ASK A QUESTION Latin America Challenge 11

3 Vote
LaBurra

Spain ruled its American empire for more than 300 years, an impressive feat considering the distance between the mother country and its four viceroyalties or virreinatos.

Today's Challenge: Name the four viceroyalties in the Americas.

Bonus: List the modern-day countries that fall within the boundaries of those viceroyalties (approximately), give an interesting fact about them or post an image.

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One of the viceroys of the largest viceroyalty, Antonio Maria de Bucareli y Ursúa ruled from 1771 to 1779.

2 Answers

5 Vote
Fidalguinho

The four viceroyalties of the Spanish empire in the Americas are

1) the Viceroyalty of New Spain

2) the Viceroyalty of New Granada

3) the Viceroyalty of Peru

4) the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata

►Viceroyalty of New Spain (Virreinato de Nueva España) (1535-1821)

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The center of this viceroyality was situated in Mexico City. It was also the largest viceroyality by area.

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(New Spain - at its zenith in 1795)

It controlled land in 3 different continents: North America, Oceania, and Asia.

►►In Asia and Oceania, Spanish East Indies (1565-1898) was part of New Spain until the independence of Mexico in 1821. Almost all the parts of this colony was lost to the US in 1898. Nowadays, Philippines, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau are independence states, while Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are still under the control of the US.

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(A map of Spanish East Indies)

►►In Central America, 5 countries Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica were part of New Spain. Panama was part of New Granada instead.

The 1763 Treaty of Paris asserted Spanish sovereignty over Belize. However, the Spanish empire failed to control the territory after the battle of St. George's Caye in 1798. Belize later became a colony of the British empire.

(Beside Belize, the Mosquito Coast (part of Honduras, Nicaragua) was also controlled by the British empire from 1834 to 1864)

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(A map of the Mosquito Coast)

►►In the Caribbean, Spanish West Indies was part of New Spain.

Only the Dominican republic was a colony of Spain when it gained independence.

Other parts of Spanish West Indies were lost to other powers.

The Bay Islands (part of Honduras nowadays), Jamaica, the Cayman Islands were lost to England, Trinidad (part of Trinidad and Tobago) was lost to Great Britain, Haiti was lost to France, Cuba, Puerto Rico were lost to the US.

►►Mexico, many parts of the United States and some parts of Canada were former parts of New Spain.

The territory of Louisiana (nowadays, part of the US and Canada) was part of New Spain from 1764 to 1803.

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(A map showing Louisiana (New Spain))

Much land of Mexico (former part of New Spain) was lost to the US after the Mexican war and the Gadsden purchase.

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(A map showing the territory of Mexico lost to the US after its independence)

Florida (former part of New Spain) was ceded to the US after the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819.

The Spanish empire also tried to settled in Northwestern the U S A, Alaska but they were unsuccessful.

The viceroyality ended in 1821 when Mexico (including 5 Central American countries at that time) gained independence.

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(Map of the First Mexican Empire -1821)

►Viceroyalty of New Granada (Virreinato de la Nueva Granada) (1717-1819)

Its center was situated in Bogota, Colombia.

Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador were parts of this viceroyality. In addition, New Granada also had land in Peru, Brazil, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago.

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(This map shows the former disputed area between Ecuador and Peru which is now part of Peru)

Guyana Esequiba is the disputed region between Venezuela and Guyana. The Venezuelans claimed it and they have considered Guyana Esequiba a former part of New Granada.

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(Map of Guyana Esequiba - 74% land of Guyana)

New Granada ended due to the independence of Gran Colombia in 1819.

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(A map of Gran Colombia, including Guyana Esequiba and disputed regions with Peru, Brazil).

►Viceroyalty of Peru (Virreinato del Perú) (1542 -1824)

At first, the viceroyalities of New Granada and the Río de la Plata were part of the viceroyality of Peru. Thus, today the viceroyality of Peru is part of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay

►Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (Virreinato del Río de la Plata) (1776 -1814)

Today the viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata is part of Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile.

Chile gained a territory from Bolivia after the War of the Pacific (and that is a former part of the viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata)

This map shows the territories of Bolivia lost to its neighbor countries. The Brazilian state of Acre and some parts of the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul were former parts of Bolivia.

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Part of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul was territory of this viceroyality (recognized as part of Brazil after the Cisplatine War)

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(Misiones Orientales - former part of Rio de la Plata)

4 Vote
ian-hill

Peru was the major vice-royalty of Spanish South America.

It was conquered in 1531–1533 by Francisco Pizarro.

Pizzaro

If you want to read about an amazing story look up Pizarro and especially one of his officers (whose name I have forgotten) who travelled all the way down the Amazon river to the Atlantic.(Almost by accident) I will find his name and post it here.

Update

His name was Don Francisco de Orellana

Read this

  • Wow, this is a piece of history I never knew about. Very interesting. - LaBurra Aug 19, 2011 flag
  • :) Hola, Sir Ian :) - Fidalguinho Aug 19, 2011 flag
  • you can't travel down the amazon river to the pacific, it starts in the andes and runs east. - toothpastech Aug 19, 2011 flag
  • ooops! And Geography is my favourite subject too. !!! :)) - ian-hill Aug 19, 2011 flag

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