Following Columbus' lead, a Spanish military group known as Los Conquistadores, 'The Conquerors', were directed by Hernan Cortes to the New World with the sole purpose of seeking out new frontiers and riches in the unknown. The Conquistadores undertook their expeditions in the vast landmasses of the Americas at their own expense, risking their lives without aid from the Spanish royalty. Their conquests included campaigns in Guatemala, Peru, Cuzco, Columbia, Chile, the Bay of Honduras, and as far as the Pacific Coastal regions. The Conquistadors, however, were given to fighting and searching for gold, and were swiftly replaced by administrators and settlers from Spain who governed in their place. Once the Spanish Kingdom established its presence in the Americas their operations inevitably became high-profile targets of pirates and other raiders who were endorsed by European powers such as England. The Monarchy of Spain endeavored to retaliate by building an armada of warships that was dubbed "The Invincible Armada". The armada was a collection of over 130 naval warships and transport-ships, which contained approximately 8,000 seamen and 19,000 soldiers. King Philip II directed this armada to invade England when the various and frequent raids on Spanish commerce in the Caribbean became intolerable. England's success in repelling the Spanish fleet saved England and the Netherlands from potential consolidation into the Spanish empire, but despite the armadas' defeat, the blow dealt by the Spanish upon England's reputation as the greatest European power was palpable. Thereafter, Spain declined in power quickly; and by the 19th century, Spain became somewhat marginal in international politics. Spain's period of imperial power and exploration left a legacy that consisted of 18 Latin American states, Puerto Rico, and the ever-growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States today. In 1975 Spain transitioned into a constitutional monarchy by way of a democratic constitution and is now recognized for its eclectic culture as well as for the glory and mystique that it once possessed in its youth.