In 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes arrived on the outskirts of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the mighty Aztec Empire. It has been said that to the Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, Cortes and...
Gold has long been regarded as a precious object and has been equated with kingship and authority. As gold was rare, and sometimes not locally available, people often travelled over great distances...
Official history says that the Spanish colonizers in America were focused on the territory from Mexico to the end of South America. For centuries, there was the question of why the Spaniards didn't...
A large Spanish galleon known as the San Jose sunk off the northern coast of Colombia in 1708. On its way to Panama, the ship was carrying an astonishingly valuable cargo of gold, silver, and...
In the 15th century, the Age of Discovery began in Europe. The maritime empires of Spain and Portugal led the way by financing naval expeditions across the world’s oceans. Their rediscovery of the...
Spain has a strong medieval heritage. Specifically, its northern region of Aragon is strongly rooted in the early origins of a modern and unified Spanish nation. As a vestige of that glorious...
Amidst the enigmatic enclave of El Tigre in Mexico, archaeologists have unearthed the skeleton of a young, sacrificed Mayan with a large jade ring . Glowing in its muddy grave the bright-green...
Over the centuries, this versatile building has been transformed from a holy temple to a hospital, home for abandoned children, a bustling restaurant, and even a lively disco-pub. But that's not all...
One of the most controversial organizations in history, the Spanish Inquisition has been poorly understood by the general public. This period of religious persecution, which took place between 1478...
An exceptionally well-preserved ship figurehead, in the form of a wooden statue, was “caught” by a shrimp boat crew off the coast of Texel Island in the Dutch Wadden Islands. This super-rare ship...
A beachcomber exploring sea caves along the north coast of western Oregon, USA discovered timbers from the hull of the Beeswax wreck Spanish galleon that sunk in the Pacific Ocean more than 300 years...
When you think of Spain, you don’t normally think of ice skates. Yet, that’s exactly what the King of Spain wanted back in 1572. And it wasn’t just a single pair; the king specifically requested 7,...
The remains of 42 syphilis-ridden, colonial Spaniards have been unearthed at a 500-year-old hospital in Lima. But it’s suspected that beneath these poor afflicted souls, might lie the lost mummified...
An Arizona-based archaeologist claims to have found artifacts linked to the famous 16th-century Spanish Coronado Expedition led by Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado. The Coronado...
A team of archaeologists digging at the Stark Farms Native American site in east central Mississippi have found more than 80 metal artifacts that were not manufactured by the Chickasaw people who...
Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries AD. He is best remembered for his expedition against the Aztec Empire centered in Mexico. This was part of the...
Catherine of Aragon was the first wife of the infamous King Henry VIII. Known for her failure to produce a male heir, she was the mother of Mary, later Queen Mary I of England. Catherine would spend...
Spanish archaeologists have unearthed an exceptional collection of Iberian and Roman armor and weapons in an ancient, conflict-ridden city. Valuable helmets, swords, daggers, and shields have all...
On Monday, Dec. 21, nations in the Northern Hemisphere mark the winter solstice – the shortest day and longest night of the year. For thousands of years people have marked this event with rituals and...
The President of Mexico has written a letter to Pope Francis asking for an apology over the Catholic Church’s role in the brutal repression of indigenous people during the Spanish conquest of the...
The Column of Death is the name given to a pillar at the archaeological site of Mitla , in the southwestern Mexican state of Oaxaca . The column was named for a legendary ritual in which it appeared...
There have been crucial periods in the modern history of Europe that shaped its future and dictated the destinies of many nations. Sadly, these periods were often marked by wars and conflicts in...
Al-Andalus is the name given to the Iberian Peninsula when it was under Muslim rule. Islam arrived in that region with the arrival of the Moors during the 8 th century AD, and succeeded in conquering...
The conquest of the New World was devastating for its ancient cultures; its aftershocks are still deeply felt today in communities across the Americas. Soon after Spain’s subjugation, other European...