ABSTRACT
The first Europeans in the New World had been Spaniards and no one has dreamed of contesting their priority. Although fiercely individualistic, the Conquistadors were no less ardently patriotic. Intoxicated as they were by sudden fortune, the Conquistadors never omitted to put aside a fifth part of their booty for the Treasury. The exploits of the Conquistadors have not lacked chroniclers. The Conquistadors were sincere. The legality of the enterprise was guaranteed them by pontifical bulls. The Conquistador believed in God, fiercely and unreservedly. The Conquistadors never ceased to oscillate between the opposite poles of Idealism and Realism. When the Conquistadors arrived in America, the Indians were also familiar with gold, but they preferred to seek it in the rivers. When the Conquistadors arrived in Mexico, they were surprised to note that the Aztecs only extracted silver.
