Captaincy General of Puerto Rico in the context of "Governor-General"

Conquistadors (/kɒnˈk(w)ɪstədɔːrz/, US also /-ˈkiːs-, kɒŋˈ-/) or conquistadores (Spanish: [koŋkistaˈðoɾes]; Portuguese: [kõkiʃtɐˈðoɾɨʃ, kõkistɐˈdoɾis]; lit. 'conquerors') were Spanish and Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and conquered parts of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania during the Age of Discovery. Sailing beyond the Iberian Peninsula, they established numerous colonies and trade routes, and brought much of the New World under the dominion of Spain and Portugal.

After Christopher Columbus's arrival in the West Indies in 1492, the Spanish, usually led by hidalgos from the west and south of Spain, began building a colonial empire in the Caribbean using colonies such as Santo Domingo, Cuba, and Puerto Rico as their main bases. From 1519 to 1521, Hernán Cortés led the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, ruled by Moctezuma II. From the territories of the Aztec Empire, conquistadors expanded Spanish rule to northern Central America and parts of what is now the southern and western United States, and from Mexico sailing the Pacific Ocean to the Spanish East Indies. Other Spanish conquistadors took over the Inca Empire after crossing the Isthmus of Panama and sailing the Pacific to northern Peru. From 1532 to 1572, Francisco Pizarro succeeded in subduing this empire in a manner similar to Cortés. Subsequently, Spanish conquistadores used Peru as a base for conquering much of Ecuador and Chile. Central Colombia, home of the Muisca, was conquered by licentiate Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, and its northern regions were explored by Rodrigo de Bastidas, Alonso de Ojeda, Juan de la Cosa, Pedro de Heredia and others. For southwestern Colombia, Bolivia, and Argentina, Spanish conquistadores from Peru combined parties with other conquistadors arriving more directly from the Caribbean and Río de la Plata-Paraguay respectively. These conquests founded the basis for modern Hispanic America and the Hispanosphere.

Spain in the 19th century was a country in turmoil. Occupied by Napoleon from 1808 to 1814, a massively destructive "liberation war" ensued. Following the Spanish Constitution of 1812, Spain was divided between the constitution's liberal principles and the absolutism personified by the rule of Ferdinand VII, who repealed the 1812 Constitution for the first time in 1814, only to be forced to swear over the constitution again in 1820 after a liberal pronunciamiento, giving way to the brief Trienio Liberal (1820–1823). This brief period came to an abrupt end with Ferdinand again abolishing the 1812 constitution and the start of the Ominous Decade (1823–1833) of absolutist rule for the last ten years of his reign.

Economic transformations throughout the century included the privatisation of communal municipal lands—not interrupted but actually intensified and legitimised during the Fernandine absolutist restorations —as well as the confiscation of Church properties. The early century saw the loss of the bulk of the Spanish colonies in the New World in the 1810s and 1820s, except for Cuba and Puerto Rico.

American imperialism or US imperialism is the exercise of power or control by the US outside its borders. It operates through military conquest; military protection; gunboat diplomacy; unequal treaties; support for preferred factions; regime change; economic or diplomatic support; economic interference via private companies, or influence on local culture and media, potentially followed by intervention when American interests are threatened.

American imperialism and expansionism took the form of "New Imperialism" beginning in the late 19th century, although authors such as Daniel Immerwahr consider earlier American territorial expansion across North America at the expense of Native Americans to fit the definition. While the US has never officially identified itself and its territorial possessions as an empire, some commentators have done so, including Max Boot, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., and Niall Ferguson. Other commentators have accused the US of practicing neocolonialism—dominating territory via indirect means—which leverages economic power rather than military force.

The Captaincy General of Cuba (Spanish: Capitanía General de Cuba) was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1607 as part of Habsburg Spain's attempt to better defend and administer its Caribbean possessions. The reform also established captaincies general in Puerto Rico, Guatemala and Yucatán.

The restructuring of the Captaincy General in 1764 was the first example of the Bourbon Reforms in America. The changes included adding the provinces of Florida and Louisiana and granting more autonomy to these provinces. This later change was carried out by the Count of Floridablanca under Charles III to strengthen the Spanish position vis-a-vis the British in the Caribbean. A new governor-captain general based in Havana oversaw the administration of the new district. The local governors of the larger Captaincy General had previously been overseen in political and military matters by the president of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo. This audiencia retained oversight of judicial affairs until the establishment of new audiencias in Puerto Príncipe (1800) and Havana (1838).

American imperialism is the exercise of power or control by the US outside its borders. The US expanded its territory initially via conquest, later shifting to controlling/influencing other countries without conquest, using techniques such as alliances; aid; gunboat diplomacy; treaties; trade; support for preferred political factions; regime change; economic influence via private companies, exports of culture and media. Military interventions have been used to support allies, expel invaders, overthrow governments, and support US economic interests.

American imperialism and expansionism took the form of "New Imperialism" beginning in the late 19th century, although authors such as Daniel Immerwahr consider earlier American territorial expansion across North America at the expense of Native Americans to fit the definition. While the US has never officially identified itself and its territorial possessions as an empire, some commentators have done so, including Max Boot, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., and Niall Ferguson. Other commentators have accused the US of practicing neocolonialism—dominating territory via indirect means—which leverages economic power rather than military force.