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Capture of the Nuestra Señora de Cavadonga
A detail of the Capture of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Cavadonga by the British ship HMS Centurion, a 1743 oil panting by Samuel Scott. (Royal Museum, Greenwich, London)
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The Capture of Cacafuego by the Golden Hind
A 1626 CE engraving by Friedrich van Hulsen showing the Golden Hind of Francis Drake capturing the Cacafuego treasure ship (real name: Nuestra Senora de la Concepćion) in March 1579 CE off the coast of Peru. The capture of the galleon was...
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Spanish Treasure Fleets
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...
Article
The Gold of the Conquistadors
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...
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The Silver of the Conquistadors
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...
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Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) was a Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico from 1519. Taking the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521, Cortés plundered Mesoamerica as he became the first ruler of the new colony...
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Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons were Spanish treasure ships which transported precious goods like silk, spices, and porcelain from Manila in the Philippines to Acapulco, Mexico, between 1565 and 1815. The Atlantic treasure fleets then shipped some of...
Definition
Spanish Galleon
The Spanish galleon (Spanish: galeón, nao, or navío) was a particularly large type of galleon used for both carrying cargo and as a warship armed with up to 60 cannons. Used from the mid-16th century until the early 19th century, Spanish...
Definition
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596 CE) was an English mariner, privateer and explorer who in 1588 CE helped defeat the Spanish Armada of Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-1598 CE) which attempted to invade the kingdom of Elizabeth I of England (r...
Definition
Galleon
The galleon (Spanish: galeón, French: galion) was a type of sailing ship used for both cargo carrying and as a warship. Galleons dominated the seas in the second half of the 16th century, and with their lower superstructures, they were much...