A New World of Gold An Silver

A New World of Gold and Silver
Atlantic World
Europe, Africa and the Americas, 15001830
Edited by
Benjamin Schmidt
University of Washington
and
Wim Klooster
Clark University
VOLUME 21
A New World of Gold and Silver

By
John J. TePaske
Edited by
Kendall W. Brown
LEIDEN BOSTON
2010
Cover illustration: a collage made by the editor of colonial Spanish American coins
generously provided by the State of Florida from its collection and by Mel King and
Faye Asano, of Big Blue Wreck Salvage, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
TePaske, John Jay, 19292007.
A new world of gold and silver / by John J. TePaske ; edited by
Kendall W. Brown.
p. cm. (Atlantic world ; v. 21)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-18891-4 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Gold mines and miningLatin AmericaHistory. 2. Silver mines and
miningLatin AmericaHistory. 3. Latin AmericaHistoryTo 1830.
I. Brown, Kendall W., 1949 II. Title.
HD9536.L292T47 2010
332.46dc22
2010030374
ISSN 1570-0542
ISBN 978 90 04 18891 4
Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishers,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission
from the publisher.
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Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance
Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
CONTENTS
Maps, Illustrations, Figures, and Tables ........................................

Editors Preface ..................................................................................
vii
xvii
Chapter One
Introduction ............................................................
Chapter Two
Gold: The Scarcer Metal? ......................................
23
Chapter Three
Silver, the Abundant Metal: Mexico ................
69
Chapter Four Silver, the Abundant Metal: Upper and Lower

Peru ..................................................................................................
141
Chapter Five New World Mintage: Mxico, Santo Domingo,

Lima, and Potos ............................................................................
213
Chapter Six New World Mintage II: Santa Fe de Bogot,

Popayn, Santiago de Guatemala, Santiago de Chile, and
Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Villa Rica de Ouro Preto) .....
261
Chapter Seven
Conclusion ............................................................
305
Glossary ...............................................................................................
Bibliography ........................................................................................
Index ....................................................................................................
317
325
333
MAPS, ILLUSTRATIONS, FIGURES, AND TABLES
Maps
1.
2.
Mining Cajas and Mints in Colonial Mexico and

Central America .........................................................................
Mining Cajas and Mints in Colonial South America ........
xxi
xxii
Illustrations
1ab. Moneda Macuquina ..................................................................
2ac. Peso Cordoncillo .......................................................................
3ab. Peso de Busto .............................................................................
218
218
218
Figures
Chapter One
11. New World Gold and Silver Output, 14921803 .............
12. Shipment of Gold and Silver to Castille, 15031660,
according to Earl J. Hamilton ................................................
13. New World Silver and Gold Output, 14921810 .............
14. New World Gold and Silver output by Region,
14921810 ...................................................................................
4
6
16
17
Chapter Two
21. Estimated New World Gold Production by Region,
14921810, in pesos ..................................................................
22. Estimated New World Gold Output, 14921810, by
decade in kilograms ..................................................................
23. Spanish American Gold Production by Region,
14921810, in kilograms .........................................................
24. Caribbean Gold Production by Region, 14921555, in
kilograms .....................................................................................
28
29
30
33
viii
maps, illustrations, figures, and tables
25.
Caribbean Gold Production by Decade, 14921555, in

kilograms ....................................................................................
Mexican Gold Output, 15211810, in kilograms .............
Estimated Mexican Gold Production by Caja 15211810,
in kilograms ...............................................................................
Estimated New Granada Gold Production, 15331810,
by decade in kilograms ............................................................
Ecuador Gold Production, 15351810, by decade in
kilograms ....................................................................................
Peru Gold Production 15331810, by decade in
kilograms ....................................................................................
Peru Gold Production by Region, 15331810,
in kilograms ...............................................................................
Chile Gold Production, 15411810, in kilograms ............
Brazil Gold Production, 16911810, in kilograms ...........
Brazil Gold Production by Region, 17001801,
in kilograms ...............................................................................
New World-World Gold Production, 14911810,
in kilograms ...............................................................................
26.
27.
28.
29.
210.
211.
212.
213.
214.
215.
33
35
35
39
41
43
44
45
47
48
49
Chapter Three
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
310.
311.
312.
313.
314.
315.
316.
317.
318.
New World Silver Output, 15211810, in pesos ..............

New World Silver Output, 15211810, in kilograms ......
New World Silver Output by Region, 15011810 ............
Mexican Silver Output, 15211810, in pesos ....................
Mexican Silver Production by Caja District, 15211810,
in kilograms ...............................................................................
Mexico (Caja) Silver Output, 15211810, in pesos ..........
Zacatecas Silver Output, 15591810, in pesos ...................
Guadalajara Silver Output, 15681810, in pesos ..............
Durango Silver Output, 15991810, in pesos ....................
San Luis Potos Silver Output, 16281810, in pesos .......
Guanajuato Silver Output, 16651810, in pesos ...............
Pachuca Silver Output, 16671810, in pesos .....................
Sombrerete Silver Output, 16831810, in pesos ...............
Zimapn Silver Output, 17291810, in pesos ....................
Bolaos Silver Output, 17531810, in pesos ......................
Veracruz Silver Output, 17651805, in pesos ...................
Rosario Silver Output, 17731813, in pesos ......................
Chihuahua Silver Output, 17851814, in pesos ................
75
76
78
81
82
87
88
91
93
95
96
98
99
101
102
103
104
105

319. Mexican Mercury Supply, 15611810 .................................
320. Mercury Allocated to the Mining Cajas of Mexico,
17091753 ...................................................................................
321. World-New World-Mexican Silver Output, 15211810,
in kilograms ...............................................................................
ix
108
109
111
Chapter Four
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
410.
411.
412.
413.
414.
415.
416.
417.
418.
419.
420.
421.
Peruvian Silver Production, 15311810, in pesos ............

Peruvian Silver Production, 15311810, in kilograms ....
Peruvian Silver Production by Caja District, 15311810,
in kilograms ...............................................................................
Lima Silver Output, 15311810, in pesos ...........................
Potos Silver Output, 15451810, in pesos .........................
Oruro Silver Output, 16091809, in pesos .........................
Castrovirreyna Silver Output, 16091652, in pesos .........
Cailloma Silver Output, 16311779, in pesos ....................
Arequipa Silver Output, 15991810, in pesos ...................
La Paz Silver Output, 16241810, in pesos ........................
Carangas Silver Output, 16521803, in pesos ...................
Chucuito Silver Output, 16581800, in pesos ...................
Pasco Silver Output, 16711810, in pesos ..........................
Trujillo Silver Output, 16011810, in pesos ......................
Cuzco Silver Output, 15711810, in pesos .........................
Huancavelica Silver Output, 15771784, in pesos ...........
Huamanga Silver Output, 17851810 .................................
Jauja Silver Output, 17211785, in pesos ...........................
Arica Silver Output, 17801810, in pesos ..........................
Mercury Supply in Peru, 15711810 ...................................
Peruvian-New World-World Silver Output, 15311810,
in kilograms ...............................................................................
145
145
148
149
152
154
156
157
159
160
161
162
164
166
167
168
169
170
172
176
178
Chapter Five
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
Mexican Silver Mintage, 16901821, in pesos ...................

Mexican Gold Mintage, 17331821, in pesos ....................
Mexican Silver Mintage and Output, 16911810,
in pesos ........................................................................................
Mexican Gold Mintage and Output, 17331810,
in pesos ........................................................................................
Lima Silver Mintage, 16841821, in pesos .........................
230
230
232
232
238
56.
57.
Lima Gold Mintage, 16961821, in pesos ..........................

Lower Peru Silver OutputLima Mintage, 16911810,
in pesos ........................................................................................
58. Lower Peru Gold OutputLima Gold Mintage,
17011810, in pesos .................................................................
59. Potos Silver Mintage, 15741825, in pesos .......................
510. Potos Gold Mintage, 17811806, in pesos ........................
511. Upper Peru Silver OutputPotos Mintage, 15811810,
in pesos ........................................................................................
512. Upper Peru Gold OutputPotos Gold Mintage,
17811810, in pesos .................................................................
238
239
240
245
245
246
247
Chapter Six
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
New Granada Gold and Silver Production, 15331620,

in pesos ........................................................................................
New Granada Annual Gold Mintage, 16211819,
in pesos ........................................................................................
New Granada Annual Silver Mintage, 16211819,
in pesos ........................................................................................
Popayn Gold Mintage, 17581810, in pesos ....................
Guatemala Silver Mintage, 17331817, in pesos ..............
Guatemala Gold Mintage, 17331817, in pesos ................
Chile Gold Mintage, 17561820, in pesos ..........................
Chile Silver Mintage, 17561815, in pesos .........................
Brazil Gold Mintage, 17031800, in pesos .........................
262
267
267
269
271
274
277
278
284
Chapter Seven
71.
Gazette Bullion Shipments and Registered Silver Output,

15811805 ...................................................................................
311
Tables
Chapter One
11.
12.
Adolf Soetbeers Estimates of World Silver and Gold

Production, 17931810 ...........................................................
New World Silver and Gold Output, 14921810 .............
19
20
13.
xi
Estimated Total Gold and Silver Production in the

Indies, 14921810 .....................................................................
21
Chapter Two
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
210.
211.
212.
213.
Estimated New World Gold Production by Region and

Decade, 14921810, in pesos .................................................
Estimated New World Gold Production by Region and
Decade, 14921810, in kilograms .........................................
Estimated Caribbean Gold Production by Region and
Decade, 14921555 ...................................................................
Estimated Mexican Gold Production by Caja and Decade,
15211810, in pesos .................................................................
Estimated Mexican Gold Production by Caja and Decade,
15211810, in kilograms .........................................................
Estimated New Granadan Gold Production by Decade
15331810, in pesos and kilograms .....................................
Estimated Ecuadorian Gold Production by Decade
Estimated Upper and Lower Peruvian Gold Production
by Caja and Decade, 15311810, in pesos .........................
Estimated Upper and Lower Peruvian Gold Production
by Caja and Decade, 15311810, in kilograms .................
Estimated Chilean Gold Production by Decade,
Estimated Brazilian Gold Production by Decade,
Estimated Brazilian Gold Production by Region and
Decade, 17001801, in pesos and kilograms .....................
New World-World Gold Production 14921810, by
decade in kilograms .................................................................
54
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
Chapter Three
31.
32.
33.
New World Silver production by Region and Decade,

15211810, in pesos .................................................................
New World Silver Production by Region and Decade,
15211810, in kilograms .........................................................
Mexican Silver Production by Caja and Decade,
15211810, in pesos .................................................................
112
113
114
xii
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
310.
311.
312.
313.
314.
315.
316.
317.
318.
319.
320.

Mexican Silver Production by Caja District and Decade,
15211810, in kilograms .........................................................
Caja of Mexico Registered Silver Production, 15761817,
in pesos and kilograms ............................................................
Mexican Reales de Minas, 17611767 .................................
Zacatecas Registered Silver Production, 15591821,
Guadalajara Registered Silver Production, 15681816,
Durango Registered Silver Production, 15991813,
San Luis Potos Registered Silver Production,
Guanajuato Registered Silver Production, 16651816,
Pachuca Registered Silver Production, 16671807,
Sombrerete Registered Silver Production, 16831816,
Zimapn Registered Silver Production, 17291810,
Bolaos Registered Silver Production, 17531810, in
pesos and kilograms .................................................................
Veracruz Registered Silver Production, 15691805,
Rosario/Los Alamos/Cosal Registered Silver Production,
Chihuahua Registered Silver Production, 17851814,
Mercury Shipments to Mexico from Almadn, Idria,
and Peru, 15581805, in quintales .......................................
Mexican, New World, and World Silver Production,
15211810, in kilograms .........................................................
115
117
119
121
123
125
127
130
132
133
134
135
136
136
137
138
140
Chapter Four
41.
42.
Upper and Lower Peruvian Silver Production by Caja

and Decade, 15311810, in pesos .........................................
Upper and Lower Peruvian Silver Production by Caja
and Decade, 15311810, in kilograms .................................
181
183

43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
410.
411.
412.
413.
414.
415.
416.
417.
418.
419.
420.
421.
422.
Lima Registered Silver Production, 15741820, in pesos

and kilograms ............................................................................
Lima Silver Output as Percentage of Peruvian, New
World, and World Production, 15311810, in kilograms ...
Potos Registered Silver Production, 15451823, in
Potos Silver Output: Percentages by Decade of Peruvian,
New World, and World Production, 15451810,
in kilograms ...............................................................................
Oruro Registered Silver Production, 16091809, in pesos
and kilograms ............................................................................
Castrovirreyna Registered Silver Production, 16001652,
in pesos and kilograms .........................................................
Cailloma Registered Silver Production, 17631779,
Arequipa Registered Silver Production, 15991817, in
La Paz Registered Silver Production, 16241824, in
Carangas Registered Silver Production, 16521803,
Chucuito Registered Silver Production, 16581800,
Pasco Registered Silver Production, 16701820, in pesos
and kilograms ............................................................................
Trujillo Registered Silver Production, 16011817,
Cuzco Registered Silver Production, 15711822,
Huancavelica Registered Silver Production, 15771784,
Huamanga Registered Silver Production, 17851819,
San Juan de Matucana-Jauja Registered Silver Production,
17211785, in pesos and kilograms ....................................
Arica Registered Silver Production, 17801819, in pesos
and kilograms ............................................................................
Huancavelica Mercury Production and Shipments to
Peru from Europe, 15711814 ..............................................
Peruvian-New World-World Silver Output: Percentages
15311810 (percentage by Decade in Kilograms of Fine
Silver) ...........................................................................................
xiii
185
187
188
190
191
193
194
195
197
199
201
202
204
205
207
208
209
209
210
212
xiv
Chapter Five
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
510.
511.
512.
513.
Mexican Silver Mintage, 16901821, in pesos and

kilograms ....................................................................................
Mexican Gold Mintage, 17331821, in pesos and
kilograms ....................................................................................
Mexican Silver Mintage and Output, 16911810,
Mexican Gold Mintage and Output, 17331810, in
Early Lima Silver Mintage, 15801587, in marks
and pesos ....................................................................................
Lima Silver Mintage, 16841821, in pesos and
kilograms ....................................................................................
Lima Gold Mintage, 16961821, in pesos and
kilograms ....................................................................................
Lower Peru Silver OutputLima Mintage, 16911810,
Lower Peru Gold OutputLima Gold Mintage,
Potos Annual Silver Mintage, 15741825, in pesos and
kilograms ....................................................................................
Potos Gold Mintage, 17781810, in pesos and
kilograms ....................................................................................
Upper Peru Silver OutputPotos Mintage, 15811810,
Upper Peru Gold OutputPotos Mintage, 17811806,
in pesos and kilograms .........................................................
248
249
250
251
251
251
253
254
255
255
258
258
259
Chapter Six
61.
62.
63.
64.
Estimated Early New Granada Gold and Silver

Production by Decade, 15331620, in pesos and
kilograms ....................................................................................
Santa Fe de Bogot Gold Mintage, 16211819, in marks,
pesos, and kilograms ................................................................
Bogot Silver Mintage, 16211819, in marks, pesos, and
kilograms ....................................................................................
Popayn Gold Mintage, 17581810, in marks, pesos, and
kilograms ....................................................................................
287
288
291
295

Popayn Silver Mintage, 17581810, in marks, pesos, and
kilograms ....................................................................................
66. Guatemalan Silver Mintage, 17331817, in marks, pesos,
and kilograms ............................................................................
67. Guatemalan Gold Mintage, 17331817, in marks, pesos,
and kilograms ............................................................................
68. Santiago de Chile Gold Mintage, 17561820, in marks,
69. Santiago de Chile Silver Mintage, 17561815, in marks,
610. Brazilian Mintage Estimates by Decade, 17031806,
xv
65.
296
297
299
301
302
303
Chapter Seven
71.
72.
Estimates of Bullion Shipments from the Indies to

Europe, 15031805 ...................................................................
Gazette Bullion Shipments and Registered Silver
Output, 15811805 ...................................................................
314
315
EDITORS PREFACE
For much of his academic career, Professor John Jay TePaske studied
the economic and fiscal history of the early modern Spanish empire.
He was drawn to the work of French scholars from the Annales
school, such as Fernand Braudel and Pierre and Huguette Chaunu,
who focused on how history was influenced by social and economic
structures. TePaske found particularly impressive the Chaunus Seville
et lAtlantique, with its massive compilation of data regarding transAtlantic trade during the first century and a half of Spanish colonization in the Americas. By the time I became one of his graduate
students at Duke University in 1973, he had already begun to analyze
imperial fiscal records with the goal of using the information contained in them to provide long-term quantitative data for study of the
imperial economy.
He began with the accounts generated by the royal treasury office
(real caja) of Lima. The typical account contained summary pages
for income and expenditures, which it broke down according to the
specific taxes and other sources of revenues. Using those summaries
(often referred to by colonial fiscal officials as cartas cuentas), he discovered data concerning, among other things, the amount of indigenous tribute collected, commercial tariffs paid, and miners gold and
silver taxed, besides the quantities spent by the treasury on imperial
defense and the funds remitted by the government to Spain. Compared to other European imperial powers of the early modern period,
the Spaniards were compulsive record-keepers, and furthermore treasury officials had shipped to Spain copies of most of the cartas cuentas,
and often the entire ledgers themselves. Once in Spain, the records
found their way to the Council of the Indies, which had bureaucratic
jurisdiction over the colonies; and then were deposited in the Councils archive, the holdings of which came to constitute the bulk of the
great Archivo General de Indias (AGI) in Sevilla.
The emergence of the computer in the 1970s as a more and more
common tool for historical research made it possible for TePaske
to move beyond his hand-written note cards listing the income and
expenditures of the Lima caja. He began to envision a massive data
base containing fiscal data taken from the cartas cuentas of all the
xviii
editors preface
colonial treasuries over the entire colonial period. He and Herbert

S. Klein, at the time professor of history at Columbia University and
who had also worked on treasury accounts, joined forces and in 1975
secured a generous research grant from the Tinker Foundation to
compile and computerize the treasury data. Under their direction,
Kenneth Andrien, Miles Wortman, Josefina Teriyakin, and I worked
in the AGI in 19751976 to locate and microfilm all the cartas cuentas
available in that great repository. The following year Andrien, Eileen
Keremetsis, and I searched for additional fiscal records in Argentina,
Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico. It took several years to code the data
in the cartas cuentas for the computer. Meanwhile, TePaske and Klein
continued to search for treasury materials from Central America, the
Caribbean, and any other colonial enclaves.
They also turned their attention to two other goals: making their
data available to other scholars and analyzing economic trends discernible within the fiscal records. In 1976 TePaske had already published
the summaries of the treasury accounts for the Mexico City caja.1 In
the 1980s the team published similar materials for Peru, Upper Peru,
Chile, and the other Mexican treasury offices, followed by accounts for
Ecuador in 1990.2 They also made the data available electronically to
interested historians. At the same time they began analysis of the fiscal
information. TePaske and Klein used data on mining taxes to write an
article in which they argued that the Mexican mining industry had not
suffered a long depression during the seventeenth century.3 TePaske
also turned his attention to the issue of bullion flows from Spanish
America to Europe and Asia during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.4 Klein later published a book examining trends in taxation
1
John J. TePaske, Jos Jess Hernndez Palomo, and Mari Luz Hernndez Palomo,
La real hacienda de Nueva Espaa: la real caja de Mxico (Mxico: Instituto Nacional
de Antropologa e Historia, 1976).
2
John J. TePaske and Herbert S. Klein, The Royal Treasuries of the Spanish Empire
in America 3 vols. (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1982); John J. TePaske and
Herbert S. Klein, Ingresos y egresos de la real hacienda de Nueva Espaa (Mxico:
Instituto Nacional de Antropologa e Historia, 1986); and John J. TePaske and Alvaro
Jara, The Royal Treasuries of the Spanish Empire in America, vol. 4: Eighteenth-Century
Ecuador (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1990).
3
John J. TePaske and Herbert S. Klein, The Seventeenth-Century Crisis in New
Spain: Myth or Reality? Past & Present 90 (February 1981): 116135.
4
John J. TePaske, New World Silver, Castile and the Philippines, 15901800, in
J. F. Richards, ed., Precious Metals in the Later Medieval and Early Modern Worlds
(Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 1983): 425445.
editors preface
xix
and expenditure in colonial Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico during the long
eighteenth century.5
TePaske used the treasury records to focus on colonial mining production, that interest being, of course, the origin of the present volume.
He aimed to generate for each treasury district a series showing how
much gold and silver the mines had officially produced, and based
on those series, to calculate output over time for the major regions of
Spanish America, particularly New Spain, Peru, and Upper Peru. To
those he hoped to add a series on the gold mined in Portuguese Brazil.
These efforts, he believed, would provide the best compilation of data
likely to be had by historians regarding the mining yield of colonial
Latin America, data that could be used both to analyze the internal
workings of the colonial and imperial economies and data that could
provide a firmer foundation for studying bullion flows in the early
modern world economy. It was not his intention, however, to engage
in economic analysis or to take on discussion of exports of bullion
from Latin America in this volume. For TePaske the important first
step was to determine with as much precision as possible the quantities of gold and silver produced by the American mines from the sixteenth to early nineteenth centuries. Indeed, in conversations with his
friend Douglass North, the Nobel-prize laureate in economics, North
reportedly recommended that TePaske concentrate on presentation of
the data rather than complicating the volume with analysis.
TePaske unfortunately died on 1 December 2007 before bringing
the volume of data to publication. Before his death, he asked that I
finish the volume. Going through his papers, his computer disks, and
other materials, I found to my relief that he had largely completed
drafts of all seven chapters. Thus, this book is essentially his work. I
have revised it, added occasional clarification, and expanded the conclusion but have left the focus of the volume and the approach to the
data as he envisioned them.
The book consists of seven chapters. The first examines the historical work previously done on colonial mining production. It pays particular attention to the findings of Alexander von Humboldt, the great
German polymath who visited Spanish America near the end of the
5
Herbert S. Klein, The American Finances of the Spanish Empire: Royal Income
and Expenditures in Colonial Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia, 16801809 (Albuquerque:
University of New Mexico Press, 1998).
xx
editors preface
colonial period and spent months there studying the regions mining
industry and estimating its output. Humboldt gained access to official
colonial records to formulate his conclusions. His first-hand experience also enabled him to estimate the amount of illicit bullion output
that occurred. The following three chapters rely heavily on the data
TePaske obtained from his treasury project. Chapter Two examines
the output of gold in both Spanish and Portuguese America. Silver
takes center stage in the third and fourth chapters, with the former
concentrating on Mexico and the latter on the Andean mines. In chapters five and six TePaske turns his attention to colonial mintage, again
supplying quantitative data on the coinage produced over time in the
colonial mints of Brazil and Spanish America. The seventh and concluding chapter is brief but importantly analyzes TePaskes conclusions in light of what French scholar Michel Morineau (Incroyables
gazettes et fabuleux mtaux [1985]) discovered about colonial American bullion exports by using information contained in European commercial gazettes.
TePaskes project would have been impossible without the generous
support of the Tinker Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Social Science Research Council, the American Philosophical Society, and the Banco de Espaa also provided timely funding;
and he benefited from a stay at the National Humanities Center in
North Carolinas Research Triangle Park. It is, of course, impossible
for me to acknowledge the contributions of all those scholars with
whom he consulted over the years regarding one aspect or another of
the project. I can, however, express my gratitude for the comments
and suggestions offered to me by Richard Garner, Kenneth Andrien,
Mark Burkholder, Shawn Miller, and Alan Craig. Ryan Wheeler, Dave
Dickell, and Roy Lett graciously made available images of coins from
the State of Florida collection, and Mel King and Faye Asano, of Big
Blue Wreck Salvage, enthusiastically offered me photographs of coins
and bars of bullion, which show in physical form what TePaske spent
years studying. Miles Miller, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Rebekah Lund, Megan
Olsen, and Sara Moore helped prepare parts of the manuscript.
Kendall W. Brown
Provo, Utah
Mint
Treasury Office
Pacific Ocean
NEW SPAN
San Luis Potos
Sombrerete
Gulf of Mexico
Havana
Caribbean Sea
Santo Domingo
Atlantic Ocean
Map 1. Mining Cajas and Mints in Colonial Mexico and Central America.
Santiago de Guatemala
Guanajuato
Pachuca
Zimapn
Mexico City
Vera Cruz
Bolaos
Zacatecas
Durango
Guadalajara
Rosario
Chihuahua
editors preface
xxi
xxii
editors preface
Bogot NEW GRANADA

Popayn
Trujillo
PE RU
Pasco
Jauja
Huancavelica Huamanga UPPER
Castrovirreyna
Cuzco PERU
Cailloma
La Paz
Chucuito
Oruro
Arequipa
Arica Carangas
Potos
Lima
BRAZIL
Salvador
da Bahia
Diamantina
Ouro Preto
Rio de Janeiro
Pacific
Ocean
CHILE
Santiago
Atlantic Ocean
Mint
Treasury Office
Map 2. Mining Cajas and Mints in Colonial South America.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Glory, God, and Gold, so goes the refrain, drove Spain into its New
World ventures. In the late fifteenth century, however, the shortage of
gold in Europe was compelling enough in itself to motivate the quest
for new sources of that metal. Moreover, the bullionist outlook of
emerging nation-states like Portugal and Spainthat a nations power
and prestige depended upon control over large supplies of gold and
silveralso fueled the search for these metals. A monetary historian,
Pierre Vilar, notes that in his diary Columbus mentions gold sixty-five
times between October 12, 1492, and January 1493 when the Genoanborn sailor began his return to Castile.1 He arrived home from his
first voyage with gold nuggets worth 20,000 escudos, approximately
9,000,000 maraveds or 33,100 silver pesos of eight reales. That his second voyage was fitted out with the primary purpose of finding gold
is good evidence of the metals high priority in the age of discovery
and conquest. When Columbus brought back thirty thousand ducats
in gold amounting to 11,250,000 maraveds or a bit more than 41,000
silver pesos of eight reales, he reinforced his claims that the Indies
offered new sources of wealth for the Catholic Kings.2
Early Estimates of New World and World Bullion Output

Both the conquistadores and the swashbucklers and settlers who followed them found a plentitude of gold and silver in the New World.
In Spanish America silver ultimately dominated, although very early
Pierre Vilar, A History of Gold and Money, 1450 to 1820 (London: Verso, 1991), 63.
Jaime Vicens Vives, ed., Historia social y econmica de Espaa y Amrica 4 vols.
(Barcelona: Editorial Libro Vicens-Bolsillo, 1961): Vol. II, Guillermo Cspedes del
Castillo, ed., Baja edad media. Los Reyes Catlicos. Descubrimientos, 468. Maraveds
were small coins, primarily of copper, that were used in Castile. More importantly,
the maraved became a standard Spanish unit of account. One silver peso or piece of
eight consisted of eight reales. Each real was worth 34 maraveds, and thus the peso
had a value of 272 maraveds.
2
chapter one
in the colonial epoch Europeans discovered gold in the Caribbean and

later in Chile, Ecuador, and New Granada (present-day Colombia) as
well. These regions became the major producers of that metal in Spanish America. In Luso-America (Brazil) the Portuguese eventually found
gold in great abundance, primarily in the eighteenth century. Because
such huge amounts of precious metals were extracted, refined, and
minted in the Indies during the three centuries of European domination, observers from the Old Worldwith their bullionist attitudes
made valiant efforts to estimate New World gold and silver output.
Among the most perceptive of these was Alexander von Humboldt
(17691859), the distinguished German scientist who traveled extensively throughout Spanish America at the end of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth. Gaining access to Spanish royal
fiscal records with the blessing of Charles IV, he had a great advantage over previous observers. When he published his detailed Political
Essay on the Kingom of New Spain at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, he not only put forward his own calculations of New World
gold and silver output, but he also credited those before him who had
made informed estimates of New World bullion production and provided benchmarks for Humboldts own estimates.3
Humboldt referred to a wide variety of European statesmen, historians, and political economists. In the seventeenth century, for example, Juan Solrzano Pereira (15751655), a Spanish jurist, fiscal of the
Council of the Indies, and a former judge on the high court (audiencia) of Lima, published his De indiarium jure between 1629 and 1637,
subsequently printed in five volumes as Poltica indiana. In his work
he calculated New World bullion output between 1492 and 1628 at
1,500,000,000 silver pesos of 272 maraveds.4
In the eighteenth century two French observers, Guillaume Franois Thomas Raynal or Abb Raynal (17131796), and Jacques Necker
(17321804) provided their assessments of New World gold and silver
production. In Histoire philosophique et politique des tablissements et
du commerce dans les deux Indes, published first in six volumes in 1770
and in many later editions, Raynal estimated that between 1492 and
3
Alexander von Humboldt, Ensayo poltico sobre el Reino de Nueva Espaa 5
tomos (Mexico, D. F.: Editorial Robredo, 1941). A much abridged edition in English
taken from the John Black translation, edited by Mary Maples Dunn, is also available:
Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972).
4
Humboldt, Ensayo poltico, 3:378.
introduction
1770, New World bullion output was 5,154,000,000 pesos. Minister of

Finance under Louis XVI, Jacques Necker confined his observations
to the period from 1763 to 1777, when he believed New World mines
yielded 304,000,000 pesos. Another French observer, the anonymous
author of Recherches sur le commerce, set output between 1492 and
1775 at 5,072,000,000 pesos, very close to Raynals estimate.5
In Spain in the early eighteenth-century the proyectista Gernimo
de Uztriz (16701732) also calculated gold and silver output in the
Indies. Among a number of political economists promoting economic
and social reforms under the new house of Bourbon, he wrote Therica
y prctica de comercio, y de la marina, en diferentes discursos in 1724,
subsequently republished a number of times in Spain and England. His
assessment of Spanish American bullion production from 14921724
was 3,536,000,000 pesos. Another estimate, which Humboldt believed
to be too high, came from the Scottish historian William Robertson
(17211793) who calculated that between 1492 and 1775 the Indies
produced 8,800,000,000 pesos.6
As virtually the last during the ancien rgime to assess New World
bullion output, Humboldt had many advantages over his predecessors.
Benefitting from these earlier calculations and with access to Spanish fiscal records, he made his estimates after the Spanish imperial
bureaucracy had begun generating much more detailed and plentiful
statistics. Those data from the government provided a clearer, more
precise long-range picture of mining and minting activity. Viewing
nearly the entire period of Spanish and Portuguese domination in the
New World from 14921803, Humboldt set the amount of gold and
silver produced in the Indies at 5,706,700,000 pesos. He estimated
colonial Spanish output at 4,851,156,000 pesos and Luso-American
at 855,544,000 pesos85 percent of the grand total from the Spanish Indies and 15 percent from Brazil. Humboldt also attempted to
account for unregistered and untaxed output. He estimated that of the
totals for each region, 816,000,000 pesos were unregistered in Spanish America and 171,000,000 pesos in Luso-Americaa fraud rate of
16.8 percent in the Spanish empire and 20.0 percent in Brazil or 17.3
5
6

Humboldt, Ensayo poltico, 3:378, 381.
chapter one
According to Alexander von Humboldt
In Billions of Silver Pesos of 272 maraveds
New Spain
2.028 = 36%
Chile
0.138 = 2%
Peru and Buenos
Aires
2.41 = 42%
Brazil
0.855 = 15%
New Granada
0.275 = 5%
Figure 11. New World Gold and Silver Output, 14921803
percent overall.7 Figure 11 provides a breakdown of Humboldts estimates for the Spanish and Portuguese Indies.8
Once the Indies became independent and with more European
expansion in Africa and Asia, attention also turned to world bullion
production. In 1892, for example, the German scholar Adolf Soetbeer
(18141892) laid out his estimates of world gold and silver output
from 1493. His calculations for the ancien rgime to 1810 appear in
marks and kilograms of fine silver and gold. Soetbeer concluded that
between 1493 and 1810 Spanish and Portuguese America yielded
126,657,400 kilograms of silver and 3,743,770 kilograms of gold (see
Table 11; all tables are at the end of each chapter).9 In 1911 another
German, Wilhelm Lexis (18371914), a professor at the University of
Gttingen, refined Soetbeers estimates a bit. For Spanish America he
made new calculations for silver output in Potos, Lower Peru, and
Mexico1,200,000,000 pesos from Potos (15451800); 550,000,000
pesos from Lower Peru (15331800); and 1,870,000,000 pesos from
Mexico (15221800).10 Nonetheless the Soetbeer estimates have
7

The estimates for Figure 11 are from Humboldt, Ensayo poltico, 3:382.
9
Adolf Soetbeer, Litteraturnachweis ber Geld und Mnzwesen insbesondere ber
den Whrungsstreit, 18711891 (Berlin: Putkammer & Mulbrecht, 1892), 23, 1618.
10
Wilhelm Lexis, Silber und Silberwhrung, in Handwrterbuch der Staatswissensschaften (Jena: Verlag von Gustav Fischer, 1911): 506507.
8
introduction
remained conventional wisdom since they were published in 1892

until the present.11 They have been used in this study as well.
Estimations of New World bullion output continued into the early
twentieth century. About the time Lexis was revising Soetbeers figures,
Clarence Haring returned to the Humboldt tradition by consulting
archival materials, among them the accounts of the colonial treasuries
(cajas).12 In the early 1930s Earl J. Hamilton provided an important
benchmark for determination of trends in New World gold and silver
output by making scrupulous compilations of the amounts of precious
metals remitted from the Spanish Indies to Spain (refer to Figure 12).
His quest initially was to disprove the quantity theory of money, but
after his research in Sevilla in the records of the House of Trade (Casa
de Contratacin) and in other archives throughout Spain, he became a
confirmed believer in that theory.13 Unfortunately some scholars used
his figures on shipments as an index to New World bullion output.
Official remittances to Europe did not necessarily correlate with the
amount of bullion being extracted from the American mines nor did
they account for gold and silver smuggled out of the colonies.
After World War II scholars resumed efforts to refine estimates
of silver and gold output. In the late 1950s, Chilean scholar lvaro
Jara calculated legally registered gold and silver yields in sixteenthcentury Peru and later for other regions and epochs.14 His work was
11
See for example, J. Laurence Laughlin, The History of Bi-Metallism in the United
States, 4th ed. (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1897), p. 42; Charles White Merrill,
Summarized Data of Silver Production (Washington, DC: U. S. Bureau of Mines, Economic Paper # 8, 1930); Robert H. Ridgeway, Summarized Data of Gold Production
(Washington, DC: U. S. Bureau of Mines, Economic Paper # 6, 1930); Harry E. Cross,
South American Bullion Production and Export, 15501750, in John F. Richards,
ed., Precious Metals in the Later Medieval and Early Modern Worlds (Durham, NC:
Carolina Academic Press, 1983): 397423.
12
Clarence H. Haring, American Gold and Silver Production in the First Half of
the Sixteenth Century, The Quarterly Journal of Economics 29 (May 1915): 54579.
See also Trade and Navigation between Spain and the Indies in the Time of the Hapsburgs (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1918), 33235.
13
Earl J. Hamilton, American Treasure and the Price Revolution in Spain, 1501
1650 (Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1934).
14
lvaro Jara, La produccin de metales preciosos en el Per en el siglo xvi,
Boletn de la Universidad de Chile 44 (Noviembre, 1963): 5864. Tres ensayos sobre
economa minera hispanoamericana (Santiago de Chile: Centro de Investigaciones
Historia Americana de la Universidad de Chile, 1966), 111118; La minera americana: produccin y exportacin de metales preciosos, Historia Universal Salvat 122
(18 de Agosto de 1982): 269270; and Estructuras coloniales y subdesarrollo en Hispanoamrica, Journal de la Socite des Amricanistes 65 (1978): 145171.
chapter one
70
Millions of Silver Pesos of 272 maraveds
60
50
40
SILVER
30
GOLD
20
10
16
51
16
31
16
41
16
21
16
11
15
91
16
01
15
81
15
71
15
51
15
61
15
41
15
31
15
21
15
11
15
03
By Decade 1571 = 15711580
Figure 12. Shipment of Gold and Silver to Castille, 15031660, according

to Earl J. Hamilton
groundbreaking primarily because he used the royal accounts during

the very early period of Spanish domination. Moreover, he incorporated the findings of his mentors Pierre and Huguette Chaunu in his
analysis.15 Peter Bakewell was another pioneer who used the royal
accounts to good advantage for his studies of Zacatecas, Potos, Oruro,
and his excellent synthesis on colonial mining for The Cambridge History of Latin America.16 At the same time, Bakewells work and a wide
15
Pierre and Huguette Chaunu, Sville et lAtlantique (15041650), 8 vols. in 11
vols. (Paris: Ecole Practique des Hautes Etudes VIe Section et Service dEdition et de
Vente des Publications de lEducation Nationale, 195560). Their estimates of mercury shipments to the Indies and silver remissions to Castile and elsewhere are discussed in detail in Chapters 3 and 4.
16
Peter H. Bakewell, Silver Mining and Society in Colonial Mexico, Zacatecas 1546
1700 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971); Registered Silver Production
in the Potos District, 15501735, Jahrbuch fr Geschichte von Staat, Wirtschaft und
Gesellschaft Lateinamerikas 12 (1975): 67103; Notes on the Mexican Silver Mining
introduction
variety of published material on mercury shipment and production

resulted in the much cited article by David Brading and Harry Cross
on South American and Mexican gold and silver output to 1700. Their
examination of long-term production trends provided a new, more
rigorous look at New World production, although they overestimated
Peruvian and Mexican gold production and missed the resurgence of
both gold and silver output in the 1670s and 1680s after the depressed
middle decades of the seventeenth century.17
Other scholars concentrated on production in various regions of
colonial Latin America in diverse epochs. Adam Szasdi, for example,
provided insights into production from the conquest to 1610, an epoch
for which it is particularly difficult to calculate bullion output. Szasdi
concluded that for that early period 25 percent of all gold and silver
output remained in the Indies, 60 percent went to Seville, and the
remaining 15 percent to the Far East, probably via Manila.18 During
the 1970s John Fisher focused on mining in Lower Peru, primarily
in the eighteenth century with penetrating insights into mining areas
such as Pasco, Hualgayoc, Huantajaya, and other lower Peruvian
mines. His quantitative data too was derived from the accounts of the
cajas (treasury offices) which served these mines.19
In addition to Peter Bakewells monumental efforts, other historians have contributed insights into silver mining in New Spain and
elsewhere. The work of Richard Garner, for example, concentrates on
eighteenth-century Mexico and describes the underpinnings of the
mining economy, long-range trends in production, and quantitative
estimates of output.20 David Brading has also taken a significant place
Industry in the 1590s, Humanitas (University of Nuevo Len) 19 (1978): 383409;

Mining in Colonial Spanish America, in Leslie Bethell, ed., The Cambridge History of
Latin America, The Colonial Period, 2 vols. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1984), 2:10551.
17
David A. Brading and Harry E. Cross, Colonial Silver Mining: Mexico and
Peru, Hispanic American Historical Review 52 (November 1972): 545579.
18
Adam Szasdi, Preliminary Estimates of Gold and Silver Production in America,
15011610, in Hermann Kellenbenz, ed., Precious Metals in the Age of Expansion
(Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1981): 151223.
19
John R. Fisher, Silver Mines and Silver Miners in Colonial Peru (Liverpool, Eng.:
Centre for Latin American Studies, University of Liverpool, 1977); and Miners, Silver Merchants, and Capitalists in Late Colonial Peru, Ibero-Amerikanisches Archiv 3
(1976): 257268.
20
Richard L. Garner, Reformas borbnicas y operaciones hacendariasLa Real
caja de Zacatecas17501821, Historia Mexicana 27 (1978): 542587; Silver Production and Entrepreneurial Structure in 18th-Century Mexico, Jahrbuch fr Geschichte
chapter one
as analyst of the Mexican mining scene, particularly in Guanajuato,

Bolaos, and Zacatecas; and also demonstrated the ties between merchants and miners in colonial New Spain.21 Bernd Hausberger has analyzed the mining scene in New Spain for a seven-year period in the
eighteenth century. Using data from the royal accounts from 1761 to
1767, he has delved into most aspects of the silver economy in New
Spain. He has also analyzed locally generated silver reports presented
at the various Mexican treasuries as a check on the reliability of the
accounts as a source for production.22 In 1998 Engel Sluiter, who well
over fifty years ago realized the importance of the royal accounts for
determining buillion output, published his informative study on gold
and silver production, 15931663. It provided a potpourri of accounts
from various areas of the Spanish Indies as well as a good deal on the
costs of colonial defense and remissions of precious metals to Castile
and elsewhere. A real advantage of Sluiters work is his inclusion of
a few accounts from the mining areas of New Granada and Chile.
Moreover, before his death, he deposited his photocopies and personal
transcripts in the Bancroft Library at the University of California at
Berkeley, where they are available to interested investigators.23
Those scholars cited above greatly enriched our knowledge of Spanish American gold and silver mining. Other important contributors
to colonial mining history will emerge in chapters two through six,
which follow. Colonial mintage too became a target for a number of
investigators. By the end of the colonial period there were seven mints
in colonial Spanish America in Mexico City, Guatemala City, Bogot,
von Staat, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Lateinamerikas 17 (1980): 157185; Problmes

dune ville a la fin de lpoque coloniale: Prix e salaires Zacatecas (17601821),
Cahiers des Amriques Latines 6 (1972): 137; Long-Term Silver Mining Trends in
Spanish America: A Comparative Analysis of Peru and Mexico, American Historical
Review 93 (October 1988): 898935; and Economic Growth and Change in Bourbon
Mexico (Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1993).
21
David A. Brading, Miners and Merchants in Bourbon Mexico (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971); Mexican Silver Mining in the Eighteenth Century:
The Revival of Zacatecas, Hispanic American Historical Review 50 (November 1970):
66581; La minera de la plata en el siglo XVIII: El caso de Bolaos, Historia Mexicana 18 (1969): 31733; and his study of mining trends in Mexico and Peru with
Harry Cross, cited above.
22
Bernd Hausberger, La Nueva Espaa y sus metales preciosos. La industria minera
colonial a travs de los libros de cargo y data de la Real Hacienda, 17611767 (Frankfurt am Main: Vervuert Verlag, 1997 and Madrid, Iberoamericana, 1997).
23
Engel Sluiter, The Gold and Silver of Spanish America, 15931663 (Berkeley: The
Bancroft Library, 1998).
introduction
Popayn, Lima, Potos, and Santiago de Chile. The mint on Espaola

ceased operations in the seventeeth century.
Once again it was Alexander von Humboldt who led the way in
estimating mint output. Among other things on his visits to Mexico,
he inspected the mint (ceca or casa de moneda). Awed by its size and
productive activity (it was the largest mint of its time), Humboldt
compiled coinage figures for Mexico from 1690 to the beginning of the
nineteenth century. In fact, he used mintage as his guide to production
in New Spain from 16901803.24 He also commented on mintage production elsewhere in the Indies. In the mid-nineteenth century Manuel Orozco y Berra published a record for the Mexican government on
mintage in that country from earliest colonial times to the middle of
the nineteenth century.25 His listing is reliable only after 1690.
Historians interest in mintage temporarily declined thereafter, and
only in 1919 did the inveterate Chilean bibliophile Jos Toribio Medina publish his Las monedas coloniales.26 In it he provided capsule histories of each of the eight Spanish American mints (including the one
in Espaola). He also estimated mint output in some areasthe first
few years of gold output at the Guatemalan mint years, for example,
as well as plates of the various coins produced in these cecas. Toribio
Medina chronicled the institutional history of the Mexican ceca, discussing events such as the shift of control from empresarios to royal
mint officials appointed by the viceroy. In 1994 the Mexican historian
Victor Manuel Soria Murrillo filled a large gap when he published
his La casa de moneda de Mxico bajo la administracin borbnica,
17331821, a thoroughgoing study including the amounts coined during that period. Humboldt believed that the mintage estimates available to him for the period prior to 1690 were not accurate, due in large
part to the fact that private empresarios controlled mint operations in
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Soria does not provide annual
mint production figures until 1733 but then lists the marks of gold and
24
Humboldt, Ensayo polttico, 3:302304.

Manuel Orozco y Berra, Informe sobre la acuacin en las Casas de Moneda de la
Repblica, G. Manuel Siliceo, ed., Memoria de la Secretara de Fomento, Colonizacin,
Industria, y Comercio de la Repblica Mxicana (Mxico, 1857). These mint output
figures have been reprinted in Walter Howe, The Mining Guild of New Spain and Its
Tribunal General, 17701821 (Cambridge, Mass., 1949), 453459.
26
Jos Toribio Medina, Las monedas coloniales (Santiago de Chile: Imprenta
Elzeviriana, 1919).
25
10
chapter one
silver coined, including those of lower silver or gold content ( febles).27

Humboldts figures beginning in 1690 and Sorias estimates offer a
reliable assessment of Mexican coinage for the Bourbon period. Mint
operations in the sixteenth and seventeenth century under the private
empresarios still await careful analysis.
Some other mints of colonial Spanish America have received scholarly attention as well. The ceca at Bogot, for example, has benefitted
from the efforts of A. M. Barriga Villallba, whose three-volume work,
Historia de la Casa de Moneda, describes the activities and output of
the first New Granadan mints at Cartagena and then at Bogot from
1607 to the close of the wars of independence. He also analyzes production at the Popayn mint established in the 1750s.28 Also useful
for New Granadan mint output in the eighteenth century is Jorge
Orlando Melos essay on minting in his Sobre historia y poltica, based
on archival documents. This article assesses gold production in different regions of New Granada in various epochs.29 Works of Jaime
Jaramillo Uribe, Germn Colmenares, and the nineteenth-century
observer Vicente Restrepo examine New Granadan gold output generally.30 Barriga Villalba and Orlando Melo are sound references for mint
output. Two other volumes are particularly enlightening on Popayn,
one by Zamira Daz Lpez that covers the period to 1733 and the other
by Guido Barona from 17301830.31
27
Victor Manuel Soria Murillo, La casa de moneda de Mxico bajo la administracin borbnica, 17331821 (Iztapalapa: Universidad Autnoma Metropolitana,
1994), 101107, 111114.
28
A. M. Barriga Villalba, Historia de la Casa de Moneda, 3 tomos (Bogot: Banco
de la Repblica, 1969). For the Bogot mint I have also consulted documents in the
Archivo General de Indias. Santa Fe, Legajos 373, 828833 and Quito, Legajos 565,
568, and 586.
29
Jorge Orlando Melo, Sobre historia y poltica (Bogot: La Carreta Inditos, Ltda.,
1979 ), 6184. I have also checked the mint records for Popayn in the Archivo General de Indias, Quito, Legajos 56268; and Santa Fe, Legajos 830 and 832.
30
Germn Colmenares, La formacin de la economa colonial (1500 1740), and
Jaime Jaramillo Uribe, La economa del virreinato (17401810), in Historia eonmica de Colombia, ed. Jos Antonio Ocampo (Bogot: Siglo Veintiuno de Colombia,
1987): 585. A republication of Vicente Restrepos Estudio sobre las minas de oro
y plata de Colombia (Bogot: Publicaciones del Banco de Repblica, 1952) provides
aggregate estimates of gold and silver output. This nineteenth-century work estimates
silver output in New Granada at 4 percent and gold at 96 percent Also useful for
a description of the mining economy is Germn Colmenares, Historia econmica y
social de Colombia (Bogot: Editorial La Carreta, 1973).
31
Zamira Daz Lpez, Oro, sociedad y economa. El sistema colonial en la Gobernacin de Popayn:15331733 (Bogot: Banco de Repblica, 1994); and Guido Barona
introduction
11
For Upper and Lower Peru the mint in Potos was founded in the
mid-sixteenth century and operated continuously until the very end
of the colonial period. The casa de moneda in Lima had its origins in
the seventeenth century. It closed briefly for a few years toward the
end of the seventeenth century but reopened a few years later. Peruvian scholars, Carlos Lazo Garca32 and Manuel Moreyra y Paz Soldn
have analyzed in detail the output of both the Potos and Lima mints.
Lazos three-volume history of those two cecas contains a wealth of
information on mint output, mint technology, and virtually all aspects
of mint activity. He is careful to make the distinction between major
money or ingots (moneda mayor) and lesser money or coins (moneda
menor). Another virtue of this study is Lazos use of mint seigniorage
taxes to determine output for the early years of the Potos mint. The
importance of this work should not be underestimated.
Lazos progenitor, Manuel Moreyra y Paz Soldn, also contributed
a great deal to the study of Peruvian monetary history in the colonial
epoch, including quantitative estimates of the mint output at Lima and
Potos.33 His collection of articles on coinage is particularly illuminating on the construction and development of the Lima mint and on its
discussion of the peso ensayado, the peso of 450 maraveds used for so
long as a unit of account in Peru. His efforts along with those of Mazo
are fundamental for understanding mintage at both Potos and Lima.
In addition, Julio Benavides has written a history of the Potos mint
that provides aggregate estimates of mint output and a good deal on
the history of that ceca.34
In the eighteenth century the Spanish crown established three new
mints in the IndiesGuatemala, Chile, and Popayn. Sources on mint
production at Popayn have already been discussed, but sources for
the Guatemalan and Chilean mints are scanty. In the end I have had
to conduct new research in the mine records of the Archive of the
Indies in Sevilla to determine the output of these casas de monedas.
For Guatemala the tables on mint production came from records in
Becerra., La maldicin de Midas en una regin del mundo colonial: Popayn, 1730
1830 (Cali: Editorial de la Facultad de Humanidades, 1995).
32
Carlos Lazo Garca, Economa colonial y rgimen monetario: siglos XVIXIX 3
tomos (Lima: Banco Central de Reserva del Per Fondo Editorial, 1992).
33
Manuel Moreyra y Paz Soldn, La moneda colonial en el Per; captulos de su
historia (Lima: Banco Central de Reserva del Per, 1980).
34
Julio Benavides, Historia de moneda en Bolivia (La Paz: Ediciones Puerta del
Sol, 1972).
12
chapter one
the Audiencia of Guatemala section, Legajos (bundles) 79195. For the

early period of the mint, 17291746, Jos Toribio Medina provides a
list of gold marks coined in Guatemala.35 On balance, however, the
historical literature contains little on the Guatemalan mint.
Few published records exist for the mint at Santiago de Chile, but
fortunately in 1881 the Chilean historian Benjamn Vicua Mackenna
wrote a two-volume history, The Age of Gold in Chile.36 In it he provided mint output figures for Santiago from its founding in 1749 to the
end of the colonial epoch. I have supplemented his figures for coinage
with new research in the Audiencia of Chile section of the Archive of
the Indies, primarily the biennial reports of mintage sent to Spain.37
Gold production and mintage output for Brazil have received a
good deal of attention, although not the rigorous analysis of archival records which has characterized the historiography of Spanish
American precious metals. At present Brazilianists consider output
and mintage estimates to be tentative. Moreover Brazil was a more
free-wheelng area of the Indies than Spanish America, with far less
peninsular control exercised over Portuguese or creole subjects. Fraud
was rampant. In fact, one knowledgeable expert on colonial Brazil estimated a fraud rate of 50 percent or more in the official reporting of
mining and slave records, two keys to Brazilian output. Still, most of
those willing to estimate Brazilian gold output have concluded that it
was close to 1,000,000 kilograms.
Not surprisingly, Alexander von Humboldt was one of the first to
hazard an estimate for Brazilian gold. He calculated that from 1492 to
1803 Brazil produced approximately 1,375,000 kilograms of fine gold
(the equivalent of 855,544,000 in silver pesos). As noted earlier, Humboldt held that 19 percent of this was illicit production, a fraud rate
for Luso-America that is probably far too low.
About the time Humboldt was putting forward his figures, the
Portuguese monarchy appointed Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege
(17771855) as intendant of the Minas Gerais mines. A colonel in
the Portuguese royal corps of engineers at the end of the eighteenth
35
Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 287.

Benjamn Vucua Mackenna, La edad del oro en Chile 2 tomos (Santiago: Biblioteca de Vida Chilena, 1932).
37
AGI, Chile, Legajos 374376, 381, and 38485. These figures on coinage conform
closely with those of Vicua Mackenna. Where data in the AGI were not extant, I used
his figures for the years 17721781, 17891800, and 18051820.
36
introduction
13
century and beginning of the nineteenth, he assumed the office with

orders to increase production and reduce fraud in the gold and diamond trade. He also had a deep-seated historical interest in gold mining in Brazil, not only in Minas Gerais but also in Gois, Mato Grosso,
and So Paulo. The result was a book published in Berlin in 1833,
Contributions to Brazilian Mining, subsequently translated into Portuguese as Pluto Brasiliensis. In it Eschwege put forward statistics on
production at Minas from 17001820 of 35,687 arrobas38 or 535,305
kilograms; for Gois (17201730), 9,212 arrobas or 138,180 kilograms;
for Mato Grosso (17211820), 3,187 arrobas or 47,805 kilograms; and
for So Paulo (16901820), 4,650 arrobas or 69,750 kilograms, a total
of 527,360 arrobas of gold or approximately 791,040 registered kilograms. Not included was the illegal gold confiscated in Brazil and later
exported from 1600 to 1820, 10,709 arrobas or 160,635 kilograms,
creating a grand total for this epoch of 951,675 kilograms.39 While
Eschwege seemed certain about output at Minas Gerais, he was less
sure about the yield in other areas. Nonetheless as a careful observer
he provides useful benchmarks. The translator of Pluto Brasiliensis,
Domicio de Figuerido Murta, complicated the picture somewhat
when he noted in 1944 that Brazilian output from 17251822 totaled
1,047,500 kilograms.40 That figure appears close to Humboldts calculation, but significantly it does not include output from the 1690s,
when the great Brazilian gold rush began, until 1725.
In 1879 Adolf Soetbeer (18021892) offered his calculations of Brazilian gold production for the period 16911875, cited in J. F. Normanos Brazil: A Study of Economic Types. For the period 16911820
Soetbeer believed that the mines of Brazil produced 910,100 kilograms
of gold and that the peak twenty years were between 1741 and 1760
when extractions from Brazilian mines reached 292,000 kilograms.41
At the same time Normano published his work, other analysts surveyed the economic history of colonial Brazil and wrote substantial
works useful for the understanding of gold mining in Luso-America.
38
One arroba was equal to 15 kilograms.

Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, Pluto Brasiliensis 2 vols. (So Paulo: Companha
Editora Nacional, 1944), 1:37071. The German edition was entitled Beitrage zungebirgskunde brasilien (Berlin: 1833).
40
Eschwege, Pluto, 1:375.
41
J. Normano, Brazil: A Study of Economic Types (Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 1933), 92. Normano cites Soetbeers figures, taken from EdelmetallProduktion und werthverhltnis zwischen gold und silber (Gotha: J. Perthes, 1879).
39
14
chapter one
In 1930 Joo Pandi Calgeras wrote his Historical Formation of Brazil, a book that was republished in many later editions. By his calculations, between 1700 and 1801 the gold mines of Brazil produced
65,500 arrobas of gold or 982,500 kilograms712,500 kilograms in
Minas Gerais; 195,000 kilograms in Gois and Mato Grosso; and
75,000 kilograms in So Paulo and Bahia-Cear, the latter two calculations only from 1720 to 1801.42 Of all those who presented estimates of
Brazilian gold output, Calgeras appears closest to the mark. Writing
about the same time as Calgeras was completing his history, the economic historian Roberto Simonsen produced a two-volume Economic
History of Brazil 15001820. While he hazarded no guesses as to the
course of Brazilian gold output, he did provide an excellent picture of
the mining economy in colonial Brazil.43 Charles Boxer also detailed
the intricacies of mining operations in Luso-America in The Golden
Age of Brazil, 16951750.44
The Brazilian historian Virgilio Noya Pinto has made one of the
more recent estimates of Brazilian gold output in his book Brazilian
Gold and Anglo-Portuguese Trade, estimates that he published again
in 1987 in a compilation of essays: Colonial Brazil.45 He calculates that
between 1700 and 1799, 128,831 kilograms were produced in Minas
Gerais; 31,880 kilograms in Gois; and 12,000 kilograms in Mato
Grosso. This amounts to 172,711 kilograms for Luso-America in this
perioda surprisngly low estimate by a well established economic historian of Brazil. Meanwhile, Michel Morineau used data from European commercial gazettes to estimate the volume of gold shipped from
Brazil to Lisbon from 16991810, concluding that 819,279 kilograms
of fine gold reached Lisbon.46 Morineau also calculates that 446,627
42
Joo Panda Calgeras, Formao histrica do Brasil 7 ed. (So Paulo: Companha
Editora Nacional, 1987), 46. Other editions appeared in 1930, 1935, 1938, and 1963.
43
Roberto C. Simonsen, Historia econmica do Brasil, 15001820 2 vols. (So
Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1937).
44
Charles R. Boxer, The Golden Age of Brazil, 16951760 (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1964).
45
Virgilio Noya Pinto, O ouro brasileiro e o comrcio anglo-portugus (So Paulo:
Companhia Editra Nacional, 1979). See also Leslie Bethell, ed., Colonial Brazil (New
York: Cambridge University Press, 1987). Noya Pintos estimates may be found in
J. R. Russell-Woods chapter, The Gold Cycle, c. 16901750, 191243. The table is
on page 237.
46
Michel Morineau, Incoyables gazettes et fabuleux mtaux. Les retours des trsors
amricains daprs les gazettes hollandaises (XVIeXVIIIe sicles) (Paris: Maison des
introduction
15
kilograms of gold were coined in Brazilian mints between 1703 and

1806.47 The paper by Jorge Braga de Macedo, Alvaro Ferreira da Silva,
and Rita Martins de Sousa, War, Taxes, and Gold: The Inheritance
of the Real, presented at the Twelfth International Economic History
Congress in Madrid in 1998, encompasses output at the Lisbon mint
16881797. The paper is useful for what was occurring in the metropolitan mint, but incorporates both the raw gold coined from Brazil
and shipped to Portugal from Africa.
That sources are available for a more concise analysis of registered
gold output in Brazil seems evident from a document provided to me
by Professor Mary Karasch. This document contains a list of the marks
of gold registered at the two gold smelters of Gois from 1752 to 1803
at Villaboa and at El Norte. This document, similar to the kinds of summaries (estados) emanating from bureaucrats in the Spanish empire,
demonstrates that the most productive years in Gois were from 1752
to 1774, with output falling below one thousand marks after that.
Together these two smelters produced approximately 11,500 kilograms
of gold from 17521803. The document does not, however, include
the amounts registered during the early years of mining in Gois.48
The discussion above reveals the relatively narrow range of estimates on Brazilian gold output. In this study I have relied primarily
on the estimates of Joo Panda Calgeras supplemented by those of
von Eschwege and the document from Gois provided by Professor
Karasch. The Brazilian mintage figures presented by Michel Morineau
are crucial. The same is true of his estimates of gold shipments from
Brazil to Lisbon. Most likely because it incorporated a fraud factor
of 19 percent, the early nineteenth-century calculation of Alexander
von Humboldt seems reasonable, although the fraud rate was probably
much higher than his estimate.
As indicated in the preface, this study intends to take a new look
at New World gold and silver output based primarily on the royal
accounts (cartas cuentas) wherever possible. When other sources have
Sciences de lHomme; and London: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 13537, 164,
167.
47
Morineau, Gazettes, 14445.
48
Mappa do rendimiento de real quinto das duas caxas de fundao da capitanias
de Goyaz, Contaduria de Vllaboa, 3 Janeiro de 1805. The document is housed in the
Ministerio do Ultamar, Arquivo Histrico Ultramarino, Gois. The fundao in the
north of Gois began operation in 1752.
chapter one
300
250
200
150
Silver
Gold
100
50
17
91
17
71
17
51
17
31
17
11
16
91
16
71
16
51
16
31
16
11
15
91
15
71
15
51
15
31
15
11
0
14
91
Millions of Silver Pesos of 272 maraveds
16
By Decade 1681 = 16811690
Figure 13. New World Silver and Gold Output, 14921810
been used to supplement the accounts, a methodological appendix

at the end of each chapter will explain the other sources. In Spanish
America 99 percent of all silver was mined in New Spain and Upper
and Lower Peru. Fortunately, there are accounts extant for these areas
for virtually the entire colonial period.
Gold and Silver in a Comparative New World Perspective

In many ways this brief section anticipates the contents of the chapters
which follow, but at the outset it provide a clear picture of the importance of gold and silver in the Indies in the colonial epoch. Except
for Brazil in Luso-America and New Granada, Ecuador, Chile, and
the Caribbean in Spanish America, gold in the Indies was scarcer
than silver. Silver output by weight during the colonial epoch to 1810
amounted to 86,000,000 kilograms, fifty times that of gold (1,700,000
kilograms). Gold constituted about 2 percent of the total by weight
of the two precious metals (see Table 12 and Figure 13). In value,
however, silver amounted to 3,500,000,000 silver pesos of eight reales,
whereas gold amounted to the equivalent of 1,100,000,000 silver pesos,
almost 25 percent of combined gold and silver output in terms of its
purchasing power (see Figure 12).
In the early decades of Spanish penetration of the Indies, gold dominated. Despite the abundance of silver ultimately found in America,
none reached Castile until the 1520s, and in that decade only a meager
introduction
17
In Millions of Silver Pesos of 272 maraveds

MEXICO
2058.03 = 45%
CHILE
49.5 = 1%
NEW GRANADA
217.02 = 5%
OTHER*
80.45 = 2%
BRAZIL
656.4 = 14%
PERU
1470.56 = 32%
*Includes registries in the Caribbean, Central America, Ecuador, and the Rio de la Plata
Figure 14. New World Gold and Silver output by Region, 14921810
150 kilograms or 5,800 pesos.49 In the 1530s, however, silver shipments

to the Old World constituted almost 30 percent, remaining in that
range until the 1570s when silver made up almost 90 percent to well
over that amount in the ensuing decades to 1660.
Over the colonial period to 1810 the ratio of gold to silver output fluctuated markedly (see Figure 13). In the 1550s gold production amounted to less than 20 percent of the total and dropped below
10 percent in the 1580s until the opening of the eighteenth century
when the effects of the rich gold strikes in Brazil made their mark.
Gold, in fact, reached almost 30 percent of total New World bullion
output in the first two decades of the eighteenth century, 40 percent
or more in the ensuing three, but fell into the 30-percent range in
the 1750s through the 1780s, and 20 percent in the decades to 1810,
explained in part by the increased production of silver in Mexico and
Peru after 1750 and the drop in gold output in Brazil. Over the entire
colonial period, Mexico generated approximately 45 percent of the
bullion, followed by Peru with 32 percent and Brazil 14 percent (see
Figure 14).
49
Earl J. Hamilton, Tesoro americano y la revolucin de los precios en Espaa,
15011650 (Barcelona: Editorial Ariel, 1975), 5455. This is a Spanish translation of
his American Treasure and the Price Revolution in Spain (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1934).
18
chapter one
Together gold and silver production in the New World from 1492
to 1810 amounted to 4,600,000,000 silver pesos, a very conservative
estimate based primarily on registry figures with no fraud percentage factored in, although there clearly was illicit unregistered output.
The trajectory of the output of both metals combined was generally
upward from the moment of conquest except for a slight dip in the
last half of the seventeenth century (Figure 13). In general, though,
production of gold and silver rose, oftentimes dramatically, and the
eighteenth century became the great age of both gold and silver in the
Indies. In fact in the 1790s, the most productive ten years of the entire
colonial epoch, the two metals combined reached an amount worth
almost four hundred million silver pesos.
introduction
19
Tables
Table 11. Adolf Soetbeers Estimates of World Silver and Gold
Production, 17931810.
Silver
Gold
DECADE
MARKS
KILOGRAMS
14931500
15011510
15111520
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
103,200
129,000
129,000
230,000
230,000
620,000
770,000
728,000
728,000
989,000
989,000
664,000
664.000
783,260
783,260
703,300
703,300
626,820
626,820
635,930
635,930
650,750
650,750
797,720
797,720
1,007,640
1,007,640
1,240,210
1,240,210
1,626,260
1,626,260
1,600,530
24,717,510
376,000
470,000
470,000
900,000
900,000
2,843,000
3,116,000
2,995,000
2,995,000
4,190,000
4,190,000
4,230,000
4,230,000
3,936,000
3,936,000
3,663,000
3,663,000
3,370,000
3,370,000
3,419,000
3,419,000
3,556,000
3,556,000
4,312,000
4,312,000
5,331,450
5,331,450
6,527,400
6,527,400
8,790,600
8,790,600
8,941,500
126,657,400
MARKS
KILOGRAMS
129,600
162,000
162,000
200,000
200,000
220,000
240,000
191,000
191,000
206,000
206,000
238,000
238,000
231,570
231,570
244,680
244,680
258,350
258,350
300,350
300,350
357,680
357,680
532,330
532,330
686,620
686,620
577,670
577,670
496,340
496,340
496,000
10,450,780
46,400
58,000
58,000
71,600
71,600
78,350
85,100
68,400
68,400
73,800
73,800
85,200
85,200
83,000
83,000
87,770
87,770
92,600
92,600
107,650
107,650
128,200
128,200
190,800
190,800
246,100
246,100
207,050
207,050
177,900
177,900
177,780
3,743,770
20
chapter one
Table 12. New World Silver and Gold Output, 14921810.
in Millions of Pesos of 272 Maraveds
DECADE
SILVER
GOLD
14921500
15011510
15111520
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
0
0
0
0.34
7.55
28.12
42.71
56.05
71.47
100.19
113.40
121.81
124.28
123.63
128.60
102.83
92.16
85.73
100.02
109.85
92.80
78.25
92.61
112.45
130.65
147.94
174.58
166.72
216.55
241.88
289.94
279.46
3432.57
0.70
8.20
7.21
3.92
11.12
8.73
10.64
8.85
13.00
10.18
11.91
12.75
10.43
9.91
5.24
6.72
6.73
4.74
4.54
5.85
8.24
33.24
37.05
74.25
99.12
108.73
90.41
95.41
104.65
102.27
102.59
82.06
1099.39
TOTAL
0.70
8.20
7.21
4.26
18.67
36.85
53.35
64.90
84.47
110.37
125.31
134.56
134.71
133.54
133.84
109.55
98.89
90.47
104.56
115.70
101.04
111.49
129.66
186.70
229.77
256.67
264.99
262.13
321.20
344.15
392.53
361.52
4531.96
%SILVER
0
0
0
7.98%
40.44%
76.31%
80.06%
86.36%
84.61%
90.78%
90.50%
90.52%
92.26%
92.58%
96.08%
93.87%
93.19%
94.76%
95.66%
94.94%
91.84%
70.19%
71.43%
60.23%
56.86%
57.64%
65.88%
63.60%
67.42%
70.28%
73.86%
77.30%
75.74%
%GOLD
100.00%
100.00%
100.00%
92.02%
59.56%
23.69%
19.94%
13.64%
15.39%
9.22%
9.50%
9.48%
7.74%
7.42%
3.92%
6.13%
6.81%
5.24%
4.34%
5.06%
8.16%
29.81%
28.57%
39.77%
43.14%
42.36%
34.12%
36.40%
32.58%
29.72%
26.14%
22.70%
24.26%
14921500
15011510
15111520
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
Total
DECADE
20.99
0.70
8.20
7.21
2.40
1.55
0.93
1.82
4.67
11.38
18.71
34.42
39.27
34.16
42.67
50.39
52.98
50.75
46.39
34.55
37.27
36.21
53.39
59.88
51.52
51.21
66.30
83.04
95.63
107.07
123.85
113.67
154.06
176.16
209.28
217.33
2,058.03
0.04
0.06
0.09
0.09
0.09
0.30
0.85
0.68
0.64
0.55
0.30
0.21
0.30
0.34
0.26
0.17
0.17
0.26
0.34
0.51
0.68
1.76
1.73
2.08
1.73
1.51
1.71
1.95
1.42
20.82
CARIBBEAN MEXICO CENTRAL

AMERICA
10.61
20.44
25.91
21.89
32.15
65.44
70.31
72.21
72.62
74.53
84.17
69.33
55.76
50.77
47.95
51.31
42.92
28.48
27.66
30.54
36.53
44.04
53.55
58.4
72.33
76.35
97.57
76.79
1,470.56
PERU
1.61
1.48
3.97
5.39
5.65
4.77
8.90
9.88
7.91
6.67
2.65
5.29
5.39
3.08
2.92
4.21
3.29
3.36
4.83
5.58
6.59
9.57
11.49
13.25
14.90
18.53
22.48
23.38
217.02
0.17
0.56
1.64
2.08
3.96
4.15
2.25
1.34
0.60
1.28
0.41
0.08
0.13
0.15
0.13
0.13
0.22
0.19
0.22
0.09
0.06
0.03
1.30
1.08
1.17
2.66
3.27
0.62
29.97
2.00
3.00
1.03
3.14
1.00
0.50
0.10
0.05
0.01
0.01
0
0
0
0
0
0.04
0.01
0.12
0.16
0.27
0.46
0.71
4.41
6.44
7.57
9.97
8.50
49.50
2.79
27.90
30.02
66.61
88.93
93.77
72.01
69.59
70.79
60.95
47.57
25.47
656.40
0.22
0.44
8.01
8.67
0.70
8.20
7.21
4.26
18.67
36.88
53.32
64.90
84.47
110.37
125.31
134.56
134.71
133.54
133.84
109.55
98.89
90.47
104.56
115.70
101.04
111.49
129.66
186.70
229.77
256.67
264.99
262.13
321.20
344.15
392.53
361.52
4,531.96
NEW
ECUADOR CHILE BRAZIL RIO DE LA TOTAL
GRANADA
PLATA
Table 13. Estimated Total Gold and Silver Production in the Indies, 14921810.
in Millions of Pesos of 272 Maraveds
introduction
21
CHAPTER TWO
GOLD: THE SCARCER METAL?
This chapter begins with a question: was gold the scarcer metal? The
answer, of course, is yes. According to the discussion in chapter one,
silver was more abundant, a ratio in value of four to one in favor of
silver. But the answer is not necessarily a resounding yes. As noted
previously, gold nuggets and dust were a common means of exchange
in gold producing areas such as San Luis Potos in Mexico; Antioquia
and the Choc in New Granada; Carabaya in Lower Peru and Zaruma
in Ecuador in the viceroyalty of Peru; Santiago and La Serena in Chile;
and Minas Gerais, Gois, and Mato Grosso in Brazil. Residents in
these areas traded in gold chunks or powder and quickly learned ways
of identifying the fineness of gold used as a medium of exchange in
this form, and ways of making the nuggets and dust appear finer and
more valuable than they really were. One informed observers estimate
that the fraud rate of unregistered gold in colonial Brazil was high as
50 percent should not be taken lightly. Moreover, gold was more malleable than silver and easily transformed into religious icons, jewelry,
plates, and ornaments.
Gold Mining Methods and Refining Techniques

Native Americans exploited gold and silver deposits long before Europeans came to the New World, using techniques in many ways similar to those adopted later by the Spaniards and Portuguese. The early
Spanish chronicler, Gonzalo Fernndez Oviedo y Valds, for example,
described four methods Spaniards used for mining gold in the Indies:
diverting gold-rich stream beds using dams, canals, and ditches; digging pits in stream terraces with significant gold accumulations; grubbing surfaces with heavy concentrations of gold nuggets; and exploiting
veins in the side of hills where they found gold.1 In one way or another
1
Cited in Robert C. West, Colonial Placer Mining in Colombia (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1952), 6869, n. 3.
24
chapter two
all were mining practices used by Native Americans, particularly in

New Granada; in fact, opportunistic Spaniards used them because
native laborers they enlisted as miners were familiar with them. Moreover, similar methods had been used in Spain in Roman times and in
late medieval Europe.
Gold minersNative Americans, Spaniards, or Portuguesegenerally preferred placer over vein mining. Of the various placer methods
used, the simplest was panning for gold in rivers and streams rich
in gold nuggets, a method not much different from that used during
the California Gold Rush of 1849. In this process gold was separated
from sand and other impurities by washing sediment from gold-rich
streams or rivers in a specially designed wooden bowl called a batea.
In pre-Columbian New Granada, Native Americans also developed an
elaborate way to wash gold found in gravel beds at high altitudes into
streams and river beds below, diverting water from artificial, manmade reservoirs into these gold-rich terraces by means of earthen
canals lined with bamboo and forcing it down into low lying streams.
Miners then panned for the gold washed into these rivers and streams,
a wash-down process called ground sluicing, which ravaged the terrain
where it was used.2
Miners also dug gold ore from underground veins in the side of hills
or mountains (lode or vein mining). Laborers first cut adits into the
side of these hills and then dug shafts leading to the richest deposits
of ore, creating a series of tunnels that Kendall Brown describes as
resembling a giant ant hill. Pre-Columbian mine shafts were not timbered; under the Spanish they were. Workers dug the gold ore from
these shafts and carried it out through the adits for processing. Mine
flooding and bad ventilation were persistent problems in both the preand post-conquest epochs. Grubbing or digging gold nuggets from the
surface of the ground on mountainsides or the banks of rivers and
streams was also productive. For the early Spaniards, robbing native
tombs (guaquera) or outright confiscation of native gold ritual pieces
or ornamental jewelry was still another method of acquiring caches
of gold.
2
West, Placer Mining, 101. Wests discussion of gold mining methods is particularly good.
gold: the scarcer metal?
25
Gold ore was refined by methods similar to those used for refining
silversmelting and amalgamation.3 Smelting was used more widely
in some gold-rich areas like New Granada or the early Caribbean
where mercury was not readily available. When mercury supplies were
abundant, such as in colonial Mexico or Peru, however, amalgamation
was the refiners choice because it was more effective in ridding gold
ore of its impurities. Moreover, silver refiners and others skilled in
amalgamation techniques were prepared to refine gold as well.
Gold content of ores varied greatly; some were very rich in gold
content, close to 24 karatspure goldwhile others were of poorer
quality (oro bajo). In the early Caribbean, for example, miners brought
gold of varying fineness to the smelters. Some was as low as 15 to
19 karats, and they also presented oro guanines (a gold-copper alloy).
From the onset of colonization of the Indies, Spanish law required
that gold being refined at royal smelters and assayed by royal treasury
experts must be at least 22.5 karats (quilates), reduced later in the sixteenth century to 22 karats. (Earl J. Hamilton cites a royal pragmatic
of 1537 issued by Carlos V to this effect, reinforced by the Peruvian
historian of colonial coinage, Manuel Moreyra Paz Soldan, but other
experts suggest a later date.)4 A further reduction in gold content to 21
karats 2.5 granos was ordered in 1772, and again in 1787 to 21 karats,
which remained the required fineness to 1810.
In any economy where gold dominated, such as in Brazil or New
Granada, trafficking in unassayed, non-registered gold nuggets and
gold dust was common practice, and both were used for ordinary
trade and commerce. Those who did so thus avoided payment of gold
registry fees and taxes. Unlike silver flakes or nuggets, which were
more difficult to trade in raw form, unregistered gold dust and nuggets were used far more easily as a medium of exchange, which meant
a greater opportunity for fraud in a gold economy than one dominated
by silver. Giving a value to gold dust and nuggets was often done by
weighing them or visually by rubbing them with a touchstone (piedra
de toque) and assessing the smear. Most smelters also had specially
3
For a more detailed discussion of the smelting and amalgamation process, refer
to chapter 3.
4
Earl J. Hamilton, Tesoro americano, 69; and Moreyera Paz Soldn, La moneda
colonial), 77. Humberto Burzio, in El peso de oro hispanoamericano, Historia 4
(1956): 9, suggests a pragmatic of Philip II of 23 November 1556. Others believe the
reduction to 22 karats came as late as 1612.
26
chapter two
designed needles (punzones) of different colors to help determine the

fineness of gold ore or dust.5 In day-to-day business transactions, however, scallywags often found ways to pad the weight or to change the
color to make the nuggets and dust appear far richer in gold content
than they really were. In her excellent work on mining in Antioquia in
New Granada, Ann Twinam describes the gold-dust economy through
the eyes of an Antioquian merchant, Mateo Medina:
Molina had to be not only a trader, but geologist, assayer, and criminologist extraordinaire: geologist because gold from districts like Ojasanchas,
Anori, Nus, Titirib, San Pedro, Cruces, Espinal, or Santo Domingo
could vary in carat and therefore in value; assayer because gold purity
ranged from very bad gold (oro muy malo), to clean, washed gold
(oro limpio), to finely worked pre-Columbian pieces (oro de sepultura
de indios); criminologist because unscrupulous buyers often mixed gold
and sand so that gold washed in the mining districts with impurities of
3 or 4 percent mysteriously became adulterated to 7 or 8 percent impure
when offered in trade.6
For merchants like Molina, business transactions were often problematic because of fraud on the part of those presenting gold nuggets or
dust to pay for their purchases, which could be assumed to be the
case in almost any economy dominated by gold. On the other hand,
gold coins stamped in the casas de fundicin and royal mints of Santa
Fe de Bogot or Popayn in New Granada under the supervision of
royal goldsmiths and treasury officials were usually of reliable fineness
and conformed closely to the royal standard. In a modern-day survey
of fifty doblones minted in New Granada, the Colombian Banco de
Repblica found them to have an average weight of 6.735 grams. In
colonial times a dobln was equal to two escudos or 6.76832 grams,
fairly close to the prescribed weight of the gold coins assayed by the
Banco.7
5
In his dissertation on Ecuadorian gold mining, Mining the Margins: Precious
Metals Extraction and Forced Labor Regimes in the Audiencia of Quito, 15341821
(PhD diss., University of Minnesota, 1996), Kris Lane reports that these methods of
assay were crude, imprecise measures at best.
6
Ann Twinam, Miners, Merchants and Farmers in Colonial Colombia (Austin:
University of Texas Press, 1982), 56.
7
Barriga Villalba, Historia de la Casa de Moneda, 59.
27
Trends In New World Gold Output

During the three centuries of Spanish and Portugese colonization of
the Indies, silver dominated. Gold was generally the scarcer metal. In
the initial decades to the 1540s, however, gold was more prevalent.
As already pointed out, no silver was produced in the Indies until
the 1520s, but gold was mined virtually from the time of discovery.
The first gold strikes came in the Caribbean, successively in Espaola,
Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Central America. Then in the 1530s the conquests of Peru, Ecuador, and New Granada still enabled gold output
to outstrip silver, constituting about 60 percent of New World bullion yields in that decade. By the 1540s, however, the proportion of
gold dropped to 24 percent of the total, in the 1550s to 20 percent,
and in the 1560s to 14 percent. By the opening of the seventeenth
century, gold had fallen to below 10 percent.8 In the eighteenth century, however, Brazilian output began a new age of gold output when
golds share of New World bullion reached 30 percent in the first two
decades and to 40 percent over the next three. For the colonial epoch
as a whole, Brazilian mining accounted for 60 percent of New World
gold (see Tables 21 and 22 and Figure 21). Overall from the opening of the eighteenth century to 1810, gold constituted about 33 percent in value of bullion output in the New World largely because of
Brazilian strikes.
During the first two centuries of Spanish and Portuguese colonization, gold production remained relatively flat with no significant
increases until the opening of the eighteenth century (see Tables 21
and 22 and Figure 22). In the thirty years after the Columbus landfall, the Caribbean produced the only gold in the Indies, about 25,000
kilograms in all, but with the decimation of the native population,
the exodus of Spaniards from the islands to mainland Mexico. As the
Spaniards exhausted the placers in Espaola, Cuba, and Puerto Rico,
Caribbean production fell precipitously. The conquest of Mexico, however, provided a new source of gold after 1521, followed a decade later
in the 1530s by the conquests of Peru, Ecuador, and New Granada.
Spanish entradas into these regions thus compensated for the steep
drop in output in the Caribbean. Between the two decades of the 1520s
Hamilton, Tesoro, 54. See also Table 12 and Figure 12 in Chapter 1.
28
chapter two
In Millions of Silver Pesos of 272 maraveds
CARIBBEAN
20.99 = 2%
MEXICO
90.03 = 8%
BRAZIL
6565.4 = 60%
PERU
46.17 = 4%
New GRANADA
209.38 = 19%
CHILE
43.69 = 4%
ECUADOR
29.97 = 3%
Does not include 2.76 million pesos registered in Guatemala, the Rio de la Plata, and Mendoza
Figure 21. Estimated New World Gold Production by Region,

14921810, in pesos
and the 1530s, in fact, New World gold output almost tripled from
6,000 kilograms to over 17,000 kilograms, largely because of the gold
seized in the conquests of Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and New Granada,
much of it in the form of ornaments, plates, jewelry, and religious
figures seized from the natives.
After these initial conquests until the end of the seventeenth century,
Spanish exploitation of mines and placers was modest, ranging from a
high of over 20,000 kilograms in the 1570s to a low of 7,000 kilograms
one hundred years later. Generally, gold production was low during
the seventeenth century. In the late 1690s, however, Brazilian strikes
transformed the entire course of gold output in the Indies. In the first
decade of the eighteenth century gold production rose to over 51,000
kilograms, a 25 percent increase from the previous ten-year total. By
the 1740s gold yields had reached almost 169,000 kilograms, a New
World peak, rising because of the surge in Brazilian output. Although
Brazilian yields dropped off a bit toward the end of the century,
increased production in Spanish America, especially after 1780, kept
output relatively high. The decision of the Spanish state to decrease
the tax on gold to 3 percent in 1777 undoubtedly had a major effect in
increasing output in Mexico, Peru, New Granada, Ecuador, and Chile.
29
150.000
100.000
50.000
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
16
51
61
16
16
31
41
16
16
11
21
16
16
91
01
15
16
71
81
15
15
51
61
15
15
31
41
15
15
11
21
15
15
92
14
01
15
Kilograms of Fine Gold
200.000
Decade 1651 = 16511660
Figure 22. Estimated New World Gold Output, 14921810, by decade in

kilograms
In fact, by the first decade of the nineteenth century, New World mines
and placers yielded almost 123,000 kilograms, even though Brazilian
production had dropped almost 50 percent from the last decade of the
eighteenth century to the first decade of the nineteenth.
Regional Patterns of New World Gold Output

Gold extracted from the Iberian New World amounted to almost
1,700,000 kilograms worth 1,100,000 silver pesos of 272 maraveds
(see Tables 21 and 22). During the colonial period Brazil produced
over 1,000,000 kilograms or 656,000,000 pesos (60 percent), virtually
all of it in the eighteenth century. New Granada in Spanish America
yielded 320,400 kilograms or 209,000,000 pesos (19 percent), Mexico
137,000 kilograms or 90,000,000 pesos (8 percent), Peru almost 70,000
kilograms or 46,000,000 pesos (4 percent), Chile a bit over 65,000
kilograms or 44,000,000 pesos (4 percent), Ecuador 46,000 kilograms
or 30,000,000 pesos (3 percent), and the Caribbean 32,500 kilograms
or 21,000,000 (2 percent). (See Figure 21.) For Spanish America by
itself, total output amounted to nearly 676,000 kilograms (see Figure
23). New Granada was the most prolific gold producing region, yielding 48 percent, Mexico 20 percent, Peru 10 percent, Chile close to
10 percent, Ecuador 7 percent, and the Caribbean 5 percent. Miners
also registered a miniscule amount of gold in Central America, in the
Chilean Andes, in Mendoza, and in the Ro de la Plata.
30
chapter two
In Kilograms of Fine Gold
CHILE
65,320 = 10%
CARIBBEAN
32,550 = 5%
ECUADOR
46,091 = 7%
MEXICO
137,631 = 20%
PERU
69,864 = 10%
NEW GRANADA
320,392 = 48%
Figure 23. Spanish American Gold Production by Region, 14921810,

in kilograms
The Caribbean9
If Columbus was seeking gold, his landfall in the Greater Antilles near
Espaola was fortunate. Espaola, site of the first Spanish permanent
settlement in the New World, was rich in gold placers, more so than
any of the other islands, although as the conquest extended outward
from Espaola to Puerto Rico and Cuba, Spaniards found gold in those
islands as well. Jamaica, it appears, had none. In their first encounters
in Espaola, the Spaniards met natives wearing gold jewelry in their
noses and ears and belts with gold ornamentation. The indigenous
peoples of the Caribbean prized gold because of its ornamental quality and not for its value or as a means of exchange. At first, natives
9
This section would not have been possible without the aid of the late Engel Sluiter,
who shared with me his extensive notes on early Caribbean gold output. Sluiter consulted the relevant chroniclers, analyzed gold shipping records from the Caribbean,
and surveyed some of the early sixteenth-century accounts from the islands. A scrupulous scholar, Sluiters efforts provide the basis for an informed estimate of Caribbean production in the decades following the initial encounter. Moreover, Genaro
Rodrguez Morel, an independent scholar living in Sevilla, generously shared data
with me on silver shipments from Espaola to Spain in the early sixteenth century.
31
of all the Caribbean islands seemed eager to direct the Spaniards to

placers rich in gold. In many cases they even assisted the Spaniards
by panning for gold or diving for nuggets in the streams where
deposits were present, also leading the Europeans to placers they
later exploited.10 Gold ornaments and large nuggets were the types of
gold sent to Europe at the end of the first and second voyages. As
already noted, in 1493 Columbus brought back gold valued at 20,000
gold escudos worth 25,000 silver pesos of eight reales (29 kilograms),
and in 1494 he shipped another 30,000 gold ducats (ducados) worth
11,250,000 maraveds, a little over 41,000 silver pesos of eight reales
(64 kilograms of fine gold). Columbus evidently feared the Catholic
monarchs would lose interest in the Indies enterprise if he could not
produce evidence of the existence of precious metals.
Spaniards developed placer gold mining on Espaola at a number
of sites, most west or northwest of Santo Domingoat San Cristbal
close to the Haina River west of Santo Domingo, Concepcin de la
Vega, Bonao, Buenaventura, and Santiago. Smelters operated at Buenaventura and Concepcin de la Vega. Gold mined at San Cristbal
was assayed and smelted in Buenaventura, at least after 1503 when
royal treasury officals finally made their way to the island. Spaniards
refined the gold ore from the rich Cibao mountain deposits at Concepcin de la Vega. Smelting at each site usually occurred twice annually
under supervision of treasury officals and a master goldsmith.
Espaola was the springboard for the conquest of Puerto Rico by
Juan Ponce de Len beginning in 1508. Almost immediately he found
streams containing gold and established a base at Caparra south of San
Juan. In 1509 he returned to Espaola with a small quantity of gold
worth 837 gold pesos or 1,384 silver pesos of eight reales (2 kilograms
of fine gold) bringing this ore to Concepcin de la Vega for registry
and refining. The next year he established a casa de fundicin (smelter)
in Puerto Rico at Caparra, which began operation in late October, registering gold worth 25,432 silver pesos of eight reales (39 kilograms). In
April of 1513 another smelter was established at San Germn in southwestern Puerto Rico, after the Spaniards discovered gold in nearby
streams. Engel Sluiter calculates that the gold mines of Puerto Rico
reached peak production very early in 1515 only eight years after the
10
Carl Ortwin Sauer, The Early Spanish Main (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1966), 2526 and 61.
32
chapter two
first entrada, but output dropped after the initial bonanza and ended
completely by 1545.
After its conquest by Diego Velsquez in 15111512, Cuba produced
some gold as well. Deposits were found near Bayamo and Baracoa at
the eastern end of Cuba and Sancti Spritus, and Puerto Principe (present-day Camagey) in the mountains of central Cuba. This resulted in
the creation of a royal treasury district (caja de Cuba) on the island
based at present-day Santiago and establishment of a smelter at San
Salvador de Bayamo. For Cuba the years 15181519 were the most
productive; gold worth over 173,000 silver pesos of eight reales (258
kilograms of fine gold) was registered, but like Puerto Rico, output
dropped quickly. Sluiter estimates that by the mid-1540s the age of
gold had ended in Cuba as it had on every island except Espaola.
Little is known about gold mining on Tierra Firme (the Isthmus of
Panama), although some mining went on in the new settlements of
Veragua and Urab at the opening of the sixteenth century where estimates of output are just thatestimates. Interestingly, a new Spanish
colony on the west coast of Tierra Firme was called Castilla del Oro
(Golden Castile), whether because of the presence of rich gold deposits
or simply because the name evoked a promise of gold that would be
appealing to prospective settlers. The title was particularly prophetic
because Spaniards later found gold in this region, particularly in Farther Castilla del Orocolonial New Granada.11
Not surprisingly, in the Caribbean the first three decades of the
sixteenth century (beginning in 1492), were the most productive (see
Table 23 and Figure 24). Espaola was the most productive island in
terms of gold mining during the first two decades. During the 1510s,
discoveries on Puerto Rico and Cuba combined with continued exploitation of Espaola placers. After 1520, however, gold output decreased
sharply in all areas of the Caribbean. From the 1510s to the 1520s,
for example, total output dropped by almost two-thirds from 11,177
to 3,719 kilograms. By the 1540s it had decreased by 90 percent from
11
Sauer, Early Spanish Main, 114, 133136, 138, 143, 163164, 172174, 176, 220,
222230, 235237, 244246, 257, 268, 270, 275, 281. Sauer describes the quest for
gold in Tierra Firme in these passages. Also, see the map of Castilla del Oro in Jos
de Ocampo, ed., Historia econmica de Colombia (Bogot: Siglo Veintuno de Colombia, 1987), 6. Castilla de Oro was divided into two parts, Castilla del Oro and Farther
Castilla del Oro. Farther Castilla del Oro ultimately proved to be Spanish Americas
richest gold producing area, later named New Granada.
33
14.000
12.000
10.000
8.000
6.000
4.000
2.000
0
1492
1501
1511
1521
1531
By Decade 1521 = 15211530
1541
1551
Figure 24. Caribbean Gold Production by Region, 14921555, in kilograms

TIERRA FIRME
1,629 = 5%
CUBA
3,198 = 10%
PUERTO RICO
4,335 = 13%
ESPANOLA
23,388 = 72%
Figure 25. Caribbean Gold Production by Decade, 14921555, in kilograms
the first decade of the century, and by the 1550s gold was no longer a
factor in the economy of any of the Caribbean islands.
Overall (see Table 23 and Figure 25) during the sixty years of
Caribbean gold production, Espaola yielded the most of all the
Greater Antilles: its output was 23,388 kilograms (72 percent), Puerto
Ricos 4,335 kilograms (13 percent), Cubas 3,198 kilograms (10 percent) and Tierra Firmes 1,629 kilograms (5 percent).
34
chapter two
Production trends in the early Caribbean in many ways mirrored

the circumstances of gold mining throughout the Spanish Indies in the
early decades of the conquest. In all three islands and Tierra Firme,
Spaniards seized gold from the natives, but often found them willing
to identify the richest placers. The colonizers quickly exploited and
then exhausted what they found, particularly in Mexico, Chile, and
Peru, causing gold output to drop off soon after the initial conquest,
but not always so severely or abruptly as it did in the Caribbean.
New Spain (Greater Mexico)

The lure of precious metals led many early Spaniards to abandon their
initial commitment to the Caribbean and to move to the mainland.
In fact Iberian emigration to Mexico virtually depopulated the islands
and was in part as responsible for the decline in gold production as
the rapid decimation of the native population. In New Spain, silver,
not gold, was the lure.
Gold production in New Spain can be measured both in time and
in space by treasury (caja) district (see Tables 24 and 25 and Figures
26 and 27). In the first three decades following the conquest of Mexico City, New Spain produced only a bit more than 6,000 kilograms of
gold and virtually nothing after the 1550s until the 1590s when a small
gold boom occurred with the opening of new gold fields near San Luis
Potos. Until 1730, however, gold output in New Spain seldom rose
over 2,500 kilograms per decade, but after 1730, gold yields increased
modestly from 4,800 kilograms in the 1730s to almost 7,500 kilograms
in the 1740s and 1750s. Another rise to 10,000 kilograms happened in
the 1760s, which reached 12,000 kilograms in the 1770s, but it then
dropped to a bit less than 9,000 kilograms in the 1780s. Gold output
rose again in the 1790s to 15,500 kilograms and in the first decade of
the nineteenth century to almost 24,000 kilograms, a bonanza decade
by Mexican standards.
Production trends in the various caja districts of New Spain had
their own rhythms. The caja of Mexico at Mexico City had high gold
registry figures until the 1570s simply because it was the only treasury where miners could bring their gold for assay and smelting and
where they could procure coins for their ores. In Durango miners did
not register much gold until the 1750s, with output rising from 2,900
kilograms in that decade to almost 10,000 for 18011810 as the wars
for independence erupted. San Luis Potos was not only a consistent
35
25.000
15.000
10.000
5.000
15
21
15
31
15
41
15
51
15
61
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
16
11
16
21
16
31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
20.000
By Decade 1641 = 16411650
Figure 26. Mexican Gold Output, 15211810, in kilograms

SAN LUIS POTOSI
29167 = 21%
GUADALAJARA
6736 = 5%
GUANAJUATO
21309 = 16%
DURANGO
24503 = 18%
ZIMAPAN
2011 = 2%
ROSARIO
16948 = 12%
MEXICO
34586 = 25%
CHIHUAHUA
1699 = 1%
*Does not include small amounts of gold mined in Pachuca and Zacatecas
Figure 27. Estimated Mexican Gold Production by Caja 15211810,

in kilograms
36
chapter two
gold producer after its founding as a treasury district in 1628, but also
prior to that with strikes there responsible for increased gold registries
in the caja of Mexico. Gold yields at San Luis Potos fell off a bit from
an average of close to 2,000 kilograms prior to 1670 to about 1,400
kilograms per decade until 1780 when output dropped precipitously
to less than a thousand kilograms650 in the 1780s, 372 in the 1790s,
and 264 from 18011810. Guadalajara registered very little goldnever
more than 700 kilogramsbut in the 1760s gold finds near Rosario
put registries at Guadalajara above 1,000 kilograms for the first time,
prompting the establishment of a caja in Rosario in 1770. At Guanajuato gold production did not begin in earnest until the 1730s, almost
seventy years after it became a treasury district. In that decade production reached over 2,000 kilograms rising to almost 4,000 kilograms
in the 1740s, dropping to a little more than 1,000 kilograms in the
1750s, but generally going up after that to almost 3,800 kilograms in
the last decade of the colonial epoch. Rosario/Alamos/Cosal on the
west coast of Mexico was an area whose output of 17,000 kilograms
was encompassed in a forty-one year registry period (17701810) and
was partially responsible, along with higher yields at Durango and
Guanajuato, for the surge in gold output before the outbreak of the
wars of independence. Zimapn and Chihuahua registered gold as well
but not in significant amounts. Gold mining in the silver-rich areas of
Zacatecas and Pachuca was insignificant.
For the entire colonial epoch from 1521 to 1810 gold registered in
the various treasury districts of New Spain (see Tables 24 and 25
and Figure 27) amounted to 137,631 kilograms. Of these registries
the caja of Mexico yielded 34,586 kilograms (25 percent), San Luis
Potos 29,167 kilograms (21 percent), Durango 24,503 kilograms
(18 percent), Guanajuato 21,309 kilograms (16 percent), Rosario/
Alamos/Cosal 16,948 kilograms (12 percent), Guadalajara 6,736 kilograms (5 percent), Zimapn 2,011 and Chihuahuas 1,699 kilograms
(1 percent each). As noted, gold output at Zacatecas and Pachuca was
inconsequential.
Although Mexico produced only 8 percent of all New World gold
during the colonial period and 20 percent of Spanish American output,
its gold yields were low contrasted with that of silver. Overall, Mexican
production of gold by weight during the entire colonial epoch was
close to 138,000 kilograms, amounting to only one decades output in
Brazil (1730s). Silver output constituted a bit over 1,968,000,000 silver
pesos (96 percent of New Spains bullion production) over the colonial
period, whereas gold came to the equivalent of a little over 90,000,000
37
silver pesos (4 percent). In Mexico, silver reigned; gold was simply not
as important.
New Granada
If silver was the precious metal of abundance in Mexico, New Granada
was its antithesis: here in the land of El Dorado, the gilded man, gold
was preeminent. Spanish invasions (entradas) into New Granada came
primarily in the 1530s. Sebastin Benalczar, the founder of Quito, had
reached the Cauca valley from the south in 1536 and found productive
placers in the region. Two expeditions also came south from Urab,
the first in 1537 led by Francisco Csar and the second in 1538 by
Juan de Vadillo, who found the gold mines of Buritic exploited earlier
by native inhabitants. A third entrada commanded by Gonzalo Jimnez de Quesada penetrated deeply into New Granada by going up the
Magdalena River southward from the Caribbean coast in 1538.12
After these initial probes revealed the presence of gold, mining contributed to the establishment of permanent towns such as Santa Fe de
Bogot, Santa Fe de Antioquia, Cali, and Popayn,13 where the Spaniards began to exploit the gold placers and mines in earnest.14 Gold
mining took place in three regions: the Cauca River basin, the upper
Magdalena River, and the Pacific coast. In the Cauca River valley, the
first major gold-producing areas were located at Anserma and Cartago
where there were both vein and placer mines, with vein mining more
prevalent. Each had its smelters, and Cartago, at least for a time, was
a royal treasury district. Areas around Popayn and Almaguer were
also productive, and in the seventeenth century Popayn ultimately
replaced Cartago as the administrative and mining center in the upper
Cauca valley. On the Pacific coast the Choc gold fields proved rich at
Nvita and in Citar province while in the Pacific lowlands Barbacoas
yielded its share of gold as did Raposo and Isaquand.
In the Magdalena River valley to the west, Antioquia, Remedios,
Cceres, Zaragoza, and Santa Fe de Antioquia became important
12
West, Placer Mining, 58.

Two excellent works on the gold economy of Popayn are Daz Lpez, Oro, sociedad y economa; and Barona, Maldicin de Midas.
14
See West, Placer Mining, 951. He has included excellent maps of the different
mining areas, delineating sites of lode and placer mining and the location of the towns
designated as royal caja districts.
13
38
chapter two
mining centers with the famed mines of Buritic located not far from
Santa Fe de Antioquia. In the same general region Ibagu, Mariquita, and Remedios were important gold camps. To the east of the
Magdalena near present-day Bucaramanga, Pamplona was the focal
point of mining activity. At one time or another most of these cities or towns were treasury districts and had smelters, but throughout
New Granada, placer and vein mines were exhausted quickly, forcing
changes in the location (although not necessarily the name) of major
mining centers and the smelters associated with them. Remedios, for
example, changed its location at least three times in the sixteenth century.
Two Colombian historians, the late Germn Colmenares and Jaime
Jaramillo Uribe, have each delineated two gold cycles in New Granada
during the colonial epoch. Colmenares asserts that the first occurred
from 1559 and 1620 with production centered in the Magdalena Valley, primarily in Antioquia, and the second from 1680 to 1820 in the
Choc. The sixty-year hiatus, he believes, was marked by a profound
crisis in gold production in which most of the mining towns (reales de
minas) disappeared. The increase in production after 1680, he argues,
was made possible by the importation of African slaves into the Choc
and better integration of the farming, grazing and mining sectors.
Jaramillo Uribe also delineates two gold cyclesthe first beginning in
1550 and lasting until 1670 and the second from 1670 to the end of
the colonial period, again with the most productive sites shifting from
the Magdalena Valley to the Choc.15
New Granada gold production in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries broadly confirms their views (see Table 26 and Figure 28).
Output in the 1530s and 1540s was a bit over 2,000 kilograms, jumped
to 5,500 kilograms in the 1550s and almost reached 8,000 kilograms
in the 1560s and 1570s. A large increase occurred in the 1590s to over
12,000 kilograms and almost 14,000 kilograms in the first decade of the
seventeenth century, dropping slowly after that and then precipitously
in the 1660s to a little over 4,000 kilograms, the low point for the
seventeenth century. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, gold
output rose from approximately 5,000 kilograms in the first decade to
over 10,000 in the 1730s. Increments in production grew larger after
thatto a little less than 15,000 kilograms in the 1740s, almost 18,000
in the 1750s, 20,500 in the 1760s, and almost 23,000 in the 1770s.
15
See Campo, ed., Historia econmica de Colombia, 3337, 4957.
39
35.000
25.000
20.000
15.000
10.000
5.000
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
16
31
41
16
16
11
21
16
16
91
01
15
16
71
81
15
15
51
61
15
15
33
15
41
0
15
30.000
By Decade 1651 = 16511660
Figure 28. Estimated New Granada Gold Production, 15331810, by decade

in kilograms
Another sharp rise came at the end of the eighteenth century: almost
28,000 kilograms were produced in the 1780s, 33,000 in the 1790s, and
almost 35,000 in the first decade of the nineteenth century.16 Overall,
production generally rose in the sixteenth century to the 1610s and
began falling off after that with only modest output in New Granada
after the 1620s, verifying Colmenaress view of a crisis to the end of
the century. Beginning in the eighteenth century, however, production
grew steadily and then dramatically in the last three decades to 1810.
Although no data are available from royal accounts to establish a
Mexican or Peruvian-style breakdown by region, the Colombian historian Jorge Orlando Melo has offered some estimates of regional output
for the eighteenth century. For this period, Popayn produced 28 percent, Barbacoas 15 percent, Nvita 21 percent, Citar 16 percent, and
Antioquia 21 percent. What is somewhat surprising is the large proportion from Antioquia, although Popayns share is less surprising:
royal authorities established a mint in Popayn in 1759.17 Melos breakdown for the quinquennia from 1735 to 1739 and from 1795 to 1799
reveals a changing mining scene in New Granada. For the earlier quinquennium (17351739) Popayn and Barbacoas produced 43 percent,
the Choc (Citar and Nvita) 51 percent, and Antioquia 6 percent.
16
The estimates of gold output from 1624 have been derived from the three volumes on mintage at Bogot and Popayn by Barriga Villalba, Casa de moneda.
17
Melo, Historia, 73.
40
chapter two
At the end of the century (17951799) Popayn and Barbacoas

accounted for 35 percent, the Choc 27 percent, and Antioquia a surprising 38 percent.18
The ratio of gold to silver in New Granada was virtually the reverse
of that in New Spain. In New Granada gold output constituted 96
percent, or almost 210,000,000 silver pesos of the two precious metals;
silver made up only 4 percent, or a bit less than 7,000,000 silver pesos.
Significantly, too, in some years the mints at Bogot and Popayn
struck no silver coins at all, only gold specie, indicating the scarcity of
silver in the land of El Dorado. Also, the clear dominance of gold most
likely meant more fraud and circulation of unregistered, unassayed
gold in the New Granadan economy as it did in any region, such as
Brazil or Chile, where gold prevailed as the dominant precious metal.
Ecuador19
Coastal Ecuador was important during the 1520s primarily as a staging area for the conquest of Peru, but in 1533 and 1534 two lieutenants of Francisco Pizarro, Sebastin Benalczar and Diego Almagro,
penetrated the interior. Almagro established the town of Santiago de
Quito near present-day Riobamba in August 1534, and in December
of the same year Benalczar founded San Francisco de Quito high in
the Andes, which became the administrative center for the region.
Although known primarily throughout the colonial epoch for its agricultural and textile production, Ecuador also produced gold: 3 percent
of the New World total and 7 percent of Spanish American output.
Colonial miners produced some gold at Otavalo northeast of Quito
and on the Santiago and Napo Rivers, but most of the productive mines
and placers were south of the capital at Zamora, Zangurima, Sevilla de
Oro, Santa Brbara, and Malal. These lay fairly close to Cuenca, which
had a smelter. Zaruma, Santiago de las Montaas, Nambija, Valldolid,
and Loyola a bit farther south were located near Loja and its smelter.
Quito had a smelter too, which offered reduced tax rates to those who
carried their ore to the city for assay and registry.
18
Melo, Historia, 75.

For this section on Ecuador, I am deeply indebted to Professor Kris Lane, who
shared production data with me on Ecuadorian gold output, including a map pinpointing the important mining areas and information on assaying and refining techniques. Lane, Mining the Margins.
19
41
7.000
5.000
4.000
3.000
2.000
1.000
51
15
61
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
16
11
16
21
16
31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
15
35
15
41
0
15
6.000
By Decade 1651 = 16511660
Figure 29. Ecuador Gold Production, 15351810, by decade in kilograms
Ecuadorian gold production had a strange trajectory (see Table 27

and Figure 29). From the conquest to 1550 output was exceedingly
low, less than 1,000 kilograms per decade. Beginning in the 1550s,
however, gold yields began increasing to about 2,500 kilograms in the
1560s to 3,200 in the 1570s and culminated in the gold boom of the
1570s and 1580s, when Ecuadorian mines reached their highest level
of the colonial epochover 6,000 kilograms per decade. Significantly,
Ecuadorian production in these two decades represented 30 to 40 percent of total New World output. Yields began dropping in the 1590s,
however, to 3,500 kilograms and then to 2,000 in the first decade of
the seventeenth century. By the 1630s output had plummeted, and
until the 1750s was never more than 650 kilograms, although it seldom
reached that level. In fact in the 1730s and 1740s, production was less
than 100 kilograms. Nonetheless something of a revival in gold mining began in the 1750s, when 2,000 kilograms were registered, and the
uptick continued to well over 4,000 kilograms in the 1780s and 1790s,
representing a modest gold boom for the region, perhaps generated by
the reduction in gold taxes to 3 percent in the 1770s. Unfortunately, it
was short lived. By the first decade of the nineteenth century, production had plummeted once again to below 1,000 kilograms.
Of all the Andean colonial economies, Ecuadors was perhaps the
most balanced. Agriculture and textile production dominated the
economy far more than the production of precious metals. Still,
the presence of gold provided some regions a means of exchangeeither licit or illicitand a possible source for investment in agricultural
activities and textile manufacture. Unfortunately, however, in the
42
chapter two
eighteenth century, the Ecuadorian textile industry suffered from the

influx of foreign cloth, causing economic difficulties that gold mining
could not offset.20
Upper and Lower Peru

Like Mexico, Peru was silver rich but almost bereft of gold. During the
colonial period, Peru produced only about 70,000 kilograms, 4 percent of New World output and 10 percent of Spanish American yields.
After his capture by the Spaniards on November 16, 1532, at Cajamarca, the Inca ruler Atahualpa agreed to fill with gold a twenty-twofoot by seventeen-foot room to as high as he could reach and twice
that quantity of silver in return for his release. Making good on his
promise, Atahualpa delivered 13,200 pounds (6,000 kilograms) of gold
and 26,000 pounds of silver (11,800 kilograms) to the Spaniards. With
bullion in hand, Pizarro and his henchmen then refused to release
Atahualpa, held a mock trial, and executed him.21 Atahualpas ransom
constituted a large portion of gold production in the first decade.
Gold output dropped rapidly in Peru (see Tables 28 and 29 and
Figures 210 and 211). In the 1530s because of Atahualpas ransom
and further plunder taken from Cuzco, Peru surpassed 8,000 kilograms, but in the 1540s Peru yielded only a little more than half of
what had been produced in the 1530s, 4,800 kilograms. In the 1550s
gold registries dropped to 3,500 kilograms, and in the 1560s and 1570s
to a bit over 1,000. This effectively ended what might be termed the
first age of gold in Peru. Between 1590 and 1761 output of gold never
exceeded 620 kilograms for a decade and seldom reached that level. In
some decades between 1611 and 1660, there were virtually no registries at all. The conquistadores apparently took what they could from
the indigenous inhabitants, such as ritual plates and ornamental jewelry, and melted them down. When this source was exhausted, the
Spaniards found no placers from which to procure gold. Unlike New
Granada, Peru had no gold mines to exploit, or so it seemed.
20
Kenneth J. Andrien, The Kingdom of Quito, 16901830: The State and Regional
Development (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 5579.
21
Moreyra Paz Soldn, Moneda colonial 3637. He estimates the ransom at 5,720
kilograms of gold and 11,041 kilograms of silver.
43
16.000
14.000
10.000
8.000
6.000
4.000
2.000
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
16
31
41
16
16
11
21
16
16
91
01
15
16
71
81
15
15
51
61
15
15
33
15
41
15
12.000
By Decade 1651 = 16511660
Figure 210. Peru Gold Production 15331810, by decade in kilograms
The second age of gold began modestly in the 1760s with a registry
in Peru of about 1,300 kilograms, which rose to over 5,800 kilograms
in the 1770s. The yield reached nearly 12,000 kilograms in the 1780s,
and it remained that high for the next twenty years. The main sources
of this late eighteenth-century resurgence were increased registries in
Lima, where, after 1750, mercury from Almadn was available, and in
La Paz and Potos in Upper Peru. Trujillo also produced a bit of gold
in Lower Peru in the same epoch but not in significant amounts as
La Paz or Potos. Overall during the colonial epoch, Lima registered
the most gold 38,160 kilograms (55 percent), La Paz 13,031 kilograms
(19 percent), Potos 115,33 kilograms (17 percent), Trujillo 3,500 kilograms (5 percent), Carabaya 1,698 kilograms (2 percent), and Cuzco
1,159 kilograms (2 percent). Gold registered in other treasury districts
was miniscule.
Silver dominated in Upper and Lower Peru as it did in Mexico.
In value for the entire colonial epoch silver output amounted to
1,424,390,000 silver pesos of 8 reales (97 percent), while gold produced
the equivalent of only 46,170,000 of these same silver pesos (3 percent). As a factor in the economy of these regions, gold simply played
an insignificant role, except perhaps in La Paz and Carabaya and especially in Trujillo and Potos where gold strikes in the late eighteenth
century injected small amounts of gold into the economy. Gold was
important in Lima after 1750 because miners brought their bullion to
44
chapter two
POTOSI
3500 = 5%
ORURO
1698 = 2%
LIMA
38160 = 55%
LA PAZ
11533 = 17%
TRUJILLO
13031 = 19%
CUZCO
1159 = 2%
Does not include the gold mined in Huancavelica, Oruro, Chucuito, Arequipa, Arica, and Puno
because only a negligible amount was mined.
Figure 211. Peru Gold Production by Region, 15331810, in kilograms
the city to register it and to purchase mercury. Nonetheless, just as in

Mexico, silver prevailed in Peru as the dominant precious metal.
Chile
The conquest of Chile was an extension of the conquest of Peru. In
1535 Diego de Almagro, the lieutenant of Francisco Pizarro, led the
first Spanish incursion into the region and stayed there over a year
before returning to Peru. Civil war in Peru delayed further probes of
Chile until 1540 when Pedro de Valdivia, another associate of Pizarro,
personally financed a new expedition. He established the first settlement at Santiago de Chile on February 12, 1541. Most Spaniards settled near Santiago in the fertile central valley, where Chile eventually
gained its reputation as the breadbasket of Peru. The resistance of the
Araucanians made the south less palatable for the colonizers who did,
however, establish settlements at Concepcin and Valdivia.
Like Ecuador, Chile produced its modest share of New World gold.
The Chilean historian Benjamn Vicua Mackenna has delineated
three major gold-mining regions: the northern sector ending at the
45
12.000
8.000
6.000
4.000
2.000
15
41
15
51
15
61
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
16
11
16
21
16
31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
10.000
By Decade 1661 = 16611670
Figure 212. Chile Gold Production, 15411810, in kilograms
Choapa River; the central sector from the Choapa to the Maule River;
and the southern sector from the Maule to the Osorno River, just
south of Valdivia. In the north (El Norte Chico and El Norte Grande),
the major mining centers were at Copiap, Coquimbo, La Serena (a
royal caja district for a time with a smelter), the Huasco River valley,
and Andacollo, among others. In the central zone major gold mining
activity occurred at Quillota northeast of Valparaiso and Petorca and
La Ligua River valley just north of Quillota. In the southern region
Villarica and the Villarica River valley northeast of Valdivia were productive, as were those on the Rahue River near Osorno. Like New
Granada gold mining camps sprang up only to be abandoned once the
gold was exhausted and as new, more profitable deposits were found
elsewhere.22
Vicua Mackennas assertion that Chile was the major New World
gold producer during the colonial epoch is mistaken. From 1540 to
1810 its output amounted to only 65,320 kilograms or 4 percent of
total production in the Indies and 10 percent of Spanish American
production. The trajectory of gold yields in Chile (see Table 220 and
Figure 212) show a rise from a bit over 3,000 kilograms during the
22
Vicua Mackenna, Edad del oro. This book, originally published in 1881, provides a detailed discussion of the development of gold mining in Chile during the
colonial period as well as quantitative data on mintage in the eighteenth century.
Tomo 2 deals primarily with the nineteenth century.
46
chapter two
decade from 1541 to 1550 to almost 5,000 kilograms by the 1570s, but
dropping rapidly after that to virtually nothing after 1600. A modest revival began in the 1750s when output finally reached over 1,000
kilograms once again, jumping to 6,700 kilograms in the 1760s to over
9,000 kilograms during the next three decades. In the first decade of
the nineteenth century, production was at an all-time highalmost
11,600 kilograms. In fact, like Mexico in the last five decades to 1810,
a modest gold boom occurred in Chile.
Brazil
During the colonial epoch Brazil produced a little over 1,000,000 kilograms, or 60 percent of the New World total, virtually all of it during the eighteenth century. The initial gold strikes in Brazil came in
the early 1690s, when prospectors and explorers from So Paulo, the
Paulistas, found gold placers on the Rio das Velhas, Rio das Mortes,
Rio So Francisco, and Rio Doce in Minas Gerais.23 Vila Rica do Ouro
Preto grew up immediately as the focal point of mining activity with
prospectors flooding into the region to seek their fortunes. The Paulistas derisively called many of the Portuguese newcomers emboadas
(outsiders). Royal authorities established smelters at Vila Rica, Sabar,
So Joo del Rei, and Vila do Principe. These same authorities also
appointed a captain general in 1720 to establish some order out of the
chaos in the region, separating Minas Gerais from So Paulo. Other
towns in Minas Gerais became mining boom towns as wellMariana,
Sabar, Rio das Mortes, Serro Frio, and Paracat, among others.
Strikes occurred later in other regions of Brazil. In 1718 Paulistas
discovered gold in Mato Grosso on the Cuiab and Coxip Rivers. In
Mato Grosso the mines of Guapor were particularly productive as
well. Seven years later, in 1725, major finds occurred in Gois. Addi-
23
A number of works describe the history of gold mining in colonial Brazil. Among
them are Boxer, Golden Age of Brazil; and Eschwege, Pluto Brasiliensis. The latter is
particularly valuable because Eschwege was a German engineer and colonel in the
Portuguese Corps of Engineers who became intendant of Minas Gerais in the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Refer also to Calgeras, Formao histrica
do Brasil; Roberto C. Simonsen, Histria Econmica do Brasil, 15001820 2 tomos
(So Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1937); and A. J. R. Russell-Wood, The
Gold Cycle, c. 16901750, in Colonial Brazil, ed. Leslie Bethell (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 190243.
47
160.000
140.000
120.000
100.000
80.000
60.000
40.000
20.000
01
18
91
17
81
17
71
17
61
17
51
17
41
17
31
17
21
17
11
17
01
17
16
91
By Decade 1741= 17411750
Figure 213. Brazil Gold Production, 16911810, in kilograms
tional strikes were also made in Cear and Bahia, but Minas Gerais
remained the most productive throughout the colonial epoch. This led
Charles Boxer in The Golden Age of Brazil to quote an 1802 eyewitness who claimed that the most ignorant miner in Minas Gerais was
more skilled than the most expert in Gois, and that the most ignorant
in Gois knew more about mining than the most intelligent in Mato
Grosso.24
Most striking about Brazilian gold output is that it far eclipsed Spanish America, yielding 60 percent of New World production. Moreover,
it was primarily an eighteenth-century phenomenon. Although gold
was produced prior to the eighteenth century, the massive output
in Brazil occurred during a little more than one hundred years. The
course of Brazilian output in this epoch mirrored the strikes in the
various regions of Brazil (see Table 211 and Figure 213). Production
increased by ten times from the 1690s (4,327 kilograms) to the 1700s
(43,270 kilograms) and the 1710s to 46,563 kilograms. Major strikes in
Minas Gerais were responsible for the rise. In the 1730s output more
than doubled once again to over 100,000 kilograms, largely because of
gold finds in Gois and Mato Grosso, reaching an all-time high of over
24
Boxer, Golden Age of Brazil, 269.
48
chapter two
MATO GROSSOGOIAS
194,996 = 20%
MINAS GERAIS
708,752 = 72%
SAO PAULOBAHIA-CEARA
75030 = 8%
See Table 212 for source.
Figure 214. Brazil Gold Production by Region, 17001801, in kilograms
145,000 kilograms in the 1740s. For the next four decades (17511790)
production dropped to the 100,000-kilogram range and to 70,000 kilograms in the last decade. In the decade from 1801 to 1810, output
was only a bit more than half that38,000 kilograms, indicating that
the mines of placers of Brazil were finally being exhausted, ending a
century-long age of gold.
The importance of Brazil is magnified in the eighteenth century by
the large Luso-American share of the New World total. From 1701
to 1760, Brazils portion of New World production was 80 percent or
more, dropping to 73 percent in the 1760s, 68 percent in the 1770s,
60 percent in the 1780s, 47 percent in the 1790s, and 31 percent in
the first decade of the nineteenth century. Its share of the total world
production was also considerable. From 1701 to 1740, the Brazilian
portion rose from one-third to almost three-quarters in the 1730s.
From 1740 to 1790 Brazil provided over 50 percent of world output
except for the decade of the 1760s when it constituted 45 percent. As
output dropped at the end of the century, the Brazilian share fell to 40
percent in the 1790s, and to 21 percent in the first decade of the nineteenth century. By region, Minas Gerais was the largest producer of
gold, constituting 72 percent of the total (see Figure 214), far exceeding that of Mato Grosso-Gois and So Paulo-Bahia-Cear.25
25
Colgeras, Formao histrica do Brasil, 46.

