A Spanish Start
After spending 800 years trying to end the rule of the Moors, the people of Spain succeeded in the early 1500s. Spain’s many military veterans were then eager to conquer new lands. They sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, looking for possessions and riches to claim for their king.
In 1521, conquistador Hernán Cortés defeated the Aztec Indians of Mexico. He sent the gold he discovered back to Spain. In 1534, Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire in South America, seizing more gold.
