Even good ideas need to be good business ideas in order to happen. Good business ideas can require cover to make them seem like good ideas too. Like the Crusades before them, Religion and Commerce were two key drivers of European Colonialism. Commerce provided the financing. Religion provided the excuses. The islands of Palau were claimed by Spain on first (in passing) sighting in 1522. In 1697 when a group of Palauans venturing to the North West were shipwrecked, they represented their islands to a Czech missionary using pebbles. The missionary drew a map and reported it to his Jesuit superiors causing great interest. Even today, this society is engaged in evangelisation in 112 nations on six continents. Following the defeat of Spain by America in the 1899 War, they sold the islands to the German Empire. Since 1994, the islands have had independence under a compact of free association with the United States.
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