The Philippines were a Spanish colony until 1898, when the United States took control of the more than 7,100 islands at the close of the Spanish-American War. The islands remained under American control through 1946 (except for a two-year period of Japanese control during World War II). The Philippines became independent in 1946 and leased land to the United States for military bases until 1992, when the U.S. military presence in the Philippines ended.