| Spanish Main | |
|---|---|
| Region of Spanish Empire | |
 Spanish possessions (yellow) in the Caribbean region around 1650, with the coastline of the Spanish Main indicated (thick maroon line). | |
During theSpanish colonization of the Americas, theSpanish Main comprised the parts of theSpanish Empire that were on themainland of theAmericas and had coastlines on theCaribbean Sea orGulf of Mexico. The term was used by English speakers to distinguish those regions from the numerous islands Spain controlled in the Caribbean, which were known as theSpanish West Indies.[1]
The wordmain in the expression is a contraction ofmainland.[2]
The Spanish Main includedSpanish Florida andNew Spain, the latter extending through modern-dayTexas,Mexico, all ofCentral America, toColombia andVenezuela on the north coast ofSouth America. Major ports along this stretch of coastline includedVeracruz,Porto Bello,Cartagena de Indias andMaracaibo.[citation needed]
The term is sometimes used in a more restricted sense that excludes the territories on the Gulf of Mexico. The Spanish Main then encompassed the Caribbean coastline from theIsthmus of Darien inPanama to theOrinoco delta on the coast ofVenezuela.[2][3] In this sense, the Spanish Main roughly coincides with the 16th centuryProvince of Tierra Firme (Spanish for "mainland province").[citation needed]
From the 16th to the early 19th century, enormous wealth was shipped from the Spanish Main to Spain in the form ofgold,silver,gemstones,spices,hardwoods,hides and other valuable goods.[4] Much of the wealth wassilver in the form ofpieces of eight, from the mines nearPotosí. It was carried to the Spanish Main byllama andmule trains via the Pacific coast. Other goods originated in theFar East, having been carried to the Pacific coast of Spain's possessions on theManila galleons, often through the port ofAcapulco, then transported overland to the Spanish Main for onward shipment to Europe.
The Spanish Main became a frequent target forpirates,buccaneers,privateers andcountries at war with Spain, seeking to capture some of these riches.[4] To protect this wealth, theSpanish treasure fleet was equipped with heavily armedgalleons. The organization of the fleets in large convoys proved highly successful, with only a few successful examples of major privateer attacks along the Spanish Main, such as thecapture of Cartagena de Indias byFrancis Drake in 1586; thecapture of a Spanish treasure fleet sailing from Mexico by theDutch West India Company in 1628; thecapture of Chagres and Panama City byHenry Morgan in 1670–71; and theRaid on Cartagena by the French in 1697. Pirates operating in the area included the DutchmanLaurens de Graaf, who raidedVeracruz in 1683 andCartagena in 1697.