NEW WORLD
49
WORLD
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
31
15
41
15
51
15
61
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
16
11
16
21
16
31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
15
11
21
15
15
92
14
15
01
Figure 215. New World-World Gold Production, 14911810, in kilograms
New World Gold in a Global Perspective

The total amount of gold the Indies provided to world output from
1492 to 1810 was roughly 1,685,000 kilograms, or 45 percent, of the
world total over a bit more than 300 years (see Table 212 and Figure
215). During the sixteenth century, however, the New World portion
of world output was not even close to that. Although it reached almost
30 percent in the 1570s as a result of increased production in Ecuador
and Chile, its share was normally in the 20-percent range. In the seventeenth century New World gold production dropped quickly from a
23-percent share in the first decade to a 12-percent share by the 1660s,
and then fell to less than 10 percent in the next three decades before
rising to 12 percent in the last ten years of the seventeenth century.
In the eighteenth century that trend changed markedly. Beginning
in the first two decades, because of the rich Brazilian strikes, the New
World portion of world gold rose to over 40 percent, growing to 60
percent in the 1720s, and then to 81 percent in the 1730s, its highest
share ever. In the two succeeding decades the Indies produced 69 percent of world output in the 1740s and 57 percent in the 1750s. The New
World share rose to over 70 percent in the next two decades, and well
over 80 percent in the last twenty years of the century, largely because
of increased production in Spanish America. By the first decade of the
nineteenth century, New World output was 69 percent, about what
it was in the 1740s. Although it cannot be proven conclusively, the
New World in the eighteenth century contributed the major portion
50
chapter two
of world gold output, raising once again the issue of the gold of the
Indies as a stimulant to the industrial revolution in Europe.
Sources and Methodological Explanation

Wherever possible this study emphasizes officially registered production. The procedures for registering gold and silver followed the
same pattern throughout the Spanish empire whether at Guanajuato,
Zacatecas, Chucuito, or Potos. Silver and gold miners or traders
brought their troves to the seat of the royal treasury, where they presented their gold and silver to royal treasury officialsan accountant
and treasurer (contador and tesorero) and their minions. These officials weighed and assayed the fineness of the gold and silver and then
fashioned them into ingots by smelting or using mercury to siphon off
impurities. They noted the weight and fineness in a ledger, stamped
each bar with the caja seal (a PO for Potos, for example) and also the
bars weight. Miners or traders then paid their taxes on what they had
brought in. They first paid the cobos, a tax on New World precious
metals awarded as a sinecure to Francisco de los Cobos, the loyal secretary of Charles V who ran affairs for the monarch when he was away
from the Iberian peninsula. The cobos continued long after Coboss
death. Initially treasury officials collected 1.5 percent of the gold or
silver delivered to the treasury for the cobos but it was reduced in the
early eighteenth century to 1 percent. The cobos were collected on the
total amount of silver or gold presented. This sum was then deducted
and the remainder taxed at a fifth (quinto) or tenth (diezmo). In Mexico in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, silver from mines the
king designated as reales de minas, or royal mines, were charged a
tenth; silver brought from elsewhere paid a fifth. For Peru the treasury
charged a cobos of 1.5 percent and a quinto through the early eighteenth century when it was then changed to 1 percent and a diezmo.
Those who presented gold paid the same rate until 1777 when the
tax rate became 3 percent. Once all taxes had been paid, miners and
traders could take their silver and gold in bars smelted at the caja or
exchange their value for coins, if available. They could also carry their
bars to the nearest mint to have their gold and silver minted into coin.
Colonial mints were not initially allowed to stamp gold coins, but the
ban was lifted in the early eighteenth century.
Treasury tax data on the cobos, quintos and diezmos make it possible to calculate the amount of gold and silver officially registered.
51
Multipliers to determine the amount of silver and gold presented

from account entries were the following: 1.5 percent y quinto de plata
4.71698113; 1 percent y quinto de plata4.80769231; 1.5 percent y
diezmos de plata8.81057269; 1 percent y diezmos de plata9.17421193.
Adjustments were made to these multipliers when seignorage (a fee for
assaying) was added to these taxes. The multiplier for 1 percent cobos,
diezmo and seignorage, for example, was 8.1967213. Using these multipliers enabled transformation of the taxes reported in the account
ledgers into the silver or gold actually presented at the caja smelters.
Another aim of this study was to create tables of annual production.
The royal accounts were not always kept by twelve-month periods that
began on January 1 and ended on 31 December. Many covered only a
few months, others ranged over more than three years, often depending on when the Mexican fleet ( flota) left Veracruz or the Armada del
Sur left Callao for Panama. Thus the account data were computed on
a monthly basis until the year ended, and annual output for each calendar year were determined. Still another issue was the use in Upper
and Lower Peruvian accounts of the peso ensayado worth 450 maraveds equivalent to 1.65444 pesos of ocho reales. Upper and Lower
Peruvian acountants commonly used pesos ensayados in the Peruvian
accounts until the 1770s. These entries in pesos ensayados were thus
transformed into pesos de ocho to establish a common unit of account
for the Spanish Indies over time.
Since silver and gold were both a means of exchange and a commodity, all entries appear in silver pesos of eight reales and kilograms
of fine silver and gold. Use of silver pesos as a standard enables comparison of the purchasing power of the two metals, and their relative importance in the Indies, as well as a means to compare these
new estimates with those of previous observers. Providing weight in
kilograms of fine gold and silver enables comparison of New World
output with world production and allows placement of precious metal
output in the Indies on the world scene. Fortunately, there was less
tampering with the New World weight and fineness than occurred in
Spain. Royal edicts did not reduce the fineness of gold in the Indies
until 1772, when the tolerance allowed was lowered from 0.91666 karats to 0.901041 karats. Another change occurred in 1786 when a tolerance of 0.875 karats was established. Parenthetically the crown hoped
to keep these debasements a secret but was unsuccessful. For silver,
tolerance was not changed until 1728 when the long-time fineness of
0.930555 karats was lowered to 0.916666 karats, remaining at that level
until 1772 when it was further reduced to 0.902777. In 1786 it fell to
52
chapter two
0.895832 karats where it stayed until the end of the colonial epoch,
again with unsuccessful royal attempts to mask these debasements.26
Other problems occurred because of gaps in the account data.
Although some accounts are extant from the time of the Spanish conquest, there are major gaps in the series of some treasury districts.
When these gaps occurred, ascending or descending annual averages
were developed, depending on an upward or downward trend in the
accounts. For gaps of only a year or two, simple averages were drawn
from the years before and after the gap. Amazingly, however, accounts
are extant for a great number of years. The first extant account uncovered for Potos was for 1560. From that date until 1824, only about
twenty years are missing. The same is true for Zacatecas, Lima, Mexico,
Guanajuato, Pasco, and a number of other colonial cajas, a testimony
to the Spanish American and Spanish officials serving in the Indies
and the archivists and officials in Spain who assembled and preserved
the documents in the mother country. Still another problem was the
change in accounting methods, particularly in the matrix or central
treasuries of Mexico City and Lima, but these have been adjusted in
analyzing the accounts.27
This study attempts wherever possible to present registered silver
and gold output. No fraud factor such as that used by Alexander von
Humboldt has been introduced into this study. There can be no doubt
that fraud occurred in registry or that forged caja stamps were sometimes used to verify the authenticity of silver and gold bars. Cheating
on the fineness of gold and silver bars and other methods were used
to deprive the crown of its revenues and to put pesos into the pockets
26
For gold the multipliers for transforming silver pesos to kilograms of fine gold
were the following: 0.001551 until 1773, 0.01526 through 1786, and 0.0014805 through
the end of the colonial epoch. For transforming silver pesos into kilograms of fine
silver, the multipliers were 0.930555 through 1728, 0.916666 through 1772, 0.902777
through 1786, and 0.895832 from 1787 to the end of the colonial period. It should
be pointed out also that the fineness of the raw silver presented at the treasury was
0.025561 karats to 1728; 0.024809 karats 1729 to 1773; 0.024433 from 17731786; and
0.024245 until the end of the colonial epoch.
27
A good portion of the account data has been published. See TePaske and Klein,
Royal Treasuries. For Ecuador see TePaske and Jara, Royal Treasuries, vol. 4: Eighteenth-Century Ecuador. For Mexico see TePaske and Klein, Ingresos y egresos; and
TePaske, Hernndez Palomo, and Hernndez Palomo, Real hacienda. The accounts are
also available on the internet at www.laceh.com. Facsimiles of many of the accounts
are available in Special Collections of Perkins Library at Duke University. A catalog of
those available can be found in the Perkins Library website at Duke University, Special
Collections, Catalog under TePaske.
53
of silver and gold traders or miners and public officials. Mint officials
could conspire to make coins of improper fineness and pocket the difference for themselves, as occurred in the ceca of Potos. I stand with
Peter Bakewell that there was not a great amount of fraud in the silver
economy. It was a crime of lse majest to engage in such practices and
those caught were severely punished. Also bona fide, registered silver
bars could be traded worldwide. It was simply not worth the risk to
avoid royal taxes.
Gold was another matter. In areas like Brazil or New Granada
where gold prevailed, it became common practice to use gold nuggets
or gold dust for exchange rather than registering them with government officials and having them converted into coins or bars. In gold
economies the fraud rate was far higher than in those dominated by
silver. In fact, the fraud rate may have been as high as 50 percent, as
suggested by one expert on Brazilian gold mining. For New Granada
it may have been 30 percent or higher because of the ease in using
gold nuggets or gold dust as a means of exchange. Still, rather than
imposing my own fraud rate, I have left that to the experts who know
the detailed history and practices in different regions of Spanish and
Luso-America. The estimates presented in this volume are clearly on
the conservative side.
14921500
15011510
15111520
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
DECADE
0.70
8.20
7.21
2.40
1.55
0.90
0.03
1.52
2.43
0.81
0.08
0.08
0.05
0.05
0.96
2.27
2.59
2.85
2.53
1.56
1.74
1.89
1.52
CARIBBEAN MEXICO
5.51
3.11
2.28
0.76
0.71
0.64
0.11
0.06
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.05
0.05
PERU
1.46
1.35
3.61
4.90
5.14
4.34
8.09
8.98
7.19
5.77
2.29
5.08
4.86
2.65
2.84
NEW
GRANADA
0.17
0.56
1.64
2.08
3.96
4.15
2.25
1.34
0.60
1.28
0.41
0.08
0.13
0.15
0.13
ECUADOR
2.00
3.00
1.03
3.14
1.00
0.50
0.10
0.05
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
CHILE
BRAZIL OTHER*
0.70
8.20
7.21
3.92
11.12
8.73
10.64
8.85
13.00
10.18
11.91
12.75
10.43
9.91
5.24
6.72
6.73
4.74
4.54
TOTAL
Table 21. Estimated New World Gold Production by Region and Decade 14921810 (in Millions of Silver Pesos of
272 Maraveds).
Tables
54
chapter two
20.99
1.40
1.64
1.42
1.61
1.64
3.10
4.77
4.82
6.39
7.98
5.80
10.41
16.12
90.03
CARIBBEAN MEXICO
0.17
0.36
0.41
0.25
0.22
0.18
0.16
0.12
0.83
3.83
7.83
10.61
7.92
46.17
PERU
4.15
3.19
3.31
4.83
5.53
6.58
9.54
11.45
13.22
14.82
18.50
22.38
23.33
209.38
NEW
GRANADA
0.13
0.22
0.19
0.22
0.09
0.06
0.03
1.30
1.08
1.17
2.66
3.27
0.62
29.97
ECUADOR
* Includes gold registered in Guatemala, the Rio de la Plata, and Mendoza.
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
DECADE
0.00
0.04
0.01
0.12
0.16
0.27
0.46
0.71
4.30
5.98
6.14
7.81
6.85
43.69
CHILE
2.79
27.90
30.02
66.61
88.93
93.77
72.01
69.59
70.79
60.95
47.57
25.47
656.40
0.08
0.39
0.54
1.75
2.76
BRAZIL OTHER*
5.85
8.24
33.24
37.05
74.25
99.12
108.73
90.41
95.41
104.65
102.27
102.59
82.06
1,099.39
TOTAL

55
1,086
12,718
11,177
3,719
2,404
1,393
53
14921500
15011510
15111520
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
2,358
3,769
1,256
124
124
78
82
1,483
3,535
4,010
4,428
3,924
2,427
2,687
2,943
2,372
2,186
2,740
2,212
2,498
2,555
4,816
7,411
7,493
9,897
12,220
8,738
15,422
23,843
137,631
MEXICO
8,541
4,827
3,533
1,183
1,104
1,002
161
80
1
0
0
0
2
70
80
267
550
620
404
332
286
257
191
1,299
5,844
11,758
15,725
11,747
69,864
PERU
2,264
2,089
5,593
7,604
7,977
6,728
12,541
13,934
11,153
8,951
3,548
7,885
7,540
4,105
4,406
6,437
4,950
5,140
7,499
8,570
10,210
14,793
17,759
20,501
22,681
27,869
33,130
34,535
320,392
257
868
2,549
3,226
6,143
6,442
3,486
2,076
927
1,985
635
131
202
233
194
194
339
291
339
144
96
48
2,012
1,676
1,789
4,049
4,846
914
46,091
NEW GRANADA ECUADOR
* Includes gold registered in Guatemala, the Rio de la Plata, and Mendoza.
32,550
CARIBBEAN
DECADE
3,102
4,653
1,590
4,873
1,551
776
155
71
23
19
0
0
0
0
0
60
15
188
254
426
709
1,108
6,673
9,134
9,243
9,137
11,560
65,320
CHILE
4,327
43,270
46,563
103,315
137,930
145,430
111,680
107,930
107,930
92,930
70,430
37,715
1,009,450
BRAZIL
128
592
802
2,590
4,112
OTHER*
1,086
12,718
11,177
6,077
17,235
13,535
16,505
13,727
20,175
15,805
18,447
19,780
16,162
15,387
8,126
10,443
10,431
7,351
7,052
9,084
12,966
51,548
57,491
115,170
153,764
168,648
140,243
147,976
159,726
155,179
149,492
122,904
1,685,410
TOTAL
Table 22. Estimated New World Gold Production by Region and Decade, 14921810 (in Kilograms of Fine Gold).
56
chapter two
PESOS
700,000
7,750,000
4,600,000
743,000
701,000
551,000
34,000
15,079,000
DECADE
14921500
15011510
15111520
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511555
TOTAL
1,086
12,020
7,135
1,152
1,087
855
53
23,388
KILOGRAMS
ESPANOLA
0
50,000
1,146,000
935,000
444,000
220,000
0
2,795,000
PESOS
0
118
1,777
1,450
689
341
0
4,375
KILOGRAMS
PUERTO RICO
0
0
1,160,000
520,000
305,000
77,000
0
2,062,000
PESOS
0
0
1,799
807
473
119
0
3,198
KILOGRAMS
CUBA
0
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
50,000
0
1,050,000
PESOS
0
620
465
310
155
78
0
1,629
KILOGRAMS
TIERRA FIRME
700,000
8,200,000
7,206,000
2,398,000
1,550,000
898,000
34,000
20,986,000
1,086
12,718
11,177
3,719
2,404
1,393
53
32,549
KILOGRAMS
TOTAL
PESOS
Table 23. Estimated Caribbean Gold Production by Region and Decade, 14921555.

57
58
chapter two
Table 24. Estimated Mexican Gold Production by Caja and Decade 15211810
(in Millions of Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds).
DECADE*
MEX SLP DUR GDA GTO ZIM PCA ZAC
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
1.52
2.43
0.81
0.08
0.08
0.05
0.05
0.96
2.27
2.59
2.10 0.75
0.09 2.44
0.04 1.52
0.47 1.25 0.01
0.33 1.43 0.00
0.03 0.99 0.00
0.02 0.96 0.00
0.05 1.12 0.00
0.20 1.08 0.00
0.20 1.26 0.00
0.20 1.12 0.00
0.44 1.01 0.00
0.65 0.80 0.38
0.59 0.58 1.84
0.85 0.72 2.28
1.08 0.96 0.65
0.53 0.43 0.86
1.40 0.25 3.67
2.26 0.18 6.62
22.37 18.85 16.31
0.01
0.06 0.07
0.32 0.18
0.27 0.15
0.18 0.29
0.04 0.10
0.04 0.11
0.14 0.18
0.24 1.41
0.26 2.52
0.39 0.73
1.08 1.09
0.35 1.61
0.42 1.40
0.33 1.61
0.24 2.52
4.37 13.97
0.13
0.66
0.19
0.16
0.09
0.04
0.03
1.30
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.01
0.02
0.12
ROS
0.01
0.05 0.12
0.07 3.09
0.11 1.93
0.03 2.89
0.01 3.28
0.28 11.31
CHI TOTAL
0.01
0.18
0.96
1.15
1.52
2.43
0.81
0.08
0.08
0.05
0.05
0.96
2.27
2.59
2.85
2.53
1.56
1.74
1.89
1.52
1.40
1.64
1.42
1.61
1.64
3.10
4.77
4.82
6.39
7.98
5.80
10.41
16.12
90.03
Caja key: MEX = Mexico, DUR = Durango, ZAC = Zacatecas, SLP = San Luis Potos, GDA = Guadalajara,
GTO = Guanajuato, ZIM = Zimapan, PCA = Pachuca, ROS = Rosario, CHI = Chihuahua.
* From 1700 through 1794 production registered in the Caja de Mexico is estimated at 14 percent of
the total reported in the caja de Mexico accounts.
59
Table 25. Estimated Mexican Gold Production by Caja and Decade 15211810
(in Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE* MEX DUR ZAC SLP
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
2,358
3,769
1,256
124
124
78
82
1,483
3,526
4,010
3,260
143
65
724
517
49
38
274
307
317
306
687
1,001
910
1,312
1,649
798
2,079
3,340
34,586
6
0
0
0
0
11
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
584
2,859
3,529
1,000
1,289
5,428
9,797
24,503
GDA
GTO
ZIM PCA ROS
CHI TOTAL
3
0
0 1,168
0 3,781
0 2,358
4
0 1,936
16
0 2,215
98
113
2 1,532 503
286
0 1,494 422
232
0 1,736 273
457
0 1,677
66
162
0 1,955
58
168
0 1,736 224
284
5
5 1,561 370 2,182
6
5
7 1,243 404 3,911 209 52
18
904 605 1,136 1,024 37
73 1,117 1,675 1,695 294 22
180
106 1,468 537 2,461 239 21 4,739
171
650 634 2,111 134 32 2,901
18
48
372 490 2,384
60 18 4,279 264
20
264 357 3,727
45 27 4,849 1,417
453 29,167 6,736 21,309 2,011 219 16,948 1,699
2,358
3,769
1,256
124
124
78
82
1,483
3,535
4,010
4,428
3,924
2,427
2,687
2,943
2,372
2,186
2,740
2,212
2,498
2,555
4,816
7,411
7,493
9,897
12,220
8,738
15,422
23,843
137,631
Caja key: MEX = Mexico, DUR = Durango, ZAC = Zacatecas, SLP = San Luis Potos, GDA = Guadalajara, GTO = Guanajuato, ZIM = Zimapan, PCA = Pachuca, ROS = Rosario, CHI = Chihuahua.
* From 17001794 production in the Caja de Mexico is estimated at 14 percent of the total reported
in the accounts.
60
chapter two
Table 26. Estimated New Granadan Gold Production by Decade,

15331810 (in Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE
15331540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
PESOS
1,459,440
1,346,714
3,605,981
4,902,861
5,143,197
4,337,688
8,085,543
8,984,093
7,191,133
5,771,000
2,286,976
5,083,680
4,861,728
2,647,104
2,840,224
4,150,720
3,191,104
3,313,776
4,834,800
5,525,544
6,582,808
9,537,816
11,449,568
13,218,112
14,824,136
18,502,800
22,377,712
23,326,312
209,382,570
KILOGRAMS
2,264
2,089
5,593
7,604
7,977
6,728
12,541
13,934
11,153
8,951
3,548
7,885
7,540
4,105
4,406
6,437
4,950
5,140
7,499
8,570
10,210
14,793
17,759
20,501
22,681
27,869
33,130
34,535
320,392
61
Table 27. Estimated Ecuadorian Gold Production by Decade, 15351810

(in Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
15351540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
165,548
559,457
1,643,302
2,079,903
3,960,401
4,153,591
2,247,546
1,338,261
597,800
1,279,912
409,241
84,331
130,000
150,000
125,000
125,000
218,750
187,500
218,750
92,646
61,764
30,882
1,297,044
1,080,870
1,173,516
2,655,852
3,273,492
617,640
29,957,997
257
868
2,549
3,226
6,143
6,442
3,486
2,076
927
1,985
635
131
202
233
194
194
339
291
339
144
96
48
2,012
1,676
1,789
4,049
4,846
914
46,089
62
chapter two
Table 28. Estimated Upper and Lower Peruvian Gold Production by Caja and Decade,
15311810 (in Millions of Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds).
DECADE LIM* CZO HVA TJO LPZ POT CBY ORO CTO ARQ ARI PNO TOTAL
15311540 5.51
15411550 3.11
15511560 2.28
15611570 0.76
15711580 0.71
15811590 0.19
15911600 0.04
16011610 0.02
16111620 0.00
16211630 0.00
16311640 0.00
16411650 0.00
16511660 0.00
16611670 0.05
16711680 0.04
16811690 0.00
16911700 0.01
17011710 0.04
17111720 0.00
17211730 0.00
17311740 0.00
17411750 0.00
17511760 0.00
17611770 0.78
17711780 2.78
17811790 3.92
17911800 3.11
18011810 1.62
TOTAL
24.97
0.41
0.07
0.04
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.07
0.05
0.05
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.74
0.04
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.04
0.01
0.00
0.02
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.12
0.29
1.13
0.78
2.36
0.07
0.15
0.10
0.04
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.48
1.55
3.83
2.51
8.74
0.02
0.01
0.03
0.03
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.45
1.96
2.37
2.85
7.74
0.14
0.15
0.15
0.19
0.16
0.16
0.11
0.04
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.10
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.02
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.17
0.05
0.26
5.51
3.11
2.28
0.76
0.71
0.64
0.11
0.06
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.05
0.05
0.17
0.36
0.41
0.25
0.22
0.18
0.16
0.12
0.83
3.83
0.07
7.83
0.00
10.61
0.00 0.11 7.92
0.07 0.11 46.17
Caja key: LIM = Lima, CZO = Cuzco, HVA = Huancavelica, TJO = Trujillo, LPZ = La Paz, POT = Potos,
CBY = Carabaya, ORO = Oruro, CTO = Chucuito, ARQ = Arequipa, ARI = Arica, PNO = Puno.
* The decades 15311580 include gold registered at Cuzco (15311580) and Huancavelica (1577
1580).
63
Table 29. Estimated Upper and Lower Peruvian Gold Production by Caja and Decade,
15311810 (in Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE
LIM* CZO HVA LPZ
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
8,541
4,827
3,533
1,183
1,104
299 638
56 105
25
55
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
70
0
65
11
1 109
13
80
66
82
0
20
0
17
0
39
0
1
0
0
1,217
0
4,252
0
5,904
2
4,611
0
2,392
0
38,160 1,159
POT
TJO ORO CBY CTO ARQ ARI PNO TOTAL
65
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
4
0
105
38
13 1
0
226
12
7 0
0
162
43
25 8
0
69
43
14 8
0
5
9
0 9
0
3
0
0 0
0
0
1
0 0
0
0
21
0 0
0
14
0
0 0
0
729
685 178 0
0 2,325 2,944 429 0
0 5,672 3,506 1,674 0
0 3,719 4,227 1,160 0
65 13,031 11,533 3,500 26
212
229 5
229 21
292 0
243 1
255 0
170 0
68 0
0 0
0 0
0 5
0 0
1,698 32
57 97
254
3
80
0 169
391 100 169
8,541
4,827
3,533
1,183
1,104
1,002
161
80
1
0
0
0
2
70
80
267
550
620
404
332
286
257
191
1,299
5,844
11,758
15,725
11,747
69,864
Caja key: LIM = Lima, CZO = Cuzco, HVA = Huancavelica, TJO = Trujillo, LPZ = La Paz, POT = Potos,
CBY = Carabaya, ORO = Oruro, CTO = Chucuito, ARQ = Arequipa, ARI = Arica, PNO = Puno.
* The decades 15311580 for Lima include gold registered at Cuzco (15311580) and Huancavelica
(15771580).
64
chapter two
Table 210. Estimated Chilean Gold Production by Decade 15411810
(in Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
2,000,000
3,000,000
1,025,000
3,142,000
1,000,000
500,000
100,000
46,000
14,600
12,500
212
0
0
0
0
38,472
9,908
121,170
163,942
274,732
457,200
714,162
4,302,088
5,979,920
6,141,488
7,807,896
6,851,271
43,702,561
3,102
4,653
1,590
4,873
1,551
776
155
71
23
19
0
0
0
0
0
60
15
188
254
426
709
1,108
6,673
9,134
9,243
9,137
11,560
65,320
65
Table 211. Estimated Brazilian Gold Production by Decade, 16911810

(in Spanish Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
PESOS
2,789,813
27,898,130
30,021,277
66,611,863
88,929,723
93,765,313
72,005,158
69,587,363
70,792,339
60,953,693
47,571,766
25,474,502
656,400,939
KILOGRAMS
4,327
43,270
46,563
103,315
137,930
145,430
111,680
107,930
107,930
92,930
70,430
37,715
1,009,450
4,327
43,270
43,270
70,385
105,000
112,500
78,750
75,000
75,000
60,000
37,500
3,750
708,752
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
1801
TOTAL
459,738,200
2,789,813
27,898,130
27,898,130
45,380,400
67,698,259
72,533,849
50,773,694
48,355,899
49,193,231
39,354,585
25,329,281
2,532,928
PESOS
194,996
2,378
23,780
23,780
23,780
23,780
23,780
23,780
23,780
23,780
2,378
KGS
127,056,846
1,533,204
15,332,044
15,332,044
15,332,044
15,332,044
15,332,044
15,597,534
15,597,534
16,062,141
1,606,214
PESOS
MATO GROSSO-GOIAS
75,030
915
9,150
9,150
9,150
9,150
9,150
9,150
9,150
9,150
915
KGS
48,888,568
589,942
5,899,420
5,899,420
5,899,420
5,899,420
5,899,420
6,001,574
6,001,574
6,180,344
618,034
PESOS
SAO PAULO-BAHIACEARA
978,778
4,327
43,270
46,563
103,315
137,930
145,430
111,680
107,930
107,930
92,930
70,430
7,043
KGS
635,683,614
2,789,813
27,898,130
30,021,277
66,611,863
88,929,723
93,765,313
72,005,158
69,587,363
70,792,339
60,953,693
47,571,766
4,757,177
PESOS
TOTAL
From Joo Pandia Calgeras, Formao histrica do Brasil (So Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1967), p. 46. For Goias he estimates
13,000 arrobas of 15 kilograms and for Sao Paulo 5,000 arrobas 17201801. For Minas Gerais he makes various estimates for different epochs
in arrobas of fifteen kilograms 17001801.
KGS
DECADE
MINAS GERAIS
Table 212. Estimated Brazilian Gold Production by Region and Decade, 17001801 (in Spanish Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds
and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
66
chapter two
67
Table 213. New World-World Gold Production, 14921810

(by Decade in Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE
14921500
15011510
15111520
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
NW TOT
1,086
12,718
11,177
6,077
17,235
13,535
16,505
13,727
20,175
15,805
18,447
19,780
16,162
15,387
8,126
10,443
10,431
7,351
7,052
9,084
12,966
51,548
57,491
115,170
153,764
168,648
140,243
147,976
159,726
155,179
149,492
122,904
1,685,410
WORLD TOT
% WLD TOT
46,400
58,000
58,000
71,600
71,600
78,350
85,100
68,400
68,400
73,800
73,800
85,200
85,200
83,000
83,000
87,770
87,770
92,600
92,600
107,650
107,650
128,200
128,200
190,800
190,800
246,100
246,100
207,050
207,050
177,900
177,900
177,780
3,743,770
2.34%
21.93%
19.27%
8.49%
24.07%
17.28%
19.39%
20.07%
29.50%
21.42%
25.00%
23.22%
18.97%
18.54%
9.79%
11.90%
11.88%
7.94%
7.62%
8.44%
12.04%
40.21%
44.84%
60.36%
80.59%
68.51%
56.99%
71.47%
77.14%
87.23%
84.03%
69.13%
45.02%
CHAPTER THREE
SILVER, THE ABUNDANT METAL: MEXICO
If the Spanish and Portuguese were seeking gold at the beginning of

the sixteenth century, the Spaniards succeeded immediately in the
Caribbean. The Portuguese, too, found a bountiful supply of the metal
in Brazil, although they only began to exploit the placers in the 1690s.
In early Spanish America, however, the discovery of abundant lodes of
silver, particularly in Mexico, Upper Peru (present-day Bolivia), and
Lower Peru (present-day Peru), constituted a bonanza for the OldWorld colonizers. In Mexico the wealth of the silver mines at Catorce,
Guanajuato, Parral, Real del Monte, and Zacatecas became legendary.
So, too, were those of Upper Peru at Potos, Oruro, and Chucuito.
In Lower Peru the Cerro de Pasco, Hualgayoc and Huallanca near
Trujillo, and Huantajaya near Arica also produced their share of silver, primarily in the eighteenth century. In fact, between 1492 and
1810, total silver output in Spanish America amounted to a staggering 86,000,000 kilograms, or 3,500,000,000 pesos of eight reales (see
Tables 31 and 32).
Silver Mining Methods and Techniques

Native Americans mined silver and gold long before Europeans
arrived in the New World, using methods that the Spanish colonizers often adopted. Ground sluicing for mining gold in New Granada
was a good example. Spaniards found these techniques useful because
native laborers were familiar with them. In general, too, archaeological finds of gold and silver ornaments, jewelry, and ritual pieces reveal
that Native Americans were well skilled at virtually all aspects of metalworking.1 Another good example of Spanish adaptation of native
1
See the first section of Alan K. Craig & Robert C. West, eds., In Quest of Mineral
Wealth: Aboriginal and Colonial Mining and Metallurgy in Spanish America (Baton
Rouge: Louisiana State University, Department of Geography and Anthropology,
70
chapter three
practices occurred in the Potos region of Upper Peru, where Spaniards adopted native methods of refining silver with guayras. These
were smelters about three feet tall shaped like an inverted cone with
holes cut in the sides to allow wind to fan the fire. Indigenous refiners
always placed guayras at sites with a maximum amount of wind. Charcoal or llama dung served as fuel. The crushed ore placed in the guayras was heated, separating the impurities from the silver. Sometimes
they processed it twice to ensure even greater purity. By all accounts
the use of these smelters persisted at Potos throughout the colonial
epoch.2
Unlike gold mining, in which placer mining was the preferred
method, silver extraction during the Spanish colonial epoch was primarily lode or vein mining in shafts dug in the side of hills or mountains. Miners first cut adits (socavones) into these silver-rich sites and
then dug tunnels, which they shored up with timber supports. The
tunnels led from the adits to the richest deposits of silver ore. Wielding iron picks, workers (barreteros) chipped out the ore in chunks and
pieces. Carriers (apiris in the Andes and tenateros in Mexico) toted
the raw ore up ladders to the adits in leather bags until they reached
the surface. Resting places in the adit shafts were built about ten yards
apart. At the surface, laborers, often women, sorted the ore to prepare it for grinding at a stamp mill (ingenio). Human beings, animals,
or water powered these mills with every effort being made to grind
the silver ore as finely as possible. In Peru, mine workers came from
the mita, a forced labor levy drawn from designated villages in the
Andes, but a large pool of hired workers (mingados) grew up also.3 In
Mexico, Spanish miners relied primarily on paid rather than forced
labor. Moreover, in the Andes at Potos and other areas, native mine
workers (kajchas) were allowed entry to the mines on the weekends
to extract whatever ore they could find (or had stashed away during
1994), 5108. The pieces in this section concern various aspects of indigenous American metallurgy and mining in the pre-conquest epoch.
2
See Peter J. Bakewell, Miners of the Red Mountain: Indian Labor in Potos (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1984), 1518.
3
On labor in Upper Peru see Bakewell, Miners; Jeffrey A. Cole, The Potos Mita,
15731700: Compulsory Indian Labor in the Andes (Stanford: Stanford University
Press, 1985); and Enrique Tandeter, Coercion and Market: Silver Mining in Colonial
Potos, 16961806 (Albuquerque: University of Mexico Press, 1993). For Mexico, see
Bakewell, Silver Mining and Society, particularly chapters six to eight.
silver, the abundant metal: mexico
71
the week). Their output was then ground up at small mills (trapiches)
using human labor and then refined in the guayras.4
Silver ore was refined in two wayssmelting and amalgamation. As
already noted, in Upper Peru at Potos refiners used the indigenous
guayra for smelting, but elsewhere in the Andes and in Mexico, Spaniards also built Castilian-style smelters, towers about four to six feet
high and three feet wide with holes in the sides for bellows. Powered
by human or animal energy, bellows kept the fire going as the silver
ore was heated, ridding it of impurities. Smelting, of course, required
large quantities of fuel, which was generally scarce in extremely highaltitude sites such as Potos. Refiners consequently smelted their ores
more frequently in areas where wood and charcoal were plentiful. As
with the guayras, silver ore smelted in the Castilian style had to be
purified further by reheating and cupellation.
Smelting also played a part in the assay and registration of silver
for tax purposes. From the onset of the conquest, Spaniards set up
smelters for refining silver in casas de fundicin or casas de afinacin
situated in seats of caja districts or near rich mining areas. Royal officials established such offices for Caribbean gold miners at Chaparra in
Puerto Rico, at Concepcin de La Vega in Espaola, and at Anserma,
Mariquita, and other sites in New Granada. These casas provided miners a convenient place close to their mines to refine their bullion. A
master silversmith and two royal treasury officials, an accountant (contador) and a treasurer (tesorero), normally supervised the assay and
registry process, well defined by royal laws.5 After officials had finished
registering the silver, the refined bars, weighing about seventy pounds,
were stamped with both the seal of the casa and the fineness of the
silver and returned to the miner. The miner, in turn, could take them
to a mint, if one were nearby, to exchange for coinage;6 sell the ingots
to silver traders (mercaderes de plata), who usually bought the bars at
discounted prices; keep them himself; or send them elsewhere in the
Indies or to Spain.
4
Tandenter, Coercion and Market, 73114. Tandeter views the kajcheo as a means
of attracting laborers for the mine and acquiring the remaining silver from mines that
were nearing exhaustion.
5
See Recopilacin de leyes de los Reynos de las Indias 3 tomos (Madrid: Consejo
de la Hispanidad, 1943). See particularly Libro 4, Ttulo 22; and Libro 8, Ttulo 10,
Leyes 153.
6
On colonial mints, see Chapters five and six.
72
chapter three
Besides smelting ores, Spaniards also used amalgamation as a

method to refine silver, a process which required mercury. In Peru
mercury came from the mines of Huancavelica, in New Spain primarily from shipments from the mines of Almadn in Spain and Idria at
the north end of the Adriatic Sea near present-day Trieste. Introduced
in Mexico in the 1550s and in the Andes twenty years later in the
1570s, amalgamation proved especially useful because it more effectively removed impurities from low- or middle-grade ores. In fact, in
some areas in Mexico, such as San Luis Potos, gold ore was so laced
with antimony that it could only be refined by amalgamation.
Peter Bakewell has described the amalgamation process at Potos in
this way. Mercury and ground silver ore were mixed together in tanks
holding five thousand pounds (fifty quintales), and refiners added salt
and copper sulfate (magistral) to this mixture, which Bakewell calls
the amalgamation soup. They then heated the mixture to speed up
the purification process. When the silver and mercury combined, the
mixture was washed and fashioned into pias (pineapples),7 a mixture
of mercury and silver weighing about a hundred pounds. This mixture, in turn, was heated for about eight hours to convert the mercury
into a gas, which refiners tried to recapture with a hood that fit over
the pia. The hood had a long pipe to carry away the mercuric gases,
which cooled and condensed, making it possible for workers to collect
and reuse at least some of the mercury.8 The ratio (correspondencia) of
mercury expended to silver produced was generally assumed to be one
quintal or hundredweight of mercury to produce one hundred marks
(8,500 pesos) of silver. Since mercury was a state monopoly, treasury
officials could measure sales of mercury to silver miners against the
silver they registered in order to detect fraud.9
In Mexico, Spaniards introduced the patio process for amalgamating silver. This consisted of placing ground silver ore in heaps (mon-
7
The pias were formed by putting the silver-mercury amalgam (pasta) into a
coarse cloth, which was twisted tightly on two poles to squeeze out the mercury. See
Alan K. Craig, Spanish Colonial Silver Coins in the Florida Collection (Gainesville:
University Press of Florida, 2000), 42. Refer also to his excellent diagrams on the
course of mining production from extraction to the mint and the refining process,
4243.
8
Bakewell, Miners, 1730. He also describes the type of equipment needed for the
amalgamation process.
9
For a discussion of the relationship between mercury and silver output, see the
section on availability of mercury at the end of this chapter.
73
tones), adding water, salt, and copper sulfate until it became slimy,
then adding mercury. Laborers spread this slimy pile on a paved patio
into thin sheets called tortas. Workers or animals tread on the tortas
periodically. Occasionally laborers turned over the mixture with shovels. This stage in the process could take two to three months before an
expert determined that the tortas were ready to be placed in vats and
washed with water, which would cause the silver and mercury combination to sink to the bottom of the washing vat. The amalgam of the
two metals was then heated in much the same way as in Potos, again
with all efforts being made to preserve as much mercury as possible
for reuse. The silver-mercury mixture was ultimately fashioned into
pias, as in Potos, and the silver then separated from the mercury and
fashioned into ingots.10
As with gold, the fineness of refined silver varied, and the types of
silver money which circulated in the Indies in coin and bars during the
immediate post-conquest period reflected this disparity. Silver mediums of exchange had generic names such as peso de plata corriente,
plata corriente, plata ensayada, peso de plata enayada y marcada, and
pesos ensayados.11 Plata corriente or pesos de plata corriente referred
to silver circulating of different fineness which had not been assayed.
Pesos ensayados or plata ensayada, on the other hand, signified that
the silver had been assayed and its fineness established by assayers
(ensayadores), a fineness determined in part by the richness of the ore
and the effectiveness of the refining process. Such silver had the seal
of the caja, casa de fundicin, or casa de afinacin and the fineness of
the silver stamped on it, which gave more assurance of the silvers real
value when dealing in plata ensayada or pesos ensayados. Assayers had
at least determined its fineness, which was not the case with plata corriente or pesos de plata corriente. In November 1591, however, Philip
II ordered an end to circulation of plata corriente.12
Attempting to ensure registry and proper silver content, royal
authorities very quickly established a fineness for silver coins minted
in the Indies. Throughout the early colonial period to 1728 in the
10
Bakewell, Zacatecas, 140149.

The use of the term peso ensayado in Peru meant a value of 450 maraveds until
the peso ensayado was phased out in the mid-eighteenth century and the peso of eight
reales became the standard monetary unit. Manuel Moreyra Paz Soldn, Moneda colonial, 7585.
12
Recopilacin, Libro 4, Ttulo 24, Ley 2.
11
74
chapter three
Indies, silver pesos of eight reales, the standard medium of exchange

in the New World, weighed 27.468 grams and contained 25.561 grams
of pure silver established at 11 dineros 4 granos,13 a tolerance allowed
of 930.555 milsimos (93.055 percent). From 1728 to the end of the
colonial epoch, royal law set the weight of a piece of eight at 27.064
grams. Fineness was reduced in 1728, however, to 11 dineros or 24.809
grams of fine silver with a new tolerance of 916.667 milsimos (91.667
percent). For a short period from 1772 to 1786 royal authorities lowered silver content even more to 10 dineros 20 granos, 24.433 grams
of fine silver because of a new tolerance of 902.777 milsimos (90.278
percent). From 1786 to 1825, silver content was further reduced to 10
dineros 18 granos or 24.245 grams of fine silver with a tolerance of
895.832 milsimos (89.582 percent). In the eighteenth century, therefore, the silver content of a piece of eight was gradually reduced by a
total of about 5 percent. In making the changes, Spanish authorities
attempted to keep news of the debasements secret, but to no avail;
word spread quickly of the lesser silver content.
Trends in New World Silver Output

Although Spaniards mined some silver in Central America, Mexico,
and Peru in the first four decades of the sixteenth century,14 the silver
age in the Indies did not begin until the 1540s when silver replaced
gold as the precious metal of greater abundance.15 In Mexico, for
example, miners produced only a very modest amount of silver from
the time of the conquest to the 1540s2,500,000 pesos,16 but a steep
rise occurred in the 1540s and after, particularly with the discovery of
silver lodes in the north in the Zacatecas area. In Peru, output began
slowly in the 1530s with production of 15,100,000 pesos, but increased
13
Granos, tmines, ochavas, onzas, and marcos were used for measuring silver content. One grano equaled 0.04992 grams, 1 tmin (12 granos) 0.59908 grams, 1 ochava
(72 granos) 3.59448 grams, 1 onza (576 granos) 28.75881 grams, and 1 marco (4.608
granos) 230.04650 grams. See Moreyra Paz Soldn, Moneda colonial, 58.
14
For Central America, see Robert C. West, The Mining Economy of Honduras
during the Colonial Period, in Actas del XXXIII Congreso Internacional de Americanistas tomo II (San Jos, Costa Rica: Editorial Lehmann, 1958): 767777.
15
See Chapter one, Figure 12.
16
All values are expressed in pesos of 272 maraveds. The tables also contain the
equivalent in kilograms.
75
through the end of the century, except for a slight dip in the 1560s. For
Peru, the silver strikes in 1545 at the Red Mountain, the Cerro Rico de
Potos, produced the dramatic upsurge in silver output.
The general trajectory of early New World silver output (see Tables
31 and 32 and Figures 31 and 32) consisted of a rise from about
7,550,000 pesos in the 1530s to almost 128,600,000 pesos in the 1630s,
a century later, the peak decade in New World silver output since the
onset of production in the sixteenth century. A drop occurred in the
next decade, however, to a bit over 102,830,000 pesos and remained in
that range until the end of the seventeenth century.
Over the seventeenth century, output in Peru, although dropping
after the peak decade of the 1630s, sustained these fairly high levels of
production, while Mexican output lagged somewhat until the 1670s.
In that decade, Mexican production surpassed that of Peru for the first
time, and Mexico remained the more prolific producer to the end of
the colonial epoch. Somewhat of a surprise in New World output was
the 109,850,000 pesos produced in the 1680s, a good decade for gold
and silver mining in most areas of the Indies.
Several factors influenced production trends for New World silver
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Most important for the
periods of increase was the introduction of the amalgamation process
in Mexico in the 1550s and in Peru in the 1570s. In both instances, output almost doubled from the previous decade. In Peru, the Spaniards
250
200
150
100
50
By Decade 1661 = 16611670
Figure 31. New World Silver Output, 15211810, in pesos
01
18
81
17
61
41
21
17
17
17
01
17
81
16
41
61
16
16
21
16
01
16
81
61
15
41
15
15
21
0
15
Millions of Pesos of 272 Maraveds
300
76
chapter three
Kilograms of Fine Silver
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
01
81
61
18
17
21
41
17
17
01
17
61
81
17
16
41
21
16
16
01
16
16
61
41
21
81
15
15
15
15
15
01
By Decade 1651 = 16511660
Figure 32. New World Silver Output, 15211810, in kilograms
had the good fortune to discover the mercury mine at Huancavelica

in 1563, which provided the quicksilver for the amalgamation process
once it was introduced in the 1570s, another reason for the rapid rise
in production in Upper Peru. New discoveries of ore deposits also fed
the upward trend in silver yields to 1650. These new strikes in Mexico
and Peru in many cases made up for the exhaustion of the exceedingly
rich ores in mines exploited in the immediate post-conquest period.
On the other hand, the drop in the labor supply available to work the
mines contributed to the decades of decline in the seventeenth century, although labor scarcity probably did not cause the drop in output. Availability of good ores and mercury were likely more crucial.
During the first decade of the eighteenth century, production was
78,250,000 pesos, a low point in New World output since the 1580s.
Production rose thereafter to more than 290,000,000 pesos in the last
decade of the century, a tripling of silver output during this ninetyyear period. The 1760s witnessed a small decrease over the previous
decade to 166,720,000 pesos, but the 1770s brought a new upsurge.
A steeper rise occurred between the 1780s and the last decade of the
century from 242,000,000 pesos to over 289,940,000 pesos. The first
ten years of the nineteenth century witnessed a very modest decrease
in New World yields largely because of a production drop in Peru,
but Mexican silver output in that decade was the largest in its history
under Spanish rule.
Multiple factors led to this tripling in silver output over the eighteenth century. One of these was the use of blasting with explosives
77
both to open up new lodes and to drain mine tunnels filled with water,
making older veins accessible once again. Mercury from Almadn and
Idria was plentiful in Mexico until the beginning of the nineteenth
century, and a few improvements at Huancavelica helped to keep up
supplies for miners in Upper and Lower Peru, although it was more significant that Spanish authorities ordered shipments of Almadn mercury to the region in the 1750s to provide another source for Peruvian
miners and refiners. Moreover, authorities selectively reduced prices
for mercury. New silver discoveries also swelled production. Bolaos,
Zimapn, Rosario, and Chihuahua in Mexico became sites for new
treasury districts, and Hualgayoc and the revival of the Huantajaya
mines in Peru added to output in Lower Peru.17 The native population, too, had recovered from the deadly effects of European diseases,
providing more labor both to develop new mines and to refurbish old
ones. In Mexico City and Lima, royal authorities established mining
tribunals (reales tribunales de minera) to encourage mining production and to provide information on new techniques for extracting and
refining silver, further stimulating the mining industry in the two most
productive silver regions of the Spanish empire. In Mexico, at least, a
burgeoning economy provided funds for investing in mining projects
as new entrepreneurs entered the mining business. Basque immigrants,
for example, played a major role in the eighteenth-century revival of
the Zacatecas mines.18 In Peru in 1736, a royal decree lowered the tax
on silver from a fifth (quinto) to a tenth (diezmo), further stimulating
Andean output.
For Spanish America, the most outstanding attribute of silver production patterns in the New World during the colonial epoch was the
overwhelming dominance of Mexico and Peru; these two regions produced 99 percent of the total New World output (see Table 32 and
Figure 33). Mexican yields were 1,968,000,000 pesos or 57 percent of
17
For Hualgayoc, see Scarlett OPhelan Godoy, Vivir y morir en el mineral de
Hualgayoc, Jahrbuch fr Geschichte von Staat, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Lateinamerikas 30 (1993): 75127; and for Huantajaya, see Kendall W. Brown and Alan
Craig, Silver Mining at Huantajaya, Viceroyalty of Peru, in Craig and West, eds., In
Quest of Mineral Wealth, 303327.
18
See Richard L. Garner, Silver Production and Entrepreneurial Structure in
18th-Century Mexico, Jahrbuch fr Geschichte von Staat, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft
Lateinamerikas 17 (1980): 157185; and Brading, Mexican Silver Mining, 665681.
78
chapter three
In Thousands of Kilograms of Fine Silver
PERU
35,902 = 42%
*OTHER
1,000 = 1%
MEXICO
49,089 = 57%
*Includes silver registered in Central America, New Granada, Chile and the Rio de la Plata
Figure 33. New World Silver Output by Region, 15011810
all silver extracted in the Indies from 1492 to 1810. During the colonial
epoch to 1810, Upper and Lower Peru produced 1,424,390,000 pesos,
42 percent of New World output during the colonial period. Of Peruvian production, Upper Perus amounted to 80 percent of the total
1,138,800,000 pesos; the remaining 20 percent, 85,590,000 pesos came
out of Lower Peru, mainly in the eighteenth century. Thus, together,
Upper and Lower Peru and Mexico produced 99 percent of New
World silver. Some silver mining occurred also in Central America,
New Granada, Chile, and the Ro de la Plata, but registries in these
regions totaled only 40,000,000 pesos combined, constituting a mere
1 percent of total New World silver output during the colonial epoch.
Gold-rich Brazil produced virtually no silver, despite the hope of the
Portuguese of finding the metal in Sabarbuss, the shining mountain, a fond expectation never realized.19
19
Boxer, Golden Age of Brazil, 29, 36.
79

Before analyzing the long-term trends and patterns in Mexican silver
production, a brief discussion is needed of the sources and methods
used to produce those data. The Mexican cartas cuentas (summaries of
the treasury accounts), useable for determining silver registries in New
Spain, are virtually complete from the latter part of the sixteenth century, particularly for the Zacatecas area and the treasury of Mexico.20
The only caveat is that a fire raged through the Contadura section of
the Archive of the Indies in the early part of the twentieth century,
causing considerable fire and water damage. With these problems facing them, Professor Jos Hernndez Palomo of the Escuela de Estudos
Hispanoamericanos in Sevilla and his wife, Mariluz, worked through
the charred and water-stained documents to salvage the information
from the accounts for the caja of Mexico. To my knowledge, these
accounts are no longer available to investigators. Nonetheless, particularly rich accounts for Mexican silver-producing areas such as Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Bolaos, Pachuca, Sombrerete, and Guadalajara are
accessible. The silver tax registries for the caja of Mxico present some
problems because of changes in the accounting system in 1724 and
again in 1796, but adjustments have been made as indicated in the
account tables for that treasury. Where there were tiny gaps of two or
three years, I have simply created averages. For longer periods I have
used ascending or descending averages, depending upon the trend in
the caja accounts.
The major problem for determining production in New Spain arises
for the early period, from the conquest to 1570. Fortunately, a number of scholars have given their attention to these early years. Among
them is Robert C. West, who made so many contributions to the study
of mining in the New Kingdom of Granada.21 Professor West generously supplied me with notes on silver registries at Mexico City in
the mid-sixteenth century, notes he had made during a research stint
many years ago in Mexico. These notes provided solid benchmarks
for the early post-conquest epoch. In addition Peter Bakewells book
20
See the accounts compiled by TePaske and Klein, Ingresos y egresos. Volume one
contains the accounts for Acapulco to Mrida and Volume two contains those for
Mxico to Zimapn.
21
Robert C. West, Early Silver Mining in New Spain, 15311555, in Craig and
West, eds., In Quest of Mineral Wealth, 119135.
80
chapter three
on mining in Zacatecas lays out figures for the early years of that caja
not included in the accounts. Other sources also proved useful, including Adam Szasdis long article and Clarence Harings early twentiethcentury contributions.22 These estimates for the early years of silver
production in Mexico are thus educated ones based on West, Haring,
and Szasdi, plus whatever could be gleaned from other sources.
The tables present data regarding silver output both in pesos of 272
maraveds and in kilograms of fine silver and were generated in the
following way. The silver declarations were multiplied by the proper
factor to indicate the actual silver registered, with the cobos subtracted
before the fifth or tenth were assessed. These multipliers were 8.10572
for 1.5 percent and a diezmo of silver and 4.71698 for 1.5 percent and
a quinto of silver. The multipliers for declarations of 1 percent and
quinto de plata and 1 percent and diezmos de plata were 4.7069231
and 9.173193 respectively. To convert pesos of 272 maraveds to kilograms of fine silver, I multiplied the pesos produced by a factor of
0.025561 to obtain kilograms of fine silver through 1728; by 0.024809
to obtain kilograms of fine silver from 1729 to 1772; by 0.024433 to
obtain kilograms of fine silver from 1773 to 1786; and by 0.024245
to obtain kilograms of fine silver from 1787 to the end of the colonial period. I also multiplied pesos produced by the tolerance levels
allowed by the state: 0.930555 through 1728, 0.916666 through 1772,
0.902777 through 1786, and 0.895832 to the end of the colonial epoch,
validating the transformation of silver pesos to kilograms of fine silver
made by using the other multipliers.
The sources for mercury availability and mercury shipments to
Mexico are noted in Table 319. I have also checked mercury shipment figures in appropriate sections of the Archivo General de Indias
in Sevilla.
Long-Range Patterns of Mexican Silver Output

Not surprisingly, since Mexico produced 57 percent of New World
silver in the colonial epoch, its production trends mirrored those for
the New World in general. Silver output in New Spain (see Tables 33
22
Adam Szasdi, Preliminary Estimates, 151223; Haring, American Gold and
Silver Production; and Haring, Trade and Navigation, 332335.
81
250
200
150
100
50
81
01
18
61
17
17
41
17
01
81
21
17
17
16
61
16
41
01
21
16
16
16
81
15
41
61
15
15
15
21
By Decade 1661 = 16611670
Figure 34. Mexican Silver Output, 15211810, in pesos
and 34 and Figures 34 and 35) began slowly in the two decades
following the conquest300,000 pesos in the 1520s and a bit over
2,240,000 pesos in the following decade, but then output accelerated
rapidly, quintupling in the 1540s to 10,600,000 pesos, and almost
doubling that in the 1550s because of new strikes in Zacatecas and
Pachuca and introduction of the amalgamation process. In the 1560s,
it reached close to 34,340,000 pesos. In fact, by the 1570s, Mexicos
output was a little over 39,220,000 pesos, dropping about 10 percent
in the 1580s to a little less than 34,340,000 pesos, but rising once again
to over 41,700,000 pesos in the 1590s, remaining in that range through
the 1630s, buoyed by production in Durango and San Luis Potos. In
the 1640s, however, silver yields dropped for the first time since the
1580s to about 33,0000,000 pesos, staying close to that level for the
next two decades until the 1670s when output rose once again to over
51,870,000 pesos and the 1680s when it amounted to 58,500,000 pesos
in a slight resurgence. Silver yields in the last decade of the seventeenth century and first decade of the eighteenth, however, were close
to 50,000,000 pesos. This mild resurgence was caused in part by the
greater availability of labor for the mines and the creation of treasury
districts at Guanajuato, Pachuca, and Sombrerete that made assay and
registry more convenient for miners.23
23
For an excellent analysis of factors affecting Mexican output, see Garner, LongTerm Silver Mining Trends, 898935.
82
chapter three
DURANGO
5,922 = 14%
GUADALAJARA
3,822 = 9%
SAN LUIS POTOSI

4,303 = 10%
ZACATECAS
10,096 = 23%
GUANAJUATO
8,474 = 19%
PACHUCA
2,639 = 6%
MEXICO
3,703 = 8%
ROSARIO
1,090 = 2%
BOLANOS
1,124 = 3%
ZIMAPAN
848 = 2%
SOMBRERETE
1,802 = 4%
*Does not include silver registered in Veracruz and Chihuahua
Figure 35. Mexican Silver Production by Caja District, 15211810,

in kilograms
Beginning in the second decade of the eighteenth century, Mexican

silver output rose, steadily at first from close to 64,690,000 pesos in the
1710s to almost 119,000,000 pesos in the 1750s. A slight reverse in this
trend came in the 1760s with a decrease to 107,000,000 pesos, but then
output increased dramatically until the outbreak of the insurgency for
independence in 1810. In fact, in the first decade of the nineteenth
century, Mexico was producing almost 200,000,000 pesos, more than
at any time in its colonial history.
In summary, silver production in Mexico in the sixteenth century
was marked by a steady rise after the turmoil of the conquest ended,
peaking in the second decade of the next century. In the seventeenth
century output was more cyclical, dropping in the middle decades but
recovering in the 1670s and 1680s. Mexico sustained these levels fairly
well, and then in the 1710s output began rising steadily until the end
of the colonial epoch when the steepest increases occurred for reasons
already citedimproved blasting techniques, a more plentiful supply
of labor, encouragement of mining by the Royal Mining Tribunal in
Mexico, abundant supplies of mercury at reduced prices from Almadn and Idria, and an improvement in economic conditions in New
Spain that stimulated investment in mining ventures. The creation of
83
new treasury districts at Zimapn (1729), Bolaos (1753), Rosario/Alamos/Cosal (1770), and Chihuahua (1785), and silver exchange banks
at San Luis Potos (1790), Pachuca and Zacatecas (1791), Sombrerete
(1792), Guanajuato and Zimapn (1799), and at Chihuahua, Cosal,
and Durango (1808) also made it easier for miners in these areas to
register and assay their silver.24
Mexican Silver-Mining Trends by Treasury District

As did most areas in the Spanish empire that produced precious metals, each region had its own particular rhythms depending upon the
factors already mentioned. Fortunately royal treasury accounts provide the evidence of silver registries for virtually all major mining areas
of New Spain so that output and rhythms for every mining district of
Mexico can be determined with reasonable exactitude. Also included
in the tables are output in pesos and kilograms by caja for each decade.
For the entire colonial epoch, the various cajas of New Spain registered almost 2,000,000,000 pesos of silver. Of this massive amount
(see Tables 33 and 34 and Figure 35), the output at Zacatecas
(15591810) constituted 21 percent, 401,400,000 pesos, while silver
registered at the caja of Mexico (15211810) amounted to 18 percent,
nearly 344,900,000 pesos. As for other mining regions, Guanajuato
produced 52,350,000 pesos for 17 percent (16651810); Durango produced 237,080,000 pesos and 12 percent (15991810); San Luis Potos
produced 174,020,000 pesos and 9 percent (16281810); Guadalajara
produced 52,350,000 pesos and 8 percent (15681810); Pachuca produced 105,750,000 pesos and 5 percent (16671810); Sombrerete
produced 72,750,000 pesos for 4 percent (16831810); Zimapn produced 32,660,000 pesos and 2 percent (17291810); Bolaos produced
45,000,000 pesos and 2 percent (17531804); and Rosario produced
44,880,000 pesos and 2 percent (17701810). Small amounts were also
registered in Veracruz (17681800) and Chihuahua, worth 1,250,000
and 9,760,000 pesos respectively.
In some respects, these figures are deceiving because they belie the
richness of mines coming into production in the seventeenth and
24
See Pilar Mariscal Romero, Los bancos de rescate de platas (Sevilla: Banco de
Espaa and Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos, 1964).
84
chapter three
eighteenth centuries. The Mexico and Zacatecas treasury offices registered the highest percentage of silver in part because they began
operations in the sixteenth century. Average output per annum in the
Mexico treasury district from 1521 to 1810 was 1,189,310 pesos, and
in Zacatecas from 1559 to 1810 it was 1,592,857 pesos. The Guanajuato caja, which accounted for 17 percent overall (compared to 21
percent for Zacatecas and 18 for Mexico), had a higher annual output
of 2,353,493 pesos or about one and a half times greater than Zacatecas, once the caja opened there in 1665. Prior to that time, Guanajuato silver was registered in Mexico City. Only the treasury office
at Potos in the Andes outstripped the average annual output of the
Guanajuato caja and that regions marvelously rich mines. For other
cajas, the average per annum production figures were 1,065,384 pesos
in Guadalajara; 1,118,301 pesos in Durango; 950,928 pesos in San Luis
Potos; 734,375 pesos in Pachuca; 586,693 pesos in Sombrerete; 42,295
pesos in Zimapn; 78,620 pesos in Bolaos; and 42,195 pesos in Chihuahua. Rosarios per annum output was also surprisingly large. In its
forty-one years of registry to 1810, mines in the district produced an
annual average of 1,094,634 pesos, production levels which surpassed
average annual output at Guadalajara, San Luis Potos, Pachuca, Sombrerete, Bolaos, and Chihuahua.
Caja of Mexico (15211810)

