How did weather effect the Spanish-American colonial system in the 1700s? Objective 1. To explain how Spain created an empire from trade routes to the Americas; 2. To describe the convoy system Spain used to collect treasure and native products from the Americas over three centuries; 3. To describe the wrecks of the 1715 and 1733 treasure fleets and consider how these disasters impacted Spain; 4. To discuss the importance of protecting resources such as the Urca de Lima and San Pedro sites; 5. To compare the preservation of local historic sites to that of underwater resources. Background Time Duration: 90 Minutes.