Spanish West Indies in the context of "Spanish Crown"

Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, King of Sicily and Naples from 1516 to 1554, and also Lord of the Netherlands and titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) from 1506 to 1555. He was heir to and then head of the rising House of Habsburg. His dominions in Europe included the Holy Roman Empire, extending from Germany to northern Italy with rule over the Austrian hereditary lands and Burgundian Low Countries, and Spain with its possessions of the southern Italian kingdoms of Sicily, Naples, and Sardinia. In the Americas, he oversaw the continuation of Spanish colonization and a short-lived German colonization. The personal union of the European and American territories he ruled was the first collection of realms labelled "the empire on which the sun never sets".

Charles was born in Flanders to Habsburg Archduke Philip the Handsome, son of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Mary of Burgundy, and Joanna of Castile, younger child of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. Heir of his grandparents, Charles inherited his family dominions at a young age. After his father's death in 1506, he inherited the Habsburg Netherlands in the Low Countries. In 1516 he became King of Spain as co-monarch of Castile and Aragon with his mother. Spain's possessions included the Castilian colonies of the West Indies and the Spanish Main, as well as Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia. At the death of his grandfather Maximilian in 1519, he inherited the Austrian hereditary lands and was elected as Holy Roman Emperor. He adopted the Imperial name of Charles V as his main title, and styled himself as a new Charlemagne.

Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy, also known as the Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. In this period the Spanish Empire was at the zenith of its influence and power. During this period, Spain held many territories, including Pan-American continental holdings and the West Indies; European territories like the Low Countries, Italian territories, Portugal and parts of France; and the Philippines and other possessions in Southeast Asia. The period of Spanish history has also been referred to as the "Age of Expansion".

The Habsburg name was not always used by the family members, who often emphasized their more prestigious princely titles. The dynasty was long known as the "House of Austria". In some circumstances, the family members were identified by their birthplace. Thus, Charles V was known in his youth as Charles of Ghent. As king of Spain, he was known as Charles I of Spain and as emperor, Charles V (in French, Charles Quint). In Spain, the dynasty was known as the Casa de Austria, including illegitimate sons such as John of Austria and John Joseph of Austria. The arms displayed in their simplest form were those of Austria, which the Habsburgs had made their own, at times impaled with the arms of the Duchy of Burgundy (ancient), as seen on the arms of John of Austria. Calling this era "Habsburg", is, to some extent, a convenience for historians.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish Main comprised the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico. The term was used by English speakers to distinguish those regions from the numerous islands Spain controlled in the Caribbean, which were known as the Spanish West Indies.

Bonapartist Spain was a Napoleonic client state established in 1808 after Napoleon, who had stationed his Imperial Army in Spain under the pretense of a joint Franco–Spanish invasion of Portugal, forced the ruling Spanish Bourbons to abdicate, and installed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne, which ignited a people's revolt by Spanish citizens and led to the Peninsular War, where France was defeated and forced to retreat from Spain.

The kingdom was officially known as Kingdom of (the) Spain(s) and (the) Indies, with "the Indies" referring to the East and West Indies as well as Spain's colonial possessions more broadly. It never managed to exert control over these territories however, not only did the French invasion weaken Spain's grasp on its overseas empire, kickstarting the Spanish American wars of independence, but even on the Spanish mainland, the House of Bonaparte's grip was tenuous. Large parts of the country came under the control of juntas, which remained loyal to Ferdinand VII and the old Bourbon kingdom, allying with the Coalition forces of Britain and Portugal to undermine the French occupation.

Santiago was a Spanish territory of the Spanish West Indies and within the Viceroyalty of New Spain, in the Caribbean region. Its location is the present-day island and nation of Jamaica.

Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán (c. 1490 – 1558) was a Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator in New Spain. He was the governor of the province of Pánuco from 1525 to 1533 and of Nueva Galicia from 1529 to 1534, and president of the first Royal Audiencia of Mexico – the high court that governed New Spain – from 1528 to 1530. He founded several cities in Northwestern Mexico, including Guadalajara.

Originally a bodyguard of Charles I of Spain, he was sent to Mexico to counterbalance the influence of the leader of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Hernán Cortés, since the King worried he was becoming too powerful. As Governor of Pánuco, Guzmán cracked down hard on the supporters of Cortés, stripping him and his supporters of property and rights. He conducted numerous expeditions of conquest into the northwestern areas of Mexico, enslaving thousands of Indians and shipping them to the Caribbean colonies. In the resulting power struggles where he also made himself an enemy of important churchmen, Guzmán came out the loser.