Christopher Columbus, who had grossly underestimated the westerly distance from Europe to Asia. Later, to avoid confusion, the New World came to be called the "West Indies", while the original Indies came to be called the "East Indies". The designation "East Indian" was once primarily used to describe people of all of the East Indies, in order to avoid the potential confusion from the term American Indian who were once simply referred to as "Indians" (see the Native American name controversy for more information). East Indies