Rumours of undiscovered islands northwest of Hispaniola had reached Spain by 1511 and king Ferdinand II of Aragon was interested in forestalling further exploration. While Portuguese were making huge gains in the Indian Ocean, the Spanish invested in exploring inland in search of gold and valuable resources. The members of these expeditions, the "conquistadors", came from a variety of backgrounds including artisans, merchants, clergy, lawyers, lesser nobility and freed slaves. They usually supplied their own equipment in exchange for a share in profits, often having no direct command with the royal army, and often no professional military training or experience.