"The Spanish, by contrast, were more exploitative, choosing to harvest the wealth of the land and ship it back home. As a result of these two approaches, it was the English colonies which tended to become more prosperous. Today, the United States, which began as thirteen English colonies, is the wealthiest nation on earth. But at the time of colonization, exploitation resulted in short-term benefit for Spain. The 16th century was the time of the Spanish conquistadors (conquerors). Chief among them were Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro. Many do not realize the two men were second cousins (I didn't). But both were successful (the most successful of the conquistadors) at completing the missions they set out to. With inferior numbers, each separately brought down the two most powerful empires in the New World at that time."
-https://historiarex.com/e/en/376-cortes-and-pizarro
