Spanish East Indies together with the Spanish West Indies, were administered through the Viceroyalty of New Spain based in Mexico City. After Mexican independence, they were ruled directly from Madrid. As a result of the Spanish–American War in 1898, the Philippines and Guam were occupied by the United States while about 6,000 of the remaining smaller islands were sold to Germany in the German–Spanish Treaty of 1899. The few remaining islands were ceded to the United States when the Treaty of Washington was ratified in 1901. Spanish contact began on , when a Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan reached the Mariana Islands.
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.