The Apparition of Saint Peter to Saint Peter Nolasco (1629) by Francisco de Zurbarán. Photographic archive via Museo Nacional del Prado Twice a year, throughout the 17th century, ships from across Spanish South America gathered in Havana in Cuba to catch their breath before heading into the Atlantic. This flotilla carried the riches of New Spain – a vast swathe of land and islands that encompassed what are now Mexico and Peru, the Caribbean, a tranche of the southern United States and a slice of Brazil. The cargoes included not just bullion but also all manner of ethnographical artefacts and flora and fauna. Back in 1520, Albrecht Dürer recalled witnessing the unloading of one such vessel.…