Philippines: Did you mean...?

An audiencia began as a judicial institution in medieval Spain, but in the 16th century, it was applied as the highest form of local government in key cities of the Spanish Empire. An audiencia had a panel of judges made responsible...

Woodes Rogers (1679-1732) was a privateer turned administrator who was instrumental in the fight against piracy in the Caribbean when he served as Governor of the Bahamas (appointed 1717 and again in 1728). Rogers is also known...

Cochineal is a brilliant red dye extracted from the crushed bodies of parasitic insects which prey on cacti in the warmer parts of the Americas. The dye was an important part of trade in ancient Mesoamerica and South America and throughout...

William Dampier (1651-1715) was an English explorer, navigator, and naturalist, who was the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He was also among the first Englishmen to step foot on Australian soil when he sailed...

A map of the Magellan–Elcano expedition (1519–1522), a Spanish-sponsored maritime voyage authorized under Charles I of Spain (reign 1516–1556; later Holy Roman Emperor...

While there have been pirates and privateers of all nationalities, some Dutch mariners were particularly troublesome in the early modern period, targeting, in particular, the Spanish Main but also shipping in the eastern...

The term mythology comes from the Greek words mythos (“story of the people”) and logos (“word”) and so is defined as the spoken (later written) story of a culture. Modern scholars have divided myths...

The apparatus of colonial government in the Spanish Empire consisted of multiple levels, starting with the monarchy and Council of the Indies at the top and moving down to the viceroy, audiencias, mayors, and...

The Guadalcanal Campaign (aka Battle for Guadalcanal) in the Solomon Islands was a series of land, air, and sea battles between US and Japanese forces in the Pacific War of WWII. Lasting...

The Doolittle Raid saw 16 US B-25 bombers hit Tokyo and other targets in Japan on 18 April 1942. This was the first time that Japan's home islands had been bombed since Japan's infamous attack...