Was the Spanish Empire (and for that matter, the Portuguese Empire) closed to the outside world more than the French, Dutch, or English/British Empires? If so, is it my understanding that - of the last three - the French Empire was the most closed, the English/British Empire was the most open, and the Dutch Empire was somewhere in between?
When I asked the above question the other day, what I meant was in terms of how little accurate information about the Spanish Empire and the places within it was revealed to the outside world. What outsiders, such as people in the British Empire, got in terms of detailed descriptions of Mexico or of the River Plate was grossly exaggerated or otherwise inaccurate, an implication being that if one wanted to invade any part of the Spanish Empire, one had next to no accurate information of where they were to carry out their invasions.