Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Spanish Main

SPANISH MAIN (i. e., main land), a name given to the N. coast of South America from the Orinoco to Darien, and to the shores of the former Central American provinces of Spain contiguous to the Caribbean Sea. The name, however, is often popularly applied to the Caribbean Sea itself, and in this sense occurs frequently in connection with the buccaneers. See Buccaneer.