Indians in Central and South America established great civilizations, however defined, which were expressed, among other ways, in monumental architecture. The Azetic in central Mexico and the Mayan in the Yucatan were such examples. Photos, on the right, from Chicken Itza and on the left, Tulum.

Gold & Silver in Central America

Yet, the European colonizers of the Americas wanted only the kind of wealth that they knew in Europe. Because European societies were based on gold and silver, explorers and the royalties that sponsored them, were particularly eager for these precious metals.

Gold art work by Indians, such as the one here, confirmed for Spanish conquerors by the mid-1500s that the "New World" was full of wealth. Gold and silver bankrolled the Spanish Empire for three centuries -- leaving behind an estimated 8 million corpses in the process.

Did Indians give up their treasures or work the mines to extract these minerals for Europeans? Why did they do it? [Why do any people -- regardless of time and place -- go along with their oppressors?]