In the immediate post-conquest period, Mexico City (Mxico), situated on the site of the former Aztec capital of Tenochtitln, was the
only place in New Spain with a royal caja and casa de fundicin,
and, after 1535, mint facilities. All silver miners in Mexico thus had
to have their ore assayed and registered in Mexico City, until 1559
when Zacatecas finally had its own caja and smelters. Once mint facilities opened in Mexico City in 1535, miners could also exchange their
assayed silver for coins. For several decades, the treasury of Mexico
consequently exercised a monopoly over the refining and assaying of
silver, registering 100 percent of legal silver output in the viceroyalty
until 1560.25 After 1560, because of the addition of new royal treasury
25
The registries for the casa de fundicin in Mexico were provided by Robert C.
West, who generously shared with me his notes on these registries at the casa from
the 1520s to the 1550s.
85
districts, the Mexican cajas share of total registries dropped rapidly

to only about 20 percent in the seventeenth century and 10 percent
in the eighteenth, a far cry from its monopoly share in the immediate
post-conquest epoch.
Immediately after the conquest ended in 1521, Spaniards began
mining silver in areas near the new viceregal capital, named Mxico
(Mexico City). Several of these mining operations were in the so-called
Provincia de la Plata on the southern escarpment of the central part
of Mexico, first at Acamista, Amatepec, Sultepec, and Taxco, but also
farther south at Zumpango del Ro in the Balsas River basin. They also
exploited silver mines at Morcillo in Jalisco as early as 1525 and at
Espritu Santo near Compostela. In the 1540s, silver miners exploited
silver deposits in the Provincia in Tejupilco, Temascaltepec, and
Zacualpa. Hernn Corts reportedly had interest in twenty mines in
the Provincia.26 Virtually all registries of silver output in the caja of
Mexico were by miners working these mines, at least to the late 1540s.
From the 1550s, miners also came to Mexico City from Guanajuato,
San Luis Potos, Zimapn, and Pachuca to register their silver and did
so until the establishment of cajas in their own districts.
Passage of the years brought additional silver discoveries, and by
the mid-1760s, fifty-eight reales de minas registered silver in the
Mexican caja. Of these fifty-eight, miners from Sultepec, Taxco, Tejupilco, Temascaltepec, and Zacualpa were still coming to Mexico City.
Between 1761 and 1767, Taxco, with 2,648,346 pesos, was the most
productive real de minas, while Temascaltepecs output in the same
period was 1,076,870 pesos, Sultepecs 834,764 pesos, and Zacualpas
187,266 pesos, sound evidence that these mines were still productive
after more than two centuries of exploitation. Tejupilcos output, on
the other hand, was a miniscule 2,000 pesos, indicating that its silver
mines were barely producing.
Furthermore, new strikes occurred in the Mexico treasury district
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to compensate for
those mines which been exhausted, such as Acamista, Amatapec, and
Zumpango del Ro. From 1761 through 1767, for example, (see Table
36) twelve of the fifty-eight reales de minas in the district, including Sultepec, Temascaltepec, and Zacualpa, registered more than
one hundred thousand pesos. Chontalpa produced 1,212,775 pesos;
26
See Robert C. West, Early Silver Mining in New Spain, 119136.
86
chapter three
Tlapuxagua, 104,014 pesos; Tehuiltepec, 486,085 pesos; Cucurucupasco, 248,774 pesos; Tetela de Xonotla, 258,774 pesos; Ozumatln,
168,871 pesos; and San Luis de la Paz, 117,987 pesos. Forty-six other
reales de minas, including Tejulpico, reported less than one hundred
thousand pesos. Most were below thirty thousand pesos, but many
declared three thousand pesos or less, indicating the continuing existence of small-scale mining in the district.27
Silver output reported by the caja of Mexico increased slowly at first
(see Table 35 and Figure 36). From a small beginning of close to
300,000 pesos in the 1520s, and another increase to 2,240,000 pesos in
the 1530s, silver output almost quintupled in the 1540s to 10,600,000
pesos. By the 1550s and 1560s, registries were well over seventeen million and eighteen and one-half million pesos respectively, rising to a
peak of almost thirty-one million pesos in the first decade of the seventeenth century, but dropping gradually after that. In the 1670s, in
fact, registries fell to a little more than two million pesos, a new low
in silver declarations since the 1520s.
The steep reduction in the caja of Mexicos registries can be attributed to the addition of new treasury districts throughout New Spainin
Zacatecas by 1559, Guadalajara by 1568, Durango by 1599, in San Luis
Potos in 1628, Guanajuato in 1665, Pachuca in 1667, and Sombrerete
in 1683.28 Since miners from these areas could assay and register their
silver closer to the point of production, they had no need to go to
Mexico City to do so. The obvious result was a decline in silver-tax
registries in the caja of Mexico from its peak in the first decade of the
seventeenth century of almost 31,000,000 pesos to the low point in
the 1670s of barely more than two million pesos. In fact, the caja of
Mexico continued reporting silver output in the range of two to three
million pesos until the 1730s when registries again increased, slowly
at first, but more rapidly after 1770 to the highest point ever for the
eighteenth century in the 1790sover twenty-one million pesos. That
27
Hausberger, Nueva Espaa, Appendices 26,153307. The author lists the miners who registered their silver in the various cajas for the period 17611767, and the
reales de minas and the cajas in New Spain where they registered silver output. See
particularly 171.
28
The dates for the formal establishment of these cajas of New Spain is based on
the appearance of the first royal accounts for these districts. The dates for the cajas
of San Luis Potos, Guanajuato, Pachuca, and Sombrerete, however, have been firmly
established from the internal evidence in the accounts.
87
35,000,000
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
18
01
81
17
61
17
41
17
21
17
01
17
81
16
61
16
41
16
21
16
01
16
81
15
61
15
41
15
21
0
15
Pesos of 272 Maraveds
30,000,000
By Decade 1671= 16711680
Figure 36. Mexico (Caja) Silver Output, 15211810, in pesos
represented 11 percent of total Mexican output, its largest share of

Mexican production per decade since the 1650s.
Caja of Zacatecas (15591810)

Located on the royal road (El Camino Real) about 350 miles northwest
of Mexico City, Zacatecas was founded by Spaniards in 1548 as Nuestra Seora de los Remedios de Zacatecas.29 Located in a semi-desert
region, the town immediately became the focus of Mexican silver production. Its treasury office registered more silver during the colonial
epoch than any other mining caja in Mexico401,406,000 pesos, 21
percent of the Mexican total. Mining camps bringing silver to Zacatecas for registry, all designated as reales de minas, included those of
Chalchuihites, Charcas, Fresnillo (1553), Mazapil (1553), Nieves,
Pnuco, Ramos, Sierra de Pinos, and Sombrerete, among others. Of
the eight reales de minas registering silver in the Zacatecas caja in the
29
An outstanding work on Zacatecas mining, economy, and society before 1700 is
Bakewell, Zacatecas.
88
chapter three
mid-1760s, those declaring more than one hundred thousand pesos

(see Table 36) were Zacatecas with 5,629,262 pesos, Mazapil with
957,083 pesos, and Fresnillo with 9,386,572 pesos. Five other reales de
minas reported less than twenty-five thousand pesos.30
Until 1730 the Zacatecas share of total Mexican silver production
ranged from one-third to one-quarter, testifying to its importance
as the major Mexican producer until the early eighteenth century.
Although Zacatecas output as a part of the Mexican total dropped to
a low point of less than 10 percent in the 1760s, by the first decade of
the nineteenth century it had climbed again to almost 14 percent.
Silver registries in Zacatecas had no discernible long-term upward
or downward trend throughout the colonial period but ebbed and
flowed cyclically (see Table 37 and Figure 37). In its first full decade
of registries (the 1560s), output at Zacatecas was almost 11,370,000
pesos, which rose a bit the next decade, but dropped through the 1590s
to about 9,860,000 pesos. From 1600 to 1620, production rose once
again, but in the 1640s, it decreased to 11,040,000 pesos and remained
at that level through the 1660s. Surprisingly, however, production
30,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
51
15
61
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
16
11
16
21
16
31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
0
15
25,000,000
By Decade 1681 = 16811690
Figure 37. Zacatecas Silver Output, 15591810, in pesos
30
Hausberger, Nueva Espaa, 171.
89
doubled in the 1670s to almost 21,450,000 pesos, the most productive

decade in Zacatecas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
After that peak, however, registries in the period from 1681 to 1710
lessened to roughly 13,500,000 pesos.
A resurgence of silver mining occurred in Zacatecas in the 1720s
and 1730s20,570,000 pesos and 21,200,000 pesos respectively, but
dropped in the 1740s to 16,420,000 pesos. In the 1750s, yields decreased
a bit more to 14,970,000 pesos and to 10,500,000 pesos in the 1760s, an
all-time low in Zacatecas silver output. From this nadir to the onset of
the wars of independence, however, the Zacatecas mines revived very
quickly, with production in that epoch at an all-time high in the last
two decades of Spanish rule23,100,000 pesos in the 1790s and over
27,730,000 pesos in the first decade of the nineteenth century.
The swings in Zacatecan silver output had various causes. In 1683,
for example, nearby Sombrerete became a caja, allowing miners from
that region, whose ores were initially very rich in silver content, to
report their yields at Sombrerete, taking away considerable sums that
had previously been reported in Zacatecas and accounting for the sharp
drop between the 1680s and the 1690s. Moreover, many of the mines
in and around Zacatecas were exhausted or could not be exploited
because of flooding, explaining the drops in output from the 1730s
through the 1760s. In fact, in 1767 there were only five mills and two
furnaces in operation at Zacatecas.31
David Brading and Richard Garner, two experts on colonial Mexican mining, have explained the reasons for the late eighteenth-century
silver boom in Zacatecas.32 They point to the large investments made
for reviving the mines; the formation of mining companies such as
those of Veta Grande and Quebradilla; the entrepreneurship of Jos
de la Borda, a rich miner from Taxco to the south with technological
expertise; the reduction in mercury prices; and tax rebates for those
miners registering silver in Zacatecas. In Garners view, new miners
and new investors such as de la Borda showed amazing resiliency and
brought their expertise with them to refurbish and drain old mines
and to seek out new ones. The result was the increased silver production in Zacatecas at the end of the eighteenth century and beginning
of the nineteenth.
31
32
Brading, Mexican Silver Mining, 669.

See Chapter one, note twenty-one.
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chapter three
Caja of Guadalajara (15681810)
Located about 375 miles west of Mexico City, Guadalajara ranked as

the major city of west-central Mexico. It was more of a diversified market, religious, and administrative center than a mining camp. Whereas
Zacatecas almost entirely depended upon silver mining, Guadalajara
was capital of Nueva Galicia, the seat of the Audiencia of Guadalajara
(Nueva Galicia) and a royal treasury, a diocesan center with its own
bishop, and a regional market place. Still, over the colonial period,
treasury officials of Guadalajara registered over 152,350,000 pesos of
silver, 8 percent of total Mexican output.
Unlike Bolaos, Guanajuato, Pachuca, Sombrerete, Zacatecas, and
Zimapn, all dominated by a few rich mines, Guadalajara was a treasury which registered silver for a large number of small- and medium-sized producers. In the mid-1760s, miners from forty-six reales
de minas declared their silver at the Guadalajara treasury (see Table
36). Only the real de minas of Alamos registered more than one million pesos1,566,567 pesos. Pnuco of Sinaloa was the second most
important producer, declaring 851,616 pesos, while Jora (Xora) registered 750,028 pesos, Guachinango registered 764,042 pesos, Izatln
registered 582,001 pesos, Tenamachi registered 516,809 pesos, Rosario
registered 430,704 pesos, and Palo Blanco registered 326,832 pesos.
Two others, the Real de las Plomosas and San Pedro de Analco, were
both within the two hundred thousand-peso range, and the others
Ostotipaquillo, San Joaqun, San Sebastin, Santa Ana, Santa Cruz de
los Flores, and Sinaloawere in a range between one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand pesos. Thirty reales de minas registered below one hundred thousand pesos, again evidence of the large
number of small- and medium-sized producers in the Guadalajara
treasury district.33
Silver output in Guadalajara had a unique trajectory, differing from
most cajas of New Spain (see Table 38 and Figure 38). In its first three
years of registering silver, 1568 to 1570, yields were large4,530,000
pesos, rising to 5,780,000 pesos in the next decade. Production dropped
by two-thirds in the 1580s, however, to 1,980,000 pesos and remained
below that level through the 1640s, except for the 1620s when output
33
91
12,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
0
15
61
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
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11
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31
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01
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31
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17
51
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17
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17
81
17
91
18
01
10,000,000
By Decade 1681 = 16811690
Figure 38. Guadalajara Silver Output, 15681810, in pesos
reached 4,050,000 pesos. In the 1650s, however, it rose once again to

4,910,000 pesos, and in the 1660s, it rose to 6,030,000 pesos. In fact,
for the next hundred and ten years, silver production in Guadalajara
stayed consistently between six million and seven and one-half million pesos. In the 1760sa bad ten years in most cajas but evidently
not for Guadalajaraproduction increased to 11,260,000 pesos and in
the 1770s to 11,630,000 pesos, the two most productive decades for
silver output in Guadalajaras colonial history. Yields dropped a bit
after that but never fell below eight million pesos, despite the creation
of a caja in Rosario in 1770. Small- and medium-sized producers in
the Guadalajara district remained active. A consistent silver producer,
Guadalajara had a share of total Mexican output that was never more
than 15 percent, and it yielded over 10 percent in only nine decades
between 1568 and 1810. During the three decades before the 1810
Hidalgo revolt, it contributed a little less than 5 percent.
Caja of Durango (15991810)

Settled first in 1556 and located roughly two hundred miles northwest
of Zacatecas on the Royal Road (Camino Real), Durango (Guadiana)
was the capital of the province of Nueva Vizcaya with a resident diocesan bishop; in the late eighteenth century it became one of New Spains
intendancy districts. Although it was also a substantial sheep grazing
92
chapter three
area, Durango was best known for its silver mines, and for good reason. From 1599 to 1810 Durangos output amounted to 237,080,000
pesos, 12 percent of the Mexican total during the colonial era.
A large number of reales de minas in northwestern Mexico registered silver in the Durango treasury. Among the most important were
Parral,34 Avino, Cuencam, Ind, Guanacev, Pnuco (Nueva Vizcaya),
Minas Nuevas near Parral, Cosal, Santa Brbara, Sonora, Santiago
Papasquiaro, Tabajueto, and Chihuahua, before its establishment in
1785 as a treasury district. In the mid-1760s, forty-two reales de minas
declared silver in Durango (see Table 36). Nueva Vizcaya, presumably the Minas Nuevas, produced the most silver in this epoch
3,785,216 pesos. Chihuahua registered 1,990,622 pesos, probably
the reason for its becoming a treasury district in 1785, while Sonora
declared 1,376,396 pesos. Other reales de minas producing more than
100,000 pesos included Avinito, Bass, Cosal, Ind del Oro, Pnuco
(Nueva Vizcaya), Parral, Santiago Papasquiaro, and Tabajueto. Thirtyone other reales de minas registered fewer than one hundred thousand pesos, again evidence of the existence of a large number of small
producers.35
Long-range patterns in Durangos output (see Table 39 and Figure
39) show registries in its first two full decades a bit over three million pesos and only a little over four million pesos in the 1620s. In
the 1630s, however, output shot up, doubling to 8,310,000 pesos. In
the ensuing decades of the seventeenth century, registries remained
remarkably stable averaging about eight million pesos with a drop in
the 1690s to a little less than six million pesos. In the second decade
of the eighteenth century, production almost doubled from 7,350,000
pesos in the 1700s to 12,620,000 pesos in the 1710s. Another sudden
rise came in the 1730s to 17,060,000 pesos, and production remained
in that range until the 1780s when yields dropped to 14,186,000 pesos,
probably because of the creation of a new caja at Chihuahua, but Durango recovered quickly in the 1790s with declarations of 18,190,000
pesos and 19,000,000 pesos in the first decade of the nineteenth century, the most productive ten years in Durangos history.
34
An excellent study on the mines of Parral is Robert C. West, The Mining Community in Northern New Spain: The Parral Mining District (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1949).
35
93
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
15
91
16
01
16
11
16
21
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31
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41
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51
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61
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71
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01
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21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
By Decade 1691 = 16911700
Figure 39. Durango Silver Output, 15991810, in pesos
Although Durango produced 12 percent of total Mexican silver output,

it never contributed more than 14 percent per decade to this total until
the beginning of the eighteenth century, when its share reached almost
15 percent in the 1710s, almost 20 percent in the 1720s, over 18 percent in the 1730s, and a bit over that in the 1740s and 1750s. Although
Durango sustained large levels of production to the beginning of the
nineteenth century, its share of total Mexican output dropped below
10 percent because of the resurgence of other mining districts.
Caja of San Luis Potos (16281810)

In 1583, Franciscans established a mission at San Luis Potos, located
275 miles northwest of Mexico City and 150 miles southwest of Zacatecas. Miners soon followed and named the new town Potos after Potos
in Upper Peru because of its silver and gold deposits, which prompted
Philip IV to establish a caja in San Luis Potos in 1628. Like Durango, it was a stock-raising area but also known more for its bullion
production. Although it produced gold worth 18,850,000 silver pesos
(21 percent of Mexican output), the value of its silver production was
174,020,000 pesos. This was nearly ten times the worth of its gold and
primarily because of the large silver strikes circa 1778 at the Catorce
mines north of San Luis Potos.
94
chapter three
Among those reales de minas declaring their silver at San Luis Potos
were Mazapil (which also registered at Zacatecas), Charcas, Guadalczar, Saltillo, Sierra de Pinos, and Catorce. Of the seventeen reales de
minas registering between 1761 and 1767 (see Table 36), Sierra de
Pinoss output was 1,044,008 pesos and Guadalczars 970,183 pesos.
Four other mining camps declared less than five hundred thousand
pesosBonanza with 208,079 pesos; Charcas, 438,450 pesos; Mazapil,
339,640 pesos; and Saltillo, 208,468 pesos. Ten others produced less
than one hundred thousand pesos.36
The long-range trend in San Luis Potoss silver output (see Table
310 and Figure 310) was relatively flat in the first 110 years after the
caja began functioning in 1628. In the 1630s, its output was 7,610,000
pesos, a quantity it never surpassed until the 1750s, when production
rose to 10,890,000 pesos. Output decreased a bit in the 1760s but rose
to 13,350,000 pesos in the 1770s, and then doubled that amount during the next three decades. In the 1790s, for example, yields were at an
all-time high: 31,640,000 pesos, a result of the strikes at Catorce in the
1770s. San Luis Potoss share of total Mexican output was never large.
In the three decades from 1631 to 1660 it generally ranged between
10 and 17 percent, even during its Catorce-fueled heyday, when overall Mexican silver output also rose dramatically. Because of Catorce,
San Luis Potoss silver boom was primarily a late eighteenth-century
phenomenon.
Caja of Guanajuato (16651810)

Located in the Bajo, the fertile plain about two hundred miles northwest of Mexico City, Guanajuato37 was founded in 1550 as the mining
camp of Santa Fe de Guanajuato and by 1665 had its own treasury
office. Over the period from 1665 to 1810, Guanajuato had the highest per annum output of silver in New Spain and was responsible for
17 percent of Mexican production during the entire colonial epoch,
36

The best description of Guanajuatos mining, demographic patterns, social structure, and economy is the finely textured book by Brading, Miners and Merchants. A
more recent book on Guanajuato mining based on the cartas cuentas is Rosa Alicia
Prez Luque and Rafael Tovar Rangel, Cuentas de la Caja Real de Guanajuato (Guanajuato: Universidad de Guanajuato Centro de Investigaciones Humansticas, 2004).
37
95
35,000,000
30,000,000
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
16
21
16
31
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41
16
51
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61
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81
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31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
By Decade 1681 = 16811690
Figure 310. San Luis Potos Silver Output, 16281810, in pesos
with an official registration of 43,610,000 pesos. In the eighteenth

century, Guanajuato became the most prolific silver producer in all
New Spain, outstripping Zacatecas. For over one hundred years, from
1550 to 1664, miners from Guanajuato registered their silver in Mexico
City and may have been responsible for the large yields in that treasury
in the late sixteenth century, but after 1665, they did so in Guanajuato
in massive amounts.
Few other reales de minas declared their silver in Guanajuato (see
Table 36). Between 1761 and 1767, for example, the real of Comanja,
which produced 261,307 pesos (1.55 percent of the total), was the only
other mining camp registering silver in Guanajuato.38 The rest of the
silver (98.45 percent of the total), came from Guanajuato itself, particularly from the mines of Cata, Mellado, Rayas, Sirena, Tepeyac and
Valencia on the Veta Madre, all in close proximity to the city.
Guanajuato silver output was not cyclical but generally moved
steadily upward (see Table 311 and Figure 311). In the 1670s, Guanajuato produced 5,870,000 pesos, yields which more than quintupled
until the 1740s to 30,250,000 pesos. The 1750s and 1760s saw a slight
decline to the 24,500,000-peso range because of a drop in production
at the Rayas, Mellado, and Cata mines, but in the 1770s, output rose
38
96
chapter three
Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds
60,000,000
50,000,000
40,000,000
30,000,000
20,000,000
10,000,000
01
18
81
71
61
51
41
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21
91
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
11
91
01
17
17
17
16
71
81
16
16
16
61
By Decade 1721 = 17211730
Figure 311. Guanajuato Silver Output, 16651810, in pesos
sharply once again. During the last decade of the century, it reached
51,020,000 pesos, the highest in its history. In the first ten years of
the nineteenth century, registries dropped just slightly to 48,800,000
pesos, but these two decades reflected the ability of miners in Guanajuato to adapt new technology, to drain flooded mines, and develop
new ones. They also showed the willingness of entrepreneurs to invest
in mining in the region. Not unexpectedly, Guanajuato played a major
role in determining total Mexican output. In the 1680s, for example,
Guanajuatos production constituted a bit over 10 percent of the total,
rising to almost 20 percent in the 1740s. After 1740, its share of Mexican output per decade was consistently over 20 percent, and in the
1740s, its share reached almost 30 percent, demonstrating the critical
importance of Guanajuato for New Spains silver yields.
Caja of Pachuca (16671810)

Although royal authorities did not create a treasury district for Pachuca
until 1667, miners staked their first claims in the Pachuca-Real del
Monte area in 1552.39 Located about eighty-five miles northeast of
39
Robert W. Randall, Real del Monte: A British Mining Venture in Mexico (Austin:
University of Texas Press, 1972), 8. Although this book deals primarily with the nine-
97
Mexico City, Pachuca was close enough to the viceregal capital in

these early days for miners to register their silver ores there. Nonetheless, the immediate success of the Guanajuato caja, established in
1665, undoubtedly prompted the elevation of Pachuca to caja status
in 1667. Like Zacatecas, Sombrerete, Bolaos, and Zimapn, Pachuca
was a mining camp pure and simple; silver was its raison dtre. In all,
Pachuca produced 205,750,000 pesos or 8 percent of total Mexican
silver output during the colonial period.
For the caja of Pachuca, the reales de minas of Pachuca and Real
del Monte were the principal silver producers with the latter yielding more than Pachuca (see Table 36). Between 1761 and 1767, of
the two reales de minas, Pachucas registries amounted to 2,955,801
pesos (36 percent) and the Real del Montes totaled 5,247,925 pesos
(64 percent).40 According to Robert Randall, the most productive veins
of the Real del Monte mines were those of Valenciana, Morn, Acosta,
Vizcana, and Tapona; in Pachuca, they were the Encino and Xacal
veins.41 The principal mining entrepreneurs in the Pachuca-Real del
Monte area were the Counts of Regla who survived labor agitation
at the mines in the eighteenth century and successfully drained and
worked the mines that had been flooded.42
Long-range trends in Pachuca silver output (see Table 312 and
Figure 312) resembled those in Zacatecas, rising and falling. With
production of 3,420,000 pesos in the 1670s, output had doubled at
Pachuca to 6,420,000 pesos in the last decade of the seventeenth century. Production decreased in the first decade of the eighteenth century but then rose to 7,200,000 pesos in the 1710s. Registries increased
dramatically to 12,690,000 pesos in the 1720s, the best ten years of
silver yields in the history of the caja. In fact, in that decade, production in Pachuca constituted almost 16 percent of total Mexican output.
In the 1730s and 1740s, however, output dropped as dramatically as
it had risen in the 1720s but rose once again to 9,670,000 pesos in the
teenth century, it contains a brief discussion of the Pachuca-Monte Real mines during
the Spanish colonial period.
40
41
Randall, Real del Monte, 78.
42
The Real del Monte mines experienced labor strikes in the mid-eighteenth century. See Doris M. Ladd, The Making of a Strike: Mexican Silver Workers Struggle in
Real del Monte, 17761775 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988). Refer also to
Edith Boorstein Couturier, The Silver King: The Remarkable Life of the Count of Regla
in Colonial Mexico (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2003).
98
chapter three
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
91
01
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31
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91
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71
16
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61
By Decade 1721 = 17211730
Figure 312. Pachuca Silver Output, 16671810, in pesos
1750s and to 11,390,000 pesos in the 1760s, Pachucas largest output

since the 1720s. Silver declarations decreased in the 1770s and 1780s,
until the downward trend was reversed in the 1790s and first decade of
the nineteenth century, when Pachuca produced seven million and six
million pesos respectively, less than 5 percent of total Mexican output
in those twenty years.
Caja of Sombrerete (16831810)

Since the 1550s, miners at Sombrerete, approximately one hundred
miles to the northwest of Zacatecas, refined and registered their silver
ore in Zacatecas. In 1683,43 however, royal authorities established a
treasury district in Sombrerete, dictated perhaps by royal policy in the
last half of the seventeenth century of establishing cajas at productive
mining camps such as Pachuca and Guanajuato. In the 1760s, only
miners from two other reales de minas, Bass and Real de las Plomosas
(see Table 36), declared their production at Sombrerete. Both Bass
and Real de las Plomosas also registered at the caja of Guadalajara.
Between 1761 and 1765, however, Sombreretes own local mines produced over 92 percent of the total declared at the Sombrerete treasury,
43
Bakewell, Zacatecas, 193. He indicates the caja was founded in 1681.
99
most of it coming from the rich vein of El Pabelln.44 Ore from this
source had a high lead content and could be smelted easily.45
Silver yields at Sombrerete (see Table 313 and Figure 313) were
such that royal authorities may have regretted creating a caja for the
region. In its first eight years (16831690), prospects seemed bright
with an output of 8,995,000 pesos, the largest registry in Sombrerete
until the last decade of the eighteenth century. But in the 1690s, a
decline set in when only 5,870,000 pesos were registered. By the 1720s,
output was at its lowest level ever, 1,230,000 pesos. Production spurted
in the 1730s to almost five million pesos and in the 1740s to nearly
nine million pesos, but it then dipped below three million pesos in
the 1750s and 1760s. A slight resurgence occurred in the 1770s and
1780s to about 4,800,000 pesos, capped by a dramatic rise in the 1790s
to 9,430,000 pesos and to 16,450,000 pesos in the first decade of the
nineteenth century when Sombreretes silver production was at its
all-time peak, representing 8 percent of total Mexican silver production that decade. This large increase in Sombreretes yields can be
explained because of the high content of lead in its ores. This meant
the districts refiners could use smelting rather than amalgamation at
a time when mercury was scarce due to disruptions in trans-Atlantic
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
16
81
16
91
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01
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21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
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81
17
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18
01
By Decade 1721 = 17211730
Figure 313. Sombrerete Silver Output, 16831810, in pesos
44
45

100
chapter three
shipping. Overall, only twice did the district exceed 10 percent of total
Mexican output: in the two decades after Sombrerete became a caja
when output lagged elsewhere.
Caja of Zimapn (17291810)

Located about 150 miles directly east of Guanajuato and less than
one hundred miles northwest of Pachuca, Zimapn was founded circa
1575 but did not became a treasury district until 1729. Initially, its
miners registered their silver in Mexico or in Pachuca after its founding as a caja in 1667, but the establishment of the new treasury district allowed them to do so closer to their mine sites. In the 1760s,
the reales de minas registering silver in Zimapn included Cadereita,
Cardonal, Escanela, Jacala, Jalpn, San Jos del Oro, and Zimapn.
Of these seven, only Zimapn and San Jos del Oro (see Table 36)
produced more than one hundred thousand pesos between 1761 and
1767. Zimapns share was over 86 percent of the total reported in
the caja during this period (2,210,000 pesos) and San Jos del Oros
over 5 percent (133,450 pesos). Although Cardonal and Escanela both
declared over seventy thousand pesos, the others produced very little.46
Overall from 1729 to 1814, Zimapn produced 34,600,000 pesos, about
2 percent of total Mexican output.
Over the eighty-two years in which officials registered silver at
Zimapn (see Table 314 and Figure 314), the smallest declarations came in the 1730s (2,170,000 pesos) and the largest in the 1770s
(5,750,000 pesos), but from the 1750s, Zimapn sustained fairly steady
levels of output of 4,000,000 and 5,500,000 pesos. Zimapns share of
total Mexican output never exceeded 4 percent.
Like the ore of Sombrerete, Zimapns silver had a high lead content
and could be easily smelted. Moreover, lead mines dotted the district.
According to David Brading, lead from mines in the Zimapn area,
one owned by the Count of Regla, and another in San Luis Potos, was
shipped to Guanajuato, Pachuca, and Zacatecas for use when amalgamation gave way to smelting because of a mercury shortages.47
46
47

Brading, Miners and Merchants, 137.
101
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
1721
1731
1741
1751
1761
1771
1781
1791
1801
By Decade 1771 = 17711780
Figure 314. Zimapn Silver Output, 17291810, in pesos
Caja of Bolaos (17531810)

Located about eighty miles directly north of Guadalajara, Bolaos
became a major mining camp only in the mid-eighteenth century.
Discovered in 1736, the mines of Bolaos began producing seriously
in 1747, six years before viceregal authorities placed a caja in the area
in 1753, quite likely because of the silver boom of the late 1740s.
The principal mines of Bolaos were those at Conquista, Castellana,
Cocina, Espritu Santo, Perla, Montaesa, and Zapopa (see Table 36).
In the 1760s, however, the Castellana, Montaesa, Perla, and Zapopa
mines flooded, sharply reducing regional output. Under the aegis of
the entrepreneur Juan Sierra Uruela, who had three stores in the
region, and Antonio Bibanco, who ultimately became the Viscount of
Bolaos, the mines were drained and production started again. Also
significant in the recovery was a fifteen-year exemption from the 10
percent royal tax on silver output in the area granted to Juan Sierra
Uruela in 1789. Finding labor for the mines also became a problem,
but mine owners enticed workers into the diggings by paying them
one-third of the silver ore they produced.48
The trends in Bolaos silver output (see Table 315 and Figure
315) reflected the condition of its mines. In it first eight years of registries, Bolaos reported an output of 17,670,000 pesos, the highest in
48
Brading, Miners and Merchants, 147, 162, 187194.
102
chapter three
500,000
450,000
400,000
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
1751
1761
1771
1781
1791
1801
By Decade 1781 = 17811790
Figure 315. Bolaos Silver Output, 17531810, in pesos
its history, but the next decade, because of mine flooding, production
was cut by almost two-thirds to 6,370,000 pesos. The efforts of Sierra
Uruela and Bibanco, however, led to a revival in the 1770s and 1780s
to over 8,200,000 pesos, but registries were only half that in the 1790s,
undoubtedly because of silver tax exemptions for Bolaoss miners. In
fact, the caja may have closed completely because of low yields sometime after 1804.49
Caja of Veracruz (17681810)

Veracruz was the major port of entry and departure for New Spain on
the east coast of Mexico, a commercial city dominated by trade, not
silver, thus it was surprising that a bit of silver was registered there. A
caja had been established in Veracruz at least by 1569, but probably
earlier. Not until 1768, however, was any silver declared at the Veracruz treasury, and then only 40,000 pesos (see Table 316 and Figure
316). The following decade of the 1770s, however, saw registries of a
49
The last extant account for Bolaos was for 1804, but I have assumed that the
region produced a bit of silver after that.
103
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
1761
1771
1781
1791
1801
By Decade 1771 = 17711780
Figure 316. Veracruz Silver Output, 17651805, in pesos
little over half a million pesos and, in the next decade, 430,000 pesos,
dropping to 246,000 pesos in the 1790s. In the first decade of the nineteenth century, miners or silver traders declared no silver at all at the
Veracruz caja. Overall, during the three decades from 1768 to 1800
when silver was registered at Veracruz, the caja taxed an amount worth
1,250,000 pesos. The Veracruz share of Mexican output reported for
these decades was never more than a meager 0.36 percent.
Cajas of Rosario/Alamos/Cosal (17701810)

Of all the colonial silver mining areas of northwestern Mexico, the
least is known about Rosario/Alamos/Cosal. Located about two hundred miles northwest of Guadalajara near the Pacific Coast, close to
present-day Mazatln in southern Sinaloa, Rosario, prior to becoming
a treasury district in 1770, had its miners register their silver and gold
in Guadalajara as one of the richer reales de minas in the Guadalajara district (see Table 36). In 1783, however, fiscal authorities closed
the Rosario caja and moved it to Alamos, over two hundred miles
to the northwest. Designated as a real de minas in 1683, Alamos was
the most productive mining center in the Guadalajara treasury district
in the 1760s.50 In 1806 or 1807, viceregal authorities moved the caja
once again, this time from Alamos to Cosal, about one hundred miles
50
Hausberger, Nueva Espaa, 153, 169.
104
chapter three
southeast of Alamos. Cosal had experienced a silver bonanza in 1545,

and transfer of the caja to this site in the early nineteenth century
presumably signaled a revival of these mines or a discovery of new
ones in the area. In fact, all the treasury site-shifts in this region seem
prompted by a desire to assay and register ore closer to the point of
production.
Silver production at Rosario/Alamos/Cosal buoyed total Mexican
output at the end of the colonial epoch (see Table 317 and Figure
317). Although silver production (3,000,000 pesos) was low in the
region during the first full decade of caja operation, output tripled in
the 1780s to 10,230,000 pesos, rising to 15,200,000 pesos in the 1790s
and 16,120,000 pesos in the final decade before the Hidalgo insurgency. In these last two decades, the treasury district was producing
about 8 percent of total Mexican output.
Caja of Chihuahua (17851810)
In 1785, Chihuahua became the last mining caja created in New Spain.
(The Saltillo treasury, set up in 1794, was the last Mexican caja created to give that town and region more prominence on the northern
frontier of New Spain.) The most important town of northern Mexico, Chihuahua was initially tied to the caja of Durango, where in the
1760s, its silver output was second only to the mines of Nueva Vizcaya
(Minas Nuevas) in the amount of silver declared at Durango between
18,000,000
16,000,000
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
0
1771
1781
1791
1801
By Decade 1781=17811790
Figure 317. Rosario Silver Output, 17731813, in pesos
105
1761 and 1767 (see Table 36). Most of it came from the real de minas
of Santa Eulalia, the richest mine in the Chihuahua region, and Santa
Brbara, south of Chihuahua City.
Chihuahua never became a major silver producer and contributed
only 9,760,000 pesos between 1785 and 1810. This was less than 2
percent of the Mexican total. The caja had registries in the 1790s of
3,770,000 pesos and 3,610,000 pesos in the first decade of the nineteenth century (see Table 318 and Figure 318). Never producing
more than four million pesos per decade, the new treasury district
in Chihuahua was more a sign of the Spanish desire to expand its
presence in northern New Spain than for the regions rich silver
deposits.
Mercury Availability and Mexican Silver Output

Because amalgamation was a widespread method of silver refining,
mercury was crucial to the prosperity of the mining industry. In both
Mexico and Peru, mercury was a royal monopoly. As already pointed
out, royal authorities checked sales of mercury against the silver
declared at royal treasuries by miners or refiners in order to detect
fraud, establishing the correspondencia: a quintal or hundredweight
of mercury was expected to produce one hundred marks of silver
(approximately 8,500 pesos). In theory, this was sound practice, but
in reality, much depended upon the quality of both the silver ore and
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
1781
1791
1801
By Decade 1791 = 17911800
Figure 318. Chihuahua Silver Output, 17851814, in pesos
106
chapter three
the mercury as well as the ability of refiners to recover mercury during

the refining process in order to reuse it. Still, by the eighteenth century, authorities in Mexico had begun to take the correspondencia into
account. Mercury sold to refiners at Zacatecas, Sombrerete, Durango,
and Pachuca was expected to meet the 100-mark ratio. At Guanajuato,
however, 100 quintales were supposed to produce 125 marks and at
Guadalajara 115 marks, while in San Luis Potos with its lead-laden
ores only 80 marks.51
In Mexico the monopoly operated in the following way. Virtually
all mercury came into Mexico from abroad, usually from the mines of
Almadn in Spain,52 Idria in Slovenia at the northern end of the Adriatic, Huancavelica in Peru, and a bit from the Philippines. The major
source, however, was Almadn north of Crdoba in the province of
Ciudad Real, shipped from Castile to Veracruz first in leather bags
packed in barrels and then in glass and iron jugs (frascos de fierro) on
the fleet or on vessels sailing alone (naves de azogues). After it reached
Veracruz, the mercury was loaded on mules for the trek to Mexico
City to be placed in the mercury repository. In the eighteenth century, the royal treasury bore the transportation costs from Veracruz
at three pesos per quintal.53 Initially, the viceroy was responsible for
its distribution after it arrived at the capital, but in 1708, when Iberian authorities created a junta to deal with all matters regarding mercury in Castile, a similar junta was established in New Spain, headed
by a superintendent with a salary of three thousand pesos and a one
thousand-peso expense account. The first was Juan Jos Veitia Linage,54
who, assisted by the junta, made allocations to the various reales de
minas and mining cajas. In 1717, however, the junta was dissolved and
a superintendencia de azogue was established to allocate mercury. The
first superintendent was Andrs Pez.55 Later in the eighteenth century,
51
Heredia, Renta del azogue, 160161.

On the mines of Almadn see A. Matilla Tascn, Historia de las minas de Almadn, vol. 1: Desde la poca romana hasta el ao 1645 (Madrid: Grficas Osca, 1958);
and A. Matilla Tascn, Historia de las minas de Almadn, vol. 2: Desde 1646 a 1799
(Madrid: Minas de Almadn y Arrayanes and Instituto de Estudios Fiscales, 1987).
Also refer to Rafael Dobado Gonzlez, Labor Force and Mercury Production in
Almadn, Spain, 17591808, in Craig and West, eds., In Quest of Mineral Wealth,
213232; and his doctoral thesis, El trabajo en las Minas de Almadn, 17501955
(PhD diss., Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 1989).
53
Romero, Minera y guerra, 35, 103.
54
55
52
107
the Real Tribunal de Minera allocated mercury to mining camps and

mining cajas.56
In 1709, Spanish authorities in New Spain moved the mercury
repository from Mxico to Puebla and then in 1741, transferred its
operations back to the viceregal capital. From either city, the distribution system seemed to work well. Antonia Heredia notes that in the
first half of the eighteenth century, mercury scarcities occurred only
in 1715, 1735, 1739, 1744, 1752, and 1753; Kendall Brown indicates
shortages in 1740, 1744, 1779 and 1781.57 Moreover in the turbulent
first decade of the nineteenth century, Mexican authorities stockpiled
mercury, anticipating disruption of Atlantic shipping.58
Mercury prices and transportation costs (fletes) varied over time.
Miners and refiners initially paid high costs, well over 100 pesos per
quintal, but beginning in the first half of the seventeenth century, the
price dropped to 82 pesos, 4 reales. It remained at that level until 1768,
when authorities halved the price to 42 pesos, 3 reales. At the end of
the eighteenth century, Almadn mercury remained at this price for all
the mining cajas, although mercury from Idria, which was probably of
higher quality, sold for 63 pesos a quintal.
In addition to paying for the mercury itself, purchasers bore the
transportation costs (fletes) of getting it from the repository in Puebla
or Mxico to the reales de minas or mining cajas. This charge varied according to the distance from the mercury repository to the caja.
From 1707 to 1708, for example, miners paid fletes of six pesos, seven
reales per quintal for shipment from Mxico to Zacatecas; to Guanajuato, three pesos, three reales; to Pachuca, one peso, two reales; to
Sombrerete, eight pesos, five reales; to San Luis Potos, five pesos, five
reales; to Durango, eight pesos, five reales; and to Guadalajara, five
pesos, five reales.59 In 1796, flete costs were a bit lessover ten pesos
per quintal to ship mercury from Mxico to Chihuahua, four and
56
Romero, Minera y guerra, 103120.

Heredia, Renta del azogue, 242; Kendall Brown, The Spanish Imperial Mercury
Trade and American Mining Expansion under the Bourbon Monarchy, in Kenneth
J. Andrien and Lyman L. Johnson, eds., The Political Economy of Spanish America
in the Age of Revolution, 17501850 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press,
1994), 145146.
58
See Francisco Saavedra to Viceroy Pedro de Garibay, Sevilla, 25 December 1809,
AGI, Mxico, Legajo 2214. In this letter, Saavedra states that 56,231 quintales of mercury had been shipped to Mexico and that this shipment, along with the 34,029 quintales sent earlier, should be enough to last three years.
59
57
108
chapter three
one-half pesos to Zacatecas, less than three to Guanajuato, and one

peso to Pachuca.60
Historians have been able to clearly document the shipment of
mercury to New Spain and its distribution among the mining caja,
providing the opportunity to assess its importance for Mexican silver
output (see Table 319 and Figure 319).61 Although the supply of
mercury was crucial for output in most mines, measuring its significance for individual mining districts is difficult. The years and amount
of mercury allocated to each caja, the lag between the time of shipment
from Puebla or Mxico, the quality of the ore being amalgamated, the
reserves of mercury on hand in the caja, and the quality of the mercury all hinder any systematic analysis by caja district. Fortunately,
though, Antonia de Heredia has provided data on the allocation
of mercury to the various mining cajas in the first half of the eighteenth century, establishing distribution patterns for this epoch (see
200,000
Quintales of Mercury
150,000
100,000
50,000
18
01
17
81
17
61
17
41
17
21
17
01
16
81
61
16
16
41
16
21
01
16
81
15
15
61
By Decade 1681 = 16811690
Figure 319. Mexican Mercury Supply, 15611810
60
Romero, Minera y guerra, 35.

Table 319 has been compiled from Bakewell, Zacatecas, 256; Chaunu and
Chaunu, Sville et lAtlantique, 8:2, 19601971; Heredia, Renta del azogue, 234237;
Romero, Economa y guerra, 102120; Brown, Spanish Imperial Mercury Trade,
145146. For the eighteenth century, I have consulted the appropriate records of the
Archivo General de Indias: AGI, Mxico, Legajos 2172, 2174, 2177, 2178, 21802184,
and 2215.
61
109
In Quintales of Mercury
ZACATECAS
54,156 = 32%
SAN LUIS POTOSI
2053 = 1%
BOLANOS
2,855 = 2%
PACHUCA
29,187 = 17%
GUADALAJARA
23,028 = 13%
DURANGO
5,667 = 3%
SOMBRERETE
8,500 = 5%
GUANAJUATO
46,979 = 27%
*Heredia, RENTA DEL AZOGUE, 143
Figure 320. Mercury Allocated to the Mining Cajas of Mexico, 17091753
Figure 320).62 Since the general rule for mercury distribution was that
it be delivered to mines and cajas where it was most needed, it is not
surprising that Guanajuato and Zacatecas received almost 60 percent
of the mercury from the storehouses in Puebla and Mxico. But in the
peak period of Mexican silver production at the end of the eighteenth
century, some changes occurred in mercury allocation (see Figure
320).63 Guanajuatos share increased by 10 percent, indicating the
flurry of mining activity in the Bajo. Zacatecas, however, received 20
percent less than it did in the first half of the century. Guadalajaras
allocation was almost halved, but shipments of quicksilver to Rosario
made up for this decrease in Guadalajaras share. Understandably, with
the silver strikes at Catorce, San Luis Potos received a sharp increase,
while Durangos share tripled and Pachucas dropped.
Competition for mercury was sometimes fierce, especially when supplies were scarce, yet authorities administering the monopoly generally procured enough mercury to meet miners and refiners needs and
worked effectively to distribute sufficient quantities where they were
62

AGI, Mxico, Legajo 2185. Estado de la distribucin del azogue en Mxico,
17881791.
63
110
chapter three
most needed in New Spain. At Sombrerete, for example, ores could

be easily smelted and its portion of mercury was not over 4 percent
of total allocations. Significantly, Zimapn did not receive any. It, too,
was a mining area where refining silver by amalgamation was not necessary because of the high content of lead in the ore. Finally, although
there were complaints from refiners and miners about mercury allocations, on balance those who distributed the mercury from the storage
sites in Mxico and Pueblasuccessively, the viceroy, junta, superintendent of mercury, and the mining tribunalmade sound decisions.
The massive production levels in Mexico at the end of the eighteenth
century and the beginning of the nineteenth testify to their ability to
get mercury where it was most needed.
Mexican Silver: New World and World Perspectives

As already noted, Mexican silver contributed 57 percent of New
World output, the most produced by any region of the Spanish Indies.
In fact, from the moment miners began refining silver in New Spain
until 1700, the Mexican share of New World yields were between onethird and one-half (see Table 321 and Figure 321). For much of
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Peruvian mines supplied the
most silver. But after 1670, when the Andean mines began to languish,
Mexico became the major New World producer. By the late 1600s,
Mexico drove silver output not only in the Indies but worldwide. In
the eighteenth century, Mexico consistently generated two-thirds or
more of output in the Spanish Indies.
Mexico was a major producer on the world stage. In the immediate
post-conquest period (1520s), Mexican silver as a share of the world
total was less than 1 percent and a bit over 6 percent in the 1530s,
but rose sharply after that to almost one-third of the worlds silver in
the 1570s, only to drop to 20 percent in the next decade. From the
1590s to 1670s, however, the Mexican proportion of world silver output ranged consistently between 30 and 40 percent.
Beginning in the 1680s, Mexicos contribution to world silver output expanded to over 40 percent for the first time, dropping to 37
and 35 percent in the next two decades, but rising to 47 percent in
the 1710s and 1720s and over 53 percent in the 1730s. During five
of the eight decades between 1731 and 1810, Mexico produced more
than half of world output. In the 1760s, Mexicos share of world silver
111
10,000,000
9,000,000
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
WORLD
4,000,000
NEW WORLD
3,000,000
MEXICO
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
15
21
15
31
15
41
15
51
15
61
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
16
11
16
21
16
31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
8,000,000
By Decade 1651 = 16511660
Figure 321. World-New World-Mexican Silver Output, 15211810, in kilograms
yields was only 40 percent, manifesting the miseries of Mexican silver

mining in that decade.
In the eighteenth century, Mexico was the major silver producer
not only in the Spanish Indies but also in the world. Silver also helped
to drive the Mexican economy in the eighteenth century. Investments
made in Bolaos, Guanajuato, Pachuca, Zacatecas, and other mining
regions provided the money needed to drain flooded mines, drive
deeper tunnels in existing mines, and generally to keep production
rising. Unlike Peru and Upper Peru, where silver mining experienced
only a modest resurgence, Mexicos output tripled in the eighteenth
century. New Spain had an expanding labor force, plentiful investment capital, state-granted silver-tax exemptions, low mercury prices,
new silver exchange banks in nine mining areas, superior entrepreneurship, and the largest mint in the world at Mexico City. In 1792,
the government sponsored a seminar under the direction of Fausto
Elhuyar devoted solely to the study of mining and metallurgy, providing the technical expertise to keep trends in silver production going
steadily and sometimes steeply upward. In short, during the ancien
rgime, Mexicos contribution to New World and world silver output
was enormous.
112
chapter three
Tables
Table 31. New World Silver Production by Region and Decade,
15211810 (in Millions of Pesos of 272 Maravedis).
DECADE
CENTRAL
AMERICA
MEXICO
PERU
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
0.04
0.06
0.09
0.09
0.09
0.30
0.85
0.68
0.64
0.55
0.30
0.21
0.30
0.34
0.26
0.17
0.17
0.26
0.34
0.51
0.68
1.76
1.73
2.08
1.73
1.43
1.49
1.82
1.37
20.34
0.30
2.24
10.57
18.63
34.34
39.22
34.11
41.71
48.12
50.39
47.90
43.86
32.99
35.53
34.32
51.87
58.48
49.88
49.79
64.69
81.40
92.53
102.30
119.03
107.28
146.08
170.36
198.87
201.21
1,968.00
5.10
17.33
23.63
21.13
31.44
64.80
70.20
72.15
72.62
74.53
84.17
69.33
55.76
50.72
47.90
51.14
42.56
28.07
27.41
30.32
36.35
43.88
53.43
57.57
68.50
68.52
86.96
68.87
1,424.39
NEW
CHILE
GRANADA
0.15
0.13
0.36
0.49
0.51
0.43
0.81
0.90
0.72
0.90
0.36
0.21
0.53
0.43
0.08
0.06
0.10
0.05
0.00
0.05
0.01
0.03
0.04
0.03
0.08
0.03
0.10
0.05
7.64
0.11
0.46
1.43
2.16
1.65
5.81
RIO DE LA TOTAL
PLATA
0.05
0.03
6.31
6.39
0.34
7.55
28.12
42.71
56.05
71.47
100.19
113.40
121.81
124.28
123.63
128.60
102.83
92.16
85.73
100.02
109.85
92.80
78.25
92.61
112.45
130.65
147.94
174.58
166.72
216.55
241.88
289.94
279.46
3,432.57
113
Table 32. New World Silver Production by Region and Decade, 15211810
(in Kilograms of Fine Silver).
DECADE
CENTRAL
AMERICA
15011510
15111520
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
109
43
1,086
1,630
2,173
2,173
2,390
7,604
21,727
17,381
16,295
14,122
7,604
5,432
7,604
8,691
6,518
4,345
4,345
6,518
8,691
13,036
17,381
43,574
43,043
51,666
42,896
35,122
36,182
44,245
33,277
506,794
MEXICO
PERU
7,670
57,260
130,360
270,180
442,970
476,080
604,120
877,720
540,120
1,002,440
803,520
872,110 1,658,200
1,066,160 1,832,900
1,230,040 1,865,690
1,287,920 1,861,180
1,224,300 1,893,510
1,121,110 2,123,720
843,210 1,746,300
908,220 1,423,410
876,970 1,296,940
1,325,970 1,224,570
1,495,100 1,307,170
1,274,770 1,087,880
1,272,680
717,450
1,653,420
700,840
2,067,040
770,180
2,295,920
901,660
2,537,890 1,088,690
2,954,020 1,325,440
2,662,270 1,428,350
3,578,740 1,679,250
4,149,710 1,668,780
4,821,600 2,108,300
4,878,510 1,670,380
49,089,030 35,901,880
NEW
RIO DE
GRANADA LA PLATA
3,730
3,442
9,226
12,532
13,147
11,088
20,667
22,964
18,381
23,123
9,197
5,454
13,514
11,098
2,006
1,504
2,572
1,160
30
1,203
219
805
998
794
1,919
695
2,446
1,133
195,047
24
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
120
0
0
1,419
1,782
153,483
156,832
CHILE
TOTAL
2,837
11,280
34,809
52,441
40,110
141,477
109
43
8,756
192,980
718,765
1,091,599
1,432,762
1,826,711
2,563,125
2,937,108
3,134,989
3,181,603
3,148,537
3,259,483
2,602,572
2,353,835
2,191,526
2,556,891
2,808,119
2,371,740
1,999,981
2,367,326
2,855,804
3,241,373
3,670,428
4,332,244
4,137,147
5,306,311
5,891,595
7,030,814
6,776,893
85,991,060
0.30
2.24
10.57
17.03
18.44
19.97
20.59
29.07
30.68
26.51
17.65
10.25
5.47
7.44
3.06
2.05
2.98
2.81
2.72
3.27
5.97
9.01
9.43
11.50
10.03
13.33
12.55
21.21
18.73
344.89
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511550
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
1.60
11.37
13.47
11.54
9.86
11.35
17.58
19.45
14.52
11.04
11.01
10.51
21.45
16.87
11.17
13.20
20.57
21.20
18.74
16.42
14.97
10.50
19.82
22.36
23.10
27.73
401.40
ZAC
4.53
5.78
1.98
2.43
2.83
2.92
4.05
3.17
2.95
4.91
6.03
6.51
6.84
6.60
6.11
6.44
6.60
7.52
7.71
6.95
11.26
11.63
9.52
8.10
8.98
152.35
GDA
0.35
3.26
3.38
4.16
8.31
8.67
8.11
7.82
7.99
7.63
5.99
7.35
12.62
13.75
17.06
18.11
16.20
18.13
16.82
14.19
18.19
18.99
237.08
DUR
2.59
7.61
4.86
4.06
3.64
4.58
4.17
4.01
3.66
2.81
3.49
4.21
3.61
10.89
9.06
13.35
28.59
31.64
27.19
174.02
SLP
2.09
5.87
6.12
7.01
9.10
10.16
16.06
21.60
30.25
24.94
24.35
40.40
45.84
51.02
48.80
343.61
GTO
1.17
3.42
4.87
6.42
5.01
7.20
12.69
7.29
5.87
9.67
11.39
8.71
5.84
7.35
8.85
105.75
PCA
9.00
5.87
2.64
1.62
1.23
4.93
7.85
2.30
1.75
4.53
5.15
9.43
16.45
72.75
SOM
0.41
2.17
3.05
3.91
4.07
5.75
4.95
5.48
4.81
34.60
ZIM
17.67
6.37
8.21
8.33
4.13
0.95
45.66
BOL
0.33
3.00
10.23
15.20
16.12
44.88
ROS
0.04
0.53
0.43
0.25
0.00
1.25
VCZ
2.38
3.77
3.61
9.76
CHI
0.30
2.24
10.57
18.63
34.34
39.22
34.11
41.71
48.12
50.39
47.90
43.86
32.99
35.53
34.32
51.87
58.48
49.88
49.79
64.69
81.40
92.53
102.30
119.03
107.28
146.08
170.36
198.87
201.21
1,968.00
TOTAL
Caja key: MEX=Mexico, ZAC=Zacatecas, GDA=Guadalajara, DUR=Durango, SLP=San Luis Potos, GTO=Guanajuato, PCA=Pachuca,
SOM=Sombrerete, ZIM=Zimapan, ROS=Rosario, VCZ=Vera Cruz, CHI=Chihuahua.
* For the caja de Mexico for the years 17001794 production is reported as 10 percent of the total silver registered for that period.
MEX*
DECADE
Table 33. Mexican Silver Production by Caja and Decade, 15211810 (in Millions of Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds).
114
chapter three
MEX*
7,670
57,260
270,180
435,300
471,350
510,450
526,380
743,110
784,340
677,610
451,270
261,990
139,730
190,280
78,310
52,300
76,290
71,720
69,490
83,530
151,240
223,550
233,960
285,930
248,860
DECADE
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511550
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
40,780
290,660
344,260
295,040
252,080
289,990
449,240
497,070
371,180
282,100
281,400
268,610
548,390
431,130
285,630
337,350
525,680
538,670
464,920
407,290
371,320
260,480
ZAC
115,710
147,730
50,690
61,990
72,340
74,760
103,480
81,060
75,470
125,560
154,030
166,430
174,920
168,590
156,110
164,510
167,710
186,520
191,400
172,310
279,280
GDA
8,980
83,370
86,310
106,310
212,430
221,610
207,220
199,920
204,220
195,080
153,030
187,810
322,660
349,350
423,210
449,180
402,000
449,860
DUR
66,170
194,450
124,300
103,760
92,970
117,170
106,660
102,400
93,520
71,730
88,570
104,790
89,920
271,290
225,620
SLP
53,300
149,980
156,500
179,090
232,710
259,810
407,250
535,950
750,360
618,740
604,080
GTO
29,830
87,480
124,580
164,150
128,100
184,070
322,850
180,790
145,520
239,980
282,550
PCA
ZIM
BOL
229,940
150,160
67,590
41,430
31,300 10,100
122,370 53,820
194,670 75,590
57,030 97,110 438,310
43,520 100,950 158,000
SOM
8,180
ROS
890
VCZ
CHI
7,670
57,260
270,180
476,080
877,720
1,002,440
872,110
1,066,160
1,230,040
1,287,920
1,224,300
1,121,110
843,210
908,220
876,970
1,325,970
1,495,100
1,274,770
1,272,680
1,653,420
2,067,040
2,295,920
2,537,890
2,954,020
2,662,270
TOTAL
Table 34. Mexican Silver Production by Caja District and Decade, 15211810 (by Decade in Kilograms of Fine Silver).

