Spanish West Indies
Spanish colony from 1492 to 1898 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Spanish West Indies, Spanish Caribbean or the Spanish Antilles (also known as "Las Antillas Occidentales" or simply "Las Antillas Españolas" in Spanish) were Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. In terms of governance of the Spanish Empire, The Indies was the designation for all its overseas territories and was overseen by the Council of the Indies, founded in 1524 and based in Spain.[1] When the Crown established the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1535, the islands of the Caribbean came under its jurisdiction.
Spanish West Indies Las Antillas Occidentales Las Antillas Españolas | |||||||||||||||||||
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1492–1898 | |||||||||||||||||||
Anthem: Marcha Real "Royal March" | |||||||||||||||||||
Status | Colonies of the Spanish Empire
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Capital | Santo Domingo (1511–1764) | ||||||||||||||||||
Common languages | Taíno, Guanahatabey, Macorix, Ciguayo | ||||||||||||||||||
Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||||||||||||
Monarch | |||||||||||||||||||
• 1492–1504 | Ferdinand II | ||||||||||||||||||
• 1492–1504 | Isabella I | ||||||||||||||||||
• 1896–1898 | Alfonso XIII | ||||||||||||||||||
Historical era | Spanish colonization | ||||||||||||||||||
12 October 1492 | |||||||||||||||||||
10 December 1898 | |||||||||||||||||||
Currency | Spanish colonial real, Spanish dollar | ||||||||||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | ES | ||||||||||||||||||
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The islands ruled by Spain were chiefly the Greater Antilles: Hispaniola (inclusive of modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. The majority of the Taíno, the indigenous populations on these islands, had died out or had mixed with the European colonizers by 1520.[2] Spain also claimed the Lesser Antilles (such as Guadalupe and Dominica) but these smaller islands remained largely independent until they were seized or ceded to other European powers as a result of war, or diplomatic agreements during the 17th and 18th centuries. The only Caribbean country to successfully gain independence from Spain, the Dominican Republic, did so twice in the 19th century.
The islands that became the Spanish West Indies were the focus of the voyages of the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus in America. Largely due to the familiarity that Spaniards gained from Columbus's voyages, the islands were also the first lands to be permanently colonized by Europeans in the Americas. The Spanish West Indies were also the most enduring part of Spain's American Empire, only ending with Cuba and Puerto Rico being surrendered in 1898 at the end of the Spanish–American War. For over three centuries, Spain controlled a network of ports in the Caribbean including Havana (Cuba), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), Veracruz (Mexico), and Portobelo (Panama), which were connected by galleon routes.