entrada

Definition

An armed incursion of Spanish conquistadors into American territories.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish entrada (“entry”). Doublet of entry.

Example Sentences

• "Each entrada or exploratory venture into regions beyond Aztec and Inca influence went under the assumed sanction of the Christian deity and with the stated purpose of bringing salvation to the ‘heathen’."
• "It was gold seized from Amerindians, or extracted with slave labour, which helped to fund the entradas organized locally after 1508, rather than gold from Spain."