Still, Italy would never regain its strong hold on textiles. And though it was the birthplace of banking, by the 16th century German and Dutch banks began taking away business. Discovery of the Americas as well as new trade routes to Africa and India by the Portuguese (which made Portugal the leading trading power) brought about the shift of economic power from Italy to Portugal in the 16th century, from Portugal to the Netherlands in the 17th century, and from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom in the 18th century.