Spanish Main

The Spanish Main, in red. Spanish possessions in yellow

The Spanish Main was the mainland coast of the Spanish Empire around the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It included present-day Florida, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of South America. In time it came to refer in particular to the seaways bordering the Spanish possessions in the Caribbean.^[1]

From the 16th to the 18th century, the Spanish Main was the point of departure for enormous wealth shipped back to Spain in the form of gold, silver, gems, spices, hardwoods, hides and other riches.

Major ports were Cartagena de Indias in New Granada, Porto Bello on the Isthmus of Darien and Veracruz in New Spain. Silver was brought to the Spanish Main by llama and mule from Potosi, while wares from the far east, that arrived at Acapulco on the Manila Galleons, were also then transported overland to the Spanish Main. From there they were shipped to Spain by the famous Spanish Plate (Spanish treasure fleets). The Spanish Main was ripe territory for pirates and privateers.

References

See also

• Spanish colonies
• Spanish treasure fleet
• Piracy in the Caribbean

External links

• Notorious Places: The Spanish Main
• Mel Fisher Maritime Museum: The Spanish Main

This Caribbean location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This history article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e