Spanish America

American  

noun

1. the Spanish-speaking countries south of the U.S.: Mexico, Central America (with the exception of Belize), South America (with the exceptions of Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname), and most of the West Indies.

---

Spanish America British  

noun

1. the parts of America colonized by Spaniards from the 16th century onwards and now chiefly Spanish-speaking: includes all of South America (except Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana, and Surinam), Central America (except Belize), Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and a number of small Caribbean islands

---

Example Sentences

Their crushing victory, which Miller called “the most brilliant ever fought in South America,” sealed the fate of Spanish America.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

For the first time in Spanish America, local government bodies enjoyed self-rule, and each of the juntas considered how it might turn this dramatic turn of events to its own advantage.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

As you read, pay attention to his discussion of the types of government he believes will work best in Spanish America and which will not.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Upon disembarking, Africans who survived the horrors of the middle passage were sold to English buyers or to foreign traders looking to acquire slaves for transshipment to Spanish America.

From Slate • Jul. 28, 2020

All Spanish America had been in a ferment for several years, and the power of Castile was forever broken on this continent.

From Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican Vol. 1 of 2 A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of That Country From the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time; With a View of the Ancient Aztec Empire and Civilization; A Historical Sketch of the Late War; And Notices of New Mexico and California by Mayer, Brantz