Spanish East Indies chief consort, and his subjects. Seeking to develop trade between the East Indies and the Americas across the Pacific Ocean, Antonio de Mendoza encouraged the exploration of these Asian territories and commissioned the expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos to the Philippines in 1542–1543. Miguel López de Legazpi set out from Mexico, and established the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines in 1565, which became the town of San Miguel in present-day Cebu. 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
Volksraad (Dutch East Indies) H. H. Kan, Loa Sek Hie and Phoa Liong Gie. Arab members included Sayyid Ismail bin Sayyid Abdoellah bin Alwi Alatas. Among prominent indigenous parliamentarians in the Volksraad were the Javanese Tjokroaminoto and Mohammad Husni Thamrin, the Bantenese-Sundanese Ahmad Djajadiningrat, the Sumatran Agus Salim and the Menadonese Sam Ratulangi. Volksraad (Dutch East Indies) A People's Council (Volksraad) for the Dutch East Indies was provided for by law in 1916, but its establishment was procrastinated until the actual installation of the Council in 1918. It was a hesitant and slow attempt at democratisation of the Dutch East Indies. The power of