History doesn't really name a winner in the race for exploration. However, within a short time, Spain controlled most of the wealth from the colonial gold and silver mines as well as a vast amount of land. As profits from the colonies flooded into the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal, this new wealth spread across borders into Northern European trade and the banking systems of Germany and Italy. This motivated other Europeans to quickly join Spain and Portugal in the race for these new lands. As European colonies sprang up in the New World of the Americas, the wealth of Old World Europe grew. With each new discovery of gold, and new natural resource uncovered, the race for exploration intensified, forever changing the face of the globe.