It could’ve worked, if all that wealth had been spent actually propping up the spanish empire. But, similar to today, most of it ended up in the pockets of the already mega wealthy, so there was practically no return on investment.

They’ve spent it as if it was never going to run out, starving out their industries and becoming reliant on this source of gold to keep their society running instead of investing it to strengthen their economies.

Ah yes, the stonkuistador

We spent it civilizing part of our empire, but not the part you think. The Netherlands was part of our kingdom, and the wars there consumed all the money; seeing their food, we failed.