Final answer:
The statement overly simplifies Spain's interests in the southeast region of the U.S., as Spain's goals included economic control, religious conversions, social structuring, and maintaining geopolitical influence in the face of regional revolutions, alongside their well-documented pursuit of precious metals like gold and silver.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that Spain was only interested in gold doesn't fully capture the entirety of Spain's interests in the southeast region of the United States and its broader New World Empire. While it is true that the pursuit of gold and silver was a significant driving force behind Spanish exploration and colonization, evidenced by the establishment of mining zones and the imposition of the quinto (the rule specifying that one-fifth of all precious metals mined was to go to the Spanish Crown), other factors played important roles as well.
Spain's interests were also deeply rooted in maintaining control over its territories to protect its investments and uphold the mercantilist trade system that was fundamental to its economy, which involved heavy regulations on export and import activities. Furthermore, the Spanish had religious and socio-political motivations, such as the spread of Catholicism and the establishment of a structured colonial society adhering to patriarchal norms.
Lastly, concerns over the implications of regional revolutions and the possibility of losing hegemony in the region to other European powers or to emerging independent republics were factors that influenced Spain's reluctance to complete an agreement with the United States over Florida. This demonstrated that Spain's interest went beyond gold, encompassing the maintenance of power and influence in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.