Maybe it wasn’t worth $17B back then, but I always wondered what the motivation was for the Spanish and other European monarchies was to load up all that treasure onto a sailing ship and send it out to sea. I guess in many cases it was to buy goods to bring back to Spain.
No, the treasure was to bring back to Spain to fill Phillp’s coffers.
Spain was at war in Europe for nearly the entire 16th century and beyond. That's very expensive.
[[ I guess in many cases it was to buy goods to bring back to Spain.]]
Nope=- it was to buy scratch off tickets
Back then, money was real gold and silver. If your country wanted to put more money into circulation, they had to find more gold and silver.
These ships weren't taking gold from Europe to the Americas, they were taking gold and silver from the New World and returning it to the Old World to increase the Old World's total wealth.
Unfortunately they didn't have the Weather Channel back then, so they didn't know when they were about to sail into a hurricane.
More like the other way, they looted other cultures and sent the gold home.
Doing what politicians do.............
Spain was basically at war with England for control of Europe and launched the Spanish Armada against England.
That was a very long and very expensive war.
10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Spanish Armada:
The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 – a fleet of Spanish ships led by Medina Sidonia with the purpose of overthrowing Queen Elizabeth I – is considered one of England’s greatest military achievements, and one that served to boost the monarch’s popularity. But how much do you know about the campaign?