115
412,030
345,570
441,000
460,410
GTO
327,230 989,830
696,350 1,116,470
767,080 1,236,860
659,310 1,183,250
SLP
213,500
142,400
178,240
214,620
PCA
110,910
125,420
228,650
398,780
SOM
140,920
120,530
132,760
116,560
ZIM
200,830
203,250
100,040
23,070
BOL
VCZ
CHI
TOTAL
73,480 13,010
3,578,740
248,890 10,450 57,940 4,149,710
368,630 5,970 91,470 4,821,600
390,810
0 87,640 4,878,510
ROS
7.79%
12.06%
8.77%
17.26%
5.38%
3.67%
1.73%
2.29%
2.22%
0.06% 0.48%
Caja key: MEX=Mexico, ZAC=Zacatecas, GDA=Guadalajara, DUR=Durango, SLP=San Luis Potos, GTO=Guanajuato, PCA=Pachuca,
SOM=Sombrerete, ZIM=Zimapan, BOL=Bolanos, ROS=Rosario, VCZ=Vera Cruz, CHI=Chihuahua.
* For the caja de Mexico for the years 17001794, production is reported as 10 percent of the total silver registered for that period.
20.57%
17.30%
284,900
231,860
196,500
217,790
DUR
% MEX
TOTAL
485,400
544,670
560,090
672,230
GDA
8,703,060 10,095,660 3,821,650 5,921,560 4,303,290 8,474,180 2,638,660 1,801,770 848,340 1,123,500 1,089,990 30,320 237,050 49,089,030
326,700
305,910
514,310
454,040
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
ZAC
TOTAL
MEX*
DECADE
Table 34 (cont.)
116
chapter three
117
Table 35. Caja of Mexico Registered Silver Production, 15761817, Adjusted for
Change in Accounting Methods 17001794 (10%) (in pesos of 272 maraveds and
kilograms of fine silver).
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
PESOS
KILOS
1,777,045
1,930,626
1,969,246
1,965,139
1,600,889
2,539,316
2,167,020
2,102,204
2,196,234
2,345,174
20,592,893
45,423
49,349
50,336
50,231
40,920
64,907
55,391
53,734
56,138
59,945
526,375
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
2,734,040
2,846,732
2,890,355
2,289,113
2,964,054
2,580,918
3,237,582
3,260,591
2,868,170
3,400,642
29,072,197
69,885
72,765
73,880
58,512
75,764
65,971
82,756
83,344
73,313
86,924
743,114
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
383,581
1,613,324
1,485,978
1,418,030
1,464,151
6,365,064
9,805
41,238
37,983
36,246
37,425
162,697
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
4,085,924
3,662,231
3,439,055
3,871,969
3,194,742
2,928,649
2,747,327
1,790,123
2,017,874
2,947,000
30,684,894
104,440
93,610
87,906
98,971
81,661
74,859
70,224
45,757
51,579
75,328
784,337
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
2,752,010
2,522,589
2,477,018
2,537,237
2,851,191
2,812,755
2,680,607
2,730,334
2,602,380
2,543,478
26,509,599
70,344
64,480
63,315
64,854
72,879
71,897
68,519
69,790
66,519
65,014
677,612
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
1,156,099
1,454,977
2,190,897
2,103,877
2,085,485
2,128,018
2,256,811
1,619,872
1,317,739
1,341,024
17,654,799
29,551
37,191
56,002
53,777
53,307
54,394
57,686
41,406
33,683
34,278
451,274
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
1,179,308
1,256,136
1,203,996
1,139,270
1,074,545
1,010,269
988,901
827,498
814,815
754,793
10,249,531
30,144
32,108
30,775
29,121
27,466
25,823
25,277
21,152
20,827
19,293
261,988
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
772,821
651,147
624,806
628,833
600,050
503,523
406,730
139,921
452,017
686,613
5,466,461
19,754
16,644
15,971
16,074
15,338
12,871
10,396
3,577
11,554
17,551
139,728
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
655,198
851,530
784,044
809,297
668,276
696,539
999,743
978,986
650,488
350,001
7,444,102
16,748
21,766
20,041
20,686
17,082
17,804
25,554
25,024
16,627
8,946
190,279
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
337,426
389,605
356,933
355,711
411,157
398,767
304,592
224,169
132,216
153,006
3,063,582
8,625
9,959
9,124
9,092
10,510
10,193
7,786
5,730
3,380
3,911
78,308
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
169,226
223,721
196,718
203,814
207,735
186,783
207,625
187,722
214,680
248,151
2,046,175
4,326
5,719
5,028
5,210
5,310
4,774
5,307
4,798
5,487
6,343
52,302
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
261,276
317,984
273,650
263,868
312,018
312,018
312,018
285,395
309,767
336,592
2,984,586
6,678
8,128
6,995
6,745
7,975
7,975
7,975
7,295
7,918
8,604
76,289
118
chapter three
Table 35 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
359,244
526,795
507,231
413,603
312,989
189,610
112,346
122,289
117,318
144,530
2,805,955
9,183
13,465
12,965
10,572
8,000
4,847
2,872
3,126
2,999
3,694
71,723
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
198,493
252,454
325,979
262,272
203,454
322,827
380,576
242,675
123,311
406,411
2,718,451
5,074
6,453
8,332
6,704
5,200
8,252
9,728
6,203
3,152
10,388
69,486
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
259,561
245,002
269,087
251,372
253,041
235,144
575,146
445,924
458,262
275,331
3,267,869
6,635
6,262
6,878
6,425
6,468
6,011
14,701
11,398
11,714
7,038
83,530
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
261,206
227,928
442,656
494,944
310,172
800,170
642,536
960,527
831,757
998,909
5,970,804
6,677
5,826
11,315
12,651
7,928
20,453
16,424
24,552
20,635
24,782
151,243
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
1,028,205
490,392
1,309,450
817,972
807,150
1,215,376
943,093
835,468
747,762
815,898
9,010,765
25,509
12,166
32,486
20,293
20,025
30,152
23,397
20,727
18,551
20,242
223,548
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
720,539
649,568
754,105
967,027
1,008,969
1,011,526
852,616
964,350
1,195,810
1,305,740
9,430,249
17,876
16,115
18,709
23,991
25,032
25,095
21,153
23,925
29,667
32,394
233,955
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
1,014,808
1,268,263
1,111,094
1,039,783
1,099,765
1,192,701
1,117,575
1,206,776
1,298,822
1,175,463
11,525,051
25,176
31,464
27,565
25,796
27,284
29,590
27,726
29,939
32,222
29,162
285,925
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1,230,089
898,324
853,611
965,198
957,063
924,999
1,077,420
814,682
1,168,791
1,140,987
10,031,164
30,517
22,287
21,177
23,946
23,744
22,948
26,730
20,211
28,997
28,307
248,863
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1,339,424
1,141,333
1,277,480
1,078,142
1,187,927
1,431,043
1,572,881
1,484,540
1,336,628
1,483,680
13,333,077
33,230
28,315
31,213
26,342
29,025
34,965
38,430
36,272
32,658
36,251
326,700
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
1,448,101
1,302,654
1,847,113
1,575,315
1,364,341
991,341
729,947
1,051,825
839,363
1,401,101
12,551,101
35,381
31,828
45,131
38,490
33,335
24,221
17,698
25,501
20,350
33,970
305,905
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1,682,672
1,700,348
1,805,321
1,265,094
1,894,450
5,267,569
1,929,569
2,106,459
1,730,523
1,830,814
21,212,819
40,796
41,225
43,770
30,672
45,931
127,712
46,782
51,071
41,957
44,388
514,305
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1,272,394
1,237,670
2,042,229
1,828,514
3,592,440
1,999,083
1,784,119
1,685,092
1,862,055
1,423,642
18,727,238
30,849
30,007
49,514
44,332
87,099
48,468
43,256
40,855
45,146
34,516
454,042
119
Table 35 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
996,688
282,156
318,592
355,028
551,679
490,221
517,896
3,512,260
24,165
6,841
7,724
8,608
13,375
11,885
12,556
85,155
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
TOTAL
286,230,687
7,198,684
Table 36. Mexican Reales de Minas 17611767 (those mines reporting

over 100,000 pesos).*
REAL DE MINAS
CAJA DE DURANGO (42)
Avinito
Basis
Chihuahua
Cosala
Inde Real del Oro
Nueva Vizcaja
Panuco (Nueva Vizcaya)
Parral
Santiago Papsquiaro
Sonora
Tabajueto
CAJA DE GUADALAJARA (46)
Alamos
Guachinango
Izatlan
Jora
Ostotipaquillo
Palo Blanco
Panuco (Sinaloa)
Rl de las Plomosas
Rosario
San Joaquin
San Pedro Analco
San Sebastian
Santa Ana
Sta Cruz de los Flores
Sinaloa
Tenamachi
PESOS
KILOS
802,851
717,562
1,990,622
197,601
310,070
3,785,216
775,169
182,305
206,188
1,376,396
248,030
19,918
17,802
49,385
4,902
7,693
93,907
19,231
4,523
5,115
34,147
6,153
1,566,567
764,042
582,001
750,028
169,152
326,832
851,616
248,321
430,704
138,190
259,887
198,929
158,929
125,131
186,187
516,809
38,865
18,955
14,439
18,607
4,196
8,108
21,128
6,161
10,685
3,428
6,448
4,935
3,943
3,104
4,619
12,822
120
chapter three
Table 36 (cont.)
REAL DE MINAS
CAJA DE GUANAJUATO (2)
Guanajuato
Comanja
CAJA DE MEXICO (58)
**Chontalpa
Cucurucupasco
Ozumatlan
San Luis de la Paz
Sultepec
**Taxco
Tehuilotepec
Temascaltepec
Tetela de Xonotla
Tlapuxagua
Zacualpa
CAJA DE PACHUCA (2)
Pachuca
Real del Monte
CAJA DE SAN LUIS POTOSI (17)
Bonanza
Charcas
Guadalcazar
Mazapil
Saltillo
Sierra de Pinos
CAJA DE SOMBRERETE 17611765 (2)
Sombrerete
CAJA DE ZACATECAS (8)
Fresnillo
Mazapil
CAJA DE ZIMAPAN (7)
San Jose del Oro
Zimapan
PESOS
KILOS
16,613,515
412,165
1,212,775
248,449
168,871
117,987
834,764
2,648,346
486,085
1,076,787
258,774
1,104,014
187,267
30,088
6,164
4,190
2,927
20,710
65,703
12,059
26,714
6,420
27,389
4,646
2,955,801
5,247,925
73,330
130,196
308,079
438,460
970,183
339,640
208,468
1,044,008
5,162
10,878
24,069
8,426
5,172
25,901
621,291
15,414
386,572
957,083
9,590
23,744
133,450
2,210,040
3,311
54,829
* From Bernd Hausberger, La Nueva Espana y sus metales preciosas (Frankfurt am

Main: Vervuert Verlag, 1997), 169171.
** For Chontalpa and Taxco the entry to the two combined was halved and added to
each real de minas.
121
Table 37. Zacatecas Registered Silver Production, 15591821

(in pesos of 272 maraveds and kilograms of fine silver).
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
1559
1560
719,908
875,551
1,595,459
18,402
22,380
40,782
1561
1562
1563
1564
1565
1566
1567
1568
1569
1570
914,090
1,005,066
1,120,929
1,007,043
1,082,781
1,100,538
1,185,376
1,148,017
1,403,768
1,403,768
11,371,376
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
PESOS
23,365
25,690
28,652
25,741
27,677
28,131
30,299
29,344
35,882
35,882
290,664
1571
1572
1573
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
1,400,212
1,389,071
1,377,694
1,366,316
1,354,938
1,343,561
1,332,183
1,320,805
1,314,642
1,268,720
13,468,142
35,791
35,506
35,215
34,924
34,634
34,343
34,052
33,761
33,604
32,430
344,259
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
1,222,798 31,256
1,206,606 30,842
1,132,587 28,950
1,044,858 26,708
1,069,982 27,350
1,072,389 27,411
1,074,193 27,457
1,119,414 28,613
1,260,791 32,227
1,339,000 34,226
11,542,618 295,041
1,261,782
1,119,227
1,042,009
1,053,330
1,052,982
801,744
824,269
902,194
871,830
932,678
9,862,045
32,252
28,609
26,635
26,924
26,915
20,493
21,069
23,061
22,285
23,840
252,084
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
997,153
1,026,185
1,157,703
1,063,198
1,144,357
1,240,630
1,267,633
1,206,190
1,176,647
1,065,448
11,345,144
25,488
26,230
29,592
27,176
29,251
31,712
32,402
30,831
30,076
27,234
289,993
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
1,321,710 33,784
1,529,212 39,088
1,875,730 47,946
1,716,819 43,884
1,955,960 49,996
1,821,588 46,562
1,717,620 43,904
1,880,942 48,079
2,125,639 54,333
1,630,056 41,666
17,575,276 449,242
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
1,643,327
2,372,677
2,233,055
2,092,353
1,971,242
1,784,411
1,681,445
1,871,768
1,819,596
1,976,615
19,446,489
42,005
60,648
57,079
53,483
50,387
45,611
42,979
47,844
46,511
50,524
497,072
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
1,503,100
1,773,388
1,837,699
1,799,425
1,605,512
1,408,624
1,301,995
1,195,366
1,224,541
871,595
14,521,245
38,421
45,330
46,973
45,995
41,038
36,006
33,280
30,555
31,300
22,279
371,178
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
1,243,009 31,773
1,058,213 27,049
1,113,504 28,462
1,019,274 26,054
1,044,167 26,690
1,248,564 31,915
1,010,012 25,817
1,010,916 25,840
1,156,788 29,569
1,131,795 28,930
11,036,242 282,097
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1,126,420
1,112,149
1,303,628
1,229,323
1,136,025
1,027,180
1,017,069
1,032,284
28,792
28,428
33,322
31,423
29,038
26,256
25,997
26,386
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
928,515
856,443
785,939
687,712
952,763
946,457
1,150,217
1,294,996
23,734
21,892
20,089
17,579
24,354
24,192
29,401
33,101
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1,819,466
1,951,637
1,952,875
1,918,368
1,883,728
1,890,261
2,463,067
2,323,223
KILOS
46,507
49,886
49,917
49,035
48,150
48,317
62,958
59,384
122
chapter three
Table 37 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1659
1660
1,026,091
998,764
11,008,933
26,228
25,529
281,399
1669
1670
1,380,670
1,524,844
10,508,556
35,291
38,977
268,609
1679
1680
2,412,556
2,838,849
21,454,030
61,667
72,564
548,386
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
2,614,602
2,204,121
1,793,640
1,383,159
1,160,816
1,322,756
1,115,064
1,177,126
1,113,205
13,884,489
66,832
56,340
45,847
35,355
29,672
33,811
28,502
30,089
28,455
354,901
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
1,305,551
1,262,191
1,215,221
1,215,221
1,109,746
1,007,056
757,290
1,002,233
1,247,177
10,121,686
33,371
32,263
31,062
31,062
28,366
25,741
19,357
25,618
31,879
258,720
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1,134,294
1,163,770
1,193,247
1,570,469
1,214,193
1,184,183
1,364,294
1,608,276
1,713,101
12,145,827
28,994
29,747
30,501
40,143
31,036
30,269
34,873
41,109
43,789
310,459
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
1,900,914
1,534,740
1,816,780
1,710,720
2,267,549
2,137,476
2,089,060
2,269,910
2,411,086
2,427,322
20,565,557
48,589
39,229
46,439
43,728
57,961
54,636
53,398
58,021
61,630
62,045
525,676
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
1,853,968
2,274,128
2,314,210
2,431,849
1,808,841
2,022,550
2,229,640
1,919,721
2,039,269
2,307,466
21,201,642
47,389
58,129
59,154
62,160
46,236
51,698
56,992
49,070
50,592
57,246
538,666
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
2,084,744
2,089,837
2,043,301
1,790,511
2,143,025
1,690,790
1,791,888
1,892,985
1,577,114
1,635,744
18,739,939
51,720
51,847
50,692
44,421
53,166
41,947
44,455
46,963
39,127
40,581
464,919
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1,337,070
1,299,815
1,254,287
1,277,303
1,912,422
1,766,266
1,565,502
1,601,743
2,001,416
2,401,088
16,416,912
33,171
32,247
31,118
31,689
47,445
43,819
38,839
39,738
49,653
59,569
407,287
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
3,056,623
1,759,798
1,162,663
1,114,639
1,377,467
1,055,460
1,238,304
1,234,391
1,800,931
1,166,671
14,966,947
75,832
43,659
28,845
27,653
34,174
26,185
30,721
30,624
44,679
28,944
371,315
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1,034,835
1,080,263
946,488
952,796
1,036,942
1,077,764
1,006,138
971,645
1,187,472
1,204,951
10,499,294
25,673
26,800
23,481
23,638
25,725
26,738
24,961
24,106
29,460
29,894
260,477
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1,302,455
1,613,895
1,486,399
1,403,132
2,009,798
2,312,758
2,576,817
2,428,872
2,862,348
1,825,167
19,821,641
32,313
40,039
36,317
34,283
49,105
56,508
62,959
59,345
69,936
44,594
485,399
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
2,464,058
1,986,288
2,806,172
2,397,091
1,803,165
1,974,055
2,524,330
2,157,651
2,104,615
2,143,817
22,361,242
60,204
48,531
68,563
58,568
44,057
48,232
61,202
52,312
51,026
51,977
544,673
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1,815,624
2,497,927
2,328,978
2,117,597
2,192,284
3,112,967
2,829,930
2,446,202
1,863,441
1,896,110
23,101,060
44,020
60,562
56,466
51,341
53,152
75,474
68,612
59,308
45,179
45,971
560,085
123
Table 37 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1,070,330
1,413,312
3,745,679
3,245,275
2,137,413
2,505,505
2,298,028
3,579,633
4,199,083
3,532,226
27,726,484
25,950
34,266
90,814
78,682
51,822
60,746
55,716
86,788
101,807
85,639
672,229
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
2,111,652
2,868,956
2,758,652
2,648,347
1,604,417
1,831,388
1,893,242
2,863,921
3,552,864
2,317,410
24,450,849
KILOS
51,197
69,558
66,884
64,209
38,899
44,402
45,902
69,436
86,139
56,186
592,811
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1821
1,081,957
1,081,957
26,232
26,232
TOTAL 426,907,924 10,714,681
Table 38. Guadalajara Registered Silver Production, 15681816

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1571
1572
1573
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
1,216,714
1,058,531
900,349
742,166
583,983
425,801
267,618
181,936
217,064
185,257
5,779,419
31,100
27,057
23,014
18,971
14,927
10,884
6,841
4,650
5,548
4,735
147,728
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
153,450
152,367
154,771
122,596
153,592
184,587
234,101
250,381
280,436
296,716
1,982,997
3,922
3,895
3,956
3,134
3,926
4,718
5,984
6,400
7,168
7,584
50,687
1568
1569
1570
1,618,761
1,533,079
1,374,897
4,526,737
41,377
39,187
35,144
115,708
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
298,248
253,009
262,633
233,450
283,765
259,301
218,427
220,781
215,679
179,954
2,425,247
7,624
6,467
6,713
5,967
7,253
6,628
5,583
5,643
5,513
4,600
61,992
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
212,441
270,501
198,559
386,390
300,908
256,489
273,407
318,806
316,778
295,975
2,830,254
5,430
6,914
5,075
9,877
7,692
6,556
6,989
8,149
8,097
7,565
72,344
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
254,240
240,558
235,571
252,461
270,360
261,041
303,869
392,671
362,969
350,924
2,924,664
6,499
6,149
6,021
6,453
6,911
6,672
7,767
10,037
9,278
8,970
74,757
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
355,455
377,255
232,867
362,249
405,239
9,086
9,643
5,952
9,259
10,358
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
426,843
335,211
356,987
361,261
335,439
10,911
8,568
9,125
9,234
8,574
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
247,431
211,407
248,092
370,575
308,906
6,325
5,404
6,341
9,472
7,896
124
chapter three
Table 38 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
408,072
437,170
439,399
451,622
579,029
4,048,357
10,431
11,175
11,231
11,544
14,801
103,480
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
330,137
276,103
275,826
242,133
231,390
3,171,330
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
307,076
284,054
288,154
332,839
478,254
471,680
569,224
719,574
747,756
713,468
4,912,079
7,849
7,261
7,366
8,508
12,225
12,057
14,550
18,393
19,113
18,237
125,558
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
598,868
652,980
678,269
616,604
610,950
703,248
798,800
780,548
719,927
683,110
6,843,304
15,308
16,691
17,337
15,761
15,616
17,976
20,418
19,952
18,402
17,461
174,922
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
568,385
637,899
690,211
746,982
598,862
689,000
589,798
629,147
634,596
651,064
6,435,944
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
663,202
624,615
642,101
707,771
608,404
852,835
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
8,439
7,057
7,050
6,189
5,915
81,062
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
321,745
344,632
296,551
291,517
311,709
2,952,565
8,224
8,809
7,580
7,451
7,968
75,471
776,862
570,959
533,210
521,019
525,576
532,117
472,836
732,861
725,339
635,011
6,025,790
19,857
14,594
13,629
13,318
13,434
13,601
12,086
18,733
18,540
16,232
154,025
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
825,943
595,985
616,763
742,702
663,982
604,771
551,142
595,712
659,050
654,831
6,510,881
21,112
15,234
15,765
18,984
16,972
15,459
14,088
15,227
16,846
16,738
166,425
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
772,319
870,340
791,172
723,890
653,684
597,128
585,326
509,130
509,130
583,462
6,595,581
19,741
22,247
20,223
18,503
16,709
15,263
14,962
13,014
13,014
14,914
168,590
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
598,581
613,700
569,624
686,725
582,578
543,569
591,136
723,193
626,468
571,587
6,107,161
15,300
15,687
14,560
17,553
14,891
13,894
15,110
18,486
16,013
14,610
156,105
14,528
16,305
17,642
19,094
15,308
17,612
15,076
16,082
16,221
16,642
164,509
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
763,706
694,596
588,936
693,467
599,738
629,312
713,450
568,569
650,945
698,018
6,600,737
19,521
17,755
15,054
17,726
15,330
16,086
18,236
14,533
16,149
17,317
167,707
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
645,468
754,037
789,982
725,202
802,881
814,321
764,229
899,028
726,835
596,165
7,518,148
16,013
18,707
19,599
17,992
19,919
20,202
18,960
22,304
18,032
14,790
186,518
16,453
15,496
15,930
17,559
15,094
21,158
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
856,541
552,303
530,771
514,165
712,161
693,037
21,250
13,702
13,168
12,756
17,668
17,194
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
860,523
884,862
1,050,349
1,021,312
1,310,275
1,449,073
21,349
21,953
26,058
25,338
32,507
35,950
125
Table 38 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1747
1748
1749
1750
722,890
813,385
836,661
1,243,110
7,714,974
17,934
20,179
20,757
30,840
191,401
1757
1758
1759
1760
709,752
847,954
838,844
689,927
6,945,455
17,608
21,037
20,811
17,116
172,310
1767
1768
1769
1770
1,126,910
1,176,320
1,448,803
928,795
11,257,222
27,958
29,183
35,943
23,042
279,280
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
978,074
1,102,852
1,391,877
1,091,861
1,140,254
1,055,902
971,762
1,050,321
1,410,092
1,435,248
11,628,243
24,265
27,361
34,008
26,677
27,860
25,799
23,743
25,662
34,453
35,067
284,895
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
1,145,064
1,054,046
978,670
970,633
1,081,817
734,574
703,982
836,055
1,038,000
974,248
9,517,089
27,977
25,754
23,912
23,715
26,432
17,948
17,068
20,270
25,166
23,621
231,863
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1,045,927
902,321
784,477
748,037
821,752
954,945
883,404
821,743
628,743
513,266
8,104,615
25,359
21,877
19,020
18,136
19,923
23,153
21,418
19,923
15,244
12,444
196,496
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
957,431
926,778
1,121,862
1,171,339
1,365,826
848,028
589,128
6,980,392
23,213
22,470
27,200
28,399
33,114
20,560
14,283
169,240
1814
1815
1816
346,411
338,320
330,229
1,014,960
8,399
8,203
8,006
24,608
TOTAL 154,473,985 3,873,321
Table 39. Durango Registered Silver Production, 15991813

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1599
1600
134,526
216,966
351,492
3,439
5,546
8,984
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
246,400
217,361
326,969
413,325
334,654
461,885
357,418
359,314
287,910
256,404
3,261,640
6,298
5,556
8,358
10,565
8,554
11,806
9,136
9,184
7,359
6,554
83,371
YEAR
PESOS
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
272,420
334,682
375,828
354,417
339,332
339,545
339,767
339,989
340,211
340,434
3,376,625
KILOS
6,963
8,555
9,607
9,059
8,674
8,679
8,685
8,690
8,696
8,702
86,310
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
340,656
340,835
356,233
353,940
364,038
421,882
470,504
480,606
503,262
526,903
4,158,859
8,708
8,712
9,106
9,047
9,305
10,784
12,027
12,285
12,864
13,468
106,305
126
chapter three
Table 39 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
550,543
672,734
879,192
951,282
917,466
886,551
989,041
872,085
814,892
776,863
8,310,649
14,072
17,196
22,473
24,316
23,451
22,661
25,281
22,291
20,829
19,857
212,428
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
1,003,384
1,121,027
930,570
862,529
767,021
895,655
858,604
648,397
909,348
673,338
8,669,873
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
923,887
804,622
708,548
809,333
777,213
876,395
794,749
722,882
710,437
693,069
7,821,135
23,615
20,567
18,111
20,687
19,866
22,402
20,315
18,478
18,159
17,716
199,916
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
742,324
404,566
368,788
676,160
676,160
586,100
541,069
541,069
792,168
658,542
5,986,946
18,975
10,341
9,427
17,283
17,283
14,981
13,830
13,830
20,249
16,833
153,032
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
2,569,659
1,148,915
1,527,266
1,384,526
1,082,643
1,314,308
740,274
1,210,923
1,330,288
1,440,099
13,748,901
65,683
29,367
39,038
35,390
27,673
33,595
18,922
30,952
33,003
35,727
349,352
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
25,647
28,655
23,786
22,047
19,606
22,894
21,947
16,574
23,244
17,211
221,611
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
745,269
771,071
784,917
731,741
695,985
758,598
725,753
742,505
1,107,752
1,043,151
8,106,742
19,050
19,709
20,063
18,704
17,790
19,391
18,551
18,979
28,315
26,664
207,216
512,595
940,528
942,320
943,600
787,391
793,875
798,440
779,331
756,961
734,590
7,989,631
13,102
24,041
24,087
24,119
20,127
20,292
20,409
19,920
19,349
18,777
204,223
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
712,220
689,849
667,479
645,108
632,991
654,894
720,602
657,064
1,178,594
1,073,045
7,631,846
18,205
17,633
17,061
16,490
16,180
16,740
18,419
16,795
30,126
27,428
195,078
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
466,227
741,350
741,350
858,985
827,652
596,935
635,649
748,349
772,438
958,488
7,347,423
11,917
18,950
18,950
21,957
21,156
15,258
16,248
19,129
19,744
24,500
187,807
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
967,430
958,649
1,044,542
946,894
828,076
1,565,469
1,656,911
1,656,437
1,381,959
1,616,579
12,622,946
24,728
24,504
26,700
24,204
21,166
40,015
42,352
42,340
35,324
41,321
322,655
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
788,430
2,472,349
1,567,585
2,912,730
1,796,739
1,323,018
1,849,082
2,252,680
70,439
2,025,647
17,058,699
19,560
61,337
38,890
72,262
44,575
32,823
45,874
55,887
1,748
50,254
423,209
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1,903,861
2,923,467
1,735,557
995,172
1,944,418
1,992,934
2,200,516
1,429,500
1,311,861
1,668,344
18,105,630
47,233
72,528
43,057
24,689
48,239
49,443
54,593
35,464
32,546
41,390
449,183
127
Table 39 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
1,647,270
1,626,197
1,407,164
1,523,557
1,403,992
1,586,410
1,905,623
1,790,344
1,343,746
1,969,303
16,203,606
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
1811
1812
1813
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
40,867
40,344
34,910
37,798
34,832
39,357
47,277
44,417
33,337
48,856
401,995
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1,290,820
1,779,648
2,011,500
1,788,361
1,684,541
1,338,304
2,389,257
2,274,954
1,569,344
2,006,046
18,132,775
32,024
44,151
49,903
44,367
41,792
33,202
59,275
56,439
38,934
49,768
449,856
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
663,239
1,865,585
1,967,862
1,577,525
1,625,443
1,977,844
2,035,910
1,880,009
1,811,128
1,420,174
16,824,719
16,454
46,283
48,081
38,544
39,714
48,325
49,743
45,934
44,251
34,699
412,029
1,655,404
1,590,743
1,721,817
1,543,257
1,022,716
1,030,807
1,171,289
1,311,771
1,499,450
1,639,633
14,186,887
40,446
38,867
42,069
37,706
24,988
25,186
28,398
31,804
36,354
39,753
345,571
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1,613,339
1,354,560
1,672,853
1,965,771
2,060,716
2,041,055
2,172,073
1,911,229
1,634,642
1,762,936
18,189,174
39,115
32,841
40,558
47,660
49,962
49,485
52,662
46,338
39,632
42,742
440,997
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1,528,495
1,276,670
1,779,376
2,408,083
1,898,394
1,993,037
2,087,679
1,653,688
2,528,055
1,836,367
18,989,844
37,058
30,953
43,141
58,384
46,027
48,321
50,616
40,094
61,293
44,523
460,409
1,098,486
1,220,931
1,343,376
3,662,793
26,633
29,601
32,570
88,804
TOTAL 240,738,835 6,010,342
Table 310. San Luis Potosi Registered Silver Production, 16281810

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1628
1629
1630
598,236
955,162
1,035,258
2,588,656
15,292
24,415
26,462
66,169
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
860,764
811,363
829,498
814,630
758,815
700,100
728,341
681,722
646,758
775,320
7,607,311
22,002
20,739
21,203
20,823
19,396
17,895
18,617
17,425
16,532
19,818
194,450
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
603,802
589,481
484,239
430,712
474,319
464,605
487,235
463,919
448,113
416,610
4,863,035
15,434
15,068
12,378
11,009
12,124
11,876
12,454
11,858
11,454
10,649
124,304
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
427,220
448,750
470,430
473,867
416,289
375,024
421,144
367,477
342,041
317,105
4,059,347
10,920
11,470
12,025
12,113
10,641
9,586
10,765
9,393
8,743
8,106
103,761
128
chapter three
Table 310 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
294,370
293,627
303,256
383,320
365,255
331,362
335,944
407,525
459,401
462,935
3,636,995
7,524
7,505
7,752
9,798
9,336
8,470
8,587
10,417
11,743
11,833
92,965
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
369,575
398,278
400,489
397,968
397,968
366,607
348,690
389,295
448,379
488,656
4,005,905
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
561,700
486,058
438,690
485,243
408,248
400,583
433,903
461,785
441,709
466,126
4,584,045
14,358
12,424
11,213
12,403
10,435
10,239
11,091
11,804
11,291
11,915
117,173
9,447
10,180
10,237
10,172
10,172
9,371
8,913
9,951
11,461
12,491
102,395
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
487,321
451,323
413,759
376,196
338,632
318,285
318,285
318,285
318,285
318,285
3,658,656
452,042
395,725
212,606
258,936
217,009
407,101
330,917
302,633
453,881
457,532
3,488,382
11,555
10,115
5,434
6,619
5,547
10,406
8,459
7,736
11,305
11,396
88,571
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
449,363
457,738
953,131
1,045,943
1,368,918
1,003,303
1,384,656
1,540,615
1,645,451
1,042,525
10,891,643
11,193
11,401
23,741
26,052
34,097
24,990
34,489
38,374
40,985
25,967
271,289
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
448,644
475,119
478,827
416,815
400,906
377,686
438,727
376,860
343,534
415,748
4,172,866
11,468
12,145
12,239
10,654
10,248
9,654
11,214
9,633
8,781
10,627
106,663
12,456
11,536
10,576
9,616
8,656
8,136
8,136
8,136
8,136
8,136
93,519
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
213,930
109,575
319,360
231,905
291,395
256,763
240,800
220,745
405,367
516,284
2,806,124
5,468
2,801
8,163
5,928
7,448
6,563
6,155
5,642
10,362
13,197
71,727
420,633
406,734
475,972
465,596
349,688
547,367
441,899
448,477
335,651
314,861
4,206,878
10,477
10,131
11,856
11,597
8,710
13,634
11,007
11,171
8,360
7,843
104,785
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
380,213
210,090
370,115
304,541
302,361
397,426
382,795
410,066
418,440
433,902
3,609,949
9,470
5,233
9,219
7,586
7,531
9,899
9,535
10,214
10,423
10,808
89,917
864,025
569,918
712,533
814,320
844,496
874,672
831,525
976,680
1,372,475
1,197,386
9,058,030
21,521
14,196
17,748
20,283
21,035
21,786
20,712
24,327
34,186
29,824
225,617
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1,134,611
1,193,656
1,626,172
1,169,492
1,125,295
1,109,811
1,107,344
1,061,349
1,899,266
1,920,844
13,347,840
28,261
29,732
39,732
28,574
27,494
27,116
27,056
25,932
46,405
46,932
327,234
129
Table 310 (cont.)

YEAR
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
PESOS
2,725,670
2,879,128
3,583,706
3,461,147
2,548,394
2,102,523
2,228,147
3,027,908
3,291,505
2,738,890
28,587,018
KILOS
66,596
70,346
87,561
84,566
62,265
51,371
54,021
73,412
79,803
66,404
696,345
YEAR
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
PESOS
2,941,321
3,232,330
3,371,927
3,052,633
3,915,156
3,520,330
2,824,055
3,201,532
2,880,761
2,698,771
31,638,816
KILOS
71,312
78,368
81,752
74,011
94,923
85,350
68,469
77,621
69,844
65,432
767,083
YEAR
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
PESOS
2,717,624
2,104,780
3,314,679
3,208,009
2,487,138
2,617,156
2,586,046
2,719,348
2,719,348
2,719,348
27,193,476
KILOS
65,889
51,030
80,364
77,778
60,301
63,453
62,699
65,931
65,931
65,931
659,306
TOTAL 174,004,972 4,303,274
PESOS
267,970
293,018
337,024
382,164
405,232
399,735
2,085,143
1,021,135
1038805
976298
958,539
803,492
911,126
768,971
851,434
907,661
866,760
9,104,221
2,303,631
2,085,131
2,532,656
YEAR
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1741
1742
1743
57,151
51,730
62,833
26,101
26,553
24,955
24,501
20,538
23,289
19,656
21,764
23,201
22,155
232,713
6,850
7,490
8,615
9,768
10,358
10,218
53,298
KILOS
1751
1752
1753
3,228,779
3,076,762
2,304,393
776,932
805,467
893,902
768,950
901,738
1,070,026
1,223,760
1,172,987
1,276,371
1,274,011
10,164,144
413,860
513,960
533,416
582,969
599,487
707,951
744,105
591,289
584,301
596,088
5,867,426
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
PESOS
YEAR
80,103
76,331
57,170
19,859
20,589
22,849
19,655
23,049
27,351
31,281
29,983
32,625
32,565
259,806
10,579
13,137
13,635
14,901
15,323
18,096
19,020
15,114
14,935
15,237
149,977
KILOS
1761
1762
1763
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
YEAR
2,606,872
2,444,771
2,253,413
1,151,669
1,196,901
1,276,326
1,279,266
1,220,862
1,651,229
1,811,028
1,977,761
2,065,347
2,434,314
16,064,703
545,124
528,136
530,324
536,493
569,130
607,339
645,548
683,757
721,966
754,603
6,122,420
PESOS
64,674
60,652
55,905
29,438
30,594
32,624
32,699
31,206
42,207
46,292
50,554
51,239
60,393
407,246
13,934
13,500
13,556
13,713
14,548
15,524
16,501
17,478
18,454
19,288
156,495
KILOS
Table 311. Guanajuato Registered Silver Production, 16651816

(in Pesos of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Silver).
1771
1772
1773
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
YEAR
3,667,615
3,350,569
3,532,734
2,120,358
1,936,394
1,855,477
1,951,752
2,000,752
2,743,596
2,138,236
2,412,147
2,280,477
2,163,642
21,602,831
758,584
758,584
766,564
772,265
772,265
686,044
624,458
623,118
622,160
622,160
7,006,202
PESOS
90,990
83,124
86,315
52,604
48,040
46,033
48,421
49,637
68,066
53,047
59,843
56,576
53,678
535,945
19,390
19,390
19,594
19,740
19,740
17,536
15,962
15,928
15,903
15,903
179,086
KILOS
130
chapter three
PESOS
3,164,115
2,232,587
3,536,064
3,764,550
3,789,725
3,526,018
3,311,148
30,245,625
4,942,817
2,992,358
5,988,346
5,030,884
4,073,422
3,706,899
4,107,862
4,346,248
5,454,679
5,198,596
45,842,111
YEAR
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
Table 311 (cont.)
120,768
73,112
146,313
122,920
99,526
90,571
99,595
105,375
132,249
126,040
1,116,468
78,499
55,388
87,726
93,395
94,019
87,477
82,146
750,364
KILOS
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
YEAR
6,705,275
5,550,817
4,512,798
4,582,294
4,953,761
4,272,651
6,176,294
5,467,761
4,367,394
4,426,000
51,015,045
2,195,041
2,237,475
2,305,869
2,541,738
2,014,820
2,718,607
2,316,679
24,940,163
PESOS
162,569
134,580
109,413
111,098
120,104
103,590
149,744
132,566
105,887
107,308
1,236,860
54,457
55,510
57,206
63,058
49,986
67,446
57,474
618,741
KILOS
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
YEAR
2,973,963
3,392,716
6,500,587
6,563,239
6,243,853
5,355,294
5,113,395
4,666,812
4,220,229
3,773,647
48,803,735
1,896,213
2,063,422
2,558,533
2,298,066
2,473,230
2,636,205
3,118,661
24,349,386
PESOS
72,104
82,256
157,607
159,126
151,382
129,839
123,974
113,147
102,319
91,492
1,183,247
47,043
51,191
63,475
57,013
61,358
65,402
77,371
604,084
KILOS
3,327,064
3,085,165
2,520,615
2,839,587
3,158,560
2,311,596
17,242,587
360,859,816
TOTAL
3,000,295
3,279,721
5,241,123
4,882,082
4,594,853
4,685,752
4,169,330
40,404,074
PESOS
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
YEAR
8,89,206
80,665
74,800
61,112
68,846
76,579
56,045
418,047
73,306
80,133
128,056
119,284
112,266
114,487
101,869
989,832
KILOS

131
132
chapter three
Table 312. Pachua Silver Output, 16671807
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
340,689
329,811
325,041
304,541
297,707
351,571
369,525
356,534
409,367
337,478
3,422,264
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
8,708
8,430
8,308
7,784
7,610
8,987
9,445
9,113
10,464
8,626
87,476
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
266,609
403,083
249,459
265,435
359,493
500,045
528,155
753,438
827,477
720,649
4,873,843
6,815
10,303
6,376
6,785
9,189
12,782
13,500
19,259
21,151
18,421
124,580
1667
1668
1669
1670
146,998
440,994
303,347
275,818
1,167,157
3,757
11,272
7,754
7,050
29,834
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
664,249
684,005
681,339
668,579
654,867
641,155
627,443
613,731
600,020
586,308
6,421,696
16,979
17,484
17,416
17,090
16,739
16,389
16,038
15,688
15,337
14,987
164,145
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
572,596
558,884
545,172
531,460
517,748
510,321
390,275
322,881
423,661
638,394
5,011,392
14,636
14,286
13,935
13,585
13,234
13,044
9,976
8,253
10,829
16,318
128,096
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
564,229
524,789
649,642
1,029,670
810,862
609,927
649,404
692,266
904,092
766,339
7,201,220
14,422
13,414
16,605
26,319
20,726
15,590
16,599
17,695
23,109
19,588
184,070
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
785,321
1,287,716
1,434,468
1,478,156
1,128,670
1,670,073
1,731,569
1,214,339
1,208,009
749,811
12,688,132
20,074
32,915
36,666
37,783
28,850
42,689
44,261
31,040
29,969
18,602
322,849
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
860,459
1,158,055
1,102,450
776,862
743,651
781,752
585,174
442,018
465,385
371,633
7,287,439
21,347
28,730
27,351
19,273
18,449
19,394
14,518
10,966
11,546
9,220
180,794
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
410,972
447,807
336,743
604,128
745,798
781,174
567,294
511,972
699,064
760,706
5,865,658
10,196
11,110
8,354
14,988
18,503
19,380
14,074
12,702
17,343
18,872
145,521
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
822,349
845,927
814,284
911,321
1,269,459
1,355,648
1,024,083
756,569
719,862
1,153,404
9,672,906
20,402
20,987
20,202
22,609
31,494
33,632
25,406
18,770
17,859
28,615
239,975
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1,202,083
962,771
1,067,284
1,273,073
1,276,514
1,132,147
1,281,917
931,119
1,002,165
1,260,064
11,389,137
29,822
23,885
26,478
31,584
31,669
28,087
31,803
23,100
24,863
31,261
282,553
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1,034,780
598,477
981,771
718,138
725,408
929,394
1,190,743
879,349
907,284
747,752
8,713,096
25,672
14,848
23,988
17,546
17,724
22,708
29,093
21,485
22,168
18,270
213,501
133
Table 312 (cont.)

YEAR
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
PESOS
669,954
579,550
799,697
521,083
519,413
600,826
668,963
546,615
492,183
446,284
5,844,568
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
16,369
14,160
19,539
12,732
12,691
14,680
16,219
13,253
11,933
10,820
142,395
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
406,532
370,606
350,450
624,000
673,156
1,127,972
1,021,550
997,596
938,119
841,771
7,351,752
9,856 1801
791,349
19,186
8,985 1802
550,486
13,347
8,497 1803
911,523
22,100
15,129 1804
1,060,862
25,721
16,321 1805
1,000,106
24,248
27,348 1806
939,349
22,775
24,767 1807
829,404
20,109
24,187
6,083,079 147,484
22,745
20,409
178,243 TOTAL 102,993,339 2,571,519
Table 313. Sombrerete Registered Silver Production, 16831816

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
985,163
985,163
781,094
635,331
635,331
517,081
368,118
303,948
311,866
351,453
5,874,548
25,182
25,182
19,966
16,240
16,240
13,217
9,409
7,769
7,972
8,983
150,159
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
301,099
265,131
257,439
255,901
233,410
201,923
445,090
249,869
211,596
222,608
2,644,066
7,696
6,777
6,580
6,541
5,966
5,161
11,377
6,387
5,409
5,690
67,585
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
764,491
968,659
1,044,860
1,134,071
1,223,283
1,290,191
1,172,313
1,397,785
8,995,653
19,541
24,760
26,708
28,988
31,268
32,979
29,965
35,729
229,938
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
161,003
218,205
144,935
187,521
128,270
176,820
163,753
190,852
147,213
102,320
1,620,892
4,115
5,578
3,705
4,793
3,279
4,520
4,186
4,878
3,763
2,615
41,432
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
156,680
136,918
103,754
93,959
120,369
107,238
115,459
140,066
127,418
130,393
1,232,254
4,005
3,500
2,652
2,402
3,077
2,741
2,951
3,580
3,161
3,235
31,304
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
183,180
212,492
511,615
492,508
367,311
554,508
398,459
875,787
625,402
711,402
4,932,664
4,545
5,272
12,693
12,219
9,113
13,757
9,885
21,727
15,516
17,649
122,374
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
574,713
552,344
670,344
603,730
948,123
1,158,459
1,075,643
14,258
13,703
16,631
14,978
23,522
28,740
26,686
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
432,966
307,804
240,008
165,984
185,484
215,811
232,213
10,741
7,636
5,954
4,118
4,602
5,354
5,761
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
153,836
208,131
153,934
154,148
175,000
172,098
147,385
3,817
5,164
3,819
3,824
4,342
4,270
3,656
134
chapter three
Table 313 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
1748
1749
1750
922,751
839,934
500,762
7,846,803
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
22,893
20,838
12,423
194,671
1758
1759
1760
186,836
166,393
165,369
2,298,868
324,041
281,639
450,680
306,082
564,221
581,943
762,082
571,743
301,128
386,248
4,529,807
8,039
6,987
11,011
7,479
13,786
14,219
18,620
13,969
7,357
9,437
110,905
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
1,323,679
1,746,193
2,008,679
2,759,461
2,426,330
2,640,955
834,100
948,248
974,477
785,690
16,447,812
32,093
42,336
48,700
66,903
58,826
64,030
20,223
22,990
23,626
19,049
398,777
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
4,635
4,128
4,103
57,033
1768
1769
1770
173,910
235,795
179,779
1,754,016
4,315
5,850
4,460
43,515
352,615
262,055
638,425
629,606
859,203
441,000
420,917
445,165
562,155
537,262
5,148,403
8,615
6,403
15,599
15,383
20,993
10,775
10,205
10,793
13,629
13,026
125,421
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
562,885
1,318,000
1,534,952
511,101
551,087
650,884
822,963
1,307,180
1,028,349
1,143,532
9,430,933
13,647
31,955
37,215
12,392
13,361
15,781
19,953
31,693
24,932
27,725
228,653
596,904
719,009
703,734
468,229
468,908
488,761
3,445,545
14,472
17,432
17,062
11,352
11,369
11,850
83,537
TOTAL 76,202,264
1,885,305
Table 314. Zimapan Registered Silver Production 17291810

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1729
1730
204,908
201,899
406,807
5,084
5,009
10,092
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
206,578
208,131
257,559
213,229
161,725
265,908
237,606
226,495
177,239
215,037
2,169,507
5,125
5,164
6,390
5,290
4,012
6,597
5,895
5,619
4,397
5,335
53,823
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
185,079
210,861
209,664
262,180
327,057
367,205
403,728
349,908
358,102
373,229
3,047,013
4,592
5,231
5,202
6,504
8,114
9,110
10,016
8,681
8,884
9,259
75,593
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
388,356
396,549
436,057
374,495
362,826
375,082
375,057
375,033
397,639
433,328
3,914,422
9,635
9,838
10,818
9,291
9,001
9,305
9,305
9,304
9,865
10,750
97,113
135
Table 314 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
469,016
416,344
273,238
327,672
309,426
337,648
307,041
418,893
553,746
655,881
4,068,905
11,636
10,329
6,779
8,129
7,677
8,377
7,617
10,392
13,738
16,272
100,945
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
571,725
628,459
580,295
653,664
686,344
515,762
435,156
583,514
546,000
548,147
5,749,066
14,184
15,591
14,178
15,971
16,769
12,602
10,632
14,257
13,340
13,393
140,918
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
765,394
633,624
557,697
494,156
469,257
441,257
409,239
376,303
381,275
416,972
4,945,174
18,701
15,481
13,626
12,074
11,465
10,781
9,922
9,123
9,244
10,109
120,528
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
412,771
369,596
315,376
367,330
824,459
752,560
700,532
698,477
503,963
530,725
5,475,789
10,008
8,961
7,646
8,906
19,989
18,246
16,984
16,935
12,219
12,867
132,761
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
640,339
524,193
273,670
547,853
424,596
473,899
480,758
480,758
480,758
480,758
4,807,582
15,525
12,709
6,635
13,283
10,294
11,490
11,656
11,656
11,656
11,656
116,560
TOTAL 34,584,265
848,334
Table 315. Bolanos Registered Silver Production 17531810

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
2,661,861
2,507,148
2,752,656
2,145,385
2,193,828
2,354,779
1,594,967
1,456,852
17,667,476
66,038
62,200
68,291
53,225
54,427
58,420
39,570
36,143
438,312
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1,147,385
1,020,165
1,673,881
1,197,055
902,826
735,028
28,034
24,926
40,898
29,248
22,059
17,959
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1,109,303
638,820
592,082
688,705
599,615
704,107
476,795
479,844
562,943
516,549
6,368,763
27,521
15,848
14,689
17,086
14,876
17,468
11,829
11,904
13,966
12,815
158,003
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
431,721
425,549
497,344
602,049
612,336
967,730
1,026,762
1,165,394
1,271,450
1,206,138
8,206,473
10,711
10,557
12,152
14,710
14,961
23,645
25,087
28,474
31,065
29,470
200,831
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
422,844
721,468
614,954
514,780
711,211
361,771
10,252
17,492
14,910
12,481
17,243
8,771
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
108,587
103,560
77,257
109,239
92,160
92,160
2,633
2,511
1,873
2,648
2,234
2,234
136
chapter three
Table 315 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1787
1788
1789
1790
715,679
528,917
297,018
113,431
8,331,385
17,352
12,824
7,201
2,750
203,250
1797
1798
1799
1800
255,642
185,257
170,688
167,587
4,126,202
6,198
4,492
4,138
4,063
100,040
YEAR
1807
1808
1809
1810
PESOS
92,160
92,160
92,160
92,160
951,603
KILOS
2,234
2,234
2,234
2,234
23,072
TOTAL 45,651,902 1,123,507
Table 316. Veracruz Silver Production, 15691805

(in pesos of 272 maravedis and kilograms of fine silver).
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1768
1769
1770
35,669
0
0
35,669
885
0
0
885
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
0
0
3,440
0
0
0
107,165
357,183
64,569
0
532,357
0
0
84
0
0
0
2,618
8,727
1,578
0
13,007
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
0
25,679
81,284
88,936
19,963
21,514
66,028
67,890
19,183
38,624
429,101
0
627
1,986
2,173
488
526
1,601
1,646
465
936
10,448
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
80,798
75,807
89,550
0
0
0
0
0
0
229
246,384
1,959
1,838
2,171
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
5,974
1,243,511
30,314
TOTAL
Table 317. Rosario/Los Alamos/Cosala Registered Silver Production, 17701813

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1770
329,523
329,523
8,175
8,175
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
279,761
244,055
159,688
207,220
207,468
312,230
346,885
6,941
6,055
3,902
5,063
5,069
7,629
8,475
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
413,917
534,908
865,431
1,267,330
1,131,486
840,615
1,153,807
10,113
13,069
21,145
30,965
27,646
20,539
27,974
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1,332,174
1,149,266
1,247,697
1,004,459
1,000,477
1,968,578
2,324,972
32,299
27,864
30,250
24,353
24,257
47,728
56,369
137
Table 317 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1778
1779
1780
398,266
442,853
400,761
2,999,187
9,731
10,820
9,792
73,476
1788
1789
1790
1,381,413
1,318,624
1,318,927
10,226,458
33,492
31,970
31,977
248,891
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
2,335,495
2,130,312
2,482,835
2,121,349
1,250,890
1,377,119
1,548,349
833,147
1,072,376
967,103
16,118,975
56,624
51,649
60,196
51,432
30,328
33,388
37,540
20,200
26,000
23,447
390,805
1811
1812
1813
772,752
578,402
473,128
1,824,282
18,735
14,023
11,471
44,230
YEAR
PESOS
1798
1799
1800
2,432,367
1,291,495
1,452,670
15,204,155
TOTAL
PESOS
KILOS
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
339,294
399,862
439,303
478,743
390,239
336,440
2,383,881
8,290
9,770
10,651
11,607
9,461
8,157
57,936
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
343,892
357,649
371,406
385,163
398,920
412,677
420,128
338,018
431,872
313,064
3,772,789
8,338
8,671
9,005
9,338
9,672
10,005
10,186
8,195
10,471
7,590
91,471
1811
1812
1813
1814
338,872
381,073
423,275
225,358
1,368,578
8,216
9,239
10,262
5,464
33,181
58,973
31,312
35,220
368,625
46,702,580 1,134,201
Table 318. Chihuahua Registered Silver Production, 17851814

YEAR
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
333,734
257,569
425,890
424,972
361,477
389,138
298,303
415,486
438,587
269,578
3,614,734
8,091
6,245
10,326
10,303
8,764
9,435
7,232
10,073
10,634
6,536
87,639
TOTAL
11,139,982
270,228
138
chapter three
Table 319. Mercury Shipments to Mexico from Almaden, Idria, and Peru, 15581805
(in Quintales).
YEAR
QUINT
YEAR
QUINT
YEAR
QUINT
YEAR
QUINT
YEAR
QUINT
1558
1559
1560
126
264
627
1,017
1561
1562
1563
1564
1565
1566
1567
1568
1569
1570
498
326
417
786
977
896
849
873
1,387
1,743
8,752
1571
1572
1573
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
1,717
2,096
1,899
1,898
1,855
2,897
3,396
1,703
3,795
1,232
22,488
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
587
4,164
2,100
1,628
2,168
2,400
0
5,617
6,557
0
25,221
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
3,201
2,000
1,506
3,740
3,167
4,874
3,641
0
3,151
3,393
28,673
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
3,294
2,394
3,029
3,231
3,276
3,726
1,701
6,231
3,177
2,189
32,248
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
3,104
3,245
3,269
4,849
4,583
4,562
5,097
5,180
4,594
3,881
42,364
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
4,562
4,676
4,131
4,519
5,710
4,301
4,406
4,694
4,776
4,464
46,239
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
2,348
3,564
1,200
1,422
1,024
1,024
1,024
1,024
1,024
3,724
17,378
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
3,724
3,724
3,724
3,724
1,973
1,973
1,973
1,973
1,973
3,472
28,233
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
1,317
0
6,434
0
3,400
3,531
0
3,880
400
2,400
21,362
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
1,003
1,785
1,401
460
3,883
3,051
2,618
1,379
0
4,462
20,042
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
2,897
0
4,971
0
5,034
0
4,463
1,627
0
3,385
22,377
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
1,500
0
3,148
668
1,603
2,100
2,200
2,100
1,601
0
14,920
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
1,679
5,114
0
0
4,337
881
933
1,200
2,500
2,494
19,138
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
n.d
n.d
n.d
n.d
n.d
n.d
n.d
n.d
n.d
6,948
6,948
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
4,000
4,000
0
0
0
10,997
7,999
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
4,000
7,996
0
5,997
0
3,000
0
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
7,836
7,846
7,995
5,862
0
4,916
6,745
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
7,192
3,834
4,371
4,740
11,677
3,472
5,755
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
10,428
3,816
6,729
14,853
22,753
0
4,070
139
Table 319 (cont.)

YEAR
QUINT
YEAR
QUINT
YEAR
QUINT
YEAR
1718
1719
1720
0
10,278
0
37,274
1728
1729
1730
7,994
5,073
2,800
36,860
1738
1739
1740
5,992
0
2,880
50,072
1748
1749
1750
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
11,900
5,649
12,323
4,046
12,924
18,213
5,651
2,345
9,657
11,790
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
6,785
6,773
7,328
7,505
8,079
6,486
22,030
17,324
7,163
14,846
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
0
29,980
12,943
12,002
6,501
14,509
12,664
16,106
16,509
10,891
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
94,498
0
600
3,627
4,920
4,890
1,329
15,366
104,319
132,105
QUINT
YEAR
QUINT
13,062
3,634
1,990
59,727
1758
1759
1760
1,688
3,729
12,989
81,055
24,679
24,764
9,269
16,600
15,720
12,060
0
0
12,373
4,265
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1,450
19,314
38,900
28,318
20,984
11,264
11,264
11,264
11,264
11,264
119,730
165,286
TOTAL 1,269,068
From 15581634 and 16501770 mercury remittances are derived from Chaunu and Chaunu, Seville
et lAtlantique. For the years 163449 they can be found in Peter J. Bakewell, Silver Mining and Society, 254. For the years 17011805 see the chapter by Kendall Brown, The Spanish Imperial Mercury
Trade and the American Mining Expansion Under the Bourbon Monarchy in Kenneth J. Andrien
and Lyman L. Johnson, The Political Economy of Spanish America in the Age of Revolution, 17501850
(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994): 13767. See also Antonia Heredia, La renta
del azogue en Nueva Espana: 17091751 (Sevilla: Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos, C.S.I.C.
1978), 23940.
140
chapter three
Table 320. Mexican, New World, and World Silver Production 15211810
(by Decade, in Kilograms of Fine Silver).
DECADE
MEXICO NEW WORLD
WORLD*
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
7,670
57,260
270,180
476,080
877,720
1,002,440
872,110
1,066,160
1,230,040
1,287,920
1,224,300
1,121,110
843,210
908,220
876,970
1,325,970
1,495,100
1,274,770
1,272,680
1,653,420
2,067,040
2,295,920
2,537,890
2,954,020
2,662,270
3,578,740
4,149,710
4,821,600
4,878,510
49,089,030
900,000
900,000
2,843,000
3,116,000
2,995,000
2,995,000
4,190,000
4,190,000
4,230,000
4,230,000
3,936,000
3,936,000
3,663,000
3,663,000
3,370,000
3,370,000
3,419,000
3,419,000
3,556,000
3,556,000
4,312,000
4,312,000
5,331,450
5,331,450
6,527,400
6,527,400
8,790,600
8,790,600
8,941,500
125,341,400
8,756
192,980
718,765
1,091,599
1,432,762
1,826,711
2,561,225
2,898,548
3,113,649
3,176,323
3,160,267
3,286,813
2,628,662
2,355,765
2,191,526
2,556,891
2,808,119
2,371,740
1,999,981
2,367,326
2,855,804
3,241,373
3,670,428
4,332,244
4,137,147
5,306,311
5,891,595
7,030,814
6,776,893
85,991,017
* According to Soetbeers estimates.
MEXICO AS % MEXICO AS %
NW TOT
WLD TOT
87.60%
29.67%
37.59%
43.61%
61.26%
54.88%
34.05%
36.78%
39.50%
40.55%
38.74%
34.11%
32.08%
38.55%
40.02%
51.86%
53.24%
53.75%
63.63%
69.84%
72.38%
70.83%
69.14%
68.19%
64.35%
67.44%
70.43%
68.58%
71.99%
57.09%
0.85%
6.36%
9.50%
15.28%
29.31%
33.47%
20.81%
25.45%
29.08%
30.45%
31.11%
28.48%
23.02%
24.79%
26.02%
39.35%
43.73%
37.28%
35.79%
46.50%
47.94%
53.24%
47.60%
55.41%
40.79%
54.83%
47.21%
54.85%
54.56%
39.16%
CHAPTER FOUR
SILVER, THE ABUNDANT METAL:

UPPER AND LOWER PERU
Although the mines of Mexico produced the most silver in the Spanish Indies over the entire colonial epoch, PeruUpper Peru (Bolivia)
and Lower Peru (Peru)produced more during the first half of that
epoch. In fact, not until the 1670s did Mexican silver output surpass
that of Peru. During the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries,
the halcyon days for Peruvian silver mining, Potos, the richest silver
mining area in all colonial Spanish America, drove New World silver
production, but other regions of PeruCailloma, Carangas, Chucuito,
Pasco, Oruro, and Trujillo among otherscontributed their share of
silver as well. Overall, between 1531 and 1810, Peru produced almost
one and one-half billion pesos or 42 percent of the New Worlds output of silver (see Figure 23). Upper Perus share of this Peruvian total
was much larger, 80 percent; the other 20 percent came from Lower
Peru, primarily in the eighteenth century. Around 1800, Alexander
von Humboldt, the keen observer of the colonial regime, had surmised
that Peru was the major New World bullion producer, but Mexico
(New Spain) was the leader in silver output (See Figure 11).
Atahualpas Ransom and the Cuzco Distribution

Spaniards became aware of the precious metals of Peru at the moment
of conquest with their most salient introduction to Inca riches coming
in 1533 when they acquired Atahualpas ransom. Prior to the arrival of
the Spanish intruders, the Inca empire in the Andes (Tahuantinsuyu)
was rent by civil war between the followers of Huscar and those of
Atahualpa, both of whom were sons of the previous ruler, Huayna
Capac. In their struggle for the Inca emperorship, Atahualpa prevailed
and captured his half-brother Huscar.
An authority on the early Spanish presence in Peru, Noble David
Cook notes that when Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru,
mounted his third expedition to the region in 1531, Atahualpa was in
142
chapter four
Quito in present-day Ecuador, but in 1532, he came south with a few

thousand Inca warriors both to deal with the European interlopers and
to enjoy the thermal baths at Cajamarca, where the Spaniards joined
them. When Atahualpa visited the Spanish encampment in November
1532, Pizarro and his men ambushed the Inca and took him captive.
Sensing the Spanish desire for precious metals, Atahualpa offered to
pay a ransom of two rooms of silver and one of gold in exchange for
his release. The Spaniards agreed to his terms and were astounded
when Atahualpas Inca supporters trooped into Cajamarca with gold
and silver jewelry, ornaments, and ritual pieces to save their leader.
With the ransom in hand, however, the Spaniards reneged on their
promise. They charged Atahualpa with killing Huscar, held a mock
trial, found him guilty, and garroted the Inca on July 26, 1533.
Meanwhile, on June 17, just before Atahualpas execution, Pizarros men divided up his ransom. The ransom was breathtaking. Cook
estimates it at 13,420 pounds of gold (6,100 kilograms) and 26,000
pounds of silver (11,818 kilograms).1 A Peruvian expert, Manuel
Moreyra Paz Soldn, calculates the booty taken at 5,721 kilograms of
gold and 11,041 kilograms of silver, remarkably close to Cooks figures. In value, Moreyra sets the amount of the ransom at 1,326,539
pesos of buen oro (good gold)2 or 2,294,626 silver pesos of eight reales.
The value of the silver was 51,610 marks or 438,685 silver pesos.3 Significantly, the gold obtained from Atahualpas ransom constituted 41
percent of total Peruvian gold gathered by the Spaniards from 1531
to 1540, but only 8 percent of the silver. Moreover, the gold collected
from the ransom was greater than total Mexican gold output in the
immediate post-conquest decade (15211530), an indication that gold
booty taken from the Incas was vastly greater than that seized from
the Aztecs in Mexico.
Less well known than Atahualpas ransom was the Cuzco distribution (reparto del Cuzco), a sharing of booty taken in the Spaniards
conquest of the Inca capital in March 1534. The gold seized amounted
to 580,200 pesos of buen oro worth 959,882 silver pesos or 17 percent of the total for the decade from 1531 to 1540. The silver totaled
215,000 marks or 1,827,500 silver pesos or 35 percent of the silver total
1
Noble David Cook, Atahualpa, in Encyclopedia of Latin American History and

Culture, vol. 1 (New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1996), 231232.
2
A peso of buen oro in 1533 was valued at 450 maravedis.
3
Moreyra Paz Soldn, Moneda colonial, 3543.
silver, the abundant metal: upper and lower peru
143
for the same ten years. Although the gold was only about half of that
supplied by Atahualpas ransom, the silver in the Cuzco distribution
was four times greater, making the total amount of booty shared by
the conquistadores in 1534 slightly greater than that shared at Cajamarca by Atahualpas captors in 1533. Together, the seizures from
Atahualpas ransom and the Cuzco distribution constituted 59 percent of the gold and 44 percent of the silver declared in Peru between
1531 and 1540. Moreyra Paz Soldn believes most of the treasure from
both Atahualpas ransom and the Cuzco distribution went immediately back to Spain.4
With this auspicious beginning in their quest for precious metals,
the conquerors very early garnered immense riches from the spoils
of war taken from the Incas. In fact, most of the gold and silver output declared in Peru during the first decade of the 1530s came not
from mining but from seizure of worked silver and gold, which the
Incas had fashioned into jewelry, ornaments, and ritual piecesgold
amounting to 5,510,000 silver pesos and silver to 5,100,000 pesos.
Long-Range Trends in Peruvian Silver Output, 15311810

Spaniards also began looking for silver and gold lodes in Peru soon
after they had solidified their conquest. In the 1530s and 1540s, they
discovered some gold in Asillo, Carabaya, Chaucalla, Chayanta, Chilleo,
Chuquiabo, and La Paz in Upper Peru and silver at Porco (1538). The
most startling find of silver, however, came in April 1545, to the east
of Porco at the Cerro Rico (Rich Hill) de Potos, named Potos after the
Indian word for high places. Potos became the most productive mining district in the New World.5 Spaniards also exploited silver mines in
Upper Peru in Chocaya, Emoraca, Garcimendoza, Oruro, San Antonio del Nuevo Mundo, San Antonio de Padua, Sicasica, Tatasi, and
Tupiza.6
Although Peruvian production was driven mainly by Potos after its
discovery in 1545, strikes in other regions of Upper Peru buoyed Peruvian output at crucial timesOruro after 1607, Carangas from 1652,
4
5
6
Moreyra Paz Soldn, Moneda colonial, 40, 45.

