The Spanish Conquistadors Herman Cortes and Francisco Pizarro changed the world. Following the battle of Tenochtitlan in 1521, Cortes conquered the vast Aztec Empire. Twelve years later, following the capture of their ruler Atahualpa at the massacre of Cajamarca, Pizarro conquered the even greater territory of the Incas. Effectively, the riches of the New World now belonged to Spain. For Philip and Isabella, the Catholic monarchs in Madrid, the mountain of silver discovered beside the Incan village of Potosi fuelled their global ambitions. Funded by the rapid flow of glinting ore, Spain spent vast blood and treasure waging a brutal…

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