16th Century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1500 | Rise of Kingdom of Maynila under the Bolkiah dynasty | |
| 1521 | March 16 | Ferdinand Magellan lands on Homonhon with three small ships, named the Concepcion, Trinidad and Victoria. Magellan calls the place the Arcigelago de San Lazaro since March 16 is the feast day of Saint Lazarus |
| March 28 | Magellan reaches the Philippines | |
| March 29 | Blood Compact between Magellan and Rajah Kulambo of Limasawa | |
| March 31 | The first mass on Philippine soil is celebrated. | |
| April 7 | Magellan meets Rajah Humabon of Cebu and enters into another Blood Compact. Humabon and his wife are baptized into the Catholic Church. | |
| April 27 | Magellan is killed by Lapu-Lapu in the battle of Mactan. | |
| 1525 | Spain sends an expedition under Juan Garcia Jofre de Loaysa to the Philippines. The Loaysa Expedition failed | |
| 1526 | Spain sends another expedition under Juan Cabot to the Philippines. The Cabot Expedition also failed | |
| 1527 | Spain sends a fourth expedition under Alvaro de Saavedra to the Philippines. | |
| 1529 | Saavedra's expedition returns to Spain without Saavedra who died on the way home. | |
| 1536 | The Loaysa expedition returns to Spain. One of its survivors is Andres de Urdaneta, its chronicler. | |
| 1543 | Spain sends a fifth expedition under Ruy López de Villalobos to the Philippines. The Expedition succeeds | |
| February 2 | Villalobos arrives in the Philippines and names the islands of Samar and Leyte as Las Islas Filipinas in honor of the crown prince of Spain, Philip of Asturias | |
| 1565 | February 13 | Miguel López de Legazpi arrives in the Philippines with four ships and 380 men |
| 8 May | Legazpi established the first permanent Spanish settlement in the country | |
| Philippines was governed as a territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. | ||
| 1567 | Dagami Revolt (1567) | |
| 1568 | The Portuguese, under the command of General Gonzalo de Pereira, attack Cebu and blockade its port. | |
| 1570 | The Portuguese again attack the colony and are repulsed. | |
| May | Legaspi sends an expedition under the leadership of Martin de Goiti to Manila. | |
| 1571 | 19 May | The ruler of Manila, Rajah Suliman, wages war against the Spaniards |
| June 24 | Legaspi establishes the Spanish Colonial Government in Manila and proclaims it the capital of the colony | |
| 1572 | August 20 | Legazpi dies and Guido de Lavezaris succeeds him as Governor-General (1572–1575) |
| 1574 | November 23 | The Chinese pirate captain Limahong attacks Manila but fails |
| December 2 | Limahong again attacks Manila with 1500 soldiers but again fails to defeat the Spaniards | |
| December | Lakandula leads a short revolt against the Spanish. | |
| 1575 | Ciudad de Nueva Cáceres(later renamed as Naga City) established by Captain Pedro de Sanchez | |
| August 25 | Francisco de Sande appointed Governor-General (1575–1580) | |
| 1579 | Diocese of Manila established | |
| 1580 | April | Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñaloza appointed Governor-General (1580–1583) |
| King Philip II of Spain becomes King of Portugal, ending the Portuguese harassment of the Philippines | ||
| The Spaniards institute forced labor on all male natives aged 16 to 60. | ||
| 1583 | March 10 | Diego Ronquillo appointed Governor-General (1583–1584) |
| August | A great fire destroys Manila | |
| 1584 | 16 May | Santiago de Vera appointed Governor-General (1584–1590) |
| 1585 | Pampangos Revolt (1585) | |
| 1587 | Conspiracy of the Maharlikas (1587–1588) | |
| 1589 | Revolts Against the Tribute (1589) | |
| 1590 | Missionaries from the Society of Jesus established the Colegio de Manila in Intramuros. | |
| June 1 | Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas appointed Governor-General (1590–1593) | |
| 1592 | Miguel de Benavides's Doctrina Christiana in Chinese published | |
| 1593 | Doctrina Christiana in Spanish and Tagalog published | |
| October | Pedro de Rojas appointed Governor-General (1593) | |
| December 3 | Luis Pérez Dasmariñas appointed Governor-General (1593–1596) | |
| 1595 | Diocese of Manila raised to an Archbishopric | |
| Diocese of Nueva Segovia established. | ||
| Diocese of Caceres established. | ||
| Diocese of Cebu established. | ||
| Colegio de San Ildefonso founded in Cebu | ||
| 1596 | Magalat Revolt (1596) | |
| July 14 | Francisco de Tello de Guzmán appointed Governor-General (1596–1602) | |
| 1598 | Colegio de Santa Potenciana, the first school for girls in the Philippines, established | |
| 1600 | Pedro Bucaneg inscribes the oral epic Biag ni Lam-ang |
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Philippine History