Carlos Prieto, Mining in the New World (New York: McGraw Hill, 1973), 2930.
Bakewell, Miners of the Red Mountain, 30, 36.
144
chapter four
and Chucuito from 1658. In the eighteenth century, silver production

flourished in Lower Peru at Hualgayoc, Huallanca, and Huamachuco
in the north; at Cajatambo, Cerro de Pasco, and Huarochir in central
Lower Peru; and at Cailloma, Caman, Condesuyos, Huantajaya, Lucanas, and Puno in the south.7 Although Cailloma, Castrovirreyna, and
Chachapoyas were producing silver in the seventeenth century, the
Lower Peruvian sites were most active during the eighteenth century
when they contributed a more significant share of Peruvian output.8
The trajectory of Peruvian silver output in the last half of the sixteenth
century and early seventeenth century was one of increasingly larger
sums of silver being registered through the 1630s, the most productive
decade in Peruvian mining history (See Tables 41 and 42 and Figures 41 and 42). In the 1530s, when the Spaniards enjoyed the spoils
of war, silver output amounted to 5,100,000 pesos but almost tripled
in the following decade to 17,330,000 pesos because of the discovery
of the Potos and Porco mines. In the 1550s and 1560s, production
totaled over 22,000,000 pesos, but jumped in the 1570s to 31,440,000
pesos and in the 1580s to 64,800,000 pesos, most likely because both
amalgamation and the forced labor system (mita) had taken hold in
Potos, improving the refining process and increasing yields.
By the 1630s, silver output in Peru reached its highest point of the
seventeenth century: 84,170,000 pesos. Significantly, the 1630s also was
the most productive decade in Oruros history20,210,000 pesos were
produced during the periodwhile Cailloma, a new treasury district
established in 1631, registered 6,940,000 pesos during its first decade.
Meanwhile, at Potos, registries dropped only slightly from the 1590s,
when production at the cerro was at its peak of 69,240,000 pesos. In
the 1640s, however, Peruvian output began declining, only slightly at
first but steadily after 1650 to 42,560,000 pesos in the last ten years
of the seventeenth century, one-half of what had been registered in
the 1630s.
The factors influencing Peruvian silver production in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, some already noted, were the introduction
Fisher, Silver Mines and Silver Miners, 141.

For Peru, the reales de minas cannot be as precisely defined as in Mexico. In New
Spain, attaining that designation was important because miners from reales de minas
paid only one-tenth on the silver they declared; others paid one-fifth. Until 1736, all
Peruvian miners paid one-fifth. See Bakewell, Zacatecas, 18189. See also the appendices to Hausberger, Nueva Espaa.
8
145
100
In Millions of Pesos of 272 Maraveds
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
17
91
17
71
17
51
17
31
17
11
16
91
16
71
16
51
16
31
16
11
15
91
15
71
15
51
15
31
By Decade 1681 = 16811690
Figure 41. Peruvian Silver Production, 15311810, in pesos
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
15
31
15
41
15
51
15
61
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
16
11
16
21
16
31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
in Millions of Kilograms of Fine Silver
2,500
By Decade 1651 = 16511660
Figure 42. Peruvian Silver Production, 15311810, in kilograms
146
chapter four
of almagamation in the 1570s, the initial richness of the silver ore

mined at Potos,9 and the discovery of rich lodes at Cailloma, Carangas,
Chucuito, and Oruro. Additional factors were Viceroy Francisco de
Toledos introduction of the mita in the early 1570s to provide forced
labor for Potos, a system which lasted the entire colonial period until
the Liberator Simn Bolvar finally abolished it in 1825.10 With enough
labor to work the mines and a plentiful supply of mercury from Huancavelica, the silver mines of Peru were the most productive in the New
World until the 1670s (see Table 11). By the first three decades of the
eighteenth century, however, Peruvian silver registries fell below the
forty-million-peso range, the lowest output since the 1570s. During
the 1740s, however, output finally rose again to well over forty million
pesos and by the 1750s, to over fifty million pesos with increases in
these decades stimulated in part by the 1736 reduction of the tax on
Peruvian silver output from a fifth to a tenth. Moreover, in the 1750s,
Spain began sending mercury from Almadn to Peru to supplement
that being produced at Huancavelica, where cinnabar ore deposits
were diminishing.
In the decades from 1761 to 1810, Peruvian silver yields rose, slowly
at first from an output of 57,570,000 pesos in the 1760s to 86,960,000
pesos in the 1790s, surpassing the massive output of the 1630s to
become the most productive decade in Perus colonial history. The
first ten years of the nineteenth century witnessed a modest decrease
to 68,870,000 pesos. The late eighteenth-century surge in Peruvian
production resembled the great silver boom of the same period in
Mexico, although the Andean expansion was not as large.
In summary, the increase in silver output in Peru after 1730 had its
origins in lower taxes on silver output after 1736, new supplies of mercury from Almadn after 1750, and the creation of a mining guild in
1787 to encourage mining innovations and investment. It also reflected
the adoption of new technology for draining and lengthening shafts in
old mines (such as the use of blasting to dig new tunnels and deepen
old ones); a steep rise in production at the Cerro de Pasco, Huanta9
One of the chroniclers of the conquest of Peru, Agustn de Zrate, states that in
early days at Potos silver ore yielded eighty marks per quintal or hundredweight, an
extraordinarily high silver content. Cited in Prieto, Mining in the New World, 31.
10
For a detailed discussion of the mita, see Bakewell, Miners of the Red Mountain;
and Cole, Potos Mita. Also refer to Tandeter, Forced and Free Labour in Late Colonial Potos, Past and Present 93 (November 1981), 98136; and Tandeter, Coercion
and Market.
147
jaya, and Hualgayoc in the last three decades from 1781 to 1810; and a
modest revival in Potos, where a school of metallurgy was established
in 1779. Still another stimulus to mining late in the eighteenth century
was the establishment of silver exchange banks (bancos de rescate),
where miners and refiners sold their silver. The first of these banks
was established by the silver refiners (azogueros) of Potos in 1752,
renamed later the Banco de San Carlos.11 In Lower Peru in 1792, similar exchange banks were set up in Hualgayoc, Huantajaya, Huarochir,
and Lucanas. The royal mining guild provided two hundred thousand
pesos for these banks, some acquired as a loan from the Inquisition
and some from the guilds own funds. Whether these institutions
helped stimulate mining is debatable, since most were short-lived, but
they may have been a factor in the surge in production in the 1790s.12
Given the conventional wisdom about the continued decline of Peruvian mining after the mid-seventeenth century, however, the increase
in the viceroyaltys output, which in the 1790s surpassed that of its
earlier peak decade in the 1630s, is astounding.
Peruvian Silver Output by Caja District

Between 1531 and 1810, Upper and Lower Peru produced over
1,400,000,000 pesos of silver. Upper Peru produced 80 percent, and
Lower Peru 20 percent. Of this amount, Potos registered 875,400,000
pesos from 1545 to 1810 (62 percent); Oruro registered 166,490,000
pesos from 1607 to 1810 (12 percent); Lima registered 77,110,000 pesos
from 1535 to 1810 (5 percent); Chucuito registered 65,540,000 pesos
from 1658 to 1800 (5 percent); Pasco registered 72,850,000 pesos from
1670 to 1810 (5 percent); Cailloma registered 50,000,000 pesos from
1631 to 1779 (4 percent); Trujillo registered 23,580,000 pesos from 1599
to 1810 (2 percent); and Carangas registered 16,450,000 pesos from
1652 to 1803 (1 percent). (See Table 41 and 42 and Figure 43.) All
the other treasury offices together generated only 5 percent.13
11
Prieto, Mining in the New World, 96; and Mariscal Romero, Bancos de rescate
de plata.
12
Fisher, Silver Mines, 4142.
13
At the end of chapter four are tables for each caja of Peru listing output by
decade in kilograms and silver pesos of eight reales.
148
chapter four
ORURO
4204 = 12%
TRUJILLO
573 = 2%
CAILLOMA
1267 = 3%
CARANGAS
413 = 1%
POTOSI
2217 0= 62%
CHUCHITO
1650 = 5%
*OTHER
1923 = 5%
PASCO
5%
LIMA
1921 = 5%
*Registries at Huancavelica, Castrovirreyna, La Paz, Jauja,

Arica, Huamanga, Cuzco, Arequipa, and Puno
Figure 43. Peruvian Silver Production by Caja District, 15311810, in

kilograms
Caja of Lima (15311810)

Francisco Pizarro founded Lima, the City of the Kings, in 1535 on the
Pacific coast of central Peru. It was the capital of the viceroyalty, the
residence of the archbishop of Lima, and the seat of the viceroys council and appeals court (audiencia), which in the late eighteenth century
was the central office (matrix) of the viceregal treasury, the Tribunal
of Accounts (after 1605), and the royal mining guild. Moreover, by
1568 Lima had a mint where miners, refiners, and traffickers in silver
could exchange their precious metals for specie. The principal port of
entry and exit for Peru, Callao, was located only a few miles from Lima
as well. The capital was clearly more significant as an administrative,
religious, and market center than Chucuito, Oruro, Pasco, or Potos,
which existed because of their bountiful silver mines. Furthermore,
Lima was crucial to the mining economy as the city to which treasury
officials from mining districts in the interior sent their surplus silvertax revenues, at least until the 1730s,14 and where private individuals
14
By the 1730s, more and more of these funds were flowing to Buenos Aires.
Although the viceroyalty of the Ro de la Plata was not created until 1776, more tax
149
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
15
31
15
41
15
51
15
61
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
16
11
16
21
16
31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
By Decade 1681 = 16811690
Figure 44. Lima Silver Output, 15311810, in pesos
who had made a fortune in silver elsewhere came to buy luxury goods
or to take their silver home to Castile. Also, after 1750, Lima became
the distribution point for mercury imported from Almadn.
For the decades from 1531 to 1570, all Peruvian registries of silver
and gold, except for those at Potos after 1545, have been listed as
though they occurred at the Lima treasury; not all of them, however,
did occur there (see Table 43 and Figure 44). From 1531, these
included registries elsewhere such as Atahualpas ransom in Cajamarca, the Cuzco distribution before the founding of Lima in 1535, plus
silver registered at Cuzco to 1570 and in Huancavelica to 1580.15
The number of silver registries in Lima, including those from Cajamarca and Cuzco during conquest epoch after 1531, was high in the
first three decades (5,100,000 pesos in the 1530s; 7,110,000 pesos in the
1540s; and 3,730,000 pesos in the 1550s). This reflected the continuing
seizure of treasure from the Incas and registries in Cuzco (see Table
43 and Figure 44). In the 1560s, however, declarations in Lima
revenues streamed into the Platine capital for defense and other purpose, diverted
from Lima where it had been sent for almost two centuries.
15
The late Alvaro Jara, in his book Tres ensayos sobre economa minera hispanoamericana (Santiago de Chile: Centro de Investigaciones de Historia Americana de
la Universidad de Chile, 1966), provides a year-by-year breakdown of the silver and
gold registered in Peru. Having examined the accounts of Cuzco, Lima, Potos, and
Huancavelica for the period from 1531 to 1610, he developed well founded annual
estimates of silver output for Peru in the post-conquest epoch. He did not, however,
differentiate his data by caja. See also Jara, La produccin de metales preciosos.
150
chapter four
dropped by almost 90 percent to only four hundred thousand pesos

when Spanish confiscation of Inca treasure virtually ended. Thereafter,
Lima silver registries tripled in the 1570s, but then dropped into the
three hundred thousand-peso range or less, except for the 1620s, when
they amounted to one million pesos. But for the final decades of the
seventeenth century to 1710, declarations at Lima were considerably
less than one million pesos. After that, registries grew steadily until
they reached a high of over seven and one-half million pesos in the last
decade of the eighteenth century, dropping a bit after that to slightly
more than five million pesos.
Secular trends in the eighteenth century in the caja of Lima were
driven by the decision of the state in 1736 to lower the tax on silver
from one-fifth to one-tenth in the hope of decreasing production costs
and discouraging fraud. The formation of the royal mining guild in
1787 to encourage mining was another stimulus, as were the remission
of mercury from Almadn to Peru beginning in the 1750s and the creation of exchange banks in the 1790s. The opening of a state-run mint
in Lima in the 1750s was still another reason for miners and traders
to declare their silver in the City of Kings.
Except for the 1530s and 1540s, Limas share of total Peruvian silver production was never large. In fact, from 1581 to 1690, it was less
than 1 percent, but in the following six decades, it rose from just over
1 percent to almost 10 percent in the 1730s and to over 15 percent in
the 1740s, the largest portion ever since the 1530s, reflecting lack of
production elsewhere. After 1780, Limas production diminished to
less than 10 percent once again.
Caja of Potos (15451810)

According to Carlos Prieto, an historian of New World mining, the
mines of Potos, located in present-day central Bolivia, were discovered in April 1545 by an Inca named Guallpa, who tried to keep his
discovery a secret, but another native, Guanca, who was employed
by a Spaniard, found out about the discovery and told his master,
who immediately staked his claim to the area.16 Most likely, however,
natives had worked the mines long before the arrival of the Spaniards,
16
Prieto, Mining in the New World, 30.
151
as shown by the native guayras at Potos, which the Spaniards adapted

for smelting. Certainly the Incas had carried out extensive mining
operations at nearby Porco prior to the arrival of the Spaniards.
As the mines at Potos began producing ever larger amounts of silver, Philip II issued a royal decree on November 7, 1561, establishing
the Imperial City (Villa Imperial) of Potos. Fortune hunters streamed
into Potos and swelled the population. The population of Potos and its
environs may have reached 120,000 inhabitants in 1570 and 150,000 in
1611, rivaling or surpassing the population of many major European
cities at the time.17 This was remarkable, given the seemingly inhospitable environment. Potos lay at an altitude of a bit over thirteen
thousand feet, without significant vegetation, and even the Incas did
not establish towns at that height. Nonetheless, Potos was in a tropical zone, and although the city suffered cold and snow in the winter,
its climate was not as harsh as might be supposed. Despite its tropical
location, it only received a modest supply of rainfall, an annual average of twenty-five inches, necessitating the building of dams as early
as 1573 to supply water for the city and for the refiners ore-grinding
mills.18 Fortunately, too, for the city, fertile valleys at lower altitudes
nearby kept Potos supplied with food.
In its long mining history, Potos produced an astonishing 875,400,000
pesos of silver, 62 percent of the Peruvian total, which was 26 percent
of New World output and 18 percent of world yields during that period
(see Table 45). Long-range tendencies in Potoss silver production
(see Tables 44 and 45 and Figure 45) demonstrate a steady rise
from 20,000,000 pesos registered in the 1550s and 1560s, to 28,460,000
pesos in the 1570s, when the Spaniards first introduced amalgamation and the mita. Before 1610, declarations of output per decade were
in the sixty millionpeso range. In the last decade of the sixteenth
century, Potos yields reached their all-time peak69,240,000 pesos,
almost 98 percent of all Peruvian output and not quite two-thirds
of New World yields in those ten years. In 1592 and 1593, annual
17
Prieto, Mining in the New World, 3032.

Bakewell, Miners of the Red Mountain, 38. Bakewells description is particularly rich, the result of personal experience living in Potos and the incorporation of
a contemporary description by Luis Capoche, an early historian of Potos. See also
Peter Bakewell, Silver and Entrepreneurship in Seventeenth-Century Potos: The Life
and times of Antonio Lpez de Quiroga (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico
Press, 1988).
18
152
chapter four
70,000,000
60,000,000
50,000,000
40,000,000
30,000,000
20,000,000
10,000,000
15
41
15
51
15
61
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
16
11
16
21
16
31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
By Decade 1681 = 16811690
Figure 45. Potos Silver Output, 15451810, in pesos
production in Potos was well over a staggering 7,600,000 pesos per

year, the two most productive years in its history.
From this peak in the 1590s, silver yields began to decrease, very
slowly at first but then more rapidly. By the 1660s, for example, output
was less than half of what it had been in the first decade, and by the
first ten years of the eighteenth century, it had been halved again to
13,590,000 pesos and remained in that range until the 1750s. In that
decade, however, silver declarations at the Potos treasury began to rise
once again to 21,710,000 pesos and to 25,240,000 pesos in the 1760s,
signaling a modest revival at the cerro. Still, registries in the last three
decades of the eighteenth century were less than half of what had been
declared at the end of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries,
although output had reached 32,750,000 pesos by the 1790s. That was
Potoss most productive decade of the eighteenth century, stimulated
perhaps by a new school of metallurgy in Potos, some technical innovations, and the establishment of the silver exchange bank of San Carlos. In the first ten years of the nineteenth century, however, registries
decreased once again to about 24,720,000 pesos.
In the sixteenth century, Potoss share of Peruvian production grew
rapidlyit was 84 percent in the 1550s, 98 percent in the 1560s, and
91 percent in the 1570s. In the 1580s and 1590s, it reached 98 percent
of Perus output, but this proportion began falling at the beginning of
the seventeenth century to 93 percent and then incurred almost a 20
percent drop in the 1610s to 74 percent, most likely because Oruro
now had its own treasury, and miners there no longer went to travel
to Potos to make their silver declarations. From 1621 through 1690,
Potoss share of Peruvian output was in the 60-percent range. For the
153
next two decades, the 1690s and 1700s, it fell to 55 percent and to the
40-percent range between 1711 and 1790, except for the 1740s, when
it was only 36 percent. In the two decades from 1791 to 1810, the proportion returned to 38 percent and 36 percent respectively.
Silver registry at Potos invites comparison with that at Zacatecas,
the most productive mining area of Mexico. Between 1559 and 1810,
Zacatecas registered a bit over 401,400,000 pesos. From 1545, Potoss
declarations amounted to over 875,400,000 pesos, more than twice
that of registries at Zacatecas. Only between 1711 and 1750, and in
the first decade of the nineteenth century, when Zacatecas was producing more silver than ever before in its history, did its mines yield more
than those of Potos.
Caja of Oruro (16091809)

Located about 120 miles northwest of Potos at an altitude of 12,250
feet near Lake Poop, the city of Oruro was officially founded in 1606.
Like Pachuca and Zacatecas in Mexico, Oruro was a mining city. It
grew because of the regions rich silver deposits. Early miners from the
Oruro area registered their silver in Potos, but in 1607, royal authorities established a treasury office in the city with an accountant, treasurer, and silver assayers. Next to Potos, it became the richest mining
area of all Peru, accounting for 12 percent of Peruvian silver output
during the colonial epoch.19
The course of Oruro silver production saw steep rises in output in
the first three decades (16111630), followed by a sharp decline in the
1640s and 1650s (see Table 46 and Figure 46). As already noted,
Oruros peak decade for production came in the 1630s with declarations of 20,210,000 pesos, justifying the creation of the citys new caja.
During the next decade, however, output decreased to 14,460,000 pesos
and, in the 1650s and 1660s, it decreased to only a bit more than four
million pesos. By the 1670s and 1680s, production dropped sharply
by two-thirds from what it had been in the 1630s, below four million pesos, although the 1690s witnessed a recovery to 5,840,000 pesos.
19
See Ann Zulawski, They Eat from Their Labor: Work and Social Change in Colonial Bolivia (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995). This work is particularly valuable for its descriptions of socioeconomic conditions in the Oruro region.
154
chapter four
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
17
11
21
17
17
91
01
16
17
71
81
16
16
51
61
16
16
31
41
16
16
11
21
16
16
16
01
By Decade 1691 = 16911700
Figure 46. Oruro Silver Output, 16091809, in pesos
The eighteenth century was a productive epoch for Oruro silver

mines. From Oruros production of 7,170,000 pesos of silver in the
first decade of the century, output rose very gradually to 9,490,000
pesos in the 1770s, the high point of the century. In the 1780s, however, production again dipped by two-thirds as the Tpac Catari revolt
wracked Upper Peru, bringing Oruro silver production sharply down
to 3,300,000 pesos. With the revolt finally quelled, a modest revival
occurred in the next ten years, but in the first decade of the nineteenth
century, output was virtually the same as it had been during the years
of the Catari revolt (3,370,000 pesos).
An expert on New World mining, Kendall Brown, has provided a
number of insights into the determinants of silver production in Oruro
by pointing out that Oruro was at a distinct disadvantage because
Spanish miners enjoyed no mita labor and had to pay more expensive day laborers, yet Oruro was closer to Huancavelica than Potos
and mercury transportation costs were lower for refiners. Brown also
reveals that the bountiful silver output of the 1630s in Oruro reflected
the adaptation in 1627 by Antonio de Salinas of amalgamation techniques to refine negrillos (silver sulphide ores), which abounded at
Oruro. Salinas transferred amalgamation technology from Potos to
Oruro. Brown believes that the silver mines of Oruro were exhausted
by the beginning of the nineteenth century.20
20
Kendall W. Brown, Oruro in Encyclopedia of Latin America History and Culture, vol. 4 (New York: Charles Scribners & Sons, 1996), 248.
155
Oruros total output of silver from 1609 to 1809 amounted to

166,490,000 pesos, second only to Potos as the most productive silver
district in Peru. Its share of Peruvian production for the 201 years
from 1609 to 1809 was 14 percent, and for the entire colonial period
was 12 percent. It was a bit less than 6 percent of New World output
and about 4 percent of world yields.
Castrovirreyna (16001652), Cailloma (16311800),

Arequipa (15991810)
Caja of Castrovirreyna (16001652)
In the seventeenth century, three areas in Lower Peru beside Lima
contributed to silver output: Castrovirreyna, Cailloma, and Arequipa.
Located about one hundred miles southwest of Huancavelica, Castrovirreyna was registering silver by 1600,21 but its silver-mining history was brief, only fifty-three years, because the mines were flooded
by 1652, and miners in Castrovirreyna were unable to drain them.
Authorities consequently shut down the caja.
In its fifty-three years, Castrovirreynas output totaled 10,040,000
pesos (see Table 47 and Figure 47). The mining district reached its
peak in the 1620s with production of 2,620,000 pesos, dropping a bit
in the 1630s to 2,170,000 pesos. By the next decade, as the mines were
being rapidly depleted, registries were halved to 1,100,000 pesos. In
the last two years before the Castrovirreyna treasury closed, registries
amounted to only eighty thousand pesos.
Since Castrovirreyna registered over two million pesos per decade
only twice in it its short-lived existence, its share of Peruvian output
was small, reaching a peak of only 3.5 percent in the 1620s. Castrovirreyna clearly represents a case of the boom-and-bust cycle of silver mining. Its accessible lodes of silver ore were quickly depleted.
Being close to Huancavelica, with its ready supply of mercury, was not
enough once water from nearby lakes began filling up the mine tunnels and pits. Parenthetically, Chachapoyas in northern Lower Peru
suffered the same fate as Castrovirreyna. Set up as a royal caja in 1627,
21
The first extant account for Castrovirreyna is 1600. In prior years, its miners
likely registered their silver in Huancavelica. On flooding problems, see, for example,
Juan Vives to the Viceroy, 7 January 1808, AGI, Lima, 778.
156
chapter four
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
1591
1601
1611
1621
1631
1641
1651
By Decade 1621 = 16211630
Figure 47. Castrovirreyna Silver Output, 16091652, in pesos
its miners produced silver for only eleven years, and their work yielded
a minescule 4,120 pesos during this period.
Caja of Cailloma (16311779)
Cailloma represented a different pattern of production. Situated a bit
over one hundred miles directly north of Arequipa in the high Andes,
Cailloma began registering silver in 1631 when silver strikes were rich
enough to warrant establishing a new treasury district there. During
its existence as a caja (16311779), Caillomas output was fifty million
pesos, almost 7 percent of total Peruvian output from 1631 to 1779
and 4 percent for the entire colonial epoch.
Production trends in Cailloma ebbed and flowed (see Table 48 and
Figure 48). The most productive decade in its history was the 1630s,
its first ten years as a caja. In that period, miners registered 6,940,000
pesos at Cailloma. Output began dropping gradually after that to
5,640,000 pesos in the 1640s and to 4,870,000 pesos in the 1650s. In
the 1670s and 1680s, registries fell into the three millionpeso range
with a slight increase to 4,040,000 pesos in the last decade of the seventeenth century. For the first two decades of the eighteenth century,
Caillomas silver output was at its lowest point, averaging 1,440,000
pesos per decade. In the ensuing six decades until the closing of the
157
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
71
17
61
51
17
17
41
31
17
17
11
21
17
17
91
01
17
16
81
71
16
16
51
61
16
16
41
16
16
31
By Decade 1731 = 17311740
Figure 48. Cailloma Silver Output, 16311779, in pesos
caja in 1779, output recovered with registries ranging from 2,140,000

pesos in the 1720s to 2,680,000 pesos in the 1770s, Caillomas most
productive decade of the eighteenth century. Still, the treasury closed
in 1779, and miners and traffickers from Cailloma were forced to go
to Arequipa to declare their silver. On balance, Caillomas output was
lower but remarkably steady in the eighteenth century, a modest but
dependable source.
Given the trends in Caillomas production, its share of Peruvian
silver output was largest in its first seven decades (16311700) when
it was between 6.5 percent and 9.5 percent of total Peruvian declarations. In the eighteenth century, Caillomas largest contribution to
total Peruvian yields (over 7 percent) came in the 1720s and 1730s,
but after that, Caillomas contribution ranged between 4 and 5 percent
until 1779 when the caja closed.
Caja of Arequipa (15991810)
In 1780, the miners of Cailloma began declaring their silver in Arequipa, where royal officials had registered silver as early as 1599. Arequipa was the major city of southern coastal Peru, known primarily
as a market and administrative center, the site of a bishopric, a royal
caja, and, after 1785, headquarters of an intendancy district. A major
supplier of food, wine, and brandy to the mining areas of the interior,
Arequipa had strong ties to Cailloma, whose miners relied on the food,
158
chapter four
drink, and supplies that Arequipa could provide them. Silver was a
factor in the Arequipa economy as well.22
In the early seventeenth century, silver miners registered only small
amounts of silver at the Arequipa treasury, some coming from Cailloma but also from nearby Condesuyos and Caman (see Table 49
and Figure 49). Arequipas peak decade of this century came in the
1620s, when it produced 830,000 pesos, most likely because Cailloma
had begun producing by that time but still had no registry site near
the mines. Output during the next decade dipped to 650,000 pesos,
falling a bit because Cailloma now had its own treasury, although a
few miners still drifted in from other mining districts to declare their
silver in Arequipa. But there was a quick drop off. For the next ninety
years, silver declarations at Arequipa were either miniscule or nonexistent. In the 1730s, however, they rose to over 400,000 pesos for the
first time since the 1630s and in the 1740s to 660,000 pesos. Registries
grew steadily to 1,530,000 pesos in the 1770s, but in the 1780s, when
the miners of Cailloma began flooding into the city, registries shot
up to 3,440,000 pesos, more than doubling the output of the previous decade to become the most productive ten years in Arequipas
history. Refiners from Huantajaya, south of Arica, also brought silver
to Arequipa for taxation. Between 1791 and 1810, output fell again to
2,630,000 pesos in the 1790s and to 2,440,000 pesos in the ten years
between 1801 and 1810. Significantly, Arequipas share of Peruvian
output was 5 percent in the 1780s, 3 percent in the 1790s, and a bit
over 3 percent in the first decade of the nineteenth century. Previously,
its contribution had been minimal.
La Paz (16241810), Carangas (16521803), Chucuito (16581800)

Caja of La Paz (16241810)
In Upper Peru, besides the caja of Oruro, three other treasuries began
registering silver in the seventeenth century: La Paz in 1624, Carangas
in 1652, and Chucuito in 1658. Founded in 1548, La Paz was primarily an agricultural and market center on the altiplano on the route
22
See Kendall W. Brown, Bourbons and Brandy: Imperial Reforms in EighteenthCentury Arequipa (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1986).
159
3,500,000
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
15
91
16
01
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11
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21
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31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
By Decade 1711 = 17111710
Figure 49. Arequipa Silver Output, 15991810, in pesos
from Potos to Lima, chosen as the site for a Spanish city because of
the large population of Aymara Indians living in the area. Although
La Paz was better known for its potato, corn, and coca production,
the caja established there early in the seventeenth century nevertheless
registered a modest amount of silver.
Like the declarations at the cajas of Carangas and Chucuito, the
silver registered at La Paz was greatest in the seventeenth century (see
Table 410 and Figure 410). Although at the outset in the 1630s, the
production at La Paz was small (340,000 pesos), it rose to over nine
hundred thousand pesos the next decade, to over one million in the
1650s, and then remained in that range until the 1690s, when official
output suddenly dropped by two-thirds.
By 1700, the La Paz treasury virtually ceased recording silver. In
fact, between 1711 and 1755, the La Paz caja registered less than three
thousand pesos of silver. By the 1770s, registered output rose to a miniscule one hundred ninety thousand pesos, but in the 1780s, there were
no declarations in La Paz because of the Tpac Catari rebellion and
general unrest in the Andes. Only in the first decade of the nineteenth
century did the caja once again record more than five hundred thousand pesos. The silver age in La Paz, if it can be called that, ended at
the close of the seventeenth century. Overall, between 1624 and 1810,
declarations of silver in La Paz amounted to only 7,770,000 pesos, not
even 1 percent of the Peruvian total for that epoch.
160
chapter four
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
17
81
17
91
18
01
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
16
81
16
91
17
01
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
21
16
31
16
41
By Decade 1681 = 16811690
Figure 410. La Paz Silver Output, 16241810, in pesos
Caja of Carangas (16521803)

Located about one hundred miles west of Oruro at the foot of the
Andean cordillera occidental, Carangas produced 1 percent of Peruvian output over the entire colonial epoch and 2 percent from 1652
to 1803, when registries there ceased. In all, Carangas accounted for
16,450,000 pesos in this period.
The general trends in Carangas silver output were at their peak of
2,110,000 pesos in the 1650s, with gradually decreasing production
after that to a low of 540,000 pesos in the 1720s (see Table 411 and
Figure 411). Although the slide reached its low point in this decade,
Carangas began a new era in silver registries in the 1730s. From declarations of 790,000 pesos and a bit less than that in the 1740s, production almost doubled in the 1750s, perhaps because of increased activity
at Huantajaya, and rose very modestly the next decade, spurting in
the 1770s to 1,760,000 pesosthe most silver registered in Carangas
during the eighteenth century. In the last two decades of that century,
registries were 1,120,000 pesos and 1,200,000 pesos, respectively. The
caja closed in 1803. Except for the years from 1652 to 1660, when the
Carangas share of Peruvian output was almost 4 percent, its contribution to Peruvian output was only half that in ensuing decades.
161
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
17
91
17
71
17
81
17
51
17
61
17
31
17
41
17
21
17
01
17
11
16
81
16
91
16
61
16
71
16
51
By Decade 1731 = 17311740
Figure 411. Carangas Silver Output, 16521803, in pesos
Caja of Chucuito (16581800)

On the shores of Lake Titicaca, high in the Andes near Puno, Chucuito23
was the fourth most productive mining area of Peru and the third
leading producer in Upper Peru, yielding 65,540,000 pesos of silver
between 1658 and 1800, 9 percent of the Peruvian total for that period
and 5 percent for the colonial epoch as a whole.
Like Carangas, Castrovirreyna, Oruro, and La Paz, the mines of
Chucuito were most productive in the early decades after the establishment of the caja in 1658 (see Table 412 and Figure 412). In its
first full decade of registries, the 1660s, output amounted to 8,360,000
pesos, dropping a bit in the 1670s but rising to 8,570,000 pesos in
the 1680s, the most productive decade in Chucuitos mining history.
Beginning in the 1690s, however, registries declined to 5,800,000 pesos,
followed by a steep reduction of two-thirds in the first decade of the
eighteenth century (1,870,000 pesos), the low point in Chucuitos silver mining history.
23
An excellent description of Chucuito in the first one hundred years after the conquest is Valerie Fraser, The Architecture of the Conquest: Building in the Viceroyalty of
Peru, 15351635 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).
162
chapter four
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
81
91
17
61
71
17
17
17
41
51
17
31
17
17
11
01
21
17
17
17
81
91
16
61
71
16
16
16
16
51
By Decade 1711 = 17111720
Figure 412. Chucuito Silver Output, 16581800, in pesos
The mines of the Chucuito region experienced a modest recovery after

that, but like the mines of Cailloma, they never reached the levels of the
late seventeenth century. In the 1710s, output rose slightly to 2,040,000
pesos, and in the 1720s, it rose to 2,950,000 pesos, remaining in that
range for the next three decades. For some reason, probably new silver
strikes in the region, output doubled to 5,450,000 pesos. From 1761 to
1800, silver declarations were in the three millionpeso range, except
for the 1780s, when native revolts wracked the region and reduced
output by one-third.
Chucuito was a major contributor to Peruvian silver output, particularly in the late seventeenth century, when its output constituted
between 14 and 17 percent. This share dropped in the eighteenth century below 10 percent until the 1750s, when it fell to less than 7 percent in the last four decades of registries. Its total contribution to New
World production was 3 percent between 1658 and 1800. When the
caja closed in 1800, the miners of Chucuito very likely went to nearby
Puno to declare their silver at the new treasury there. In its first years
of registry (18031810), declarations at Puno amounted to 2,800,000
pesos, about the same amount registered in Chucuito prior to the closing of that caja.
163
Caja of Pasco (16701810)

The Cerro de Pasco was by far the richest mining region of Lower
Peru. Situated about 120 miles northeast of Lima, Pasco began producing silver in the 1630s but not enough to warrant establishment of
a royal treasury office there until 1670. At an altitude of over 14,000
feet in the Andes, Pasco has been called the highest city in America.24
With no vegetation or timber for fuel or mine props, all food, fuel,
reagents, powder, and supplies had to be shipped from lower altitudes
to the mines, increasing production costs. John Fisher, an expert on
mining in Lower Peru in the eighteenth century, describes a typical
mine at the Cerro de Pasco as a meandering shaft, tending to slope
downwards at an angle of up to 45 degrees, but sometimes rising, running horizontally, or dropping vertically, according to the route taken
by the vein. He also estimates that there were 116 mines in the area
at the end of the eighteenth century, eighty-five in production.25 Prior
to 1670, miners from Pasco declared their silver in Lima.
From 1670 to 1810, Pascos miners produced 72,850,000 pesos of
silver, making it the most productive mining region of Lower Peru
and the third most productive of all Peru, after Potos and Oruro.
But trends in production at the Cerro de Pasco did not mirror those
of other caja districts such as Potos, Cailloma, Chucuito, Castrovirreyna, Oruro, and others where yields were initially very high and
then dropped as both the mines and richer ores were depleted (see
Table 413 and Figure 413). Even after 1680, when Pasco became
a treasury district, silver production registered there was modest but
growing slowly: it more than doubled from 260,000 pesos in the 1680s
to 580,000 pesos the following decade. By the 1720s and 1730s, declarations rose to 910,000 pesos and 1,330,000 pesos, respectively. From
this point, Pasco experienced rapid growth in production to almost
8,180,000 pesos in the 1780s. More impressive still, in the twenty years
from 1791 to 1810, output rose over 250 percent to 21,070,000 pesos in
the 1790s and 21,460,000 pesos in the first ten years of the nineteenth
century, the peak for Pascos silver mines. In this decade, output was
almost four times greater than at the beginning of the century.
24
Quoted in Fisher, Silver Mines, 7.

Fisher, Silver Mines, 611, 11016. His descriptions of mining activity at the
Cerro de Pasco are particularly insightful.
25
164
chapter four
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
18
01
17
91
17
81
17
71
17
61
17
51
17
41
17
31
17
21
17
11
17
01
16
91
16
81
16
71
By Decade 1741 = 17411750
Figure 413. Pasco Silver Output, 16711810, in pesos
Pascos share of Peruvian silver output was miniscule (less than 6 percent) until the 1760s, but it increased rapidly after that to almost 10
percent in the 1760s and 1770s and 12 percent in the 1780s. In the
1790s, it constituted 24 percent and an astonishing 31 percent in the
first ten years of the nineteenth century. Still, although Pascos output
was extremely high at the end of the colonial epoch, its annual yields
were never greater than those at Potos.
Pascos high silver-production rates at the end of the eighteenth century were stimulated in part by the support of the mining guild and by
the guarantee of cheap labor for the new shafts dug or extended at the
end of the century. The continued use of the guachaca, the policy of
giving carriers half the silver ore they carried to the surface, may also
have aided the procurement of labor.26 Moreover, the exchange banks
set up in Peru in the 1790s also encouraged miners in their endeavors
to expand production. In many ways, the experience at the Cerro de
Pasco belies the conclusion that there was no investment capital available to Peruvian miners for increasing silver production.
26
Fisher, Silver Mines, 8.
165
Caja of Trujillo (16011810)

Established in 1534 by Francisco Pizarros partner, Diego de Almagro,
who named it for Pizarros birthplace in Spain, Trujillo was officially
founded by Pizarro in 1535. It became the most important city of
northern Lower Peru. In its early days, the region produced virtually
no silver at all but was significant as the seat of a royal caja by 1601,
of the bishopric of Trujillo after 1609, and the site of an intendency
district after 1784. It was also a major regional agricultural and market
center on the route from Quito to Lima. Afflicted by periodic earthquakes and raids by pirates, Trujillo still managed to survive attempts
by other northern towns such as Lambayeque, Cajamarca, and Saa to
replace it as the major Spanish metropolis of northern Lower Peru.
Although refiners registered a bit of silver in Trujillo in the seventeenth century, no significant amounts were declared at the treasury until the 1771 discovery of the mines at Hualgayoc, fittingly very
close to Cajamarca, where Pizarro had received Atahualpas fabulous
ransom.27 On a bare landscape 13,340 feet above sea level, the mines
of Hualgayloc were responsible for seveneighths of the silver registered in the Trujillo treasury. Other declarations came from the silver
miners of Huamachuco and Huallanca. As miners laid their claims
in Hualgayoc, silver declarations surged (see Table 414 and Figure
414). In the 1770s, they totaled 3,770,000 pesos, and during the next
two decades, registries almost doubled to 6,700,000 pesos in the 1780s
and to 7,750,000 pesos in the 1790s. The opening of the century, however, witnessed a decline to 5,330,000 pesos as output diminished at
Hualgayoc. Still, this late eighteenth-century boom in mining was
significant, as Trujillos share of the Peruvian total ranged between
5 and 10 percent during the decades from 1771 to 1810. With production from Hualgayoc, Pasco, and other Lower Peruvian districts, total
Peruvian production almost rose to its earlier high point of the 1630s.
Trujillos own silver declarations, however, never challenged those of
Pasco, and after 1785, the difference between them widened. Between
1599 and 1810, Trujillo registered 23,580,000 pesos, well over 99 percent of it during the last four decades from 1771 to 1810.
27
Hualgayoc was fourteen leagues from Cajamarca. If a league constituted three
statute miles, it was forty-two miles. On Hualgayoc, see OPhelan Godoy, Vivir y
morir; and Fisher, Silver Mines, 78, 24, 34, 3738, 91, 96, and 100101.
166
chapter four
8,000,000
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
16
01
16
11
16
21
16
31
16
41
16
51
16
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
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17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
By Decade 1781 = 17811790
Figure 414. Trujillo Silver Output, 16011810, in pesos
Cuzco (15711810), Huancavelica (15771784), Huamanga

(17851810), Jauja (17211785), and Arica (17801810)
A number of other Lower Peruvian treasuries registered modest
amounts of silver. Two of these cajas, Cuzco and Huancavelica, sometimes registered silver totals between one and three million pesos during a decade but usually well below that range. Putting this output in
perspective, declarations in each of these two cajas for the entire colonial epoch equaled the amount declared at Potos in the first decade
of the eighteenth century, Potoss lowest point in silver output. Moreover, the other three treasuriesArica, Huamanga, and Jaujanever
registered more than a little over one million pesos for a decade during the entire colonial period. This highlights the overwhelming dominance of the mines of Upper Peru at Potos, Oruro, Chucuito, and
Carangas and in Lower Peru at Pasco, Trujillo, and Cailloma.
Although silver output was seemingly inconsequential in these lesser
silver mining regions, they still merit some comment, particularly for
their quantities, rhythms and timing. Cuzco and Huancavelica, two
of the earliest cajas to be set up in Lower Peru, are good examples.
In Cuzco, silver production was solely a sixteenth- and seventeenthcentury phenomenon. In fact, by the eighteenth century, miners or
traders registered only a modicum of silver in Cuzco. At Huancavelica,
167
1,600,000
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
16
11
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16
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17
61
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17
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17
91
18
01
By Decade 1691 = 16911700
Figure 415. Cuzco Silver Output, 15711810, in pesos
however, silver declarations were small or nonexistent in the sixteenth

and seventeeth centuries but far greater in the eighteenth century.
Caja of Cuzco (15711810)
By the 1570s, silver declarations in Cuzco amounted to 1,570,00 pesos,
but by the last decade of the sixteenth century were less than half that
(see Table 415 and Figure 415). Output then grew gradually in the
seventeenth century from 660,000 pesos in the first decade to more
than double that by the 1680s (1,460,000 pesos), although it fell to
less than half that in the 1690s. In the early eighteenth century, registries dropped to 170,000 pesos and in the 1720s to only 30,000 pesos.
Despite a slight spurt upward in the 1730s, registries fell sharply until
1788 when they ceased entirely.28 From 1571 to 1810 Cuzco registered
13,350,000 pesos. Cuzcos share of Peruvian output in the age of Spanish domination was 5 percent in the 1570s but never reached that level
in any decade after that.
28
There were tiny amounts in 1811 and 1812.
168
chapter four
Cajas of Huancavelica (15771784) and Huamanga (17851810)

Huancavelica demonstrated a different pattern from Cuzco: its output was greatest in the eighteenth century (see Table 416 and Figure 416). Despite being the major source of mercury, which should
have attracted silver refiners to the city to buy it, Huancavelica treasury officials registered only a modest amount of silver through the
1620s200,000 pesos in the 1570s, 150,000 pesos in the 1580s, and
70,000 pesos in the 1590s. Miners declared only 30,000 pesos in the
first decade of the seventeenth century, 8,000 pesos in the second, and
20,000 pesos in the third. Between 1631 and 1710, however, there is
no evidence that miners, traders, or refiners came to the caja at all to
have their silver assayed.
Beginning in 1710s, however, 705,000 pesos were registered, an
amount that quadrupled in the 1720s to over 2,865,000 pesos, reaching an eighteenth-century high of 3,212,000 pesos in the 1740s. For
some reason, however, declarations dropped by half in the ensuing ten
years, and by the 1770s, Huancavelica registered only 633,000 pesos in
silver. In 1785, the treasury moved to nearby Huamanga (now Ayacucho), site of a new intendancy district. Between 1577 and 1784, Huancavelica registered 13,470,000 pesos, almost exactly the same amount
declared in Cuzco. Huancavelicas share of Peruvian output was greatest in the early eighteenth century when it rose as high as 9.5 percent,
but after 1760, it was never more than 2 percent of total Peruvian
output.
3,500,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
15
71
15
81
15
91
16
01
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16
41
16
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31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
3,000,000
By Decade 1711 = 17111720
Figure 416. Huancavelica Silver Output, 15771784, in pesos
169
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
1781
1791
1801
By Decade 1791 = 17911800
Figure 417. Huamanga Silver Output, 17851810
Production reported in Huamanga was modest also, with 1,595,00

pesos being registered there in the 1790s, but registration dipped to
1,070,000 pesos in the first decade of the nineteenth century (see Table
417 and Figure 417). Huamanga never provided more than 2 percent of Peruvian output in its short existence as a caja.
Caja of Jauja (17211785)
In 1721, because of silver strikes in the region, Philip V established a
new caja at San Juan de Matucana, one hundred miles northeast of
Lima, but within ten years it was moved to Jauja, farther east in what
is now the province of Junn. Known more for its agricultural than
for its mineral wealth and as the site of an indigenous revolt in the
early 1740s led by Juan Santos, a self-declared successor to the Inca
Atahualpa, Jauja became the new treasury site in 1731 after the silver
lodes at San Juan de Matucana gave out. It survived until 1785.
Silver declarations in Jauja were slight (see Table 418 and Figure
418). In the 1720s, there were less than 270,000 pesos registered,
but this doubled by the 1750s to 580,000 pesos. In the 1760s, registries doubled once again to 1,207,000 pesos but dipped in the ensuing
decade to 940,000 pesos. In its last five years of the cajas existence
(17811785), declarations were only four hundred thousand pesos.
Meanwhile, as Lower Peru went through a major administrative overhaul with the establishment of the intendancy system, the caja closed
170
chapter four
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
1721
1731
1741
1751
1761
1771
1781
By Decade 1751 = 17511760
Figure 418. Jauja Silver Output, 17211785, in pesos
in 1785. Overall, the Jauja treasury declared 4,280,000 pesos in the

years from 1721 to 1785. Only once in the 1760s did its share of the
Peruvian total go over 2 percent; in other decades, it was much less
than that. On balance, Jauja contributed very little to Peruvian silver
output.
Caja of Arica (17801810)
On the barren, arid Pacific coast, in what is now northern Chile, Spaniards founded San Marcos de Arica in 1570, a city important in the
Spanish colonial period as the port linking Lima to the silver mines
of Upper Peru. It also served as a shipping point for mercury and
other supplies sent to these mines by mule or llama and for the silver
carried from Upper Peru to Lima. By 1587, it had become important
enough to merit setting up a caja, which, judging by lacunae in the
extant accounts for Arica, functioned sporadically. By 1759, however,
royal officials began keeping regular accounts once again until the end
of the colonial period. They registered no silver, however, until 1780,
probably the date when the caja first offered assaying operations.
In the Peruvian silver arena, Arica was important because of its ties
to Huantajaya, a silver mining area on the coastal desert of Atacama,
the most arid region on earth.29 Within view of the Pacific Ocean on a
29
See Ephraim Trelles Arstegui, Lucas Martnez Vegazo: Funcionamiento de una
encomienda peruana inicial (Lima: Pontfica Universidad Catlica del Per, 1982) on
the early sixteenth-century history of Huantajaya. See also Kendall W. Brown and
171
barren desert, San Agustn de Huantajaya was founded circa 1556, but
silver had been mined there by the natives prior to the arrival of the
Spaniards. Huantajaya had the distinction of being the only silver mining area of Lower and Upper Peru not high in the Andes. Nevertheless
conditions there were rigorous. With no water or vegetation available
locally, Huantajaya had to import all food, fuel, and other supplies.
Moreover, miners there had no mita labor and had to attract workers
by other means, offering them water, day wages, and pallacos (two
pounds of small bits of silver ore). In Huantajaya, barreteros received
three-quarters of a peso per day, and apiris (ore carriers) received half
a peso.30
The silver miners of Huantajaya initially registered their silver in
Carangas and occasionally Arequipa, but by 1780, they were using the
new refining facilities at Tacna and paying their taxes in the Arica
caja. During the first full decade of declarations in the 1780s, miners registered 2,345,000 pesos and 2,930,000 pesos in the 1790s, clear
evidence of the resurgence of mining efforts at Huantajaya (see Table
419 and Figure 419). The deposits in the Huantajaya outcroppings
quickly diminished, however, and in the first decade of the nineteenth
century, Arica declarations amounted to only 1,120,000 pesos. Despite
the revival of mining at Huantajaya, Aricas share of the Peruvian total
was never more than 3 percent. Still, the recovery of Huantajaya linked
with the discovery of the silver mines at Hualgayoc, the surge in output at Pasco, and the modest revival at Potos all contributed to the
high Peruvian silver output at the end of the eighteenth century.
Mercury Availability and Peruvian Silver Output

Spanish silver miners in early Peru enjoyed incredible good fortune. In
1563, they discovered a rich deposit of mercury at what is now Huancavelica, 150 miles south of Lima, a mine worked in pre-Columbian
times by the natives for its cinnabar (mercuric sulphide). By 1571,
Spanish miners created the town of Villa Rica de Oropesa in honor
of the hometown of Viceroy Francisco de Toledo, although that name
Alan K. Craig, Silver Mining at Huantajaya, Viceroyalty of Peru, in West and Craig,
In Quest of Mineral Wealth, 303327.
30
Brown and Craig, Huantajaya, 31213.
172
chapter four
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
1771
1781
1791
1801
By Decade 1791 = 17911800
Figure 419. Arica Silver Output, 17801810, in pesos
ultimately gave way to Huancavelica. In 1572, Toledo expropriated the

district for the crown, set up a forced labor levy (mita) for the mines,
and granted concessions to miners, who agreed to sell the mercury to
the royal monopoly at a fixed price.31
The city lay at an altitude of almost twelve thousand feet, and the
deposits of mercury in the rich mine of Santa Brbara were even
higherover 13,000 feet. This did not deter the Spanish miners,
who, with their forced labor gangs, began extracting mercury from
the mines in the 1570s. The most significant problem initially was the
failure to ventilate the mines properly, which led to mercury poisoning
and the reputation of the Huancavelica mine as a death trap among
the mitayos (mita laborers). Finally, though, in 1641, a ventilating adit
was added to rectify this terrible defect.32
31
Some valuable works on Huancavelica are Guillermo Lohmann Villena, Las
minas de Huancavelica en los siglos XVI y XVII (Sevilla: Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos, 1949); Arthur P. Whitaker, The Huancavelica Mercury Mine: A
Contribution to the Bourbon Renaissance in the Spanish Empire (Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, 1941); Kendall W. Brown, Huancavelica in Encyclopedia
of Latin American History and Culture, 3:21112; Kendall W. Brown, La crisis financiera peruana al comienzo del siglo XVIII, la minera y la mina de azogues de Huancavelica, Revista de Indias 40, nos. 18283 (1988): 24983; Gwendolyn Cobb, Potos
y Huancavelica: Bases econmicas del Per 15451640 (La Paz: Academia Boliviana de
Historia, Banco Minero de Bolivia, 1977); and Carlos Contreras, La ciudad de mercurio, Huancavelica, 15401700 (Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, 1977).
32
Brown, Huancavelica, 211. On the issue of mercury poisoning, see Kendall W.
Brown, Workers Health and Colonial Mercury: Mining at Huancavelica, Peru, The
Americas 57 (April 2001): 467496.
173
The sale of mercury in Peru was not as tightly controlled as in Mexico, but it functioned as a monopoly nevertheless. A group of mining
concessionaires, together called the gremio or guild, mined and sold
mercury to the Huancavelica caja at prices set by viceregal authorities.
The caja in turn remitted the mercury to mining sites in Lower and
Upper Peru. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, however,
the shortage of funds in the caja, sometimes created artificially by the
governor, forced members of the gremio to sell their mercury to him
at discounted prices. The governor in turn sold it to the cajas at the
established price, earning himself an illicit profit. Since the Huancavelica district was a governorship, the governor directed all the affairs of
the mine, and in theory tried to prevent illegal sales and ensure that
the mine was in good repair. He was also responsible for informing
officials in Lima and Castile about the state of the mines.
Perhaps the most famous governor of Huancavelica was Antonio de
Ulloa, the naval officer, who, together with his friend Jorge Juan, wrote
the Voyage to South America and the Noticias secretas or Discourse,
an expos of the problems within the Spanish empire.33 Appointed
as governor in 1757 and arriving in Huancavelica a year later, Ulloa
attempted to improve conditions in the mines, to increase production,
and to collect debts owed to the mining monopoly. He succeeded in
lowering that debt from 290,000 pesos to 77,000 pesos and in increasing production briefly. In regard to fraud, Ulloa saw less illicit activity
at Huancavelica than he did in the eleven royal cajas to which mercury was remitted. In five of the eleven mining cajas (unnamed), he
believed the royal treasury lost one hundred thousand pesos annually
from untaxed silver.34 In the end, Ulloa antagonized both the gremio
and royal officials, who were glad to see him depart in 1764.
33
Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, Relacin histrica del viage a la Amrica Meridional, hecho de orden de S. Mag. para medir algunos grados de meridiano terrestre, y
venir por ellos en conocimiento de la verdadera figura, y magnitude de la tierra, con
otras varias observaciones astronmicas, y phsicas: por Don Jorge Juan.y Don Antonio de Ulloa, vol. 2 (Madrid: Antonio Marn, 1748). The Noticias secretas was first
published in England as Noticias secretas de Amrica sobre el estado naval, militar, y
poltico de los reynos del Per y provincias de Quito, costas de Nueva Granada y Chile:
gobierno y rgimen particular de los pueblos de Indios: cruel opresin y extorsiones de
sus corregidores y curas: abusos escandalosos introducidos entre estos habitantes por los
misioneros: causas de su origen y motivos de such continuacin por el espacio de tres
siglos (London: Imprenta de R. Taylor, 1826).
34
Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, trans. and ed. by Besse A. Clement and
John J. TePaske, Discourse and Political Reflections on the Kingdoms of Peru: Their
174
chapter four
In 1779, a seemingly basic change occurred at Huancavelica. Antonio Areche, a royal visitor to Peru armed with wide discretional powers, dissolved the gremio and turned production over to a private
individual, a former gremio member, Nicols de Saravia, who promised to increase Huancavelicas output. Unfortunately, he died within
the year, his heir refused to assume responsibility for operations, and
the mine reverted to royal administration. Little changed as a result of
these moves, except that the upper half of the workings collapsed in
1786. The mine was virtually exhausted by this time, and the miners
and refiners increasingly came to rely on shipments from Almadn,
which trickled into Peru in miniscule amounts in the early 1750s but
in greater amounts in the 1770s and after.
Although some Almadn mercury had reached Peru in the early
seventeenth century, the influx in the 1770s significantly aided the
miners and refiners who suffered because of diminishing output in
Huancavelica and the collapse of the mine of Santa Brbara in 1786.
In the 1790s, a German mining expert, Baron Thaddeus von Nordenflicht, visited the mines to make recommendations for refurbishment,
but these were ignored, and mercury output at Huancavelica continued to fall as miners increasingly relied on mercury being shipped to
Peru from Almadn.35
As already noted, shipments of Almadn mercury first arrived in
Peru in the seventeenth century, beginning in 1605 and ending in
1655.36 These consisted of 76,000 quintales, or 9 percent of the mercury available in Peru, from the opening of the Huancavelica mine in
the 1570s to 1750. No Spanish mercury was remitted to Peru at all
between 1655 and 1750, in part because Almadn struggled to supply Mexican silver refiners, and Andean refiners had access to Huancavelica. Discovery of extensive new cinnabar deposits at Almadn in
the 1690s, however, led to a great upsurge there in mercury production and made it possible for the government to provide the American
colonies with more abundant and cheaper supplies of mercury.
Government, Special Regimen of their Inhabitants, and Abuses Which Have Been Introduced into One and Another with Special Information on Why They Grew Up and Some
Means to Avoid Them (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1978), 13.
35
See Brown, Huancavelica, 21112.
36
175
Meanwhile, by the 1750s, Huancavelica was showing signs of ore

depletion, and its output declined. Both Spanish authorities and silver
miners saw a real need to procure mercury from other sources. In the
1750s, therefore, a bit of Almadn mercury began to trickle in, a little
more than one thousand quintales in that decade. Over the next ten
years, almost eight thousand quintales came from Spain to replenish
the dwindling supplies at Huancavelica. In the 1770s and after, however, more and more quicksilver from Almadn found its way to Peru.
Overall, from the 1750s to 1816, mercury shipped from Spain constituted 44 percent of all mercury available to Peruvian silver refiners
and miners, over nine hundred thousand quintales compared to only
9 percent or seventy-six thousand quintales for the period to 1750.
The upsurge in mining at Hualgayoc, Huantajaya, Pasco, and Potos
had created a new demand for mercury in Peru, to which authorities
in Spain quickly responded. As in Mexico in the late colonial epoch,
shipments of mercury from Almadn filled the needs of the amalgamators in Upper and Lower Peru and aided in the resurgence of silver
mining in the region at the end of the eighteenth century.
Production and shipments of mercury have been well documented
(see Table 420 and Figure 420).37 Mercury output varied from
decade to decade. In the seventeenth century, it reached its peak
in the 1630s, at over eighty thousand quintales, when silver output
was near its peak in Upper and Lower Peru. Generally, production
declined after that to the 1720s, when mercury yields at Huancavelica
were just a little over thirty thousand quintales. More was produced
in the ensuing decades to the 1770s, when shipments from Almadn
began supplementing local production of quicksilver. In the 1780s, in
fact, more mercuryover eighty-six thousand quintaleswas available to miners and refiners in Peru than at any time in its history. In
the first decade of the nineteenth century, over eighty-three thousand
quintales were available.
Prices paid for mercury were higher in Peru than in Mexico. Over
the seventeenth century and until 1779, for example, amalgamators
at Potos usually paid around one hundred pesos for a quintal of
37
See the tables in Lohmann Villena, Huancavelica; and Brown, Spanish Imperial
Mercury Trade. Also see the documents in the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid and in
the British Museum in London; and John Fisher, Silver Mines, 7677.
176
chapter four
100,000
Quintales of Mercury
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
17
91
17
71
17
51
17
31
17
11
16
91
16
71
16
51
16
31
16
11
15
91
15
71
By Decade 1671 = 16711680
Figure 420. Mercury Supply in Peru, 15711810
mercury.38 This represented what the royal treasury paid to the gremio
in Huancavelica for the mercury plus the cost of transporting the quintal to Potos. Relief came in the 1780s, however, when prices dipped to
seventy-three pesos a quintal and to a low of sixty pesos between 1784
and 1786, but rose again after that. In 1800, miners and refiners in Pasco
paid eighty-five pesos per quintal. Twelve years later, the governor of
Huancavelica reported that it cost 111 pesos to produce one quintal
in the mine, evidence that the state was subsidizing the silver miners
by selling them mercury below the cost of production. Despite such
subsidy, mercury prices were higher in Peru than in Mexico, where
miners were paying a bit more than forty-two pesos for their mercury in the latter part of the 1700s. Peruvian refiners at the time were
paying almost twice as much. By 1779, in fact, Huancavelica, which
for many decades provided Peruvian refiners with a generally stable
source of mercury, had become a stumbling block to silver production.
Costs of mercury production at Almadn during the second half of the
eighteenth century were far lower than at Huancavelica, and that was
reflected in the crowns ability to sell mercury much more cheaply in
Mexico than had been true in the 1600s. The government would not
38
Tandeter, Coercion and Market, 170.
177
offer Almadn mercury at low price to the Peruvians, however, out of

fear that buyers would illicitly resell it to the Huancavelica treasury
under the pretense that it had been produced there. The subterfuge
would have permitted them to profit from the much higher price the
crown paid for mercury produced in Peru.39
Comparison of the mercury monopolies in Mexico and Peru reveals
that in Mexico the so-called administracin de azogues was far better managed than its counterpart in Peru. Almadn supplies were
dependable, and mercury routinely arrived at those reales de minas
and cajas where it was most needed. In Peru, it did also, but the price
was higher and the difficult terrain inflated transportation costs. Moreover, at Huancavelica, the mercury monopoly allowed miners debts
to build up more significantly than in Mexico. Peter Bakewell indicates that by 1608, miners owed the Huancavelica operation well over
two million pesos.40 That by 1763 Antonio de Ulloa had pared it to
77,000 pesos indicates either that systematic efforts had been mounted
to collect the debt or that some or much of it had been forgiven or
defaulted, or both. The monopoly at Huancavelica was also more corrupt, with more mercury being sold illegally there than in Mexico, and
for good reason. When the gremio could get no recompense from the
Huancavelica caja, they illegally sold their mercury directly to miners
and refiners. Still, the Huancavelica mercury mine was a vital part of
the mining economy in Peru and a major reason for Perus being the
major silver producer in the Spanish empire until the 1670s.
Peruvian Silver in a New World and World Perspective

In the period from 1531 to 1810, the mines of Upper and Lower Peru
produced nearly thirty-six million kilograms of fine silver. This constituted 42 percent of New World output and 29 percent of world yields
for the period (see Table 422 and Figure 421). Perus share of New
World output was far larger in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth
centuries. Moreover, from 1580 to 1670, the Peruvian portion of New
World output was in the 60-percent range. After 1670, Mexican output outstripped that of Peru, which dropped to the mid-40 percents
39
40
Brown, Spanish Imperial Mercury Trade, 155.

