Famous in pirate legend, The Spanish Main was the Spanish Empire’s territory in the “New World” of North and South America.
Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, The New World contained vast amounts of treasure belonging to the Aztec and Inca empires in what is now Mexico and Peru.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, large amounts of gold and silver were shipped back to Spain.
This new-found treasure drew pirates and privateers. In their desire for wealth, privateers would often attack ships of any nation, instead of only enemy ships. To avoid raids, treasure ships would travel in convoys of up to 100 galleons.
From the gold and silver of the New World, the Spanish minted doubloons and pieces of eight. This became the currency of pirates.