which enterprise in the spanish colonies was most profitable
Spanish Empire Spain came across an imperial reality without finding profits at the beginning. It did stimulate some trade and industry, but the trading opportunities encountered were limited. Therefore, Spain started to invest in America with the creation of cities, because Spain was in America due to religious reasons. Matters began to change in the 1520s with the large-scale extraction of silver from the rich deposits of Mexico's Guanajuato region, but it was the opening of the silver mines in Mexico's Zacatecas and Potosí in Upper Peru (modern-day Bolivia) in 1546 that became legendary. During the 16th century, Spain held the equivalent of US$1.5 trillion (1990 terms) in gold and silver received from New Spain. These imports contributed to inflation in Spain and Europe from the last decades of the 16th century. The vast imports of silver also made local manufactures uncompetitive and ultimately made Spain overly dependent on foreign sources of raw materials and manufactured goods.[citation needed] "I learnt a proverb here", said a French traveler in 1603: "Everything is dear in Spain except silver".[118] The problems caused by inflation were discussed by scholars at the School of Salamanca and the arbitristas. The natural resource abundance provoked a decline in entrepreneurship as profits from resource extraction are less risky.[119] The wealthy preferred to invest their fortunes in public debt (juros). The Hapsburg dynasty spent the Castilian and American riches in wars across Europe on behalf of Hapsburg interests, and declared moratoriums (bankruptcies) on their debt payments several times. These burdens led to a number of revolts across the Spanish Hapsburg's domains, including their Spanish kingdoms, but the rebellions were put down.