Spanish Conquistadors
Conquistadors (/kɒn.ˈkiːstədɔrz/; from Spanish conquistadores, "conquerors") were soldiers, explorers, and adventurers at the service of the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire. The name derived from the Reconquista (completed in 1492), the reconquest of the territory of the Iberian Peninsula that had been controlled by various Muslim states (known through much of that time as Al-Andalus). They sailed beyond Europe, conquering territory and opening trade routes. They colonized much of the world for Spain and Portugal in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries.
Read more about Spanish Conquistadors: Conquest, Background, Portuguese Exploration, Spanish Exploration, Iberian Union Period (1580–1640), After Iberian Union, Disease in The Americas, Mythic Lands, Secrecy and Disinformation, Financing and Governance, Military Advantages, Nautical Science, People At Service of Spain, People At Service of Portugal, See Also
Famous quotes containing the word spanish:
“Ferdinand De Soto, sleeping
In the river, never heard
Four-and-twenty Spanish hooves
Fling off their iron and cut the green,
Leaving circles new and clean
While overhead the wing-tips whirred.”
—Mark Van Doren (1894–1973)