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The Spanish treasure fleets
Europe was bursting with energy in the late 15th century, but progress was being hindered by a shortage of reliable currency. Columbus was aware of this, and one of the main goals of his voyage was to find gold. The first large amounts of precious metals from the New World were the plunder that came from the Spanish victory over the Aztecs and Incas. Mints in the colonies began producing large numbers of silver pieces of eight, which became the main cargo of the tresure fleets and a standard currency all over the world. The wealth of the New World quickly crossed the Atlantic and spread throughout Europe, where it was enthusiastically welcomed by monarchs building nation-states and merchants establishing trade ties to the Orient. Soon the Spanish treasure fleets were regularly crossing the Atlantic in great convoys, and Spain became the greatest power in the world, creating a truly...
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