Why was new world gold and silver so important to spain?

In italy, the distance between milan in the north and palermo,sicily, in the south is about 550 miles. in the united states, the distance betweenboston, massachusetts, and savannah, georgia, is about 900 miles. do you think the american revolutionaries of 1776 in the 13 colonies faced some of the same challenges as the patriots who struggled for italian unity in the 1860s?  

Group formed to protect artisans and increase their profits

The battle of sabine pass is important because? a) it was a stalemate between union and confederate armies. b) it resulted in the largest confederate casualty in the war. c) it marks the failed attempt of the union army to invade the confederate state of texas. d) it was won by the union soldiers and marked a turning point in the western front of the war.