The Spanish West Indies or the Spanish Antilles (Las Antillas Españolas) were Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. In terms of governance of the Spanish Empire, The Indies was the designation for all its overseas territories and was overseen by the Council of the Indies, founded in 1524 and based in Spain. When the crown established the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1535, the islands of the Caribbean came under its jurisdiction.
The islands ruled by Spain were chiefly the Greater Antilles such as Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. Spain also claimed the Lesser Antilles but those territories remained mostly under the Carib peoples and were eventually colonised by France and Britain.
The islands that became the Spanish West Indies were the focus of the voyages of the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus in America. They were also the most enduring part of Spain’s American Empire, only being surrendered in 1898 at the end of the Spanish–American War.
Some smaller islands were seized or ceded to other European powers as a result of war, or diplomatic agreements during the 17th and 18th centuries. Others such as Dominican Republic gained their independence in the 19th century.
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Websites
- Cuban Philatelic Society of America
- International Cuban Philatelic Society
- United States Possessions Philatelic Society
- U.S. Philatelic Classics Society
