In the background of the world I'm currently writing in the "Western Lands" were discovered by Europeans about two centuries later than in our world. Some things carry through, however. The Chinese were silver-hungry for centuries, and there is silver ore in the mountains of northwestern South America. The Spanish still used slave labor - mostly native - to mine and refine silver to trade for Chinese pottery and fabrics.

"The only nation to turn an undeniable large profit from the exploitation of the Western Lands is España. While they follow the same destructive path as most of the looters, they also manage to reap greater benefits. Their real triumph comes when they establish trade with China. From ports on the western shores of the Southern Continent they sail west to trade Western Lands silver for silk, porcelain and other treasures of the Orient. These in turn are sold for huge sums in Europe and Africa."

Slavery was officially banned centuries earlier, but greedy people ignored the law. They also created what are essentially pyramid schemes to fund further exploitation. Families, banks and entire nations eventually go bankrupt in this looting. Some of them multiple times.

I have about 50k words on this world's history. (Hey, it beats writing. :-^)