page_title: Economy of the Philippines
section_title: New Spain (1565–1815)
hierarchical_section_title: Economy of the Philippines / Spanish Era / New Spain (1565–1815)
caption_attribution_description: English: Tipos del País (19th Century Watercolor) by José Honorato Lozano
context_page_description: The economy of the Philippines is the world's 36th largest economy by nominal GDP according to the 2019 estimate of the International Monetary Fund's statistics, it is the 13th largest economy in Asia, and the 3rd largest economy in the ASEAN after Indonesia and Thailand. The Philippines is one of the emerging markets and is the sixth richest in Southeast Asia by GDP per capita values, after the regional countries of Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
  The Philippines is primarily considered a newly industrialized country, which has an economy in transition from one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing. As of 2017, GDP by purchasing power parity was estimated to be at $1.980 trillion.
  Primary exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, and fruits. Major trading partners include Japan, China, the United States, Singapore, South Korea, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Taiwan and Thailand. The Philippines has been named as one of the Tiger Cub Economies together with Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand.
context_section_description: The natives were slavered among them by other tribes like Lapu-Lapu which forced other islands to pay taxes. The arrival of the Spanish removed this slavering system. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi with Tlaxcaltecs from Mexico conquered and unified the islands. The conquered was possible thanks to the discovery of the trip back to Mexico coast by Agustino Urdaneta. The administration of Islas Filipinas was done through the Capitania General and depended on Mexico Capital which formed the New Spain Viceroyalty. The economy of Islas Filipinas grew further when the Spanish government inaugurated the Manila Galleon trade system. Trading ships, settlers and military reinforcements made voyages once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean from the port of Acapulco in Mexico to Manila in the Philippines. Both cities were part of the then Province of New Spain.
  This trade made the city of Manila one of the major global cities in the world, improving the growth of the Philippine economy in the succeeding years. Trade also introduced foodstuffs such as maize, tomatoes, potatoes, chili peppers, chocolate and pineapples from Mexico and Peru. Tobacco, first domesticated in Latin-America, and then introduced to the Philippines, became an important cash crop for Filipinos. The Philippines also became the distribution center of silver mined in the Americas, which was in high demand in Asia, during the period. In exchange for this silver, Manila gathered Indonesian spices, Chinese silks and Indian gems to be exported to Mexico.
  The Manila Galleon system operated until 1815, when Mexico got its independence. Nevertheless, it didn't affect the economy of the islands.
  On March 10, 1785, King Charles III of Spain confirmed the establishment of the Royal Philippine Company with a 25-year charter. The Basque-based company was granted a monopoly on the importation of Chinese and Indian goods into the Philippines, as well as the shipping of the goods directly to Spain via the Cape of Good Hope.
caption: A Scene of Economic Life in Spanish Colonial Philippines (Tipos del País Watercolor by José Honorato Lozano)
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