Answer:
First, the islands came to be used for growing sugar. The islands were also important because of how rich the mainland of Spanish America was. There was silver, in Mexico and Peru and it had to get shipped to Spain each year. It went through the Caribbean to get there.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Europeans came to the Caribbean in search of wealth. The Spanish had originally looked for gold and silver, but there was little to be found. Instead, the Europeans tried growing different crops to be sold back home. The islands of the Caribbean were discovered by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, working for the then Spanish monarchy. In 1492 he made a first landing on Hispaniola and claimed it for the Spanish crown as he did on Cuba.