While Hispaniola (modern-day Haiti and Dominican Republic) offered other resources like timber and arable land, gold was the primary driver of Spanish colonization. The indigenous Taíno people, who inhabited the island, were already mining and trading gold. The Spanish, driven by greed and the desire for wealth, were quick to exploit this resource, establishing mines and using the indigenous people as forced labor. This ultimately led to the decimation of the Taíno population.
