ory and wealth. The expansion of faith posed an important question: were the conquistadors interested in spreading the Christian faith or in the resources of the lands they conquered? During the 14th and 15th centuries there was a new demand among the upper classes of Europe for luxury goods, such as cotton, fine silks, precious stones and spices (cinnamon, pepper, ginger etc) that were unavailable on the old continent and could be found in the Orient. As a result of naval development and economic support, it became possible in the 15th century for Hispanic conquistadors to sail to places such as India, China and Ceylon to retrieve the luxury goods themselves without turning to intermediaries. This led to the discovery of other important goods such as West African pepper, Guinean gold, ivory etc. but also of African slaves (Payne: Chp.10). The initiative of Portugal and Castile in transatlantic expansion was based on their favorable geographic location on the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. Also, the end of the 14th century saw their naval power increase and even surpass that of Catalonia or e
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