Potosi: Did you mean...?

The Spanish conquistadors might have gained a lasting reputation as the great gold-seekers of history, but they were actually far more successful in acquiring silver. Over 100 tons of gold were extracted from the Americas from 1492 to 1560...

A panoramic view of Potosí, Bolivia, location of the richest silver mine in the Spanish empire during the 16th-18th centuries.

Stephen Fuller Austin (1793-1836) has been known, since shortly after his death, as the "Father of Texas," as he was not only the first to lead Anglo-American settlers to the region and establish colonies but also endured the hardships of...

The staggering quantity of gold the conquistadors extracted from the Americas allowed Spain to become the richest country in the world. The thirst for gold to pay for armies and gain personal enrichment resulted in waves of expeditions of...

The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was a conflict between the United States and Mexico, sparked by the US annexation of Texas in 1845. Hoping to seize even more territory from Mexico, US President James K. Polk (served 1845-1849) used the...

The Spanish Main refers, in its widest sense, to the Spanish Empire in the Americas from Florida in the north to the northern coast of Brazil in the south, including the Caribbean. The term was initially more limited and referred only to...

From the 16th to 18th centuries, two treasure fleets sailed each year, one to Mexico and the other to Central America, then part of the Spanish Empire. There they collected precious eastern goods and the riches of the Americas, including...

Diego de Almagro (c. 1475-1538) was a Spanish conquistador who was second-in-command to Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541) during his expedition that attacked the Inca civilization from 1531. Almagro then led his own expedition to explore Chile...

The treasure ports of the Spanish Main such as Cartagena, Portobelo, Panama, and Veracruz were used to collect the riches the Spanish Empire had extracted from the Americas, ready for transport in the two annual treasure fleets back to Europe...