Conquest

Was there ever a moment when someone in Spain said, "Hey, how about let's not conquer all these people? Couldn't we just, you know, trade with them and save the hassle of setting up our government and culture in a hostile environment?" Or the British with India, or whatever, take your pick. I mean, I'm sure there was somebody. Maybe. I'm looking at this with hindsight and applying my values and worldview to a very foreign situation - maybe it never occurred to them, and couldn't have because of their socio-cultural milieu. But, seriously, I would be very curious to know who, if anyone, spoke out in opposition, or at least moderation, and what happened to them, and why.

I ask this because I'm rewriting the setting descriptions for all the nations in Peradiga and Etanù, and I can't quite decide whether they'd be in favor of just up and taking out a foreign empire, or merely establishing relations, unequal though they may be.