For all the gold and silver stolen and shipped to Spain did not make the Spanish people richer. It gave their kings an edge in the balance of power for a time, a chance to hire more mercenary soldiers for their wars. They ended up losing those wars anyway, and all that was left was a deadly inflation, a starving population, the rich richer, the poor poorer, and a ruined peasant class
War is always a professional enterprise; despair is left to amateurs.
Agitation and commitment are dangerous for the peace of humanity, and the only thing which is even more dangerous is their absence.
Nothing is uncontroversial anymore, and very little is innocent.
The Queen Elizabeth II provides vast amounts of entertainment for an age that has forgotten how to amuse itself unaided.
This is a tragic world we live in.
