Images

A portion of the 16-17th century fortifications at San Juan de Ulúa, an island opposite the port of Veracruz, Mexico, once a major port on the Spanish Main. The rings in the walls were for ships to tie themselves to.

A detail of an 18th-century oil painting by Samuel Scott showing the British attack on Portobelo in November 1739 by Admiral Vernon. Portobelo, now in Panama, was a major port on the Spanish Main and a collection point for the treasure fleets...

A c. 1589 map showing the port of Cartagena on the Spanish Main (now in modern Colombia). Cartagena was one of the main ports for the Spanish treasure fleets and acted as a collecting point for gold, silver, emeralds, and pearls from Colombia...

A mid-18th century illustration showing the attack of the buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan (c. 1635-1688) on the city of Panama on the Spanish Main in 1671. (From an early edition of Charles Johnson's A General History of the Robberies...

An illustration showing the attack of the buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan (c. 1635-1688) on Puerto Principe, Cuba in 1668. (From On the Spanish Main by John Masefield, 1939)

A 17th-century illustration of the buccaneer of the Spanish Main and Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica, Sir Henry Morgan (c. 1635-1688). (From an early edition of The Buccaneers of America by Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin)

A map illustrating the Roman Empire at the time of the Roman emperor Hadrian. He came to power in 117 CE as the successor of emperor Trajan and ruled until the end of his life in 138 CE, spending more than half of his reign outside Italy...

Garry Shaw, author of the Egyptian mythology travel guide Egyptian mythology: a Traveller's Guide from Aswan to Alexandria.

Egyptian Mythology: a Traveller's Guide from Aswan to Alexandria book cover. © Thames & Hudson

Christ Driving the Money-changers from the Temple, oil on canvas painting by Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637) Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp.