The flag of the Spanish Navy.
The Spanish Navy (Armada Española) is the official maritime branch of the Spanish military.
History
Spain was one of the dominant naval powers in both the new and the old world. The Spanish colonial empire depended on its considerable naval prowess to keep it safe and protect its commerce. Spain competed constantly with other colonial powers, such as England, France and Holland, for supremacy over Caribbean waters.
The Spanish Navy was known to transport gold and silver bullion from the Americas to Spain ever since the discovery of the New World. Convoys of treasure galleons soon attracted a great deal of pirates. To counter this, the treasure galleons were heavily-armed and protected by escorts. It was rare for a galleon to travel alone.
In 1715, the infamous pirate, James Flint, organized an expedition to capture the treasure galleon Urca de Lima. His expedition ended badly as his ships, the Walrus and the Ranger, were destroyed by the Spanish Man O' War that was watching over the Urca. However, the Man O' War was seized by Flint's crew shortly after, and another pirate crew, under the command of Jack Rackham, returned some weeks later to relieve the remaining forces of the gold.
