Illustration
This map illustrates the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the earliest and most extensive administrative division of the Spanish Empire. At its peak, it encompassed a vast array of territories across North America, the Caribbean, and Asia, serving as a central hub of imperial governance, commerce, and Catholic missionary activity.
Established shortly after the conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, the Viceroyalty of New Spain became the administrative and spiritual cornerstone of Spain’s overseas dominions. It included five royal audiencias and over a dozen dioceses, overseeing present-day Mexico, Central America, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Florida, much of the U.S. Southwest and California, and even the Philippines and Guam. These diverse lands were linked by transoceanic trade routes and governed through a layered system of colonial bureaucracy. New Spain lasted for 300 years until its dissolution in 1821 with the emergence of the independent Mexican Empire under Agustín de Iturbide.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2022, July 01). Viceroyalty of New Spain, c. 1800. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16081/viceroyalty-of-new-spain-c-1800/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Viceroyalty of New Spain, c. 1800." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified July 01, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/16081/viceroyalty-of-new-spain-c-1800/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Viceroyalty of New Spain, c. 1800." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 01 Jul 2022. Web. 15 Apr 2025.
