16th Century

• Year 1500

  Rise of the Kingdom of Maynila under the Bolkiah dynasty
• March 16, 1521

  
  

  Ferdinand Magellan landed on Homonhon with three small ships: Concepcion, Trinidad, and Victoria. Magellan named the place the Archipelago de San Lazaro in commemoration of the feast day of Saint Lazarus
• Ferdinand Magellan arrived at Cebu with his expedition.
• March 29, 1521

  Blood Compact between Magellan and Rajah Kulambo of Limasawa
• March 31, 1521

  The first mass on Philippine soil was celebrated.
• April 7, 1521

  Magellan met Rajah Humabon of Cebu and entered into another Blood Compact.

  Humabon and his wife were baptized into the Catholic Church.
• April 27, 1521

  Magellan was killed in the battle of Mactan.
• Year 1526

  Spain sent another expedition under Juan Cabot to the Philippines. The Cabot Expedition failed.
• Year 1543

  Spain sent a fifth expedition under Ruy López de Villalobos to the Philippines. The Expedition succeeded.
• February 2, 1543

  Villalobos arrived in the Philippines and named the islands of Samar and Leyte as Las Islas Filipinas in honor of the crown prince of Spain, Philip of Asturias.
• June 24, 1543

  Legaspi established the Spanish Colonial Government in Manila and proclaimed it the capital of the colony.
• August 20, 1572


  Legazpi died, and Guido de Lavezaris succeeded him as Governor-General (1572–1575).
• November 23, 1574

  The Chinese pirate captain Limahong attacked Manila but failed.
• December 2, 1574

  Limahong once again attacked Manila with 1500 soldiers but was defeated by the Spaniards.
• December 1574

  Lakandula led a short revolt against Spain.
• Year 1579

  The Diocese of Manila established
• April 1580

  King Philip II of Spain became King of Portugal, ending the Portuguese harassment of the Philippines.
• Year 1580

  The Spaniards instituted forced labor on all-male natives aged 16 to 60.
• Year 1582

  Battles took place between Spanish forces and Japanese Ronin.
• Year 1592

  Miguel de Benavides's Doctrina Christiana in Chinese published.
• Year 1593

  Doctrina Christiana in Spanish and Tagalog published. It is an early book of the Roman Catholic Catechism written by Fray Juan de Plasencia and believed to be one of the earliest books printed in the Philippines.
• Year 1598


  Colegio de Santa Potenciana, the first school for girls in the Philippines, was established.
• Year 1600

  Pedro Bucaneg inscribed the oral epic Biag ni Lam-ang.