Spanish East Indies Spanish East Indies The Spanish East Indies were the colonies of the Spanish Empire in Asia and Oceania from 1565 until 1899. At one time or another, they included the Philippines, Marianas, Carolines, Palaos and Guam, as well as parts of Formosa (Taiwan), Sulawesi (Celebes) and the Moluccas (Maluku). The King of Spain traditionally styled himself "King of the East and West Indies". Administratively, the Spanish East Indies was part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines and the Real Audiencia of Manila. Cebu was the first seat of government, later transferred to Manila. From 1565 to 1821 these territories,
East Indies and early 16th century led by the Portuguese explorers. The Portuguese described the entire region they discovered as the "Indies". Eventually, the region would be broken up into a series of "Indies": The East Indies, which was also called "Old Indies" or "Great Indies", consisting of India, and the West Indies, also called "New Indies" or "Little Indies", consisting of the Americas. These regions were important sources of trading goods, particularly cotton, indigo and spices after the establishment of European trading companies: the British East India Company and Dutch East India Company, among others, in the 17th century. The New