thumb|300x300px|Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex European explorers - first the Portuguese in search of the Spice Islands (Indonesia) and then the Spanish - reached the Carolines in the 16th century, with the Spanish establishing sovereignty.
thumb|300x300px|Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c 1590 Boxer Codex European explorers - first the Portuguese in search of the Spice Islands (Indonesia) and then the Spanish - reached the Carolines in the 16th century, with the Spanish establishing sovereignty.