Why was control of the large islands in the Caribbean Sea (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico).So important to the Spanish Empire? For full credit you must provide all three reasons.

The establishment of crops, the exploitation of sugar and the exploitation of gold.

Explanation:

Colombus was the first Spanish explorer to reach the Caribbean islands and quickly wrote to the Spanish crown about how profitable that land would be for Spain. Colombus wrote that the land was good for agriculture, which could improve food in Spain and promote trade between other countries. In addition, Colombus stated that the exploitation of sugar would be very beneficial in the place, in addition to the exploration of gold and other precious metals. These factors made the Caribbean an extremely important region for Spain, which aroused the greed of other nations in relation to this territory.

a.   it resulted in widespread unemployment.