Spanish Inquisition: Did you mean...?

The Aztec empire flourished between c. 1345 and 1521 CE and dominated ancient Mesoamerica. This young and warlike nation was highly successful in spreading its reach and gaining fabulous wealth, but then all too quickly came the strange visitors...

Adelantado was an office awarded by the Spanish Crown to conduct military campaigns in the medieval period but then repurposed during the Age of Exploration to grant an individual the right to privately fund expeditions of discovery and conquest...

A map illustrating Spain’s drive to expand its empire in South America following the occupation of the larger Caribbean islands by 1512. The promise of gold drove the Spaniards far and wide across the continent, from the Isthmus of Panama...

An 1860 oil on canvas painting, The Spanish Singer, by Edouard Manet (1832-83), the French modernist painter. The subject is here painted in a conservative style and, consequently, it was accepted by the Salon of Paris in 1861 and won a commendation...

A map showing the route of the Spanish Armada from May to October 1588 CE. The Armada was sent by Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-1598 CE) to invade the kingdom of Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603 CE) but was defeated by the Royal Navy and...

A 17th century CE painting by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen of the Spanish Armada which sailed to invade England in 1588 CE. (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)

Spanish Gypsies, painting by Evgraf Sorokin (1821-1892), 1853.

A c. 1590 CE painting by an unknown Flemish artist of English fireships being sent in to cause havoc amongst the vessels of the Spanish Armada of 1588 CE. (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)

Fireships being sent into the Spanish Armada by Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596 CE) in July 1588 CE. A 1796 CE painting by Philip James de Loutherbourg. (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England)

Battle between Dutch and Spanish ships on the Haarlemmermeer, 26 May 1573, oil on canvas by Hendrik Cornelisz Vroom, c. 1629. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.