| Historic Background |
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- In 1492, when Columbus sailed in search of new lands, the monarchy of Spain was a monarchy that consumed money ravenously - and dangerously -because it did not have its own reliable source of precious metals.
- With a desperate need for money and a conviction of entitlement to acquire it at any cost, the kingdom of Spain’s approach was to plunder the resources of others.
- Little more than 100 years after the first voyage of Columbus, Spain’s boundless lust for riches – and glory, and souls to convert – had resulted in the conquest of much of the Caribbean, Mexico, and the America’s – the New World.
- Spain very rapidly became the most powerful country on earth because of its control of New World commodities.
- To transport vast amounts of plundered riches, massive wooden ships sailed in organized fleets, or flotas, each with a particular purpose and route. Each year these ships voyaged from Spain to the Americas along a route called the Carrera de Indias.
- When ships full of New World silver and gold were lost at sea, the economic chain reaction was far-reaching and often devastating.
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