Bakewell, Miners of the Red Mountain, 159.
178
chapter four
20,000,000
18,000,000
16,000,000
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
WLD TOT
8,000,000
NW TOT
PERU TOT
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
15
31
15
51
15
71
15
91
16
11
16
31
16
51
16
71
16
91
17
11
17
31
17
51
17
71
17
91
By Decade 1651 = 16511660
Figure 421. Peruvian-New World-World Silver Output, 15311810, in

kilograms
of American production in the last three decades of the seventeenth

century. In the eighteenth century, Peru averaged about 30 percent of
New World yields to 1810.
On the world stage, Perus share of world silver output rose from 18
percent to 27 percent from the 1560s to the 1570s, when amalgamation was introduced in Upper Peru. It grew to 40 percent or more until
the 1630s, when Peruvian output constituted an enormous 55 percent
of world yields. This dropped in the 1640s and fell into the 30-percent
range by 1700. In the early eighteenth century, Peru accounted for
only 20 percent of world output during the first two decades but fluctuated between a high of 26 percent in the 1770s to 19 percent in the
first ten years of the nineteenth century. Clearly, even as production
dropped in Peru after 1670, the region still played an important role
in silver production worldwide.

As indicated earlier, silver registries for Upper and Lower Peru are
virtually complete from the time of the conquest in 1531 to the end
of the colonial epoch. This is largely because of the efforts of two
scholars, Alvaro Jara and Peter Bakewell. Jaras contribution was to
179
analyze the roughly kept accounts available for Peru during the early
conquest and post-conquest period, the era so difficult to delineate for
New Spain. These are contained in his Tres ensayos, published in 1966,
which established his reputation for quantitative research on colonial Spanish America.41 One of Peter Bakewells many contributions
was the reconstruction of the Potos accounts from the daybooks or
libros mayores for those years when there were no summary accounts
(sumarios), primarily for the seventeenth century. Because Potos was
the major New World producer, his efforts provide basic data for the
understanding of the secular trends not only at the Cerro de Potos but
for the Andean region. Moreover, he graciously shared these data with
me. For the very early years of production at Potos, Bailey W. Diffie
has established reasonable guidelines.42 The Academia Nacional de la
Historia (Buenos Aires) also published a useful list of annual production figures for the Potos mines that was compiled in 1802.43
The gaps in the accounts have been filled in the same way as they
were for Mexico. For a hole of just a few years, I created simple averages. For longer periods, I relied on ascending or descending averages,
depending on the trends in a particular caja. For some treasuries such
as Arequipa, Trujillo, and Huancavelica, I determined that there were
no registries at all for certain years. This will be evident in the tables.
For the most part, the tax on silver in Upper and Lower Peru
until 1736 was 1.5 percent in cobos and the quinto de plata. After
1736, the cobos remained at 1.5 percent but the fifth was lowered to
a tenth. Thus, the multipliers for determining the actual amount of
silver declared were 4.71698113 for silver taxed at 1.5 percent and a
fifth and 8.81057269 for silver taxed at 1.5 percent and a tenth. The
method of converting pesos to kilograms was the same as for Mexico
(see the Sources and Methodological Explanation in chapter three).
Allowances have been made for occasional tax relief offered by the
government in some mining districts.
41
Jara, Tres ensayos. All three essays and his graphic additions are valuable for the
New World mining historian. See also Jaras Produccin de metales preciosos.
42
Bailey W. Diffie, Estimates of Potos Mineral Production, 15411551, Hispanic
American Historical Review 20 (May 1940): 27582.
43
MANIFIESTO de la plata extrada del cerro de Potos (15561800), prlogo
por Humberto F. Burzio (Buenos Aires: Academia de la Historia, 1971): 2640. This
is a facsimile edition of the 1802 document by Lamberto de Sierra, the treasurer of
the Potos caja in that year.
180
chapter four
For mercury production and shipments, I have relied primarily on

the sources cited earlier in this chapter: Pierre and Huguette Chaunu
for the early period to 1700 and Lohmann Villena on Huancavelica.
For the eighteenth century, Kendall Browns essay is exceedingly useful
for both Mexico and Peru, as is Antonia Heredias Renta del Azogue
for Mexico in the early eighteenth century. The work of John Fisher,
Silver Mines, on mining in eighteenth-century Peru, helped to fill some
gaps. The Chaunu data on mercury shipments to Peru for the period
up to 1700 was also valuable for the years after the conquest to the
transformation of the colonial regime in the Bourbon era.
38.56
30.67
0.70
0.09
1.05
1.10
1.14
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.08
1.10
2.17
2.62
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.65
0.83
0.26
4.00
4.08
14.46
20.21
17.47
15.22
0.00 1.11
0.00 1.27
0.00 0.91
0.01 0.34
4.21
4.87
5.64
1.23
8.36
2.99
45.08
1.00
1.10
0.02
2.42
0.07
2.11
52.43
0.32
0.89
0.01
1.58
6.94
51.18
1.50
0.69
0.03
0.02
53.71
0.31
0.66
0.07
2.67
66.81
0.33
0.59
0.15
0.01
69.24
0.22
0.80
0.07
63.46
0.20
0.39
1.57
28.46
50.72
55.76
69.33
84.17
74.53
72.62
72.15
70.20
64.80
31.44
21.13
23.63
JAU ARI HGA PNO TOTAL
1.21
VPS
20.73
CTO
0.40
CRG
19.90
LPZ CMA
3.73
TJO
17.33
ORO
10.22
ARQ
7.11
CVR
5.10
HVA
5.10
CZO
1531
1540
1541
1550
1551
1560
1561
1570
1571
1580
1581
1590
1591
1600
1601
1610
1611
1620
1621
1630
1631
1640
1641
1650
1651
1660
1661
1670
POT
LIM
DECADE
Table 41. Upper and Lower Peruvian Silver Production by Caja and Decade, 15311810 (in Millions of Pesos of 272 Maraveds).
Tables

181
29.85
32.09
23.68
15.46
13.59
12.84
15.06
16.00
21.71
25.24
30.21
31.75
32.75
24.72
0.07
0.18
0.64
0.55
1.46
1.49
3.39
6.71
7.34
6.44
6.00
7.22
7.65
5.56
1671
1680
1681
1690
1691
1700
1701
1710
1711
1720
1721
1730
1731
1740
1741
1750
1751
1760
1761
1770
1771
1780
1781
1790
1791
1800
1801
1810
TOTAL
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.03
0.12
0.03
0.08
0.17
0.64
1.46
1.22
CZO
0.00
0.00
0.38
0.63
0.85
1.40
3.21
2.95
2.87
0.71
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
HVA
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
CVR
2.44
2.63
3.44
1.53
0.81
0.75
0.66
0.47
0.12
0.01
0.02
0.00
0.05
0.00
ARQ
3.37
5.32
3.30
9.49
9.56
9.51
8.46
6.23
6.16
7.21
7.17
5.84
3.14
3.62
ORO
5.33 0.53
7.75 0.11
6.70 0.00
3.77 0.19
0.00 0.10
0.00 0.07
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.11
0.00 0.47
0.00 1.19
0.47
1.20
1.12
1.76
1.25
1.20
0.73
0.79
0.54
0.55
0.71
0.87
0.87
1.05
CRG
8.18 0.40 2.34
6.81 0.94 0.76
5.72 1.21
3.08 0.58
2.10 0.48
1.33 0.41
0.00 21.46 0.00 1.12
2.80
2.80
1.424.39
68.87
86.96
68.52
Caja key: LIM=Lima, POT=Potos, CZO=Cuzco, HVA=Huancavelica, CVR=Castrovirreyna, ARQ=Arequipa, ORO=Oruro, TJO=Trujillo, LPZ=La
Paz, CMA=Cailloma, CRG=Carangas, CTO=Chucuito, VPS=Vico y Pasco, JAU=Jauja, ARI=Arica, HGA=Huamanga, PNO=Puno.
3.34
1.07
1.60
0.67
68.50
57.57
53.43
43.88
36.35
30.32
27.41
28.07
42.56
51.14
47.90
JAU ARI HGA PNO TOTAL
0.91 0.27
0.62
0.57
0.58
0.26
0.16
VPS
3.95 21.07 0.00 2.93
3.02
3.73
3.88
5.45
2.98
2.93
2.95
2.04
1.87
5.80
8.57
7.02
CTO
50.00 16.45 65.54 72.85 4.29 7.15
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.68
2.50
2.34
2.52
2.67
2.14
1.14
1.44
4.04
3.33
3.54
LPZ CMA
0.00 1.37
TJO
77.11 875.40 13.35 13.48 10.04 14.75 166.49 23.58 7.77
POT
LIM
DECADE
Table 41 (cont.)
182
chapter four
0.00
985.67 28.06
783.99 26.95
762.93 31.30
820.19 37.37
17.89
2.33
1.75
4.57
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.93
1.19
0.00
80.32
92.49
0.00 102.30
0.00 104.40
0.00 369.65
8.77 177.36
0.02 30.37
0.08 34.96
85.21 22.21 218.97
90.58 26.85 179.47
0.00 28.47 107.49 31.51 213.80
0.00 32.53 124.41 53.92
0.03 23.25 144.26
0.14
6.75
4.16
0.10
0.00 28.02
25.64 1.152.36 29.18
0.00
0.00 55.35 16.64 516.50
8.12 1.340.15 28.02
76.53
0.49 67.08 21.10 446.64
38.41 1.308.15 22.86
6.57 388.93
0.09
0.20 61.80
7.85 1.372.93 17.62
1.84
0.42
0.79 40.46
8.36 1.707.79 16.78
68.33
1.80
5.52 1.769.96 15.00
0.16
3.86
9.98 1.622.01 20.45
1.90
5.02
727.50 40.07
30.93
1.307.17
1.224.57
1.296.94
1.425.34
1.772.39
2.151.05
1.905.24
1.855.90
1.844.35
1.794.34
1.656.30
803.52
540.12
604.12
ARI HGA PNO TOTAL
529.90
JAU
10.22
VPS
508.78
CTO
95.34
CRG
442.97
CMA
261.26
LPZ
181.71
TJO
130.36
ORO
130.36
CZO HVA CVR ARQ
1531
1540
1541
1550
1551
1560
1561
1570
1571
1580
1581
1590
1591
1600
1601
1610
1611
1620
1621
1630
1631
1640
1641
1650
1651
1660
1661
1670
1671
1680
1681
1690
POT
LIM
DECADE
Table 42. Upper And Lower Peruvian Silver Production by Caja and Decade 15311810 (in Thousands of Kilograms of Fine Silver).

183
395.19
347.50
325.87
373.73
396.98
538.52
626.30
740.35
773.43
794.12
599.32
13.96
37.37
38.02
84.09
166.57
182.20
159.67
147.22
175.86
185.45
134.89
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
9.40
3.10 156.46
0.15 184.32
0.50 183.20
0.00 149.32
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
80.25 163.15
0.00 59.24
2.72
0.00
4.74
2.47
1.80
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.06
2.76
81.82 129.35 12.91
0.00 63.68 128.87 187.83
0.00 83.71
LPZ
CMA
CRG
CTO
73.95
72.68
74.79
52.12
47.82
0.00 11.51
0.00 29.16
0.00 27.33
65.69 43.18
61.95 31.10
6.87
JAU
76.40 14.35
52.04 12.00
32.97 10.10
23.18
15.83
14.61
14.91
VPS
0.00 520.22
95.76 510.92
73.43 199.09
2.108.30
1.668.78
0.00 27.17 26.00 67.95 1.670.38
0.00 71.11 38.68
9.68 57.13 16.32
1.679.25
1.428.35
1.325.44
1.088.69
901.66
770.18
700.84
717.45
1.087.88
ARI HGA PNO TOTAL
91.41 167.15 23.09 18.64
96.31 141.96 29.94
57.94 29.88 135.22
62.45 18.05
66.14 19.54
54.39 13.83
29.25 14.11
36.92 18.22
0.00 11.93 103.38 22.29 148.37
TJO
0.00 37.38 232.56 92.20
0.00 20.07 237.27
0.00 18.49 235.97
0.00 16.45 209.85
0.00 11.61 154.56
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
ORO
Caja key: LIM=Lima, POT=Potos, CZO=Cuzco, HVA=Huancavelica, CVR=Castrovirreyna, ARQ=Arequipa, ORO=Oruro, TJO=Trujillo, LPZ=La Paz,
CMA=Cailloma, CRG=Carangas, CTO=Chucuito, VPS=Vico y Pasco, JAU=Jauja, ARI=Arica, HGA=Huamanga, PNO=Puno.
1920.52 22170.08 341.28 336.45 256.54 361.88 4204.01 573.22 197.84 1267.42 412.69 1650.63 1780.29 106.03 174.05 81.00 67.95 35901.88
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.12 15.52
0.33 20.98
0.00 34.67
0.65 79.70
3.04 73.19
0.86 72.81
2.11 18.02
4.27
605.20 16.24
16.24
CZO HVA CVR ARQ
1691
1700
1701
1710
1711
1720
1721
1730
1731
1740
1741
1750
1751
1760
1761
1770
1771
1780
1781
1790
1791
1800
1801
1810
TOTAL
POT
LIM
DECADE
Table 42 (cont.)
184
chapter four
185
Table 43. Lima Registered Silver Production 15741820.

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
96,018
48,376
36,514
17,933
32,399
73,215
26,359
20,481
13,956
25,230
390,481
2,454
1,237
933
458
828
1,871
674
524
357
645
9,981
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
21,905
12,945
12,150
12,714
18,415
24,798
32,815
20,079
29,282
30,887
215,990
560
331
311
325
471
634
839
513
748
790
5,521
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
4,910
177,525
109,722
174,595
110,227
122,255
73,832
773,066
126
4,538
2,805
4,463
2,818
3,125
1,887
19,760
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
47,468
99,593
33,018
37,072
13,424
13,970
45,837
18,355
5,213
12,937
326,887
1,213
2,546
844
948
343
357
1,172
469
133
331
8,356
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
15,653
10,494
6,226
11,760
10,997
12,586
27,758
82,155
84,861
44,493
306,983
400
268
159
301
281
322
710
2,100
2,169
1,137
7,847
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
90,409
163,800
150,409
64,827
621,178
127,565
122,456
84,101
44,180
33,646
1,502,571
2,311
4,187
3,845
1,657
15,878
3,261
3,130
2,150
1,129
860
38,407
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
19,884
62,047
90,098
20,938
24,530
35,219
25,760
6,415
2,765
29,939
317,595
508
1,586
2,303
535
627
900
658
164
71
765
8,118
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
62,908
56,286
129,475
57,377
187,903
230,414
24,209
12,536
79,945
162,089
1,003,142
1,608
1,439
3,310
1,467
4,803
5,890
619
320
2,043
4,143
25,641
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
114,387
75,395
240,150
212,173
19,777
17,611
9,053
2,930
4,739
3,849
700,064
2,924
1,927
6,138
5,423
506
450
231
75
121
98
17,894
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
40
27,746
21,106
8,501
1,376
1,668
4,883
4,883
9,677
11,275
91,155
1
709
539
217
35
43
125
125
247
288
2,330
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
11,275
9,450
8,146
8,146
5,076
2,006
2,006
4,315
8,934
8,934
68,288
288
242
208
208
130
51
51
110
228
228
1,746
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
9,516
11,261
11,261
11,261
18,561
22,211
22,211
22,211
22,211
28,124
178,828
243
288
288
288
474
568
568
568
568
719
4,571
1691
1692
93,164
93,164
2,381
2,381
1701
1702
5,792
62,363
148
1,594
1711
1712
137,454
102,917
3,513
2,631
186
chapter four
Table 43 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS YEAR
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
93,164
93,164
93,164
76,419
26,184
24,693
21,940
20,449
635,505
2,381
2,381
2,381
1,953
669
631
561
523
16,244
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
351,445
282,585
96,478
92,090
183,693
58,354
113,863
84,934
113,948
116,788
1,494,178
8,983
7,223
2,466
2,354
4,695
1,492
2,910
2,171
2,827
2,897
38,019
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
861,119
854,802
628,167
750,423
610,643
730,907
709,225
568,062
814,767
816,079
7,344,194
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
1811
1812
1813
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
37,994
15,450
5,642
15,416
78,910
89,195
108,182
127,170
546,114
971
395
144
394
2,017
2,280
2,765
3,251
13,959
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
102,784
101,224
151,648
210,501
166,229
183,140
160,165
145,995
1,462,057
2,627
2,587
3,876
5,381
4,249
4,681
4,094
3,732
37,372
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
68,288
128,335
109,236
112,802
204,755
490,581
550,264
779,830
567,739
377,709
3,389,539
1,694
3,184
2,710
2,799
5,080
12,171
13,651
19,347
14,085
9,371
84,091
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
348,978
309,498
301,075
312,106
228,123
382,009
3,047,683
643,181
554,837
586,740
6,714,230
8,658
7,678
7,469
7,743
5,660
9,477
75,610
15,957
13,765
14,556
166,573
21,364
21,207
15,584
18,617
15,149
18,133
17,595
14,093
20,214
20,246
182,202
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
856,423
521,586
544,705
730,661
775,110
455,322
559,223
582,344
648,502
761,938
6,435,814
21,247
12,940
13,514
18,127
19,230
11,296
13,874
14,447
16,089
18,903
159,666
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
760,388
679,744
679,586
497,436
397,084
298,846
463,198
789,339
688,176
749,410
6,003,207
18,864
16,864
16,604
12,154
9,702
7,302
11,317
19,286
16,814
18,310
147,218
997,427
651,991
693,894
791,551
780,819
738,026
690,458
715,533
708,511
448,996
7,217,206
24,370
15,930
16,954
19,340
19,078
18,032
16,740
17,348
17,178
10,886
175,856
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
716,361
922,705
958,079
888,696
726,767
831,154
649,797
609,304
714,441
631,700
7,649,004
17,368
22,371
23,229
21,546
17,620
20,151
15,754
14,773
17,322
15,316
185,450
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
633,956
578,493
518,256
526,502
541,727
549,974
473,075
528,828
515,022
697,841
5,563,674
15,370
14,026
12,565
12,765
13,134
13,334
11,470
12,821
12,487
16,919
134,891
802,753
855,209
907,665
19,463
20,735
22,006
187
Table 43 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS YEAR
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
788,211
762,749
737,322
760,670
784,018
821,965
428,441
7,649,003
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
19,110
18,493
17,876
18,442
19,009
19,929
10,388
185,450
YEAR
PESOS
TOTAL 67,978,775
KILOGRAMS
1,677,164
Table 44. Lima Silver Output as Percentage of Peruvian, New World, and World
Production, 15311810 (by Decade in Kilograms of Fine Silver).
DECADE
KILOGRAMS
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
130,360
181,710
95,340
10,220
30,930
9,980
5,520
8,360
7,850
1,630
8,120
25,640
17,890
2,330
1,750
4,570
16,240
13,960
37,370
38,020
84,090
166,570
182,200
159,670
147,220
175,860
185,450
134,890
1,883,740
PERU
TOT
NW TOT
WLD TOT
%PERU
TOT
%NW
TOT
%WLD
TOT
130,360
192,980
900,000 100.00% 67.55% 14.48%
442,970
718,765
2,843,000 41.02% 25.28% 6.39%
604,120 1,091,599
3,116,000 15.78% 8.73% 3.06%
540,120 1,432,762
2,995,000
1.89% 0.71% 0.34%
803,520 1,826,711
2,995,000
3.85% 1.69% 1.03%
1,656,300 2,561,225
4,190,000
0.60% 0.39% 0.24%
1,794,340 2,898,548
4,190,000
0.31% 0.19% 0.13%
1,844,350 3,113,649
4,230,000
0.45% 0.27% 0.20%
1,855,900 3,176,323
4,230,000
0.42% 0.25% 0.19%
1,905,240 3,160,267
3,936,000
0.09% 0.05% 0.04%
2,151,050 3,286,813
3,936,000
0.38% 0.25% 0.21%
1,772,390 2,628,662
3,663,000
1.45% 0.98% 0.70%
1,425,340 2,355,765
3,663,000
1.26% 0.76% 0.49%
1,296,940 2,191,526
3,370,000
0.18% 0.11% 0.07%
1,224,570 2,556,891
3,370,000
0.14% 0.07% 0.05%
1,307,170 2,808,119
3,419,000
0.35% 0.16% 0.13%
1,087,880 2,371,740
3,419,000
1.49% 0.68% 0.47%
717,450 1,999,981
3,556,000
1.95% 0.70% 0.39%
700,840 2,367,326
3,556,000
5.33% 1.58% 1.05%
770,180 2,855,804
4,312,000
4.94% 1.33% 0.88%
901,660 3,241,373
4,312,000
9.33% 2.59% 1.95%
1,088,690 3,670,428
5,331,450 15.30% 4.54% 3.12%
1,325,440 4,332,244
5,331,450 13.75% 4.21% 3.42%
1,428,350 4,137,147
6,527,400 11.18% 3.86% 2.45%
1,679,250 5,306,311
6,527,400
8.77% 2.77% 2.26%
1,668,780 5,891,595
8,790,600 10.54% 2.98% 2.00%
2,108,300 7,030,814
8,790,600
8.80% 2.64% 2.11%
1,670,380 6,776,893
8,941,500
8.08% 1.99% 1.51%
35,901,880 85,982,261 124,441,400
5.25% 2.19% 1.51%
188
chapter four
Table 45. Potos Registered Silver Production 15451823.
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
1551
1552
1553
1554
1555
1556
1557
1558
1559
1560
1,807,115
1,807,115
2,075,953
2,075,953
2,075,953
2,166,990
2,252,572
1,860,731
1,812,649
1,969,358
19,904,389
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
46,192
46,192
53,063
53,063
53,063
55,390
57,578
47,562
46,333
50,339
508,776
1561
1562
1563
1564
1565
1566
1567
1568
1569
1570
1,920,448
2,158,955
2,244,856
1,995,244
2,488,149
2,362,941
2,068,073
1,919,771
1,983,273
1,589,264
20,730,974
49,089
55,185
57,381
51,000
63,600
60,399
52,862
49,071
50,694
40,623
529,904
1545
1546
1547
1548
1549
1550
1,651,716
1,651,716
1,651,716
1,651,716
1,807,115
1,807,115
10,221,094
42,220
42,220
42,220
42,220
46,192
46,192
261,261
1571
1572
1573
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
1,235,981
837,112
1,222,495
1,570,038
2,073,988
2,676,547
3,553,495
4,075,641
5,366,722
5,849,481
28,461,500
31,593
21,397
31,248
40,132
53,013
68,415
90,831
104,177
137,179
149,519
727,504
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
6,271,480 160,305
6,704,543 171,375
6,007,373 153,554
5,984,452 152,969
7,507,604 191,902
6,873,525 175,694
3,661,086
93,581
5,615,701 143,543
7,570,316 193,505
7,260,444 185,584
63,456,524 1,622,012
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
7,539,975
7,609,023
7,619,776
6,772,630
6,928,690
7,084,749
6,708,061
6,331,373
6,327,261
6,323,148
69,244,686
192,729
194,494
194,769
173,115
177,104
181,093
171,465
161,836
161,731
161,626
1,769,963
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
7,128,997 182,224
7,341,142 187,647
7,139,571 182,495
6,456,772 165,042
7,395,816 189,044
7,016,357 179,345
6,826,468 174,491
5,793,069 148,077
5,465,786 139,711
6,248,165 159,709
66,812,143 1,707,785
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
3,472,679
88,765
5,498,490 140,547
5,659,950 144,674
6,446,918 164,790
6,213,586 158,825
5,606,319 143,303
5,172,630 132,218
5,043,103 128,907
5,429,132 138,774
5,169,118 132,128
53,711,925 1,372,931
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
5,297,303
5,275,265
5,226,281
5,246,524
4,945,165
4,988,960
5,203,431
5,657,213
4,694,102
4,643,362
51,177,606
135,404
134,841
133,589
134,106
126,403
127,523
133,005
144,604
119,986
118,689
1,308,151
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
5,148,844 131,610
4,653,593 118,950
4,844,583 123,832
4,750,508 121,428
4,563,155 116,639
6,943,915 177,493
5,743,218 146,802
5,667,061 144,856
5,391,479 137,812
4,722,930 120,723
52,429,286 1,340,145
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
4,537,769 115,990
4,372,244 111,759
4,264,821 109,013
4,157,398 106,267
4,382,771 112,028
4,058,212 103,732
4,300,145 109,916
5,420,962 138,565
5,159,855 131,891
4,428,563 113,198
45,082,740 1,152,360
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
3,716,493
3,866,926
3,678,488
4,029,845
3,650,036
3,880,060
4,495,059
4,236,278
3,858,537
3,149,759
38,561,481
94,997
98,842
94,026
103,007
93,299
99,178
114,898
108,284
98,628
80,511
985,670
189
Table 45 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
3,007,512
3,079,486
2,794,586
2,921,616
3,163,439
3,260,744
3,420,714
3,335,255
3,011,765
2,676,304
30,671,421
76,875
78,715
71,432
74,679
80,861
83,348
87,437
85,252
76,984
68,409
783,992
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
3,247,540
3,011,305
3,265,965
3,250,927
2,740,069
2,482,880
2,654,516
3,151,390
3,006,209
3,036,558
29,847,359
83,010
76,972
83,481
83,097
70,039
63,465
67,852
80,553
76,842
77,617
762,928
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
3,309,299
3,181,661
3,530,349
3,469,948
3,161,956
2,831,787
3,113,994
3,117,662
3,123,023
3,248,048
32,087,727
84,589
81,326
90,239
88,695
80,823
72,383
79,597
79,691
79,828
83,023
820,194
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
2,866,248
2,049,700
2,754,748
2,639,213
2,688,517
2,876,138
2,103,192
2,008,429
2,037,165
1,653,164
23,676,514
73,264
52,392
70,414
67,461
68,721
73,517
53,760
51,337
52,072
42,257
605,195
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1,173,672
1,059,361
1,185,862
1,317,864
1,424,199
1,754,195
1,821,333
1,795,646
1,532,718
2,395,978
15,460,828
30,000
27,078
30,312
33,686
36,404
44,839
46,555
45,899
39,178
61,244
395,194
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
1,531,041
901,138
1,102,601
1,312,823
1,523,045
1,692,391
1,680,623
1,555,165
1,253,910
1,042,102
13,594,839
39,135
23,034
28,184
33,557
38,931
43,259
42,958
39,752
32,051
26,637
347,498
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
1,110,997
1,071,508
1,079,445
1,122,250
1,166,994
1,238,313
1,406,751
1,611,595
1,572,228
1,457,947
12,838,028
28,398
27,389
27,592
28,686
29,830
31,653
35,958
41,194
39,005
36,170
325,874
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
1,436,776
1,500,013
1,532,400
1,426,066
1,199,857
1,620,496
1,715,337
1,536,715
1,565,295
1,531,442
15,064,397
35,645
37,214
38,017
35,379
29,767
40,203
42,556
38,124
38,833
37,994
373,733
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1,508,620
1,461,582
1,296,973
1,357,163
1,442,047
1,606,769
1,642,919
1,734,156
1,927,483
2,023,659
16,001,371
37,427
36,260
32,177
33,670
35,776
39,862
40,759
43,023
47,819
50,205
396,978
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
2,032,211
2,066,267
2,153,589
2,023,694
2,124,188
2,125,698
2,209,880
2,301,956
2,283,968
2,385,148
21,706,599
50,417
51,262
53,428
50,206
52,699
52,736
54,825
57,109
56,663
59,173
538,519
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
2,317,786
2,286,907
2,426,834
2,391,298
2,528,291
2,514,328
2,487,696
2,704,568
2,781,693
2,805,322
25,244,723
57,502
56,736
60,207
59,326
62,724
62,378
61,717
67,098
69,011
69,597
626,296
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
2,967,392
2,710,573
2,781,427
2,640,555
2,928,018
3,051,278
3,442,088
3,101,278
3,066,396
3,524,775
30,213,780
73,618
67,247
67,959
64,517
71,540
74,552
84,101
75,774
74,921
86,121
740,348
190
chapter four
Table 45 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOS
YEAR
PESOS
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
2,805,330
1,644,511
2,052,740
2,743,242
2,605,938
2,511,938
2,608,018
2,519,630
2,590,106
2,638,053
24,719,506
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
2,899,639
3,085,454
3,526,326
3,274,767
3,099,366
2,929,577
3,443,498
3,370,370
2,955,674
3,170,044
31,754,715
70,847
75,387
86,159
80,012
75,727
71,578
83,488
81,715
71,660
76,858
773,430
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
3,264,925
3,334,300
3,270,890
3,322,758
3,445,022
3,262,520
3,147,269
3,292,300
3,252,247
3,161,524
32,753,755
79,158
80,840
79,303
80,560
83,525
79,100
76,306
79,822
78,851
76,651
794,115
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
2,343,815
2,049,577
2,024,568
1,999,559
1,905,263
1,731,178
1,557,093
1,383,007
1,208,922
1,114,626
17,317,608
56,826 1821
49,692 1822
49,086 1823
48,479
46,193
41,972
37,752
33,531
29,310
27,024
419,865
1,232,617
1,350,608
1,412,167
3,995,392
29,885
32,745
34,238
96,868
KILOS
68,015
39,871
49,769
66,510
63,181
60,902
63,231
61,088
62,797
63,960
599,324
TOTAL 896,742,910 22,686,817
Table 46. Potos Silver Output: Percentages by Decade of Peruvian, New World, and World
Production 15451810 (Percentages by Decade in Kilograms of Fine Silver).
DECADE
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
PERU
TOT
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
10,220,000
19,900,000
20,730,000
28,460,000
63,460,000
69,240,000
66,810,000
53,710,000
51,180,000
52,430,000
45,080,000
38,560,000
30,670,000
29,850,000
32,090,000
23,680,000
15,460,000
261,260
508,780
529,900
727,500
1,622,010
1,769,960
1,707,790
1,372,930
1,308,150
1,340,150
1,152,360
985,670
783,990
762,930
820,190
605,200
395,190
442,970
604,120
540,120
803,520
1,656,300
1,794,340
1,844,350
1,855,900
1,905,240
2,151,050
1,772,390
1,425,340
1,296,940
1,224,570
1,307,170
1,087,880
717,450
NW TOT WLD TOT %PERU %NW %WLD

TOT
TOT
TOT
718,765
1,091,599
1,432,762
1,826,711
2,561,225
2,898,548
3,113,649
3,176,323
3,160,267
3,286,813
2,628,662
2,355,765
2,191,526
2,556,891
2,808,119
2,371,740
1,999,981
2,843,000
3,116,000
2,995,000
2,995,000
4,190,000
4,190,000
4,230,000
4,230,000
3,936,000
3,936,000
3,663,000
3,663,000
3,370,000
3,370,000
3,419,000
3,419,000
3,556,000
58.98%
84.22%
98.11%
90.54%
97.93%
98.64%
92.60%
73.98%
68.66%
62.30%
65.02%
69.15%
60.45%
62.30%
62.75%
55.63%
55.08%
36.35%
46.61%
36.98%
39.83%
63.33%
61.06%
54.85%
43.22%
41.39%
40.77%
43.84%
41.84%
35.77%
29.84%
29.21%
25.52%
19.76%
9.19%
16.33%
17.69%
24.29%
38.71%
42.24%
40.37%
32.46%
33.24%
34.05%
31.46%
26.91%
23.26%
22.64%
23.99%
17.70%
11.11%
191
Table 46 (cont.)
DECADE
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
17111720 13,590,000
17211730 12,840,000
17311740 15,060,000
17411750 16,000,000
17511760 21,710,000
17611770 25,240,000
17711780 30,210,000
17811790 31,750,000
17911800 32,750,000
18011810 24,720,000
TOTAL
875,400,000
347,500
325,870
373,730
396,980
538,520
626,300
740,350
773,430
794,120
599,320
22,170,080
PERU
TOT
NW TOT WLD TOT %PERU %NW %WLD

TOT
TOT
TOT
700,840 2,367,326
3,556,000
770,180 2,855,804
4,312,000
901,660 3,241,373
4,312,000
1,088,690 3,670,428
5,331,450
1,325,440 4,332,244
5,331,450
1,428,350 4,137,147
6,527,400
1,679,250 5,306,311
6,527,400
1,668,780 5,891,595
8,790,600
2,108,300 7,030,814
8,790,600
1,670,380 6,776,893
8,941,500
35,771,520 85,789,281 123,541,400
49.58%
42.31%
41.45%
36.46%
40.63%
43.85%
44.09%
46.35%
37.67%
35.88%
61.98%
14.68% 9.77%
11.41% 7.56%
11.53% 8.67%
10.82% 7.45%
12.43% 10.10%
15.14% 9.59%
13.95% 11.34%
13.13% 8.80%
11.29% 9.03%
8.84% 6.70%
25.84% 17.95%
Table 47. Oruro Registered Silver Production 16091809.

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
1609
1610
984,925
1,688,443
2,673,368
25,176
43,158
68,334
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
1,688,443
1,688,443
1,688,443
1,688,443
1,657,347
1,559,912
1,460,404
1,360,895
1,261,387
1,161,879
15,215,596
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
1671
1672
KILOGRAMS
43,158
43,158
43,158
43,158
42,363
39,873
37,329
34,786
32,242
29,699
388,926
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
1,069,281
1,249,388
1,617,614
1,817,070
1,286,132
2,428,113
2,058,433
1,932,940
1,860,841
2,153,534
17,473,346
27,332
31,936
41,348
46,446
32,875
62,065
52,616
49,408
47,565
55,046
446,636
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
2,637,602
3,509,618
2,955,786
2,025,289
2,025,289
2,009,294
1,260,948
1,260,948
1,260,948
1,260,948
20,206,670
67,420
89,709
75,553
51,768
51,768
51,360
32,231
32,231
32,231
32,231
516,503
1,478,080
1,586,646
1,640,929
1,668,070
1,695,211
1,650,277
1,325,406
1,322,580
1,172,118
922,010
14,461,327
37,781
40,556
41,944
42,638
43,331
42,183
33,879
33,806
29,961
23,567
369,646
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
518,889
558,883
396,374
375,243
360,744
365,440
370,137
374,834
379,530
384,227
4,084,301
13,263
14,286
10,132
9,592
9,221
9,341
9,461
9,581
9,701
9,821
104,399
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
388,924
393,620
398,617
403,013
407,710
411,722
407,103
402,394
397,316
391,859
4,002,278
9,941
10,061
10,189
10,301
10,421
10,524
10,406
10,286
10,156
10,016
102,302
386,402
380,945
9,877
9,737
1681
1682
331,831
326,373
8,482
8,342
1691
1692
374,165
393,339
9,564
10,054
192
chapter four
Table 47 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
375,487
370,030
364,573
359,116
353,659
348,202
342,745
337,288
3,618,447
9,598
9,458
9,319
9,179
9,040
8,900
8,761
8,621
92,491
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
321,712
288,216
273,737
283,284
325,927
306,556
335,333
349,388
3,142,357
8,223
7,367
6,997
7,241
8,331
7,836
8,571
8,931
80,322
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
510,206
667,584
775,526
772,932
651,926
550,210
553,851
591,770
5,841,509
13,041
17,064
19,823
19,757
16,664
14,064
14,157
15,126
149,315
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
593,539
588,410
636,197
650,658
669,247
740,814
669,371
769,423
923,587
925,723
7,166,969
15,171
15,040
16,262
16,631
17,107
18,936
17,110
19,667
23,608
23,662
183,195
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
776,366
652,286
569,314
464,699
413,540
621,152
816,800
1,158,051
1,107,116
631,835
7,211,159
19,845
16,673
14,552
11,878
10,570
15,877
20,878
29,601
28,299
16,150
184,324
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
455,908
687,662
597,366
548,186
619,176
650,648
697,044
674,937
627,375
598,906
6,157,208
11,653
17,577
15,269
14,012
15,827
16,631
17,817
17,252
15,565
14,858
156,462
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
559,296
489,762
497,615
536,452
542,344
414,729
578,143
769,158
908,069
934,431
6,229,999
13,876
12,151
12,345
13,309
13,455
10,289
14,343
19,082
22,528
23,182
154,560
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
844,002
749,641
673,628
689,283
753,286
839,965
865,163
967,022
1,012,866
1,063,601
8,458,457
20,939
18,598
16,712
17,100
18,688
20,839
21,464
23,991
25,128
26,387
209,846
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
1,011,151
888,946
785,518
792,288
917,900
924,828
980,816
1,077,178
1,073,054
1,059,757
9,511,436
25,086
22,054
19,488
19,656
22,772
22,944
24,333
26,724
26,621
26,292
235,969
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1,182,455
1,118,608
1,026,693
916,946
862,300
825,252
862,784
891,072
863,225
1,014,379
9,563,714
29,336
27,752
25,471
22,749
21,393
20,474
21,405
22,107
21,416
25,166
237,266
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1,034,326
1,061,568
979,903
906,159
1,051,815
886,599
986,220
1,005,128
811,041
763,101
9,485,860
25,661
26,336
23,942
22,140
25,699
21,662
24,096
24,558
19,816
18,645
232,556
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
231,427
300,767
314,449
227,568
228,000
356,811
401,022
435,198
386,485
415,225
3,296,952
5,654
7,349
7,683
5,560
5,571
8,718
9,723
10,551
9,370
10,067
80,246
1791
1792
501,604
683,577
12,161
16,573
1801
1802
380,079
273,269
9,215
6,625
193
Table 47 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
546,396
562,952
513,736
554,916
514,211
500,467
450,670
486,890
5,315,419
13,247
13,649
12,456
13,454
12,467
12,134
10,926
11,805
128,872
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
96,317
907,189
309,163
339,066
343,207
344,969
381,639
3,374,898
2,335
21,995
7,496
8,221
8,321
8,364
9,253
81,824
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
TOTAL
166,491,270
4,203,996
Table 48. Castrovirreyna Registered Silver Production 16001652.

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
1600
74,226
74,226
1,897
1,897
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
148,452
148,452
148,452
148,452
148,452
148,452
162,516
176,580
176,580
176,580
1,582,968
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
KILOGRAMS
3,795
3,795
3,795
3,795
3,795
3,795
4,154
4,514
4,514
4,514
40,462
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
183,128
255,163
255,163
255,163
273,663
196,076
196,076
225,164
283,341
294,903
2,417,840
4,681
6,522
6,522
6,522
6,995
5,012
5,012
5,755
7,242
7,538
61,802
329,350
307,840
273,037
238,235
208,508
249,532
211,290
247,454
283,828
275,118
2,624,192
8,419
7,869
6,979
6,090
5,330
6,378
5,401
6,325
7,255
7,032
67,077
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
264,650
253,958
243,267
232,576
221,884
211,193
200,502
189,810
179,119
168,428
2,165,387
6,765
6,491
6,218
5,945
5,672
5,398
5,125
4,852
4,578
4,305
55,349
157,736
147,045
136,354
125,662
114,971
4,032
3,759
3,485
3,212
2,939
1651
1652
53,496
22,104
75,600
1,367
565
1,932
194
chapter four
Table 48 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
104,279
93,588
82,897
72,205
61,514
1,096,251
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
2,665
2,392
2,119
1,846
1,572
28,021
TOTAL
PESOS
10,036,464
KILOGRAMS
256,542
Table 49. Cailloma Registered Silver Production 16311779.

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
516,009
774,014
774,014
774,014
757,679
676,008
680,491
678,617
662,499
645,179
6,938,524
13,190
19,785
19,785
19,785
19,367
17,279
17,394
17,346
16,934
16,491
177,356
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
627,858
610,537
593,217
575,896
558,575
545,585
542,796
536,317
529,701
523,085
5,643,567
16,049
15,606
15,163
14,720
14,278
13,946
13,874
13,709
13,540
13,371
144,255
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
516,469
509,853
503,237
496,621
490,005
483,389
476,772
470,156
463,540
456,924
4,866,966
13,201
13,032
12,863
12,694
12,525
12,356
12,187
12,018
11,849
11,679
124,405
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
450,308
443,692
437,076
430,460
423,844
417,228
410,611
403,995
397,379
390,763
4,205,356
11,510
11,341
11,172
11,003
10,834
10,665
10,496
10,327
10,157
9,988
107,493
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
384,147
377,531
370,915
364,299
357,683
351,066
344,450
337,834
331,218
324,602
3,543,745
9,819
9,650
9,481
9,312
9,143
8,974
8,804
8,635
8,466
8,297
90,582
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
317,986
311,370
305,719
306,344
317,126
329,749
342,372
354,994
367,617
380,240
3,333,517
8,128
7,959
7,814
7,830
8,106
8,429
8,751
9,074
9,397
9,719
85,208
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
392,862
405,485
418,108
430,731
443,353
453,522
442,864
398,652
352,517
306,382
4,044,476
10,042
10,365
10,687
11,010
11,333
11,592
11,320
10,190
9,011
7,831
103,381
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
260,247
223,083
209,752
170,931
130,422
97,790
96,468
101,027
98,595
56,052
1,444,367
6,652
5,702
5,361
4,369
3,334
2,500
2,466
2,582
2,520
1,433
36,919
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
30,705
16,079
29,571
22,446
12,967
93,011
176,006
271,561
288,351
203,523
1,144,220
785
411
756
574
331
2,377
4,499
6,941
7,371
5,202
29,247
195
Table 49 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
96,944
132,251
178,582
220,467
248,787
262,334
259,462
259,070
245,829
238,312
2,142,038
2,478
3,380
4,565
5,635
6,359
6,706
6,632
6,622
6,099
5,912
54,389
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
233,447
248,206
252,209
234,657
219,904
284,650
311,549
305,562
286,914
288,749
2,665,847
5,792
6,158
6,257
5,822
5,456
7,062
7,729
7,581
7,118
7,164
66,137
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
239,066
228,496
229,013
262,711
292,023
288,743
270,717
241,633
239,953
224,831
2,517,186
5,931
5,669
5,682
6,518
7,245
7,163
6,716
5,995
5,953
5,578
62,449
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
260,567
268,594
223,323
218,420
217,621
227,548
258,499
230,787
209,721
220,235
2,335,315
6,464
6,664
5,540
5,419
5,399
5,645
6,413
5,726
5,203
5,464
57,937
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
233,938
245,888
229,186
233,621
253,251
254,978
265,974
257,692
254,978
267,612
2,497,118
5,804
6,100
5,686
5,796
6,283
6,326
6,599
6,393
6,326
6,639
61,951
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
253,789
301,736
297,216
317,612
307,595
262,132
286,881
267,736
385,374
2,680,071
6,296
7,486
7,262
7,760
7,515
6,405
7,009
6,542
9,416
65,691
TOTAL
50,002,313
1,267,399
Table 410. Arequipa Registered Silver Production 15991817.

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1599
1600
1,856
4,455
6,311
47
114
161
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
4,455
4,455
4,455
4,455
4,469
5,765
7,862
9,959
12,057
14,154
72,086
114
114
114
114
114
147
201
255
308
362
1,843
YEAR
PESOS
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
16,251
18,348
20,445
22,542
24,639
26,736
28,833
30,930
33,028
35,125
256,877
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
415
469
523
576
630
683
737
791
844
898
6,566
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
PESOS
37,222
39,319
41,416
42,552
18,901
38,726
127,825
116,005
206,278
157,358
825,602
KILOGRAMS
951
1,005
1,059
1,088
483
990
3,267
2,965
5,273
4,022
21,103
196
chapter four
Table 410 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
76,453
63,282
63,282
100,251
174,189
173,478
0
0
0
0
650,935
1,954
1,618
1,618
2,563
4,452
4,434
0
0
0
0
16,639
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
23,353
23,043
46,396
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
597
589
1,186
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
0
0
0
0
0
10,585
5,292
0
2,503
1,252
19,632
0
0
0
0
0
271
135
0
64
32
502
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
1,248
624
0
0
0
0
0
2,752
1,376
0
6,000
32
16
0
0
0
0
0
70
35
0
153
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
0
0
0
14,676
22,671
13,654
5,884
10,228
20,153
35,745
123,011
0
0
0
375
579
349
150
261
500
887
3,102
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
20,388
13,266
11,739
9,816
12,948
54,475
86,722
105,336
81,636
71,562
467,888
506
329
291
244
321
1,351
2,151
2,613
2,025
1,775
11,608
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
70,050
44,100
38,470
42,200
54,899
67,953
90,106
91,612
82,496
81,307
663,193
1,738
1,094
954
1,047
1,362
1,686
2,235
2,273
2,047
2,017
16,453
197
Table 410 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
78,197
63,210
76,206
41,116
85,789
134,787
106,458
40,238
50,972
68,387
745,360
1,940
1,568
1,891
1,020
2,128
3,344
2,641
998
1,265
1,697
18,492
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
72,558
78,317
84,788
59,956
56,857
83,909
96,435
106,350
80,094
89,595
808,859
1,800
1,943
2,104
1,487
1,411
2,082
2,392
2,638
1,987
2,223
20,067
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
93,383
94,740
99,806
105,595
185,903
82,837
185,313
333,712
247,648
98,000
1,526,937
2,317
2,350
2,439
2,580
4,542
2,024
4,528
8,154
6,051
2,394
37,379
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
462,405
264,599
250,308
357,762
335,674
272,678
307,674
358,846
445,172
382,414
3,437,532
11,298
6,465
6,116
8,741
8,202
6,662
7,460
8,700
10,793
9,272
83,708
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
339,974
346,828
297,022
303,172
241,392
302,123
266,308
116,590
197,414
215,762
2,626,585
8,243
8,409
7,201
7,350
5,853
7,325
6,457
2,827
4,786
5,231
63,682
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
179,824
169,731
159,369
321,780
288,731
246,396
309,022
266,335
242,256
259,885
2,443,329
4,360
4,115
3,864
7,802
7,000
5,974
7,492
6,457
5,873
6,301
59,239
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
241,566
207,746
189,427
186,537
237,524
288,511
283,700
1,635,011
5,857
5,037
4,593
4,523
5,759
6,995
6,878
39,641
TOTAL
16,361,544
401,522
Table 411. La Paz Registered Silver Production 16241824.

YEAR
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
PESOS
70
70
70
70
70
KILOGRAMS
2
2
2
2
2
YEAR
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
PESOS
8,803
14,467
20,132
25,796
31,461
37,125
42,790
48,455
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
225
370
515
659
804
949
1,094
1,239
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
65,448
71,113
76,777
82,442
88,106
93,771
99,435
105,100
KILOGRAMS
1,673
1,818
1,962
2,107
2,252
2,397
2,542
2,686
198
chapter four
Table 411 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1629
1630
70
3,138
3,558
2
80
91
1639
1640
54,119
59,784
342,932
1,383
1,528
8,766
1649
1650
110,764
116,429
909,385
2,831
2,976
23,245
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
122,093
127,758
133,422
139,087
143,650
137,774
144,967
108,211
132,314
83,532
1,272,808
3,121
3,266
3,410
3,555
3,672
3,522
3,706
2,766
3,382
2,135
32,534
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
64,745
73,902
84,639
96,626
108,612
120,599
132,585
143,323
144,886
143,749
1,113,666
1,655
1,889
2,163
2,470
2,776
3,083
3,389
3,663
3,703
3,674
28,466
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
142,480
141,211
139,941
138,672
137,403
136,134
134,865
133,596
132,327
131,058
1,367,687
3,642
3,609
3,577
3,545
3,512
3,480
3,447
3,415
3,382
3,350
34,959
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
129,789
128,519
127,250
125,981
124,712
123,443
122,174
120,905
119,724
65,524
1,188,021
3,318
3,285
3,253
3,220
3,188
3,155
3,123
3,090
3,060
1,675
30,367
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
26,989
51,426
53,409
39,101
64,983
60,079
50,660
46,841
39,156
34,255
466,899
690
1,314
1,365
999
1,661
1,536
1,295
1,197
1,001
876
11,934
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
26,224
17,844
9,463
2,713
2,681
4,792
6,566
9,737
17,097
10,952
108,069
670
456
242
69
69
122
168
249
437
280
2,762
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
2,139
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2,139
55
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
55
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
217
217
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
5
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
109
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
0
0
0
0
0
4,881
9,119
0
0
0
0
0
121
226
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
8,153
10,872
19,325
7,354
8,922
4,461
12,047
202
270
479
182
221
111
299
199
Table 411 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1748
1749
1750
0
0
0
109
0
0
0
3
1758
1759
1760
18,764
22,461
17,125
72,350
466
557
425
1,795
1768
1769
1770
8,037
7,789
12,731
99,691
199
193
316
2,473
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
11,921
25,841
0
0
0
0
0
68,731
86,987
0
193,480
296
641
0
0
0
0
0
1,679
2,125
0
4,741
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
0
0
0
0
0
97
0
41,172
32,960
37,833
112,062
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
998
799
917
2,717
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
36,282
31,304
5,841
8,775
62,925
56,326
154,714
128,264
20,432
27,705
532,568
880
759
142
213
1,526
1,366
3,751
3,110
495
672
12,912
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
34,978
50,982
66,987
80,344
35,181
85,269
77,424
62,943
48,461
40,617
583,186
848
1,236
1,624
1,948
853
2,067
1,877
1,526
1,175
985
14,139
1821
1822
1823
1824
34,605
23,507
12,408
6,396
76,916
839
570
301
155
1,865
8,445,743
213,831
TOTAL
Table 412. Carangas Registered Silver Production 16521803.

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
70,213
365,224
340,796
292,533
284,400
222,287
203,065
187,425
143,567
2,109,510
1,795
9,335
8,711
7,477
7,270
5,682
5,191
4,791
3,670
53,921
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
131,174
129,557
127,917
126,086
124,256
122,425
120,595
118,764
116,934
115,103
1,232,811
3,353
3,312
3,270
3,223
3,176
3,129
3,083
3,036
2,989
2,942
31,512
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
113,273
111,442
109,611
107,781
105,950
104,120
102,289
100,459
98,628
96,798
1,050,351
2,895
2,849
2,802
2,755
2,708
2,661
2,615
2,568
2,521
2,474
26,848
200
chapter four
Table 412 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
94,967
93,137
91,306
89,831
89,971
90,785
88,352
78,738
70,657
80,995
868,739
2,427
2,381
2,334
2,296
2,300
2,321
2,258
2,013
1,806
2,070
22,206
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
63,586
62,185
60,784
59,383
57,983
56,582
55,181
54,053
45,132
37,245
552,114
1,625
1,590
1,554
1,518
1,482
1,446
1,410
1,382
1,154
952
14,113
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
91,270
87,534
84,524
77,280
55,940
76,966
77,137
67,111
53,760
55,859
727,381
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
66,652
202,167
170,978
201,286
324,731
280,775
256,916
210,132
15,656
34,113
1,763,406
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
96,886
96,496
98,322
87,790
83,716
84,539
83,197
81,796
80,395
78,994
872,131
2,477
2,467
2,513
2,244
2,140
2,161
2,127
2,091
2,055
2,019
22,293
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
77,594
76,193
74,792
73,391
71,990
70,590
69,189
67,788
66,387
64,987
712,901
1,983
1,948
1,912
1,876
1,840
1,804
1,769
1,733
1,697
1,661
18,222
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
37,885
37,804
41,399
56,884
59,408
54,965
61,223
65,193
65,135
64,790
544,686
968
966
1,058
1,454
1,519
1,405
1,565
1,666
1,616
1,607
13,825
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
53,732
41,633
43,835
64,989
82,771
98,291
105,957
102,480
98,743
95,007
787,438
1,333
1,033
1,088
1,612
2,053
2,439
2,629
2,542
2,450
2,357
19,536
2,264
2,172
2,097
1,917
1,388
1,909
1,914
1,665
1,334
1,386
18,046
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
63,653
67,779
71,827
75,231
88,868
140,019
183,016
157,706
172,966
183,315
1,204,380
1,579
1,682
1,782
1,866
2,205
3,474
4,540
3,913
4,291
4,548
29,879
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
165,931
147,792
129,952
115,039
119,871
128,795
104,076
90,113
154,428
97,648
1,253,645
4,117
3,667
3,224
2,854
2,974
3,195
2,582
2,236
3,831
2,423
31,102
1,654
5,016
4,178
4,918
7,934
6,860
6,277
5,134
383
833
43,186
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
68,188
102,262
136,336
154,793
113,260
54,925
92,670
46,934
157,674
195,322
1,122,364
1,666
2,499
3,331
3,782
2,767
1,342
2,247
1,138
3,823
4,736
27,330
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
188,890
143,841
98,793
85,093
33,357
38,000
38,740
89,577
285,991
200,388
1,202,670
4,580
3,487
2,395
2,063
809
921
939
2,172
6,934
4,858
29,159
201
Table 411 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
1801
1802
1803
163,599
126,811
184,291
474,701
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
3,966
3,075
4,468
11,509
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
TOTAL
16,479,228
412,686
Table 413. Chucuito Registered Silver Production 16581800.

