King of the Indies
King of the Indies was a title used by Charles V since 1521 to reflect his sovereignty in the Americas. Isabella of Castile had already become queen of the West Indies following the Voyages of Christopher Columbus. As Charles inherited the crown of Castile and ratified the conquest of the Aztecs and Incas by the conquistadores, the title of "King of the West Indies" became "King of the Indies" to reflect the expansion from the West Indies into the mainland. Charles V also ratified the establishment of Klein-Venedig and appointed figures such as Mercurino Gattinara as "Grand Chancellors of the Indies".
The title of "King of the Indies" was inherited by Philip II of Spain who also styled himself as "King of the Western and Eastern Indies". Under Philip II, the term "West Indies" came to include both the insular territories and the Spanish Main in order to distinguish these possessions from the new colony of the Spanish East Indies. The term "King of the Indies" continued to be used by Spanish monarchs in the 17th and 18th century. Nowadays, West Indies only refer to the original area of the Spanish West Indies and the term "Indies" refers to the East Indies.
