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
Caribbean Sea covering about , most of which are located off the Caribbean Islands and the Central American coast. Among them stands out the Belize Barrier Reef with an area of which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It forms part of the Great Mayan Reef also known as the MBRS and being over in length is the world's second longest. It runs along the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. During the past ten years, unusually warm Caribbean waters have been increasingly threatening Caribbean coral reefs. Coral reefs support some of the most diverse marine habitats in