Spanish Main

Spanish Main, mainland of Spanish America, particularly the coast of South America from the isthmus of Panama to the mouth of the Orinoco River. Spanish treasure fleets, sailing home from the New World, passed through the Caribbean N of the Main and were attacked by English buccaneers raiding from the islands and coast. Pirates congregated there until the 19th cent., and the words "Spanish Main" have become the symbol of piratic romance.

Bibliography

See C. O. Sauer, The Early Spanish Main (1966); A. O. Exquemelin, The Buccaneers and Marooners of America (1891, repr. 1971).

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Spanish Main

Northern coast of South America. The term refers to an area that was once under Spanish control and spanned roughly between the Isthmus of Panama and the delta of the Orinoco River. The term can also refer to the Caribbean Sea and adjacent waters, especially when referring to the period when the region was troubled by pirates.

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Spanish Main

1. the mainland of Spanish America, esp the N coast of South America from the Isthmus of Panama to the mouth of the Orinoco River, Venezuela

2. the Caribbean Sea, the S part of which in colonial times was the route of Spanish treasure galleons and the haunt of pirates