colony · Maritime Southeast Asia
Captaincy General of the Philippines
Origins
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived from New Spain in 1565, founded a settlement at Cebu and in 1571 took the Kingdom of Maynila, making Manila the capital. The islands, named after Philip II, were administered through the Viceroyalty of New Spain until Mexican independence in 1821.
Rule and society
A governor-general ruled with the Real Audiencia, while friars of the religious orders converted most lowland Filipinos to Catholicism and wielded great local power. The Manila galleons carried Chinese silk and porcelain to Acapulco for Mexican silver from 1565 to 1815. Governor Jose Basco y Vargas introduced the tobacco monopoly in 1782. Muslim Mindanao and Sulu resisted conquest.
Decline and legacy
Britain occupied Manila in 1762 to 1764. Nationalism grew after the Cavite mutiny of 1872, and the execution of Jose Rizal in 1896 fed the Philippine Revolution. Spain ceded the islands to the United States in the Treaty of Paris of 1898.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (16)
- Rajahnate of Butuan was conquered by Captaincy General of the Philippines1565 CE – 1756 CE
- Rajahnate of Cebu was conquered by Captaincy General of the Philippines1565 CE
- Captaincy General of the Philippines was a colony of Spanish Empire1565 CE – 1898 CE
- Captaincy General of the Philippines was part of New Spain1565 CE – 1821 CE
- Kedatuan of Madja-as was conquered by Captaincy General of the Philippines1569 CE
- Kingdom of Tondo was a vassal of Captaincy General of the Philippines1571 CE – 1589 CE
- Namayan was conquered by Captaincy General of the Philippines1571 CE
- Kingdom of Maynila was conquered by Captaincy General of the Philippines1571 CE
- Caboloan was conquered by Captaincy General of the Philippines1576 CE
- Tidore Sultanate was a protectorate of Captaincy General of the Philippines1606 CE – 1663 CE
- British occupation of Manila split from Captaincy General of the Philippines1762 CE
- Maguindanao Sultanate was a protectorate of Captaincy General of the Philippines1861 CE – 1898 CE
- Sulu Sultanate was a protectorate of Captaincy General of the Philippines1878 CE – 1898 CE
- Yapese chiefdoms was part of Captaincy General of the Philippines1886 CE
- Tagalog Republic split from Captaincy General of the Philippines1896 CE
- Revolutionary Government of the Philippines split from Captaincy General of the Philippines1898 CE
More states of Maritime Southeast Asia →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Captaincy General of the Philippines. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-general-of-the-philippines
- MLA
- “Captaincy General of the Philippines.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-general-of-the-philippines. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Captaincy General of the Philippines.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-general-of-the-philippines.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Captaincy General of the Philippines’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/captaincy-general-of-the-philippines (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