Gold & Silver

• 1492 Spain expanded into the Americas after the Reconquista
• Spain and Portugal were granted colonial rights by the papacy
• Conquistadors established colonies and systems of extraction
• Civilizations were destroyed and populations enslaved
• Mining centers like Potosí produced massive silver wealth
• Vast quantities of gold and silver flowed to Europe
• Wealth largely benefited European creditors, not Spain directly
• Extracted wealth fueled broader European capitalism
• Indigenous populations suffered catastrophic decline
• Large-scale African slavery expanded to the Americas
• Long-term outcomes include inequality, ecological damage, and social disruption

Cash Crops

• Cash crops like sugarcane, cocoa, and cotton drove European commerce
• Land was redirected from food production to export crops
• Food imports became necessary as local production declined
• Deforestation and soil depletion reduced long term productivity
• Many regions faced poverty and food insecurity
• Economies became dependent on a few export crops
• Price shocks created vulnerability and instability
• Political independence did not end economic dependency
• Foreign powers often intervened to protect economic interests

Minerals & Invisible Power

• US relies on Latin America for minerals like copper and petroleum
• Foreign influence persists through debt and export control
• Mining causes severe environmental and health damage
• Some mining regions face extreme poverty and low life expectancy
• Economic dependence enables external political and corporate leverage
• Export concentration increases vulnerability to price manipulation

Premature Death

• Post-independence wealth often flowed to foreign nations
• Latin America struggled to compete with British manufacturing, increasing imports
• Emerging local industries were frequently suppressed
• British banks benefited from resulting regional indebtedness
• US protectionism supported domestic industrial development
• Many Latam economies remained focused on exports rather than industrialization

Contemporary Structure of Plunder

• Post-WWII US replaced Europe as dominant influence in Latin America
• US corporations gained favorable terms, low taxes, and profit repatriation
• Wealth flowed out of Latin America, limiting local development
• 1960s banking shifts redirected Latin American savings toward US finance
• Foreign aid often tied to US contracts and trade conditions
• Debt systems reinforced dependence rather than growth
• Latin America remained focused on raw material exports
• Tariffs and trade barriers limited local manufacturing growth
• Economic inequality widened between urban and rural regions