Note 43 — II. Industries at the Time of Discovery and Conquest
Reading edition
What were the causes that led to the decay of these old industries? “First came the wars, the internal disorders which the new change of affairs naturally brought with it.”43 Then, as already pointed out, the effect of shipbuilding was fatal to the very lives of the people.44 Add to these the abuses practiced by the encomenderos, and it is easy to understand the reason for the decline of the industries at the time.45 However, in this connection, the benefits arising out of Spanish conquest should not be forgotten.46