Spanish Main

Spanish Main

The Spanish Main was the mainland coast of the Spanish Empire around the Caribbean. The mainland of which was initially called "Spanish America" (thus, "Spanish Main"), it included Florida, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of South America. In time it became a general term for the seaways around the Spanish possessions in the Caribbean.

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

Major loading ports were Cartagena de Indias in New Granada, Porto Bello on the Isthmus of Darien and Veracruz in New Spain (with wares brought by the "Manila Galleons" transported overland from Acapulco), and from there they were shipped to Spain by the famous Spanish treasure fleets. This made the Spanish Main a haunt of pirates and privateers, and gave the name a notorious and romantic allure.

ee also

* Spanish colonies
* Spanish treasure fleet
* Piracy in the Caribbean
* Privateering on the Spanish Main

External links

* [http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/pirates/spmain.html Notorious Places: The Spanish Main]
* [http://www.melfisher.org/reefswrecks/spanish.htm Mel Fisher Maritime Museum: The Spanish Main]


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  • Spanish main — Spanish Span ish, a. Of or pertaining to Spain or the Spaniards. [1913 Webster] {Spanish bayonet} (Bot.), a liliaceous plant ({Yucca alorifolia}) with rigid spine tipped leaves. The name is also applied to other similar plants of the Southwestern …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Spanish Main — the Spanish Main the area around the coast of northern South America, from which Spanish ships carried gold and ↑treasure back to Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of these ships were attacked by ↑pirates, and there are many stories… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Spanish Main — Historical 1. the coastal region of the Americas along the Caribbean Sea; esp., the N coast of South America between the Isthmus of Panama & the mouth of the Orinoco: an earlier usage 2. later, the Caribbean Sea itself, or that part of it… …   English World dictionary

  • Spanish Main — Spanish speaking Latin America and northern South America bordering the Caribbean from Mexico to Venezuela, including Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

  • Spanish Main — Span′ish Main′ n. 1) geg the mainland of America adjacent to the Caribbean Sea, esp. the area between the mouth of the Orinoco River and the Isthmus of Panama 2) geg the Caribbean Sea: the route of the Spanish treasure galleons and a former haunt …   From formal English to slang

  • Spanish Main — 1. (formerly) the mainland of America adjacent to the Caribbean Sea, esp. the area between the mouth of the Orinoco River and the Isthmus of Panama. 2. the Caribbean Sea: the route of the Spanish treasure galleons and a former haunt of pirates. * …   Universalium

  • Spanish Main — /spænɪʃ ˈmeɪn/ (say spanish mayn) noun 1. (formerly) the mainland of America adjacent to the Caribbean Sea, especially between the mouth of the river Orinoco and the Isthmus of Panama. 2. the Caribbean Sea, the route of the Spanish treasure… …  

  • Spanish Main — geographical name 1. the mainland of Spanish America especially along N coast of South America 2. the Caribbean Sea & adjacent waters especially at the time when region was infested with pirates …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Spanish Main — 1. (formerly) the mainland of America adjacent to the Caribbean Sea, esp. the area between the mouth of the Orinoco River and the Isthmus of Panama. 2. the Caribbean Sea: the route of the Spanish treasure galleons and a former haunt of pirates …   Useful english dictionary

  • Spanish Main — noun The mainland coast of …   Wiktionary

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