Spanish East Indies not materialize.) 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. For over 256 years, the Spanish East Indies were governed by a governor-captain general, and an audiencia. All economic matters of the Philippines were managed by the Viceroyalty of New Spain, located in Mexico. 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
Railway companies in the Dutch East Indies Railway companies in the Dutch East Indies This is a list of railway companies in the Dutch East Indies . Some companies initially operated with a model called the narrow gauge railway and tram company. In 1945, after the Proclamation of Independence, the Department of Railways of the Republic of Indonesia (DKA) was founded, resulting in the transfer of ownership of the railway lines. After recognition of the independence of Indonesia by the Dutch in December 1949, the company became a national company with headquarters in Bandung. Lines were constructed only on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Madura and Sulawesi.