East Indies Philippine independence. The East Indies may also include the former French-occupied Indochina, former British territories Brunei and Singapore and former Portuguese East Timor. It does not, however, include the former Dutch New Guinea western New Guinea (West Papua), which is geographically considered to be part of Melanesia. The inhabitants of the East Indies are almost never called East Indians, distinguishing them both from inhabitants of the Caribbean (which is also called the West Indies) and from the indigenous peoples of the Americas who are often called "American Indians." In colonial times they were just "natives". However, the peoples of the
Spanish East Indies architecture and fashion also have much Spanish influence. The national cuisines of these countries also have Mexican and Spanish elements. In terms of ethnicity, the inhabitants of these territories (1/3rd of Luzon island's population and port-cities and military outposts, mainly Iloilo, Cebu, Legaspi, Vigan and Zamboanga etc.) are descendants of Latin American and Spanish settlers. These descendants of mixed heritage are known as mestizos. A sizeable proportion of the current population of the Northern Marianas Islands (45–55%) and Guam (30–45%), as well as that of Palau (15–25%) is of Filipino descent. Some of the local peoples in the previously stated