Spanish Atlantic World

The Spanish Atlantic world cannot be understood as identical to the Spanish Empire or the Hispanic monarchy but is something that encompasses and transcends them at once. Considered in its horizontal dimension rather than its vertical one, this world does not reflect the territory of the Spanish monarchy since it puts in relation regions and areas—from Europe to Africa and the Americas—that did not belong formally to the empire. Furthermore, it is not a world made only of Spanish people, i.e., people born on the Spanish territories, but also of foreigners, people coming from other countries or empires. This space was indeed characterized by multiple transnational networks that contributed considerably to its survival and efficiency in the long run. Another important characteristic of the Spanish Atlantic world is that it was not built on a vertical and bipolar relation of metropolis-colonies, but on a high level of provincial autonomy, to the extent that some scholars have talked about polycentrism in this particular aspect. Not only these autonomous areas shared linkages and complementarities which did not necessarily pivot on the metropolitan center, but sometimes they maintained strong ties with regions belonging to other empires.