 Mexico provided more than half of the Empire taxes and supported the administration of all North and Central America.Competition with the metropolis was discouraged; for example cultivation of grapes and olives, introduced by Cortés himself, was banned out of fear that these crops would compete with Spain's.To protect the country from the attacks by English, French and Dutch pirates, as well as the Crown's revenue, only two ports were open to foreign trade—Veracruz on the Atlantic and Acapulco on the Pacific.