User:Goatmanatee/Spanish treasure fleet
Convoy system used by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Changes that occurred to the fleet system, such as the Bourbon Reforms, the economic concessions of the Treaty of Utrecht, the use of registered ships, and the introduction of monopolistic trading companies, could be mentioned. The process of bringing goods overland by mule train could also be slightly expanded on.
The article is neutrally written.
The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet Spanish: Flota de Indias (also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the Spanish: plata meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, which linked Spain with its territories in the Americas across the Atlantic. The convoys were general purpose cargo fleets used for transporting a wide variety of items, including agricultural goods, lumber, various metal resources such as silver and gold, gems, pearls, spices, sugar, tobacco, silk, and other exotic goods from the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire to the Spanish mainland. Spanish goods such as oil, wine, textiles, books and tools were transported in the opposite direction.[1][2]
The West Indies fleet was the first permanent transatlantic trade route in history. Similarly, the Manila galleons were the first permanent trade route across the Pacific. The Spanish West and East Indies fleets must be counted as among the most successful naval operations in history[3][4] and from a commercial point of view made possible many key components of today's global economic system.[5]