This room presents the story of transculturation—a fusion of two cultures that blended over time to create a new one: Filipino culture.

Miguel López de Legazpi conquered and colonized the archipelago previously named the Islands of San Lázaro by Ferdinand Magellan, and later the Philippines by Ruy López de Villalobos in honor of King Philip II. Legazpi’s enterprise was unique in the expansion of the Spanish Empire: the Philippines was the only territory in the East colonized in the manner of the Americas. Its political and economic ties were not with Spain directly, but with New Spain. The 250 years during which New Spain administered the Philippines left a lasting impact on its society, culture, and worldview.