Editing Spanish Main (section)

== Composition ==
The Spanish Main included [[Spanish Florida]] and [[New Spain]], the latter extending through modern-day [[Texas]], [[Mexico]], all of [[Central America]], to [[Colombia]] and [[Venezuela]] on the north coast of [[South America]]. Major ports along this stretch of coastline included [[Veracruz (city)|Veracruz]], [[Portobelo, Colón|Porto Bello]], [[Cartagena, Colombia#History|Cartagena de Indias]] and [[Maracaibo]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

The term is sometimes used in a more restricted sense that excludes the territories on the Gulf of Mexico. The Spanish Main then encompassed the Caribbean coastline from the [[Isthmus of Darien]] in [[Panama]] to the [[Orinoco delta]] on the coast of [[Venezuela]].<ref name=etymology/><ref>{{cite web |title=Spanish Main |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Spanish-Main |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=26 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref> In this sense, the Spanish Main roughly coincides with the 16th century [[Province of Tierra Firme]] ([[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "mainland province").{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}