Coca Vendor, Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, ca. The featured graphic is of a Manila Spanish Galleon. Pressed into bars the residual amalgam was then placed into small conical furnaces where the mercury was vaporized and recovered, though one quarter of the mercury was lost in the processing of silver ore. Conditions underground were harsh. Sierra de la Plata literally means ‘Mountain of Silver’, and is a legend about a city that was filled with a quantity of silver that was almost inconceivable. Competition to Spanish domination arose from the Protestant Dutch and from the French and from the English in Europe and in Asia and in the Americas. The Mita system was under challenge as never before. Like the other rebel leaders he was sentenced to a gruesome death, and like Tupac Amaru ll, he was torn apart by horses and his body part displayed where his “crimes” had been most egregious in Spanish eyes. Potosi is the world’s highest city (4,090 metres / 13,420 feet) and the mines are located even further up – at 4,200 metres (or 13,779 feet) altitude – on the ‘silver mountain’ Cerro Rico. In 1592, 444,000 lbs. The French and English resorted to privateering attacking the silver laden ships or the ports where the bullion was loaded in the Gulf of Mexico (Vera Cruz) or the Caribbean (Nombre de Dios). Spain had some of Europe’s richest iron deposits and Basque ironmongers became essential to Potosi. The cerro rico is from the Pedro de Cieza de Leon illustration of 1553, Smelting silver at Potosi. European goods and slaves were illegally imported from Brazil and Buenos Aires at a much cheaper cost than the ones from the lengthy route by Panama, which cost more. Manila - Acapulco trans- Pacific trade route of the Manila Galleons, Spanish Manila Galleons (1565-1815) San Juan Capistrano Visitor Series, Part 2. Potosi silver mine in Bolivia was set up by the Spanish with slave labour in 1545. The Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, called Potosi “the Treasury of the World.”. Potosí, Bolivia, with Potosí Mountain in the background. Cargoes for Lima were unloaded at Calloa and carried inland by mules or in heavy carts. Chinese merchants in Manila, mainly from Fujian, lived in an intramuros area known as the Parian, and grew in number some 150 in 1564 to 30,000 in 1603. Simply stephanite and wire silver, and pretty cool! Even Cervantes allu­ ded to these riches in his Don Quixote. A dam was built across the river by the mining company; the dam and the entrance to the mine are still there. Potosi History. The mint mixed private and public interests. Potosi became the engine of an international network which ended Eurasia’s bullion famine after 1550 and provided the silver flows that reached westwards across the Atlantic Ocean from South America via the isthmus of Panama to Spain and Europe, and to the east from Seville in Spain and Lisbon in Portugal to the Ottoman and Safavid Empires and to Mughal India and to China under the Ming and Qing dynasties. He ended the chaotic situation of the first decades of Spanish dominion. But they were critical to the production of silver. Mate tea, held to be of medicinal value, was brought to Potosi from Paraguay. 27.5 x 21.5 cm. The ships retired once they had loaded or unloaded their cargoes to the well-fortified port of Cartagena on the northern coast of South America. I had a 4WD so did not take a guided underground tour. But the name Huancavelica (a corruption of the Quechua name for the site which meant “stone idol”) stuck. The man-Eating mines of Potosí On the Bolivian Altiplano, at more than 4000 meters above sea level, lies South America's most elevated town. Huancavelica became the “greatest jewel in the Crown” and mercury became the basis on which the tax on precious metals, the “quinto,” was levied. Over the centuries, approximately 60,000 tons of … Although precious metals composed the highest percentage of the value of cargoes from the New World. The city came into existence after the discovery of silver there in 1545 and quickly became famous for its wealth. The siege of La Paz in early 1781 was led by an indigenous rebel who called himself Tupac Katari. The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade, puerto galera - phillipines.com, East Asia in the sixteenth century: Malacca, China and Japan. El Tio, meaning “the Uncle,” appears as a devilish creature, and his statues in the mines are given offerings of cigarettes, strong alcohol, and coca leaves. He had also been a small coca dealer who knew his way around the Andean mountains. But above all the sliver of Potosí was desired in Asia, India and above all to China. But in fact, the Manila Galleons, many built in the Philippines, were huge ships that combined the carrying capacity of carracks with the maneuverability and speed of caravels, reaching 2,000 tones, and carrying at times silver to the value of two and a half million silver pesos. The snow capped peaks that surround Huancavelica stand at 5,000 meters high. The rapid introduction of the most modern technology was a characteristic of these early years of European colonial activity in the Americas. Watercolor on parchment. By the end of the sixteenth century, it had become one of the largest and the highest cities in the world, and in 1561, Philip ll of Spain, decreed that it should be known as the “Villa Imperial de Potosí.”