The Metropolitan defense policy in military and economic issues of the New Spain viceroyalty during the reign of the Habsburg dynasty (1516–1700). Case studies

Abstract

The discovery of the West Indies by Christopher Columbus (1492) on the one hand brought the Spanish crown fame, wealth and status of the European power. However, also burdened a huge responsibility for the maintenance of its military and naval superiority in the Old and the New World, where since the beginning of the 16^th century France, England and the Dutch Republic aspired to conduct commerce and realize conquests of American lands. The following article presents the military-administrative activities of the Spanish Habsburgs in order to protect the colonial interests in their overseas possessions in the West Indies.