In the beginning of the history of the Philippines, the arrival of the first humans via land bridges at least 30,000 years ago.[8] Austronesians actively settled the island from Taiwan from 2500 BCE and displaced Negritoes from the Coastal areas, forcing them into the mountains. Due to influence from the Cholas and states they had cultural influence over, Indianized Hindu kingdoms arose in the early Medieval period and the Islamic Sultanate of Brunei extended its rule over parts of Mindanao by the late 15th century. The first visit from Western explorers is the arrival of a Spanish expedition led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who arrived on Homonhon Island, southeast of Samar on 16 March 1521.[9] Spanish colonization began with the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi's expedition and permanent settlement in the island of Cebu in 1565,[10] and more settlements continued northward with the Spanish settlers reaching the bay of Manila on the island of Luzon in 1571.[11] In Manila, they established a new town and thus began an era of Spanish colonization that lasted for more than three centuries.[12] The Philippines were conquered by the United States in 1898, occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945 and given independence in 1946.