. Over the next 200 years, more than 40,000 tons of silver … He was the fifth Spanish viceroy and he remained in Peru eleven years and five months and traveled in tours of inspection over five years and 8000 kilometers over its territory. In 1545, a new Spanish mining town was founded in the Andes mountains of modern-day Bolivia, and for next 250 years, the mines of Potosí would fund the Spanish crown and its imperial ambitions. The rich surface silver ores at Potosí were processed initially by smelting. The “red mountain” is still producing silver, tin, zinc, lead, and other metals. But even an elevation as high as this does not stop the nearby Cerro Potosí from dominating the surrounding landscape. Yet it is certainly the case that the Spaniards needed to overcome formidable obstacle in ordered to successfully exploit the mineral resources of the high Andes, overcoming obstacles of labor supply, distance, transportation, capital, and technical expertise. To this day, a workers’ collective extracts minerals from the mine. Portugal regained its independence from Spain in 1640 and with the assistance of the virulently anti-Catholic English Republic of Oliver Cromwell and of the English Fleet under the Parliamentarian Admiral Blake. By 1531 silver imports into Seville passed gold by weight and by 1561 silver imports surpassed gold by value. The silver ore was loosened by hammers, picks and crowbars, and carried in hide sacks, weighing 100 pounds a time, to the surface. Silver was also carried via the Rio de la Plata (the “silver river”) following the reestablishment of Buenos Aires in 1580. Above all the viceroy Toledo recast the “Mita” which was an Inca system of obligations in order to provide one-seventh of the able-bodied male indigenous Quechua and Aymara farmers and pastoralists of the highlands for various tasks in the Spanish sector of the colonial economy. ". Mules and cattle were raised around Cordoba and Tecuman province (in present day Argentina, literally “the land of silver”). History & background information In the 16th century, the Spaniards discovered large quantities of silver in the Cerro Rico Mountains, surrounding Potosí. Labor in the Peruvian mines was almost exclusively provided by the indigenous population. On average, these miners worked for 6 months, before dying from mining accidents, lung related diseases, starvation or exhaustion. To learn more or withdraw consent, please visit our cookie policy. Andean caciques and kurakas (local indigenous head men) served as middlemen, fulfilling the labor quotas, responsible to Spanish magistrates (capitates de la Mita.) In fact, getting to Manila from New Spain was a far easier and shorter voyage than getting to Peru from New Spain (Mexico). The buildings were constructed near streams whenever possible because water was essential to operate the machinery of the mill. All had to be brought from afar. If the voyage lasted more than six months the ships could become floating coffins. There is nothing ‘touristy’ and homely about Potosi but the town is a great testament to the authentic Bolivian history and culture. Between 1545 and 1810 Potosi’s silver contributed nearly 20% of all known silver produced in the world across 265 years. … The “Imperial Villa of Potosi” was on a barren plateau devoid of everything needed for life and work. Per the Colorado State University, History of Porco and Potosi: Historical research suggests that well before the Inca invasion around 1,000 AD, Porco was the location of silver mines as well as an important ritual center that attracted pilgrims from throughout the southern Andes. After 1597 it became necessary to mine underground and the deterioration of working conditions was rapid. The fleet bound for the isthmian Caribbean port of Nombre de Dios, known as Galeones, left San Lucar, the port of Seville, in mid-April. Thousands of fossilized footprints speckle this Bolivian national park. Between 1576 and 1600 two-thirds of all mercury consumed in Spanish America came from the Peruvian mine. Quite frankly, after all these years, the former “rich” mountain hardly has any more treasures to give. After 1565 silver from the Americas also crossed the Pacific Ocean to the Spanish entrepôt at Manila in the Philippines (named after King Philip ll of Spain) and on from Manila by Chinese junks to the Fujian in China where the port of Quanzhou was one of the world’s busiest shipbuilding and commercial centers of overseas and coastal trade with more than 100,000 Arab traders living in the area. The air blast was provided by sheep or goat skin bellows. The main attraction of the city – once the largest and richest place on the entire continent of America – is the silver mine of the Cerro Rico. It was returning that posed the difficulties. For centuries, Indian slaves mined the mountain's silver in brutal conditions to bankroll the Spanish empire. China had one quarter of the world’s population and the largest taxing system in the world and silver became the only acceptable currency for paying taxes. The valleys are 1,950 meters above sea level. