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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...
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
English Civil Wars
The English Civil Wars (1642-1651) witnessed a bitter conflict between Royalists ('Cavaliers') and Parliamentarians ('Roundheads'). The Royalists supported first King Charles I of England (r. 1625-1649) and then his son Charles II, while...
Definition
Spanish Requirement
The Spanish Requirement or Requerimiento was a document intended to be read out to and agreed upon by indigenous peoples during the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Created in 1513, the document outlined the history of Christianity, the...
Definition
Spanish Main
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...
Definition
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) was an accomplished cavalry commander, then head of Parliament's New Model Army, and finally Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The latter title was awarded to Cromwell for life after the bloody...
Article
Battle of Preston in 1648
The Battle of Preston between 17 and 20 August 1648 occurred during the English Civil Wars (1642-1651) and saw Oliver Cromwell lead Parliament's New Model Army to victory against an Anglo-Scottish army which supported King Charles I of England...
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...
Definition
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a law passed in July 1790 during the French Revolution (1789-1799), which caused the immediate subordination of the Catholic Church in France to the French government. An attempt to modernize the Church...
Definition
Henry Morgan
Sir Henry Morgan (c. 1635-1688) was a Welsh privateer who operated in the Caribbean against the Spanish Empire and then became Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. Morgan was a charismatic and able military leader who masterminded devastating...