nd military values, was the perfect training ground for the conquest of America. With so many Spaniards colonizing, and exploring new lands in the Americas, large supplies of silver and gold were found, mined, and shipped back to Spain with the help of a large Indian population virtually enslaved in the "encomienda system." "Between 1550 and 1800, Mexico and South America produced more than 80 percent of the world's silver and more than 70 percent of its gold." By the end of the sixteenth century, Spain was a well-established nation, with an empire that was only growing larger, or so it seemed.
             Spain had built an enormous global empire in the sixteenth century based on their ocean explorations, but by the end of the sixteenth century Spain was on the wane, first challenged and then surpassed by the Netherlands, France, and England, countries that established successful commercial communities. But how could Spain be on the wane with so much wealth coming in from the Americas? There are a number of different reasons for this:
             · Spain had no banks and instruments of exchange to store and transmit money. They lacked commercial intellig
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