and launched, on May 8, 1570, with the help of seafaring inhabitants of the Island. After the defeat of the Spanish forces at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, the Capital of the Spanish East Indies was transferred to Iloilo, with General Diego de los Rios as the new Governor General residing in the city. A truce was declared between the American and the Spanish forces pending the negotiations of the joint commission of both warring Countries in Paris, France for the terms of peace. Meanwhile, General Aguinaldo sent several small vessels to Panay with Tagalog revolutionaries in order to stir up rebellion in the Visayas. He was anxious to secure all territories he could before the conditions for peace should be settled in Paris. At stake was the hope that actual possession of territories would influence the final decision. By October 1898, fresh Tagalog expeditions were sent to Panay and coerced or persuaded its people to rise in greater force than ever, until finally, General de los Rios had to fall back to Iloilo. By the middle of November, after having secured the support of the inhabitants of the towns outside Iloilo through the leadership of General Martín Delgado, practically the whole island of Panay, except for Iloilo (the City Proper), Jaro, La Paz, and Molo, was under the revolutionary dominion. By December, de los Rios held only the city and port of Iloilo. On December 25, 1898 (fifteen days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10), the Spanish government surrendered to the Ilonggo revolutionaries at Plaza Alfonso XII (Plaza Libertad today), making Iloilo the last capital of the Spanish Empire in Asia and the Pacific. Military Provincial Governor Ricardo Monet, who was representing Governor General de los Rios, together with Lt. Col. Agustín Solís, formally handed over Plaza Alfonso XII to Delgado, who represented Emilio Aguinaldo, president of the newly established Philippine Republic, in Iloilo. Delgado was named provincial governor afterwards. The newly found freedom of the Ilonggos would be short-lived. The American forces arrived in Iloilo on December 27, 1898, under the command of General Marcus P. Miller, and were afterwards reinforced up to a total strength of about 3,000 troops and two ships, to take possession of the territory in accordance with the Treaty of Paris. The Federal State of the Visayas was established on December 2, 1898, to