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. The rise of silver production in Potosí also transformed the shipping in the Spanish Atlantic system. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. Largest site of dinosaur footprints ever found includes more than 5,000 tracks. Broken Hill in Australia is the world's second biggest silver mine. It was once used as a classroom to teach mining skills to local high school students. Once discovered this route was followed by the galleons from Manila for over 250 years. March 9, 2017. Whether we should visit or … From Lima, Arequipa, and Huancavelica, routes linked Cuzco and Potosi, crossed the Andes, Chaco, and Pampas to Buenos Aires. Iron from northern Spain was essential to mining. Luis de Campoche claimed that the roads of Peru were so covered with people that it seemed that the whole kingdom was on the move. The rich mountain, Cerro Rico, produced an estimated 60% of all silver mined in the world during the second half of the 16th century. Grapes and dried fish were sent from the Pacific coast. Summary. Bolivia's silver mountain loses its lustre as report warns of risk of collapse. But the Andean rebellion flared and tens of thousands were  killed. African slaves from Angola were imported clandestinely via Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. The Chinese monetary system was especially responsive to the arrival to Spanish American silver. Should You Visit the Silver Mines of Potosi in Bolivia? Here you can buy goods to help the miners in their work. Since rain was unpredictable at Potosi, the Spanish viceroy of Peru, Francisco de Toledo decided to construct in the nearby Kari mountain full scale reservoirs linked by canals and aqueducts to Potosí, a huge public works projects completed by thousands of Andean indigenous draftees. In effect it created the first global currency of exchange, the “pieces of eight” each with the mark “P” for the Potosi Mint established by the Viceroy of Peru (1569-1581), Francisco Alvares de Toledo, in 1574. As of 06/11/2020 they have no debt and ~A$7M cash. or 200,00 kgs of pure silver was “reported” as processed in Potosi. By the 1530s some thirty ships a year were involved in the Panama to Callao trade; at the end of the sixteenth century the number ranged from fifty to sixty. A giant, bloody battle rages throughout the Bolivian Andes each year. And the union of the crowns of Spain and Portugal greatly facilitated the flow of silver from Seville to Lisbon and from Lisbon to India and China and Japan via the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The voyage took only eight to ten weeks. Thousands of the indigenous people were forced to work at the mines, where many perished through accidents, brutal treatment, or poisoning by the mercury used in the extraction process. At Potosi there were 120 processing mills in 1658. The massive salt beds of the Salar de Uyuni, the World’s largest salt flat, was several days walk away. The Potosi “piece of eight” was the world’s first global currency crossing frontiers and financing trade and wars. Its silver soon became the foundation of the Spanish Empire, and at its peak in the seventeenth century Potosí was one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. All rights reserved. Dams at Potosi, de Orsua y Vela Bartolome, História de la Villa Imperial de Potosi, 3 Vols, Edited by Lewis Hanke and Gunnar Mendoza, Providence, R.I. Brown University Press, 1965, Coca Traders at Potosi. The city of Potosí, Bolivia, stands on a barren terrace on the northern slope of the Cerro Garda de Potosí. Potosi acted as a magnet for produce and manufactured goods from all over South America and beyond. The Spanish Crown appropriated the mines in 1570 and operated them until Peru’s independence in 1821. The opening of the trade to the East, and particularly to China, by these two seaborne routes had dramatic consequences. In 1565 a fleet system took on a regular form. Potosi: AN EMPIRE OF SILVER David F. Myrick Is RICH AS Potosi is a comparative phrase used by miners of the Western world. Galleries were haphazard, airless, and full of dust, and few miners escaped permanent crippling from mercury poisoning. "If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking. During the sixteenth century the population of Potosi grew to over 200,000 and its silver mine became the source of 60% of the world’s silver. The return voyage was easy and could usually be accomplished in less than a month. The hardest tasks – smelting coin metal, cutting and preparing coin blanks for stamping – was carried out by drafted Andeans and enslaved Africans. The number of vessels arriving in Nombre de Dios, ranged from 27.3 in the decade 1611-1620 to 20.0 in the decade 1681-1690. In the 1630’s debased Potosi silver bars with the Potosi mark were rejected by bankers on the money markets of Genoa and Antwerp. From the depths of this amazing mountain, huge amounts of silver have been extracted since 1545.. Tours, tourism and hotels in Bolivia These forced labor drafts were only outlawed in 1812 and were declared over by Simon Bolivar in 1825. East Indian Ocean and the Far East, Atlas: Fernão Vaz Dourado, 1571, Lisbon, Torre do Tombo, The Chinese’s “Parian” quarter in Manila. Legend attributes its name to potojchi or potocsi, a Quechua word meaning “deafening noise,” or “crash.”. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. The annual production being about 300,000 lbs. Many miners die in cave-ins or from silicosis, a serious disease that damages the lungs, and there’s been recent concern of the whole mine collapsing. Adits were dug into the side of the mountain in order to access the veins of silver ore. Together they composed a small town (7000 people and 30,000 animals) in transit. There is no security at the mine, you just drive into the mining … The silver mine started in 1877 and closed in 1946. In a report entitled ‘History Echoes in the Mines of Potosi’, Becky Branford (BBC News Online) relates the scale of the Spanish mining operation, which over three centuries extracted “more than 62,000 metric tonnes (137 million pounds) of silver that provided the Spanish aristocracy with a lifestyle of profligate opulence and, because it was used to pay off many Spanish debts to neighbours, … The Silver Mine at Potosí. A network of communications thus developed which joined the mining centers to the colonial capital, the seaports, and their regional supply zones. Under the terms of approved by the Cortes of Tomar of 1581 which provided legal sanction for Phillip ll’s seizure of the Portuguese crown, the two empires in America were to remain administratively separate. This subterranean passage reveals the city's mining history as well as its legendary terrors. Enjoy kayaking, canoeing, swimming, hiking and picnicking year-round. But such vast wealth also came at a price. The sea connection between Panama and the Peruvian coast was especially difficult. The viceroy Toledo also established the mint in Potosi in 1574. Ships needed to sail at a latitude of a least 10 degrees north of the equator in order to catch a favorable wind. The silver mine began like most colonies, with the rape and pillage of local amenities sometime back in the 16th century. In the viceroyalty of Peru, Huancavelica and Potosi, were over 1000 miles apart. It is the world's biggest silver mine by a factor of 2. Mercury was essential to the processing of silver ore and was imported from the Almaden mines in La Mancha in Spain. But by the time that Bolivia declared independence in 1825, the silver had largely run out, leaving tin as the main product. He was the only viceroy to visit Potosi. When the Inca treasure arrived in Seville in 1534 it was enough precious metal to upset the money markets in Europe and the Mediterranean. Potosí was founded as a mining town in 1546, while Bolivia was still part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. The rebels rejected their Mita obligations totally. We’re leaving Sucre with a bus that is taking us to Potosí – one of the highest cities in the world – in just over three hours. Francisco Álvares de Toledo, fifth viceroy of Peru (public domain). The cerro rico and haciendas de Minas in Potosi. Silver Mines Recreation Area is named for the abandoned “Einstein Mine”, which was mined for Silver, Tungsten and Lead. At a height of over 4,000 meters, Potosí, capital of the Bolivian state of the same name, is one of the highest cities in the world. By 1600 half the mine workers were indigenous self-hired workers receiving wages. Although the Spanish would eventually discover the silver mines of Potosi in 1545, this was not the same as the legendary Sierra de la Plata . Professor Maxwell's Assistant Lucas Bertolo at the Potosi mines in November 2020. By then the great days of Potosi were a thing of the past. Brazil was connected to Potosi’s mining complex from Buenos Aires. The silver bars were brought to the mint from the Royal treasury office next door where the Royal Fifth was paid. The contingent from Chucuito was only part of the 40,000 indigenous peoples encamped at the foot of the Serro Rico or travelling to and from the high plateau to meet their Labor obligations. The silver produced in Potosi was carried on the backs of llamas and mules to Pacific coast from whence it was shipped from Arica to the isthmus of Panama where mule trains carried the silver overland to the Caribbean port of Nombre de Dios. Textiles came from Cuzco or were imported from Europe via the official route through Panama, or by the clandestine route though Brazil. The rise of bulky commodity exchange demanded larger ships and the value of the cargoes carried demanded greater security. The now almost legendary silver mines in the Alto Plano of Upper Peru (now Bolivia) provided the name for subsequent mining Silver was critical to European trade with the Orient. 