THE SPANISH COLONIAL GOVERNMENT :

Since Spain was far from the country , the Spanish King ruled the Island through the viceroy of Mexico,which was then another Spanish colony ,the Spanish king ruled the Philippines through a governor general .It is implemented the decrees and legal codes Spain promulgated although many of its provisions could not apply to condition in the colonies. It also exercised legislative and judicial power.

The Philippine Islands first came to the attention of Europeans with the Spanish expedition around the world led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.Over the next several decades,other Spanish expeditions were send off to the islands. In 1543, Ruy Lopez De Villalobos led an expedition to the islands and gave the name Las Islas Filipinas ( after the Philip II of Spain ) to the Islands of Samar and Leyte. The name would later be given to the entire archipelago.