History of the Philippines (1521–1898)
The history of the Philippines from 1521 to 1898, also known as the Spanish colonial period, was a period during which Spain controlled the Philippine islands as the Captaincy General of the Philippines, initially under New Spain until Mexican independence in 1821, which gave Madrid direct control over the area. It was also known as Spanish East Indies to the colonialists. It started with the arrival in 1521 of European explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailing for Spain, which heralded the period when the Philippines was a colony of the Spanish Empire, and ended with the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in 1898, which marked the beginning of the American colonial era of Philippine history.
Battles of La Naval de Manila
In view of their previous failures to disrupt the Spanish Empire's trade in Asia, the Dutch decided to seize the Philippines, feeling certain that they were strong enough to carry out the attacks. From the time they conquered the Spanish settlement in the north of Formosa in 1642, the Dutch became increasingly eager to attack Manila because they knew the city lacked strong defenses and that it was unable to receive enough aid because the Spanish were occupied by the wars in Europe.