Americas. Between 1519 and 1521, the Aztecs in Mexico were subdued by Hernán Cortes. In Peru, about ten years later, the magnificent Andean empire of the Incas was defeated by Francisco Pizarro. The Spanish and Portuguese were seizing the greatest riches of the Americas. The English and French, who arrived much later, were left with only “crumbs”: North America, where no gold or silver deposits had been found, no great empires to plunder, or millions of men to subjugate and use as forced labor. In the long run, however, it would not be the temporary wealth of gold and silver or the low cost of (forced) labor that would make the difference.
