During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Spain continued her military and economic monopoly in Central and South America. Gold, silver, jewels, and abundant trade goods provided incredible wealth that turned Spain into the richest country in Europe and funded heavily armed and nearly impenetrable convoys of treasure fleets. But Spain's economic successes would soon attract a new breed of individualistic opportunists to the Caribbean, so-called buccaneers, who would test Spanish supremacy to the limits.