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.
Military history of the Philippines
The Spanish–American War was formally concluded on December 10, 1898 by the Treaty of Paris between the United States and Spain. In that treaty, Spain ceded the Philippine Archipelago to the United States, and the United States agreed to pay US$20,000,000 to the Spanish government. The United States then exercised sovereignty over the Philippines. The insurgent First Philippine Republic was formally established with the proclamation of the Malolos Constitution on January 23, 1899.