New Spain

Definition

New Spain refers to the Spanish colonial territories in North and Central America during the 16th to 19th centuries. It encompassed areas such as present-day Mexico, parts of the United States, and Central America.

Related terms

Encomienda System: A system in which Spanish colonizers were granted land and Native American laborers in exchange for converting them to Christianity.

Viceroyalty: A political division within New Spain that was ruled by a viceroy appointed by the Spanish crown.

Mestizo:

A term used to describe people of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry in New Spain.