Ferdinand Magellan's five ships set sail from Seville to circumnavigate the globe. The Basque second in command Sebastian Elcano will complete the expedition after Magellan's death in the Philippines.

Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines.

Battle of Mactan: Explorer Ferdinand Magellan is killed by natives in the Philippines led by chief Lapu-Lapu.

Cebu is established becoming the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines.

Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paves way to the creation of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines).

San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines.

Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.

Mayon Volcano, in the Philippines, erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano.

Eight provinces in the Philippines are declared under martial law by the Spanish Governor-General Ramón Blanco y Erenas. These were Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, and Batangas.

Philippine Declaration of Independence: General Emilio Aguinaldo declares the Philippines' independence from Spain.

Silliman University is founded in the Philippines. The first American private school in the country.

The University of the Philippines College of Engineering is established. This unit of the university is said to be the largest degree granting unit in the Philippines.

The Battle of Bud Bagsak in the Philippines ends.

Felix Manalo registers the Iglesia ni Cristo with the Philippine government.

Batangas is formally founded as one of the Philippines's earliest encomiendas.

U.S. Congress passes the Tydings-McDuffie Act allowing the Philippines to become a self-governing commonwealth.

Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

The Philippines ratifies an independence agreement.

Manuel L. Quezon is inaugurated as the second president of the Philippines.

The Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.

World War II: Fifty four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesus Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; Cesar Basa is killed.

World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as the Japanese victory becomes inevitable.

World War II: Japanese forces begin an assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.

World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.

World War II: The most famous (and first international) Aggie Muster is held on the Philippine island of Corregidor, by Brigadier General George F. Moore (with 25 fellow Texas A&M graduates who are under his command), while 1.8 million pounds of shells pounded the island over a 5 hour attack.

World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.

United States forces land in the Philippines.

General Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines when he commands an Allied assault on the islands, reclaiming them from the Japanese during the Second World War.

Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history, takes place in and around the Philippines between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the U.S. Third and U.S. Seventh Fleets.

World War II: The United States invades Luzon in the Philippines.

World War II: American forces land on Corregidor island in the Philippines.

World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by American forces.

World War II: American and Filipino troops take Manila in the Philippines.

World War II: liberation of the Philippines declared.

After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.

A plane crash in Cebu, Philippines kills Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others.

Vietnam War: In response to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson's call for "more flags" in Vietnam, Philippines President Elect Ferdinand Marcos announces he will send troops to help fight in South Vietnam.

Ferdinand Marcos becomes President of the Philippines.

The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.