Map of the World, 1606
	he Spanish Colonial Period, also known as the Viceregal Period, endured for over three hundred years, from the time of the Spanish invasion until independence in the 1820s. In the 16th century, the Spanish were fired by a dual vision of attaining riches for their growing empire and spreading Christianity. They were the first recorded explorers to reach the Americas. Eventually the Spanish ruled over a vast domain in the Americas. The colonies of Spain included what is present-day Mexico, Central America, the Antilles islands, California, New Mexico, Texas, the coast of the Gulf of Mexico from Lousiana to the tip of Florida, Ecuador, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Uruguay. These domains were divided into the viceroyalties of New Spain, New Granada, Peru, and La Plata. There was one Portuguese viceroyalty, that of Brazil. Most of the museum's collections represent the viceroyalty of New Spain and are particularly strong in objects from Mexico.