Piracy in the Caribbean in the New World were violated with greater frequency by the merchants of other nations. The Spanish port on the island of Trinidad off the northern coast of South America, permanently settled only in 1592, became a major point of contact between all the nations with a presence in the Caribbean. In the early 17th century, expensive fortifications and the size of the colonial garrisons at the major Spanish ports increased to deal with the enlarged presence of Spain's competitors in the Caribbean, but the treasure fleet's silver shipments and the number of Spanish-owned merchant ships operating in the region
Clipperton Island Clipperton Island Clipperton Island ( or ; ) is an uninhabited coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Central America. It is 10,677 kilometres away from Paris, France, 5,400 km from Papeete, Tahiti, and 1,081 km from Mexico. It is an overseas minor territory of France, under direct authority of the Minister of Overseas France. The atoll is south-west of Mexico, west of Nicaragua, west of Costa Rica and north-west of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, at . Clipperton is about south-east of Socorro Island in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, which is the nearest land. It is low-lying