1585. The Einstein Silver Mining Company began mining in 1877, and mining ceased completely in 1946. In a decree of January 28, 1547, Charles V conferred the title of "villa imperial" on the city and from that … But few recalled the central and pioneering role that Potosi and its silver had played in the sixteenth century in creating and facilitating the first globalized network of world interconnection. Manila Galleon (ca. He forcibly resettled the Andean population in permanent settlements (reducciones). Hardware had to be imported from Spain: Ironware, nails, horseshoes, machetes, pickaxes, hinges, locks. The mud was then washed away into troughs or vats (tingas) and the silver amalgam put into canvas bags, any free mercury filtering out. This was largely due to the fact that the silver mines were essentially depleted. In 1672, Potosí became the site of the Spanish Colonial Mint and, with a population of around 200,000, was one of the richest cities in the world. Atlas Obscura and our trusted partners use technology such as cookies on our website to personalise ads, support social media features, and analyse our traffic. The dramatic rise in Spanish American silver production in the 1570’s was the result of the adoption at Potosi of the “patio” process of amalgamation of silver ores with mercury which produced a quadrupling of silver export from Peru in the ten years between 1576-1585. The silver was then taken to the office assay office for recasting and stamping with weight, fineness, and the royal coat of arms. The article also treats the social and environmental consequences of nearly five hundred years of continuous mining … The Mughals like the Ottomans and the Safavids used Potosi silver to finance their wars of conquest. He was right. By 1620 the population of Potosi reached between 100,000 and 120,000 people, making it larger than Seville or Lisbon, and half the size of the greatest cities in Europe. Why or why not? It is estimated that eighty-five percent of the silver produced in the central Ande… In this article I’m taking you to the almost exhausted mines of Potosí, a miners-market and the lord of the underground. On the outskirts of a desert trading village high on the Andean plain, steel giants have been destroyed by salt winds. At Potosi mining methods were primitive. These revolutionized Andean mining as mine workers were now able to chip away hard rock. Peru already had a reputation as the source of unfathomable treasures thanks to the ransom in gold and silver gathered for the Inca emperor Atahualpa seized by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro in an ambush at Cajamarca which had amounted to a million pesos of fine gold and silver when melted down. For the richest citizens, fresh fish arrived from the Pacific packed in ice. This was an exaggeration. Today, due to the lacking sources of income, still some 15,000 “mineros” enter the ruinous silver mines of Potosí every day in search of precious minerals. The price of Spain’s wealth was paid for with the lives of indigenous South American and African slaves who worked in the mines. In an effort to be in compliance with GDPR we are providing you with the latest documentation about how we collect, use, share and secure your information, we want to make you aware of our updated privacy policy here. The Viceroy Francisco Álvares de Toledo who had fought the Ottoman Turks in Tunis and opposed the rise of Protestantism in Germany, and was a close to the court of the (now retired) emperor Charles V, had been sent to Peru by Philip ll. Potosí: The Silver Mine that Changed the World. It is a cold and barren landscape. Cerro Rico and Haciendas de Minas, ca. The demands of the mining community for supplies, food and labor were so great that it opened up a whole spectrum of profitable opportunities and provoked a series of regional and international repercussions. The new Republic of Bolivia in the high Andes took his name. or 136.000 kgs through the 1640s. The crown officials included the treasurer, assayer, smelter, master of weights and measures, and the bailiff. The flow of Spanish American silver to Asia via Europe was facilitated when in December of 1580 Philip ll of Spain arrived in Lisbon to claim the crown of Portugal as Philip l of Portugal. The mills were complex and expensive. Flooding was a constant problem, only partly overcome by such crude methods as hoisting out the water in leather buckets and the use of primitive pumps. As the saying went: “No peace beyond the line.” The Spaniards in response instituted a system of armed convoys. The Europeans produced nothing in the way of manufactured goods than the Asians did not produce better – weapons excluded. Prevailing southerly winds made it almost impossible to reach Peru from Panama except in January and February. 13,000 were obligated to work in Potosi where they would be distributed to mines, stamp mills, or to various tasks in the city.