Three of the major powers colonizing North America—France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic—all had strikingly different visions for empire. These visions affected politics, economics, and religion. The Spanish thought of their American empire most clearly as an extension of their European power. The Spanish Empire was founded by aggressive military entrepreneurs, or “conquistadors,” including Hernán Cortés, the conqueror of Aztec Mexico, and Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Inca Peru. Scions of the lower ranks of the Spanish nobility, these men and their followers were utterly ruthless in their pursuit of fame and wealth, often in the form of American gold and silver. However, the conquistadors did not establish enduring realms in America. That was the work of the Spanish monarchy, which organized its new territories into a series of kingdoms and provinces, much like Spain and its European empire.