Spanish Main facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Spanish Main |
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| Region of Spanish Empire | |
 Spanish possessions (green) in the Caribbean region, with the coastline of the Spanish Main indicated (thick maroon line). |
The Spanish Main was a name for the parts of the Spanish Empire in the Americas that touched the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico. This term helped tell these areas apart from the many islands Spain owned in the Caribbean. Those islands were known as the Spanish West Indies.
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What Does "Spanish Main" Mean?
The word "main" in "Spanish Main" is a shorter way of saying "mainland." It referred to the main part of the land, not the islands.
Where Was the Spanish Main Located?
The Spanish Main included areas like Spanish Florida and a huge region called New Spain. New Spain stretched through modern-day Texas, Mexico, all of Central America, and down to Colombia and Venezuela in South America.
Important Port Cities
Many important port cities were along this coastline. These included:
- Veracruz
- Porto Bello
- Cartagena de Indias
- Maracaibo
Sometimes, the term "Spanish Main" was used for a smaller area. This version only included the Caribbean coastline from Panama to Venezuela. This smaller area was similar to a 16th-century Spanish province called Tierra Firme, which means "mainland province."
Why Was the Spanish Main Important?
From the 1500s to the early 1800s, huge amounts of wealth were sent from the Spanish Main to Spain. This wealth included gold, silver, gems, spices, valuable hardwoods, and animal hides.
Silver and Trade Routes
Much of the wealth was silver in the form of pieces of eight. This silver came from mines near Potosí. It was carried to the Spanish Main by llama and mule trains from the Pacific coast. Other goods came from the Far East. These items traveled on large ships called Manila galleons to the Pacific coast, often to the port of Acapulco. From there, they were moved overland to the Spanish Main for their journey to Europe.
Pirates and Treasure Fleets
The Spanish Main became a popular target for pirates, buccaneers, and privateers. Countries at war with Spain also tried to capture these riches. To protect their valuable cargo, the Spanish created the Spanish treasure fleet. These fleets used heavily armed galleons and traveled in large groups.
Famous Attacks on the Spanish Main
The convoy system worked very well, and few major attacks succeeded. However, some famous attacks did happen:
- In 1586, Francis Drake captured Cartagena de Indias.
- In 1628, the Dutch West India Company captured a Spanish treasure fleet sailing from Mexico.
- In 1670–71, Henry Morgan captured Chagres and Panama City.
- In 1697, the French raided Cartagena.
- Pirates like the Dutchman Laurens de Graaf also attacked cities like Veracruz in 1683 and Cartagena in 1697.
See also
In Spanish: Spanish Main para niños
