USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Motivations for colonization: Spain’s colonization goals were to extract gold and silver from the Americas, to stimulate the Spanish economy and make Spain a more powerful country. Spain also aimed to convert Native Americans to Christianity.

Detailed explanation-2: -Between 1500 and 1650, the Spanish imported 181 tons of gold and 16, 000 tons of silver from the New World. In today’s money, that much gold would be worth nearly $4 billion, and the silver would be worth over $7 billion.

Detailed explanation-3: -It enlarged the money supply and prices across many European countries. The influx of gold contributed to Spain’s relative decline and low living standards in future centuries. The Spanish spent their gold on commodities from other countries, without producing much in terms of exports themselves.

Detailed explanation-4: -After subjugating the Aztec and Inca Empires, the Spanish began mining the ample gold and silver in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Over the next 300 years, Spain’s wealth grew as they plundered the resources of the Americas, transporting the goods back to Europe to fuel a global economy of trade.