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During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish Main was the collective term for the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico.
- Geographical Area
- The Spanish Empire
- Stripping The Americas
- The Key Ports
- The 17Th-Century Attacks
- The 18Th-Century Attacks
- Spanish Decline
The term 'Spanish Main' was applied to Spanish colonial possessions in the Americas from around 1520 to 1730 and the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. At first, it had a more limited meaning. The term literally meant the "mainland of the Spanish Empire" and derived from the Spanish Tierra Firme, meaning the "mainland". Consequently, the expression w...
In 1492, Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) sailed across the Atlantic in the service of the Spanish Crown, and instead of finding a route to Asia as he had hoped, he encountered the Americas. Columbus himself embarked on more voyages of exploration, and he was followed by others. Spain's only real rival in the race to exploit the riches of the Ameri...
The Spanish established colonial government based on a system of principalities headed by a governor or viceroy. They also built fortifications to protect themselves from counter-attacks as the Spanish Empire stripped the Americas of anything valuable, indiscriminately melting down objects of gold and silver, in particular. When these easy sources ...
By the 17th century, the Spanish Empire in the Americas was composed of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico and Central America) with the seat of the viceroy in Mexico City(formerly Tenochtitlan). The Viceroyalty of Peru (the former Inca territory) was established in 1543. New Granada (Venezuela and Colombia) had another viceroy from 1739, this on...
Into the 17th century, Spain's colonial monopoly began to be challenged by other European powers, particularly in the Caribbean islands. England, France, and the Netherlands were all at warwith Spain for much of the century, and the Americas was an important front given the funds that crossed the Atlantic. In addition, Spain's navy was now third in...
The Spanish Empire did revive from its somewhat dilapidated state. King Charles III of Spain (r. 1759-1788) was instrumental in overseeing a massive reinvestment across the Spanish Main, particularly in terms of fortifications and a new system of rotation which saw local garrisons boosted by an influx of better-trained and better-equipped troops fr...
Into the 19th century, not only did the Spanish have to deal with attacks from rival European powers but the world was also moving on rapidly both politically and economically. They now faced far greater threats from indigenous peoples in the Americas. Colombian rebel forces, for example, besieged and took Cartagena in 1815 and 1821. The Latin Amer...
- Mark Cartwright
Spanish Main, Northern coast of South America. The term refers to an area that was once under Spanish control and spanned roughly between the Isthmus of Panama and the delta of the Orinoco River.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Feb 7, 2024 · In this gallery of seven maps, we examine the vast overseas territories of the Spanish Empire from the late 15th century to the 19th century. The empire reached its height during the Age of Exploration...
- Graphic Designer
May 23, 2024 · The Spanish Main was the stretch of coastline in the Americas controlled by Spain in the 16th through the 18th centuries. It stretched along the northern coast of South America, across Central America along the Caribbean, and up into the lower part of North America.
Spanish Main, mainland of Spanish America, particularly the coast of South America from the isthmus of Panama to the mouth of the Orinoco River. Spanish treasure fleets, sailing home from the New World, passed through the Caribbean N of the Main and were attacked by English buccaneers raiding from the islands and coast.