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
1658
1659
1660
1,050,934
1,009,673
933,498
2,994,105
26,863
25,808
23,861
76,532
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
892,237
884,840
871,184
857,527
843,871
830,215
816,559
802,903
789,247
775,591
8,364,174
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
KILOGRAMS
22,806
22,617
22,268
21,919
21,570
21,221
20,872
20,523
20,174
19,825
213,797
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
761,935
748,279
734,623
720,967
707,311
693,655
679,999
666,342
656,100
652,092
7,021,303
19,476
19,127
18,778
18,429
18,080
17,731
17,381
17,032
16,771
16,668
179,472
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
642,346
665,708
733,525
944,973
1,037,771
995,866
952,140
908,414
864,687
820,961
8,566,391
16,419
17,016
18,750
24,154
26,526
25,455
24,338
23,220
22,102
20,985
218,966
777,235
733,508
689,782
646,056
602,329
558,603
514,877
471,150
427,424
383,697
5,804,661
19,867
18,749
17,632
16,514
15,396
14,278
13,161
12,043
10,925
9,808
148,373
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
339,971
296,245
252,518
208,792
165,066
121,339
88,545
174,802
145,168
78,246
1,870,692
8,690
7,572
6,455
5,337
4,219
3,102
2,263
4,468
3,711
2,000
47,817
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
50,940
39,799
28,955
47,072
132,550
227,969
405,964
522,783
461,685
121,246
2,038,963
1,302
1,017
740
1,203
3,388
5,827
10,377
13,363
11,801
3,099
52,118
87,805
183,207
191,668
322,194
439,636
365,729
361,398
2,244
4,683
4,899
8,236
11,238
9,348
9,238
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
278,454
245,005
285,299
290,341
247,778
315,815
352,079
6,908
6,078
7,078
7,203
6,147
7,835
8,735
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
256,738
232,652
213,250
238,320
320,034
307,392
321,557
6,369
5,772
5,291
5,912
7,940
7,626
7,978
202
chapter four
Table 413 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1728
1729
1730
335,804
333,669
324,294
2,945,404
8,583
8,278
8,045
74,793
1738
1739
1740
328,996
304,910
280,824
2,929,501
8,162
7,565
6,967
72,678
1748
1749
1750
336,634
333,512
420,722
2,980,811
8,352
8,274
10,438
73,951
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
565,609
619,685
635,062
647,987
631,176
562,464
504,706
480,919
483,651
319,065
5,450,324
14,032
15,374
15,755
16,076
15,659
13,954
12,521
11,931
11,999
7,916
135,217
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
245,922
210,761
142,790
273,445
441,656
425,057
442,009
525,709
564,361
610,300
3,882,010
6,101
5,229
3,542
6,784
10,957
10,545
10,966
13,042
14,001
15,141
96,309
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
455,744
388,934
363,229
375,313
387,930
322,846
359,137
376,185
362,265
336,566
3,728,149
11,307
9,649
8,875
9,170
9,478
7,888
8,775
9,191
8,851
8,223
91,407
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
310,868
285,169
259,471
245,551
184,722
279,275
378,282
332,529
368,282
372,515
3,016,664
7,595
6,968
6,340
6,000
4,513
6,824
9,171
8,062
8,929
9,032
73,433
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
332,767
388,144
395,959
403,773
411,588
419,403
427,217
430,148
387,182
353,330
3,949,511
8,068
9,411
9,600
9,789
9,979
10,168
10,358
10,429
9,387
8,566
95,756
TOTAL
65,542,663
1,650,618
Table 414. Pasco Registered Silver Production 16701820.

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1670
4,047
4,047
103
103
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
4,856
4,856
4,856
6,597
25,746
25,746
25,746
24,868
21,501
17,987
162,759
124
124
124
169
658
658
658
636
550
460
4,160
YEAR
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
PESOS
14,473
10,984
9,921
19,144
32,001
29,169
21,316
30,689
42,323
53,958
263,978
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
370
281
254
489
818
746
545
784
1,082
1,379
6,748
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
PESOS
59,291
64,596
76,091
80,512
80,082
50,827
44,373
44,239
42,684
40,754
583,449
KILOGRAMS
1,516
1,651
1,945
2,058
2,047
1,299
1,134
1,131
1,091
1,042
14,914
203
Table 414 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
38,824
37,778
159,081
117,211
60,745
27,882
29,223
36,882
35,218
28,838
571,682
992
966
4,066
2,996
1,553
713
747
943
900
737
14,613
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
22,320
20,239
22,475
33,653
35,952
47,443
96,091
133,431
111,373
96,356
619,333
571
517
574
860
919
1,213
2,456
3,411
2,847
2,463
15,831
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
94,114
95,162
90,827
83,863
118,873
89,214
81,079
72,882
87,789
98,624
912,427
2,406
2,432
2,322
2,144
3,039
2,280
2,072
1,863
2,187
2,457
23,201
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
84,519
81,385
93,848
81,041
77,090
114,270
175,765
206,476
205,313
209,219
1,328,926
2,105
2,027
2,338
2,019
1,920
2,846
4,378
5,143
5,114
5,211
33,101
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
228,819
226,752
200,399
174,576
176,029
193,524
198,540
212,314
233,812
252,993
2,097,758
5,699
5,648
4,992
4,348
4,385
4,820
4,945
5,288
5,824
6,302
52,251
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
1761
274,182
283,553
290,419
296,190
297,857
302,339
306,107
335,747
346,675
346,408
3,079,477
6,829
7,063
7,234
7,378
7,419
7,531
7,625
8,363
8,635
8,628
76,704
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
385,903
463,935
513,736
514,238
549,827
614,384
635,204
586,118
685,709
772,960
5,722,014
9,612
11,556
12,796
12,809
13,695
15,303
15,822
14,599
17,080
19,253
142,524
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
942,388
867,374
762,731
703,753
526,493
621,639
558,960
551,630
666,714
611,577
6,813,259
23,473
21,605
18,636
17,195
12,864
15,189
13,657
13,478
16,290
14,943
167,328
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
641,339
608,467
626,608
592,581
637,198
946,405
877,480
1,041,330
1,060,185
1,148,741
8,180,334
15,670
14,867
15,310
14,479
15,569
23,124
21,275
25,247
25,704
27,851
199,094
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1,208,150
1,592,599
2,037,744
2,526,291
2,424,916
2,404,846
2,104,960
2,355,850
1,979,066
2,438,952
21,073,374
29,292
38,613
49,405
61,250
58,792
58,305
51,035
57,118
47,982
59,132
510,924
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
2,371,090
2,245,808
2,120,526
1,995,244
1,927,383
1,728,291
1,981,295
2,311,260
2,340,775
2,435,242
21,456,914
57,487
54,450
51,412
48,375
46,729
41,902
48,036
56,036
56,752
59,042
520,223
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
2,220,299
1,823,481
1,608,537
1,538,074
1,407,987
1,277,900
1,207,436
1,467,401
1,727,366
2,459,295
16,737,776
53,831
44,210
38,999
37,291
34,137
30,983
29,274
35,577
41,880
59,626
405,807
TOTAL 89,607,507
2,187,525
204
chapter four
Table 415. Trujillo Registered Silver Production 16011817.*
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
241
379
517
655
758
764
731
625
517
410
5,597
6
10
13
17
19
20
19
16
13
10
143
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
318
293
227
155
84
21
15
35
0
0
1,148
8
7
6
4
2
1
0
1
0
0
29
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
2,660
4,467
6,274
3,071
28
103
16,603
68
114
160
78
1
3
424
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
0
0
0
0
625
633
626
551
458
365
3,258
0
0
0
0
16
16
16
14
12
9
83
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
289
200
118
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
607
7
5
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
16
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
0
0
0
298,264
501,683
731,154
520,282
564,176
629,225
528,819
3,773,603
0
0
0
7,287
12,258
17,864
12,712
13,785
15,374
12,921
92,200
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
532,053
638,441
590,590
534,802
637,833
635,286
724,317
635,339
739,824
1,032,969
6,701,454
13,000
15,599
14,430
13,067
15,584
15,522
17,561
15,404
17,937
25,044
163,148
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
912,943
1,162,467
631,841
753,648
687,648
676,220
587,850
780,626
941,762
612,079
7,747,084
22,134
28,184
15,319
18,272
16,672
16,395
14,252
18,926
22,833
14,840
187,828
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
393,189
483,242
502,485
653,295
462,264
484,181
503,066
822,396
617,758
413,119
5,334,995
9,533
11,716
12,183
15,839
11,208
11,739
12,197
19,939
14,978
10,016
129,347
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
311,137
209,154
393,154
359,881
326,608
295,295
365,022
2,260,251
7,544
5,071
9,532
8,725
7,919
7,159
8,850
54,800
*Only for years with silver registries.
TOTAL
25,844,600
628,019
205
Table 416. Cuzco Registered Silver Production 15711822.

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
1571
1572
1573
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
41,346
103,845
132,092
124,641
137,363
160,850
184,337
207,823
231,310
244,032
1,567,639
1,057
2,654
3,376
3,186
3,511
4,111
4,712
5,312
5,913
6,238
40,070
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
43,166
48,133
64,578
80,681
89,269
106,512
55,349
55,349
55,747
57,655
656,439
1,103
1,230
1,651
2,062
2,282
2,723
1,415
1,415
1,425
1,474
16,779
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
100,702
102,752
104,802
106,852
108,902
110,952
113,002
115,051
116,589
116,538
1,096,142
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
107,387
106,951
106,514
106,078
105,642
105,206
104,770
104,333
103,897
103,461
1,054,239
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
165,854
136,206
106,558
50,197
50,769
49,091
55,844
58,181
62,495
64,832
800,027
4,239
3,482
2,724
1,283
1,298
1,255
1,427
1,487
1,597
1,657
20,449
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
48,709
40,135
41,853
81,948
74,249
71,211
65,602
59,993
54,384
48,775
586,859
1,245
1,026
1,070
2,095
1,898
1,820
1,677
1,533
1,390
1,247
15,001
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
59,705
61,755
63,804
65,854
67,904
69,954
72,004
74,054
76,104
78,154
689,292
1,526
1,579
1,631
1,683
1,736
1,788
1,840
1,893
1,945
1,998
17,619
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
80,203
82,253
84,303
86,353
88,403
90,453
92,503
94,553
96,603
98,652
894,279
2,050
2,102
2,155
2,207
2,260
2,312
2,364
2,417
2,469
2,522
22,859
2,574
2,626
2,679
2,731
2,784
2,836
2,888
2,941
2,980
2,979
28,018
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
116,111
115,675
115,238
114,802
114,366
113,930
113,494
113,057
112,621
112,185
1,141,479
2,968
2,957
2,946
2,934
2,923
2,912
2,901
2,890
2,879
2,868
29,177
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
111,749
111,313
110,876
110,440
110,004
109,568
109,132
108,695
108,259
107,823
1,097,859
2,856
2,845
2,834
2,823
2,812
2,801
2,790
2,778
2,767
2,756
28,062
2,745
2,734
2,723
2,711
2,700
2,689
2,678
2,667
2,656
2,645
26,947
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
103,025
102,589
102,152
101,716
101,280
100,929
154,456
104,724
164,252
189,438
1,224,561
2,633
2,622
2,611
2,600
2,589
2,580
3,948
2,677
4,198
4,842
31,301
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
240,884
199,208
204,902
229,466
211,867
142,321
73,545
49,617
47,582
62,682
1,462,074
6,157
5,092
5,238
5,865
5,416
3,638
1,880
1,268
1,216
1,602
37,372
206
chapter four
Table 416 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
104,343
79,671
69,165
61,006
150,464
101,374
41,422
6,652
10,937
10,299
635,333
2,667
2,036
1,768
1,559
3,846
2,591
1,059
170
280
263
16,240
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
0
0
0
5,919
2,936
2,428
2,052
2,106
3,596
15,083
34,120
0
0
0
151
75
62
52
54
89
374
858
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
0
0
0
546
335
608
2,200
1,028
0
0
4,717
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
4,577
21,926
72,858
27,994
11,843
8,777
11,847
5,706
1,363
0
166,891
117
560
1,862
716
303
224
303
146
35
0
4,266
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
0
5,224
6,579
15,104
10,769
10,338
8,992
10,957
8,733
5,874
82,570
0
134
168
386
275
264
230
280
223
150
2,111
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
7,895
9,176
8,020
7,387
0
20,598
18,123
17,606
22,197
11,483
122,485
196
228
199
183
0
511
450
437
551
285
3,039
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1,700
0
1,374
687
0
0
14,855
7,427
0
0
26,043
42
0
34
17
0
0
369
184
0
0
646
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
0
0
6,671
6,523
0
0
0
0
0
0
13,194
0
0
166
162
0
0
0
0
0
0
327
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
13
8
15
53
25
0
0
115
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
207
Table 416 (cont.)

YEAR
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
PESOS
4,035
2,458
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6,493
KILOGRAMS
98
60
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
157
YEAR
1821
1822
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
0
0
0
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
TOTAL
13,362,735
341,415
0
0
0
Table 417. Huancavelica Registered Silver Production 15771784

(no registries or accounts 16251712).
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
1577
1578
1579
1580
19,374
55,079
48,511
73,494
196,458
495
1,408
1,240
1,879
5,022
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
24,935
29,135
20,624
16,846
5,918
15,271
9,820
9,820
9,606
9,211
151,186
637
745
527
431
151
390
251
251
246
235
3,864
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
905
510
156
98
98
98
224
996
1,858
2,720
7,663
23
13
4
3
3
3
6
25
47
70
196
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
8,815
8,420
8,024
7,629
7,233
6,838
6,442
6,047
5,651
5,256
70,355
225
215
205
195
185
175
165
155
144
134
1,798
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
4,860
4,465
4,069
3,674
3,278
2,883
2,487
2,092
1,696
1,301
30,805
124
114
104
94
84
74
64
53
43
33
787
3,582
4,444
5,307
5,774
0
0
0
0
0
0
19,107
92
114
136
148
0
0
0
0
0
0
488
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
0
0
40,574
44,869
71,089
100,358
116,212
114,674
110,677
106,652
705,105
0
0
1,037
1,147
1,817
2,565
2,970
2,931
2,829
2,726
18,023
208
chapter four
Table 416 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
102,711
101,453
101,453
101,453
406,012
551,468
495,515
430,010
367,235
208,114
2,865,424
2,625
2,593
2,593
2,593
10,378
14,096
12,666
10,991
9,111
5,163
72,810
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
208,114
209,917
230,832
256,795
282,757
308,720
334,683
360,646
378,495
379,036
2,949,995
5,163
5,208
5,727
6,371
7,015
7,659
8,303
8,947
9,390
9,404
73,186
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
379,036
345,123
297,645
297,645
412,561
286,821
251,221
384,317
311,442
246,752
3,212,563
9,404
8,562
7,384
7,384
10,235
7,116
6,233
9,535
7,727
6,122
79,700
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
239,809
229,071
211,613
158,890
113,069
96,853
73,508
53,885
93,968
126,943
1,397,609
5,949
5,683
5,250
3,942
2,805
2,403
1,824
1,337
2,331
3,149
34,673
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
116,235
140,170
112,496
88,338
89,264
65,747
69,644
67,131
46,295
50,405
845,725
2,884
3,477
2,791
2,192
2,215
1,631
1,728
1,665
1,149
1,250
20,982
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
59,930
45,357
41,154
55,057
56,493
73,771
70,317
59,075
71,278
100,969
633,401
1,487
1,125
1,006
1,345
1,380
1,802
1,718
1,443
1,742
2,467
15,515
1781
1782
1783
1784
116,863
95,568
81,013
91,181
384,625
2,855
2,335
1,979
2,228
9,398
13,470,021
336,445
TOTAL
Table 418. Huamanga Registered Silver Production 17851819.

YEAR
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
PESOS
101,348
120,018
124,044
116,934
127,101
82,106
671,551
KILOGRAMS
2,476
2,932
3,007
2,835
3,082
1,991
16,323
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
168,577
186,070
173,665
196,581
132,458
152,952
135,137
140,511
171,304
137,974
1,595,229
4,087
4,511
4,211
4,766
3,211
3,708
3,276
3,407
4,153
3,345
38,676
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
112,123
125,323
149,691
162,890
142,564
80,740
79,140
76,186
73,232
70,278
1,072,167
TOTAL
3,811,501
92,451
KILOGRAMS
2,718
3,038
3,629
3,949
3,456
1,958
1,919
1,847
1,776
1,704
25,995
209
Table 419. San Juan De Matucana-Jauja Registered Silver Production

17211785.
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
31,277
43,173
21,245
21,714
25,660
26,704
33,310
36,736
12,336
17,610
269,765
799
1,104
543
555
656
683
851
939
306
437
6,873
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
25,635
44,651
49,799
35,883
24,728
30,559
34,514
38,112
54,652
68,555
407,088
636
1,108
1,235
890
613
758
856
946
1,356
1,701
10,099
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
58,206
54,364
50,120
46,411
51,186
51,407
38,549
37,131
48,200
48,282
483,856
1,444
1,349
1,243
1,151
1,270
1,275
956
921
1,196
1,198
12,004
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
41,325
42,305
55,398
55,433
50,120
51,559
75,624
66,388
71,325
68,852
578,329
1,025
1,050
1,374
1,375
1,243
1,279
1,876
1,647
1,770
1,708
14,348
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
97,204
117,222
132,508
120,496
113,484
114,324
119,984
136,944
106,367
148,352
1,206,885
2,412
2,908
3,287
2,989
2,815
2,836
2,977
3,397
2,639
3,680
29,942
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
118,740
117,859
107,251
167,189
49,242
45,877
47,260
96,643
103,568
87,559
941,188
2,946
2,924
2,620
4,085
1,203
1,121
1,155
2,361
2,530
2,139
23,085
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
54,141
86,167
136,537
96,520
22,925
396,290
1,323
2,105
3,336
2,358
560
9,683
4,283,401
106,033
TOTAL
Table 420. Arica Registered Silver Production 17801819

(in Silver Pesos of 272 Maravedis and Kilograms of Fine Silver).
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1780
762,837
762,837
18,638
18,638
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
500,150
237,463
113,128
168,520
200,070
306,159
211,392
238,537
12,220
5,802
2,764
4,117
4,888
7,480
5,125
5,783
YEAR
PESOS
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
211,498
241,048
234,264
276,326
239,207
305,251
330,925
501,789
KILOGRAMS
5,128
5,844
5,680
6,700
5,800
7,401
8,023
12,166
210
chapter four
Table 420 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
YEAR
PESOS
KILOGRAMS
1789
1790
219,736
149,374
2,344,529
5,327
3,622
57,130
1799
1800
269,604
323,128
2,933,040
6,537
7,834
71,112
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
182,608
152,714
122,819
133,912
153,789
73,278
38,150
95,471
81,797
86,242
1,120,780
4,427
3,703
2,978
3,247
3,729
1,777
925
2,315
1,983
2,091
27,173
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
90,687
140,000
108,766
51,102
19,868
14,357
8,846
20,855
47,912
502,393
2,199
3,394
2,637
1,239
482
348
214
506
1,162
12,181
TOTAL
7,663,579
186,234
Table 421. Huancavelica Mercury Production and Shipments to Peru from Europe
15711814.
YEAR
QUINTALES
YEAR
QUINTALES
YEAR
QUINTALES
YEAR
QUINTALES
YEAR
QUINTALES
1571
1572
1573
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
2,014
2,014
2,014
1,830
1,133
1,133
3,695
5,869
7,322
6,821
33,845
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
8,390
13,611
9,337
5,081
2,082
2,556
10,189
8,527
7,892
8,121
75,786
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
11,522
5,524
7,323
7,922
4,458
6,528
7,064
5,236
5,419
4,759
65,755
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
3,449
5,631
5,406
860
3,754
5,312
2,313
2,843
3,248
5,770
38,586
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
5,905
5,688
5,826
8,488
7,356
7,613
6,658
4,445
4,847
7,971
64,797
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
9,531
8,207
9,422
4,795
5,334
4,738
4,613
4,029
3,738
5,469
59,876
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
6,743
6,737
7,331
8,411
8,772
8,362
9,101
9,318
10,156
5,852
80,783
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
5,882
7,943
11,788
11,870
3,583
6,109
7,179
4,083
4,969
4,255
67,661
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
9,720
9,100
7,856
6,150
8,358
8,048
5,265
7,053
5,321
3,875
70,746
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
6,202
7,457
4,444
3,678
3,696
3,877
1,648
7,317
3,691
5,514
47,524
211
Table 421 (cont.)

YEAR
QUINTALES
YEAR
QUINTALES
YEAR
QUINTALES
YEAR
QUINTALES
YEAR
QUINTALES
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
5,236
5,730
5,585
6,800
8,651
9,275
0
7,146
4,366
4,366
57,155
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
4,366
2,599
4,933
4,933
3,172
3,173
4,545
4,545
2,015
7,124
41,405
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
6,536
5,512
4,592
2,860
2,860
3,913
4,160
4,266
4,676
4,676
44,051
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
4,282
3,796
3,796
3,072
1,560
2,133
3,328
3,328
2,890
2,080
30,265
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
2,080
2,080
2,881
3,068
3,068
4,463
4,784
4,489
4,004
4,004
34,921
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
3,072
2,860
2,860
2,786
2,704
3,072
3,120
3,120
3,827
4,004
31,425
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
4,004
4,360
4,472
4,472
4,472
4,472
4,472
5,126
5,304
5,304
46,458
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
5,332
5,460
5,460
5,160
4,680
4,680
4,680
4,334
4,212
4,212
48,210
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
4,318
4,682
5,046
5,046
5,046
5,046
5,046
4,708
6,297
6,827
52,062
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
6,922
6,097
6,577
6,286
7,128
7,361
6,492
7,622
7,239
5,318
67,042
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
7,889
7,545
7,088
7,659
7,839
8,049
8,538
9,121
6,781
6,111
76,620
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
7,014
5,734
6,414
7,562
8,444
11,602
6,351
9,119
13,575
10,479
86,294
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
6,975
6,240
6,219
8,838
9,908
6,868
8,608
5,109
5,257
4,919
68,941
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
5,565
10,209
10,595
9,846
9,888
5,679
5,445
5,460
10,320
10,474
83,481
Total
1,386,950
Production to 1690 is based on G. Lohmann Villena, Minas, pp. 452455, in a document

housed in the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid; a close copy of the document reposes in the British Museum in London. From 16901813 production figures for Huancavelica are taken from
Kendall Brown. Data on mercury shipments are from Peter Bakewell for the years to 1700.
Those after 1700 are taken from Kendall Brown and John Fisher.
212
chapter four
Table 422. Peruvian-New World-World Silver Output: Percentages

15311810 (Percentage by Decade in Kilograms of Fine Silver).
DECADE
PERU TOT
NW TOT
WLD TOT
%NW TOT
%WLD TOT
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
130,360
442,970
604,120
540,120
803,520
1,656,300
1,794,340
1,844,350
1,855,900
1,905,240
2,151,050
1,772,390
1,425,340
1,296,940
1,224,570
1,307,170
1,087,880
717,450
700,840
770,180
901,660
1,088,690
1,325,440
1,428,350
1,679,250
1,668,780
2,108,300
1,670,380
35,901,880
192,980
718,765
1,091,599
1,432,762
1,826,711
2,561,225
2,898,548
3,113,649
3,176,323
3,160,267
3,286,813
2,628,662
2,355,765
2,191,526
2,556,891
2,808,119
2,371,740
1,999,981
2,367,326
2,855,804
3,241,373
3,670,428
4,332,244
4,137,147
5,306,311
5,891,595
7,030,814
6,776,893
85,982,261
900,000
2,843,000
3,116,000
2,995,000
2,995,000
4,190,000
4,190,000
4,230,000
4,230,000
3,936,000
3,936,000
3,663,000
3,663,000
3,370,000
3,370,000
3,419,000
3,419,000
3,556,000
3,556,000
4,312,000
4,312,000
5,331,450
5,331,450
6,527,400
6,527,400
8,790,600
8,790,600
8,941,500
124,441,400
67.55%
61.63%
55.34%
37.70%
43.99%
64.67%
61.90%
59.23%
58.43%
60.29%
65.44%
67.43%
60.50%
59.18%
47.89%
46.55%
45.87%
35.87%
29.60%
26.97%
27.82%
29.66%
30.59%
34.52%
31.65%
28.32%
29.99%
24.65%
41.75%
14.48%
15.58%
19.39%
18.03%
26.83%
39.53%
42.82%
43.60%
43.87%
48.41%
54.65%
48.39%
38.91%
38.48%
36.34%
38.23%
31.82%
20.18%
19.71%
17.86%
20.91%
20.42%
24.86%
21.88%
25.73%
18.98%
23.98%
18.68%
28.85%
CHAPTER FIVE
NEW WORLD MINTAGE:

MXICO, SANTO DOMINGO, LIMA, AND POTOS
Coinage at colonial mints was the final step in the mining process
after extraction of gold and silver from placers and mines, their
refinement by amalgamation or smelting, assay at royal treasuries,
and finally refashioning the ore into ingots of silver. On 11 May 1535
Charles V ordered establishment of the first Spanish colonial mints
(casas de moneda or cecas) in Mexico City and Santo Domingo on
Espaola.1 Subsequently Philip II decreed that a mint be set up at Lima
and another at La Plata, the latter almost immediately removed to
Potos. Later monarchs authorized mints for Santa Fe de Bogot in the
seventeenth century and Santiago de Guatemala, Santiago de Chile,
and Popayn in New Granada in the eighteenth. In times of emergency, casas de fundiciones in various areas of the Indies struck coins
as well. Good examples were the improvised mints in Zacatecas,
Guadalajara, and Durango in Mexico and at Cuzco2 in Peru during
the wars of independence. Colonial Brazil also had its mints (casas da
moeda) at different times in Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and
Villa Rica de Ouro Preto.
1
The Recopilacin de leyes de las Indias cites a cdula of Charles V and Juana dated
at Madrid on 11 May 1535 ordering establishment of mints at Mexico City, Santa Fe
de Bogot, and Potos, but this was ten years before discovery of the Potos mines
(libro iiii, ttulo xxiiii, ley i). Another decree of the same date authorized mints for
Mexico City and Santo Domingo but with no mention of Bogot or Potos. Toribio
Medina, Monedas coloniales, 119.
2
Jos Toribio Medina concludes that a mint was proposed and built in Cuzco late
in the seventeenth century solely for the coinage of gold, but he has no confirmed
evidence that a single gold or silver piece was ever stamped there until the very end of
the wars of independence in Peru when royalists took dies from Lima to Cuzco for use
there. Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 275279. See also Lazo Garca, Economa
colonial, 2:204206. On the other hand, the State of Florida has in its collection of
coins salvaged from wrecks off its coast both one- and two-escudo cob coins stamped
in 1698 in Cuzco. Thus, it appears that at least a few coins were minted in cuzco in
the late seventeenth century, during the period of the tesoreros particulares. See Alan
K. Craig, Spanish Colonial Gold Coins in the Florida Collection (Gainesville: University
Press of Florida, 2000), 3435, plate 8.
214
chapter five
The Epoch of the Private Empresarios (Tesoreros Particulares)
Until the eighteenth century in Spanish America, private empresarios

and their workers minted coins as concessionaires, albeit supervised
by royal officials and regulated by royal laws. These laws required that
mints in the Indies observe the same procedures governing coinage in
Castile. Among the early laws concerning mintage in the Indies was a
royal cdula of 1535 of Charles V ordering the stamping of sixty-seven
reales per mark of silver, with three reales of this sum set aside to
pay officials and workers at colonial mints (braceaje). Two years later
the king stipulated that silver reales minted in the Indies be stamped
in denominations of eight (a peso or piece of eight), four, two, one,
and one-half reales. In a cdula of 1567 Philip II ordered collection
of seigniorage (seoreaje) of one real per mark from those exchanging silver bars for coin at the mint. No silver was to be accepted for
mintage that did not bear the royal mark (marca real) affirming its
fineness and indicating the treasury where taxes had been paid on it.
If the silver did not bear these stamps, mint officials could confiscate
the bars from the individual who brought them in for stamping into
coins. The treasurer of the mint (tesorero particular) was responsible
for ensuring that those who delivered silver ingots for specie got a fair
exchange; he was also responsible for all mint operations. No assayer
or his substitute could serve at a mint until he was properly examined.
Tailings (escobilla or cizalla) accumulated at the mint had to be placed
in a two-key chest with the keys in the hands of the mint factor and
the chief smelter or foundryman ( fundidor). Another cdula specified
those mint offices which were saleable; almost all of them were.3
All early mints in Spanish America had a tesorero particular, the
designated director of the mint. Also attached to the casa de moneda
were a smelter; assayer (ensayador); engraver (tallador); a marcador
who struck the mint location on the coins (a P for Potos or M for
Mxico, for example); a weight specialist and keeper of weights and
scales (balanzario) responsible for seeing that coins struck were of
the proper weight; a coin cleaner (blanquecedor) skilled at cleaning
would-be coins stained with ashes and soot while being annealed;4 a
3
Recopilacin, libro 4, ttulo 13, leyes 123.

The blanquecedor or blanqueador was charged with removing the fire scale from
blank disks slated to be stamped. This was normally done by placing these disks in
copper vats, heating them in aluminum sulfate or some other alkaline solution, and
4
new world mintage
215
scribe (escribano); and guards ( guardas), among others.5 Although

these offices were saleable, royal law stipulated that those who filled
these posts had to have the requisite qualities to fulfill their tasks.6
Royal treasury officials supervised these mint functionaries, who were
subject to periodic or surprise inspections (visitas). Moreover, royal
officials were normally present at the mint when coins were struck.
In Mexico City in 1543, mint officials earned salaries based on
the number of marks of silver processed at the mint. The treasurer
received a stipend of twenty-two maraveds for each mark coined, the
assayer one maraved, the engraver five maraveds, the two guards two
maraveds, the scribe one maraved, the weight specialist one maraved, workmen in the mint (acuadores) eight maraveds each, and
the work crew supervisor (capataz lleva) twenty-four maraveds. For
rations these officials received, presumably only when the mint was in
operation, four maraveds per mark.7
Miners, traders, and refiners who wanted coin in exchange for their
silver and gold followed well established procedures. When they went
to register their silver and gold ingots, they first paid the cobos, a tax
of 1 to 1.5 percent for assaying.8 At the treasury office royal officials
assayed the bars and stamped them with the treasury insignia, the
initials of the assayer, and the fineness of the silver or gold.9 Miners, refiners, or traders then delivered these silver ingots and gold
drying and shaking them to get rid of the fire scale so that the gold or silver coins had
the proper sheen. I am endebted to Professor Alan K. Craig for this information.
5
For a detailed description of the duties of various mint officials, see Lazo Garca,
Economa colonial, 2:21016.
6
Recopilacin, libro 4, ttulo 22, ley 22.
7
Alberto Francisco Pradeau, ed., Don Antonio de Mendoza y la Casa de Moneda de
Mxico en 1543: documentos inditos publicados con prlogo y notas (Mexico; Antigua
Librera Robredo, de Jos Porra e Hijos, 1953), 55. This book reprints documents on
the inspection of the Mexican mint in 1543 and is particularly illuminating on how
this early mint operated.
8
A lucrative perquisite which Charles V awarded to Francisco de los Cobos, a
trusted secretary who directed affairs in Spain while the king was away.
9
The minting of gold coins in the Indies was ostensibly prohibited until 1675, but
on 1 April 1620, when Philip III ordered establishment of a mint for Nueva Granada
(present-day Colombia), he also commanded the tesorero particular, Alonso Turillo
de Yebra, to begin minting one- and two-escudo coins. Barriga Villalba, Historia de
la casa de moneda, 1:5763. Barriga Villabla includes a table of coins minted by the
Bogot assayers, Miguel Pinto Camargo (162732) and Alonso de Anuncibay (1632
37), and plates of both the one- and two-escudo coins minted during their tenure.
Barriga Villalalba calls two-escudo pieces doblones, but doubloons were eight escudo
coins weighing one ounce of gold.
216
chapter five
bars to the mint to be exchanged for coin. In the sixteenth century

they paid a seigniorage fee of one real per mark, plus three reales for
labor costs at the mint. As already noted, silver coins were stamped
in denominations of eight (one peso), four, and two reales; and one,
one-half, and one-quarter real (cuartillo). Silver coins of eight reales
(pieces of eight) were the most common. Gold coins were first minted
only in denominations of one escudo and two escudos, but later mints
stamped eight-escudo (doblones or doubloons), four-, two-, and oneescudo pieces.10 Once the coins had been made, the miners, traders,
or refiners returned to the mint to obtain their specie. In making the
exchange the mint treasurer ascertained that what they obtained in
coin equaled the value of the silver and gold bars initially brought to
the mint for exchange into specie.
A number of problems arose with these procedures. A significant
one was that private empresarios had no reserves of coin to buy the silver delivered to the mint, and miners and refiners could not get their
specie on the spot. To avoid the wait and to get coins immediately,
these miners and refiners often sold their silver to traders (mercaderes
de plata), at discounted prices. The traders, in turn, exchanged the
silver ingots they purchased for coin at mint prices and pocketed the
difference. Another difficulty was that the various mint officials bought
their offices and viewed them as private sinecures, opening the way for
fraud and peculation despite oversight by royal officials. In the early
seventeenth century the mint post of tesorero in particular was purchased for 160,000 pesos in 1607 and in 1612 for 260,000 pesos.11 At
the Potos mint, one assayer paid 50,000 ducats (almost 69,000 pesos)
for his office.12 This motivated the assayer and other mint officials to
seek ways to recoup their initial outlays for the purchase of mint posts.
The early coins struck at colonial mints were crude. Under the
premise that all coinage in the New World be done as it was in Castile,
the hammers or punches with the dies for stamping the various coins
(punzonera) were initially fashioned in Spain and sent to colonial
mints. Using these dies, the engraver or treasurer supervised a group
of mint employees (acuadores) who stamped a silver bar (trozo) with
the proper punch or hammer, hence the term for early coins, hammer
10
Throughout most of the colonial period, one escudo was worth two silver
pesos.
11
Craig, Spanish Colonial Silver Coins, 13.
12
new world mintage
217
money (moneda de martillo). The marcador then stamped the mint

origin on the coins such as an L for Lima, a P for Potos, an M for
Mexico, and an N R (Nuevo Reino) for New Granada. Laborers at the
mint attempted to fashion these coins in a circular shape, but initially
this was difficult because of the crude dies and stamping techniques,
based on both the expertise and brute strength of the striker. Early
colonial mints had simple equipment, not machines such as rollers
(molinos or laminadores), for creating the silver sheets from which
coins were stamped; coin-cutters (troqueles) and coin stampers (volantes); and acordonadores for creating coins with ridged or milled edges,
almost all innovations of the eighteenth century.
Early Spanish colonial coins bore other generic names. Sometimes
they were called money of the cross (moneda de la cruz) because of
the coins design. On one side was engraved the cross of Jerusalem,
which formed four quadrants. In the quadrants were lions and castles
representing the kingdoms of Len and Castile, with the name of
the monarch stamped on the edge. The engraver also etched HISPANIARUM ET INDIARUM or some variation on the coin. On the other
side were the pillars of Hercules along with the inscription plus ultra.
These coins were also called moneda macuquina (see Images 1a1b), a
term derived from the Arabic word, mahcuc, meaning proven or verified.13 Because they had been assayed and stamped, if ever so crudely,
these monedas macuquinas or cob coins had legitimacy. Since this
early specie was ill-shaped and the weight of the coins subject both
to the minters ability to strike them properly and to the varying fineness of the gold and silver bars fashioned into coin, the practice developed of clipping or shaving coins to make them conform to their real
value or as a way for the clipper to acquire illicitly some extra silver
for himself by so doing.14 As time went on, however, coinage in the
Indies improved both in the uniformity of its fineness and weight and
in its aesthetic qualities. This was particularly true after 1728 when
Philip V ordered new round coins with ridged or milled edges called
pesos cordoncillos (see Images 2a2c) to replace all moneda macuquina.
He also decreed a lower weight for the coins.
13
Barriga Villalba, Casa de Moneda, 1:36. Alan Craig provides another derivation
for macuquina; he believes it stemmed from a Quechua word meaning something
weak or lacking in weight. Craig, Silver Coins, 27.
14
For visual evidence of this practice, see Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales,
which contains a great number of photographs of coins from the various mints of
the Spanish Indies.
218
chapter five
Images 13. Examples of Colonial Spanish Coins
new world mintage
219
The Epoch of the Royal Mints

In the eighteenth century the Bourbons eliminated operation of mints
by concessionaires and set up royal, state-run mints with officials of
the casas de moneda appointed by the viceroy subject to the approval
of the king and paid salaries by the royal treasury (real hacienda). The
new system intended to insure more consistency and control over
the weight, fineness and reliability of coinage in the Indies; to prevent fraud in mint affairs, all too common among those managing the
early mints; and to create a new royal monopoly to provide another
source of income for the crown much like the royal mercury and powder monopolies. In Mexico the mint became a royal entity in 1732,
that of Santiago de Guatemala in 1733, Lima in 1750, Potos in 1753,
Santa Fe de Bogot in 1756, Santiago de Chile in 1770, and Popayn
in 1771.15
The functionaries of the new royal mints were essentially the same
as those of the privately-operated casas de monedas of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries. In 1733, for example, the royal mint in
Mexico had a superintendent, who replaced the tesorero particular,
an accountant, treasurer, two assayers, a weight specialist and his aide,
a blanquecedor, guards, and a host of lesser functionaries. By the standards of the day their annual salaries were highthe superintendent
received 6,000 pesos, the accountant and treasurer 5,000 pesos, the
two assayers 3,000 pesos each, the weight specialist 2,400 pesos, his
aide and guards 1,200 pesos, and the blanquecedor 1,000 pesos. High
placed mint officials all had modest expense accounts overseen by the
mint accountant.16
All colonial mints were organized and operated in much the same
way, although in smaller cecas such as those in Bogot, Guatemala
City, Popayn, and Santiago de Chile, there were fewer officials and
workers, who received lesser compensation than their counterparts in
Mexico City, Lima, and Potos. The Mexico City mint in the first decade
15
The royal cdulas establishing these royal mints were usually issued several years
before they actually began operation. In Mexico, for example, the royal decree setting
up the royal mint was issued in 1729, but the mint actually began operation as a royal
entity in 1732 and its coins went into circulation at the beginning of 1733.
16
Victor Manuel Soria Murillo, La Casa de Moneda de Mxico bajo la administracin borbnica, 17331821 (Iztapalapa: Universidad Autnoma Metropolitana,
1994), 3738.
220
chapter five
of the nineteenth century, for example, had 350 to 400 employees.17 In

Lima and Potos the work force was not as large as in Mexico, but it
was substantially larger than in the smaller mints.
Some procedures changed when royal mints replaced those run
by empresarios in the days of the tesorero particular and moneda
macuquina traders. Miners or refiners took their gold and silver bars
to the mint treasurers office. There he assembled the assayer, weight
specialist, and a scribe. These officials checked the fineness and weight
of the bars and ascertained whether taxes had been paid on them.
The bars were then placed on the floor and registered in the mint
delivery account book (libro de remache) with the refiner, trader, or
miners name, the number of bars, and their weight and fineness.
Once duly noted in the ledger, mint officials erased the marks previously placed on the bars by officials of the caja and replaced them
with the mint insignia. The bars were then placed in piles according
to their fineness and delivered to the assayers office. He shaved off a
tiny piece from each one for assay. The assayers equipment consisted
of a small scale, a group of weights (dineral de ensaye), a crucible, and
a small brick furnace. Once the assayer verified the fineness by cupellation, he turned the bars over to the work crew boss at the smelter
who heated them in his furnace for four to five hours. Once they had
cooled, he cut the silver in pieces about two yards long for stamping blank disks (cospeles) of various denominations of coins. The tailings obtained from the striking of the blanks were smelted and made
into smaller blanks for coins of smaller denominations. Each disk was
inspected and weighed. The dirty disks (plata negra) were cleaned of
their smudges in the so-called blanquicin process. This was done by
the blanquecedor, who placed the coins in vats with a solution of water
and aluminum sulfate or some other alkaline solution, cooked them
for eight to ten hours, waited until they dried, and shook off the residue. The smudges removed, the blank coins were handed over to the
strikers who stamped both sides with hammers fitted with the appropriate dies, which were engraved stamps for impressing the design on
each side of the disk to create the coin. The coins were then taken
to the payment room (sala de libranzas) where they were inspected,
weighed, and handed over to the miner, trader, or refiner who had
17
Humboldt, Political Essay, 195.
new world mintage
221
initially brought in the silver or gold. The whole process took thirteen
days.18
By the mid-eighteenth century and with the advent of state-controlled mints, the process changed. According to Lazo Garca, these
changes consisted of an end to stamping of coins with a hammer,
introduction of a system for overseeing the entire minting operation,
and mechanization of the coinage process.19 As before, silver and gold
bars were deposited in the mint at the sala de libranzas and assayed,
with ingots of similar fineness grouped together. Those of more than
standard fineness called were fuerte and those under the standard,
feble. All deliveries were listed in the libros de remache with the same
information as before: the name of the trader, miner, or refiner who
brought the bars to the mint; and the number, weight, and fineness of
the ingots. They were moved to a safe place in the smelter (tesorillo de
la fundicin). Those of the specified fineness were then fashioned into
sheets by a laminating mill (molino or laminador), with workers trying
to insure the proper thickness and size of each sheet. These sheets were
then cut into blanks of various sizes, with the largest ones for pesos of
eight reales being struck first to reduce the wastage. Smaller blanks for
coins of four, two, one, one-half, and one-quarter reales were cut last.
The blank disks were then submitted to an official who placed milled or
ridged edges on them, using a machine called an acordonador. Blanks
at this point were called black silver (plata negra) because of the black
soot and ash remaining on them. They were taken to the blanquecedor who cleaned them in the same way as in the seventeenth century.
The cleaned disks (moneda blanqueada) were now ready for stamping
the proper seals on each side. This was done by a mechanical stamper
called a volante, powered by either human or animal power, which
struck the coins with the proper dies, called troqueles. This could be
done at a rate of four or five per minute. The coins struck were then
sorted and weighed before being handed over to their original owner.
In charge of this whole operation was the fiel, the chief inspector of
the mint who oversaw the entire minting process from delivery of the
bars until the coins were given to the miner, refiner, or trader who
had brought the gold or silver to the mint. Paid 2,000 pesos annually,
he became a new mint official in Lima and Potos and was vital for
18
19
See Lazo Garca, Economa colonial, 2:255276.

Lazo Garca, Economa colonial, 2:256.
222
chapter five
enforcing the proper mintage procedures and assuring the integrity of

the minting process.20
Royal mints had stockpiles of coins on hand, which proved very
beneficial to miners and refiners who no longer had to wait for their
own gold and silver to be converted into specie. Instead, they could
simply sell their gold and silver bars to the mint and receive immediate
payment. This meant they no longer had to sell their ingots to traders
at discounted prices but obtained coins quickly and at mint prices.
No longer needed as often to serve as middlemen, silver traders lost
business and profits, but the new situation at the royal mints gave
miners and refiners a greater return. In Mexico by 1750, for example,
1,200,000 pesos were available to purchase silver or gold bars from
those wishing to exchange them for coin at the mint, a fund which
later rose to two million pesos.21
As indicated, Philip V proposed his sweeping reform of colonial
mintage on 9 June 1728 in a long decree with a host of ordinances
(ordenanzas), followed by a similar decree on 16 July 1730 that spelled
out mint regulations in greater detail. Among other things the royal
orders set the organization of the mint, prescribed a new weight and
fineness for silver coins, specified mint fees, obligated colonial mints to
send two samples of all specie minted in the Indies to Castile for assay
by Castilian officials, and ordered the creation of new pesos cordoncillos. On 1 August 1750 Ferdinand VI reissued virtually the same decree
for Mexico, laying out essentially the same regulations as those of 1728
and 1730, laws which became known as the New Ordinances (Nuevas
Ordenanzas).22 He also remitted them to Lima on 11 November 1755.23
Two authorities on colonial mintage believe these regulations estab-
20
For Potos and Lima, the entire mintage process for both the epoch of the concessionaires and under royal auspices is described in great detail by Lazo Garca,
Economa colonial, 2:206232, 256298. My discussion of mintage procedures is based
on his excellent descriptions. Also included in his book are a number of photographs
or drawings of martillos, molinos, volantes, acordonadores, and other mint equipment
used in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. See also Benavides, Historia de la
moneda, 1921.
21
Soria Murillo, Casa de Moneda de Mxico, 53.
22
Soria Murillo, Casa de Moneda de Mxico, 5072. These pages lay out the Nueva
Ordenanzas in detail.
23
new world mintage
223
lished a model system with workable, efficient procedures for mints

throughout the Indies.24
Royal mints normally kept three accounts. One ledger was for the
mint itself and logged the silver purchased and exchanged for coin, the
salaries of mint officials and workers, the bars still in the mint waiting to be struck, and the expenses incurred in the coinage process. A
second, briefer account was of coins actually stamped (rendiciones).
A third one, and even briefer report, was biennial and drawn up for
transmission to Spain. It informed officials in Castile of the coins actually struck over the preceding two years.25 Two samples of all coins
struck in the rendiciones accompanied this short report.
Begun with the 1728 decree, these reforms were effective, as evidenced by the fact that most royal mints made profits immediately.
For the most part these profits were used for new, more refined coinstriking equipment and provided the funds for the purchase of ingots;
any surplus went to viceregal coffers for defense, missions, charitable
enterprises, and other purposes.26 The new equipment enabled mint
officials to begin stamping the new pesos cordoncillos, ordered in 1728
to replace the pesos macuquinas, a process which began in Mexico in
1732 and later in other areas of the Spanish empire. In Lima mintage
as a royal enterprise began in 1750 and in New Granada in 1756, with
the mints there striking eight-, four-, two-, one-, and one-quarter real
pieces and gold coins of eight, four, two and one escudos.27 The new
coins appeared in Potos in the 1760s.28
On 18 March 1761 Charles III initiated another era of colonial coinage when he ordered replacement of all moneda macuquina by new
pesos de bustos (see Images 3a3b). His cdula applied to all mints in
the Indies. On one side of each coin he ordered the placement of the
24
Soria Murillo, Casa de Moneda de Mxico, 75; and Lazo Garca, Economa colonial, 2:294298.
25
Not all three accounts are extant for all mints, but where all three are available,
they can be checked against one another. When I have relied on the biennial reports,
I have simply halved the amount to get an annual amount listing annual mintage of
the various mints in the tables which follow. I have also calculated averages if a year
or two are missing.
26
From 1 January 1736 to 15 July 1739, the Casa de Moneda in Mexico reported
a profit of 1,344,637 pesos. Later in the century between 1781 and 1810 the mint had
profits of well over one million pesos in each quinquennium. Soria Murillo, Casa de
Moneda de Mxico, 47, 164.
27
Barriga Villalba, Casa de Moneda, 2:11.
28
224
chapter five
bust of the king, replacing the cross of Jerusalem; the year of the striking; and on its edge the name of the monarch. On the other side was
the royal coat of arms encircled by laurel, HISPANIA ET INDIARUM
REX, and the initials of the mint of origin. The king agreed to pay all
the costs for exchanging the old money for the new pesos de bustos.29
On 9 May 1772 he issued a similar decree, published as a pragmatic in
Madrid on 3 June 1772. It ordered the engraver to etch Charles IIIs
bust dressed heroically wearing a short cape of the Greek or Roman
style and laurel (vestido de lo herica con clmade y laurel ).30 In
the end these new pesos de bustos, in perfect circles with ridged edges
and more delicately engraved, proved to be more aesthetically pleasing
than the old monedas macuquinas.
With the tremendous amounts of gold and silver being produced in
the Indies and the mintage facilities available for their coinage, specie
should have been plentiful. Still, a common complaint in all areas was
the chronic shortage of coin, that there simply was not enough money
in circulation to meet the needs of the colonial populace. A major reason for the shortage was that coins minted in Spanish colonial casas de
moneda left Spanish America immediately to go elsewhere. Mexican
coins, for example, quickly found their way to Europe, other parts
of America, and the Far East. The Chinese avidly sought New World
silver to monetarize their economy, and Europeans reciprocated with
a hunger for Asian goods such as jade and damask in Manila, carried
back to New Spain by the Manila galleons.
In the eighteenth century Spanish pesos minted in the New World
became the standard medium of exchange in Dutch, English, and
French America, a testimony to the reliability of Spanish colonial coinage. Often acquired from smuggling goods into the Spanish Indies,
pesos and reales minted in Spanish America were a common money
for English, French, and Dutch merchants. In fact, the Spanish American colonial peso became the dollar of its time, whose persistence as a
unit of currency can be seen to the present day.31 In the United States,
for example, two bits are a quarter of a dollar and four bits a half dollar. This had its origin in the eighteenth century when two reales were
a quarter of a peso, or a quarter of a dollar when the peso circulated in
29

31
William Graham Sumner, The Spanish Dollar and the Colonial Shilling, American Historical Review 3 (July 1898): 607619.
30
new world mintage
225
British America as a dollar. On American stock exchanges until very

recently stock quotations appeared in fractional eighths, harkening
back to an earlier epoch when pesos of eight reales were the standard
medium of exchange in America.
Spain and other parts of Europe also thirsted for American coinage. In Spain during the eighteenth century, the pesos minted in the
Indies became known as pesos fuertes or strong pesos, as opposed to
coins circulating in Spain, pesos de velln, coins containing both silver
and copper, whose silver content was less and copper content greater
than the pesos fuertes coming out of the Indies. Hence the term for
twentieth-century Spanish money was peseta, a diminutive meaning
little peso. Ironically, early laws regulating colonial mints were based
on the premise that they carry on mintage as in Castile. In the end
colonial cecas produced a higher quality, more dependable coinage
than those in Spain, where persistent debasement of the currency and
constant tampering with the silver content of pesos de velln went on
so frequently that the populace had less confidence in the coinage. In
fact, by the end of the eighteenth century, one American peso of eight
reales was worth twenty Spanish reales of velln, a ratio which had
earlier been fifteen reales of velln to eight reales of silver coined in the
Indies. With their high reputation for reliable silver and gold content,
coins minted in Spanish America understandably took rapid flight out
of the Indies to other places.
One other complaint about the shortage of coins came from men
and women in the Indies engaged in petty trade and from those buying
food and other products in local markets. As already noted, the most
common coin was the peso of eight reales, but there was a pressing
need also for coins of smaller denominations to be used in small transactionsthe one-real, half-real, and quarter-real or cuartillo. Pieces of
eight and half pesos were suitable for larger transactions, but for the
ordinary folk carrying on business at the bedrock level, they were of
little use. Morever, shipment of specie out of the Spanish colonies to
other parts of America, Europe, and the Far East was easier when it
was in assayed bars or coins of large denominations than in those with
very little silver content.32
32
In the early years of Francisco Francos regime in Spain, the largest denomination for the peseta was the 1,000-peseta note for the precise reason that it would be
hard to carry large sums of money (cash) out of the country, gracefully at least.
226
chapter five
Good examples of the failure to mint these coins of smaller denominations can be seen by output in the Lima and Potos mints. In Lima in
1760, for example, rendiciones of silver amounted to 2,654,306 pesos.
Of this sum only 1.24 percent were in denominations of one real or
less28,824 in one-real pieces and 15,461 in half reales. Striking of
pieces of eight constituted 2,554,505 pesos or 96.24 percent of the mint
total for that year. At Potos in the same year, the ratio was a bit less
outrageous. Of the mint total, 399,944 pesos were in denominations of
one real or less, almost 15 percent of the silver minted. Pesos of eight
reales amounted to 1,795,701 pesos or 67.27 percent for the year. In
1800, however, 41,190 pesos were stamped in one-, one-half, and onequarter real coins. That was a mere 1.06 percent of the total struck at
the Potos ceca. Pieces of eight constituted 96.8 percent or 3,764.437
pesos.33 Although occasional orders went out from royal offices in
Spain or from the viceregal centers in Mexico or Lima to mint coins
of smaller denominations, the folk suffered along with merchants and
the elite due to the shortage of functional currency. Of course, it cost
about the same in labor to produce a cuartillo coin as it did a piece of
eight, which perhaps made it less attractive for the mints to make the
smaller denominations.
The Casa de Moneda of Mexico, 15351821

Mexico City became the site of the first Spanish colonial mint, authorized by a royal cdula of Charles V and Juana on 11 May 1535.34
The order specified that one-half of the coins minted be of one real,
with the other half divided as follows: two-thirds in two-real pieces
and the other third in half- and quarter-real coins. Later Charles V
authorized coinage of eight, four and three reales, although because of
the difficulty in differentiating between the two and three-real pieces,
three-real pieces were taken out of circulation. At the outset in 1535,
reales minted in Spain and taken to Mexico were artificially valued at
44 maraveds, but by 1538 enough coins from the new mint were in
circulation so that reales returned to their standard value of 34 maraveds. A site for the mint was found at the nine-patio home of the
33
34
Lazo Garca, Economa colonial, 2:139140, 320321, and 327.

new world mintage
227
Marqus del Valle, Hernn Corts, between Tacuba and San Francisco
Streets, which also housed the royal jail, royal audiencia, and casa de
fundicin for casting cannon. The natives of Axiquipilco were chosen
to work at the mint.35
The Mexican mint stamped only silver coins until 1679, but very
early experimented with copper velln coins. On 28 June 1542, Viceroy
Antonio de Mendoza ordered the minting of twelve thousand marks
of copper in denominations of four and two maraveds and engraved
with the same markings as silver coins; thirty-six pieces were to be
stamped from each mark of copper. By 1545 the velln coins were not
yet in circulation, but the next year natives from Michoacn, skilled
at working with metals, delivered copper to the mint where it was
prepared for striking into the two- and four-maraved copper coins.
They were badly struck, however, and had to be redone. As occurred
in other areas of the Indies such as Espaola where copper coins were
introduced, they drove silver out of circulation. In the end the experiment was a disaster.
A major change in the operation of the Mexican casa de moneda
came in the 1730s when a state-run mint under royal control began
operation under its first superintendent Joseph Fernndez Veitia Linage. Acquisition of property next to the old site and renovations at the
mint required an outlay of approximately 450,000 pesos.36 It accommodated the machines necessary for minting pesos cordoncillos and
enabled the addition of more smelting and refining equipment. The
new building began functioning in 1732 (although it was not dedicated
until a year and a half later on 18 December 1734). On 29 March 1732
at a ceremony over which the viceroy presided, mint officials stamped
new coins for the first time at a rate of four or six pieces per minute.
In the days following they tested the striking of nine different types
of coins, four of gold and five of silver. Achieving good success, the
ceca continued its output of specie throughout the rest of the year
until enough had been accumulated to go into circulation at the beginning of 1733. During these early years the only major problem was the
jurisdictional disputes which arose between the viceroy and the new
35
Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 37 note 12; 5457.

Modesto Bargallo, La minera y la metalurga en la Amrica Espaola durante la
poca colonial (Mxico: Fondo de Cultura Econmica, 1955), 252.
36
228
chapter five
mint superintendent. Those tensions were resolved when the viceroy,

the Marqus de Casafuerte, died.37
The mint turned a profit immediately. In the two-and-a-half years
from 1 January 1736 to 15 July 1739, it reported earnings of 1,344,637
pesos, a yearly average of over 530,000 pesos. Much later in the 1780s
it was averaging over twice that, an average annual profit of 1,255,068
pesos. In 1809 mint functionaries in Mexico reported record earnings
of 1,614,552 pesos.38
According to Soria Murillo, one reason for the increase in the mints
profitability was its ability to separate gold from silver (apartado) delivered to the mint. In the seventeenth century when officials found that
silver ore in San Luis Potos also contained considerable amounts of
gold, they began separating the two metals. The process was supervised
by a technician known as the apartador (separator), who purchased
his office like the tesorero particular. Because the apartador received
6 reales for each mark of bullion processed, the post was very desirable, so much so that one eager office-seeker in the eighteenth century
paid 76,000 pesos for it.39 In 1778, however, Charles III ended this
concession and ordered the apartador incorporated into royal mint
operations by stipulating that the superintendent serve as the official
apartador in addition to his regular duties.40 As a reward the king
elevated the superintendents annual salary to eight thousand pesos, a
2,000-peso raise. Between 1779 and 1792 consolidation of the apartado
into the royal mint produced profits of 843,617 pesos.41
At the end of the eighteenth century the casa de moneda at Mexico
City was striking more coin than ever before to become the largest
mint in the world. As a result of improvements and expansion carried out between 1772 and 1782, a new structure was built on the
Calle de Moneda near the present National Palace at a cost of 554,600
pesos. When Alexander von Humboldt visited the mint in 1803 he
found ten rollers moved by sixty mules, fifty-two cutters, nine adjusting tables, twenty machines for marking the edges, twenty stamping
presses, and five mills for amalgamating the washings and filings called
37

Soria Murillo, Casa de Moneda de Mxico, 47, 148, and 164.
39
40
The process of separating the gold from the silver ore is described in detail by
41
38
new world mintage
229
mermas. He calculated that the mint could stamp 14,000 to 15,000

marks of silver daily but that it usually coined only eleven thousand to
twelve thousand marks. This was only enough to keep the mint busy
for fifteen days, but sufficient time to mint the entire silver output for
an entire year. Although he was not greatly impressed either by the
machinery or the employees knowledge of chemistry and technology,
overall, he was awed by what he saw.42
For the first 150 years of the casa de moneda in Mexico, reliable data
on coinage are simply not available. In the mid-nineteenth century,
however, the Mexican scholar Manuel Orozco y Berra put forward
some brave estimates listing annual silver coinage for Mexico from
1537 to 1856 and yearly gold mintage from 1679 to 1856, cited by
Walter Howe in his book on the mining guild of New Spain.43 Until
1690 these mintage estimates for silver coinage simply do not mirror
the reality of what was actually coined. After 1690, however, they constitute reliable estimates of actual silver coinage, estimates that are even
more trustworthy after 1732 when the royal mint began functioning.
For gold coinage Orozco y Berras figures become reliable after 1733,
again as a result of the mint coming under royal control. The tables
and graphs of silver and gold coinage (Tables 51 and 52 and Figures
51 and 52) thus begin in 1690 for silver and in 1733 for gold.44
Overall, between 1690 and 1821 the mint at Mexico City coined
1,578,718,264 silver pesos, an annual average of close to 11,600,000
pesos and 96 percent of all coinage at that casa de moneda. Except
for a slight dip in the 1760s, the secular trend to 1810 was consistently upward. In the last decade of the eighteenth century with its
new machines and expanded quarters, the mint stamped 222,348,570
pesos. These were the most productive ten years in the mints history.
Moreover five times more silver was being coined in the last decade of
the eighteenth century than in the last decade of the seventeenth. Ironically, perhaps, in 1809, the year before the Grito de Dolores began the
Mexican wars of independence, the Mexican casa de moneda stamped
more silver coins24,708,164 pesosthan in any year of its existence.
42

Orozco y Berra, Informe. See also Howe, Mining Guild, 453459; and Soria
Murillo, Casa de Moneda de Mxico, 101107, 112114.
44
See also AGI, Mexico, Legajos 2798, 2799, 28002803, 2806, 2817, 2819, 2820,
and 28272832 for comparison with the Orozco y Berra figures. The reports of Mexican mint officials confirm his estimates. Humboldt, Ensayo poltico, 3:30203.
43
33
98
93
Year
Figure 52. Mexican Gold Mintage, 17331821, in pesos
18
18
13
08
18
18
03
18
17
83
88
17
17
17
78
17
73
68
17
17
63
58
17
17
53
48
17
17
43
38
17
17
17

90
16
95
17
00
17
05
17
10
17
15
17
20
17
25
17
30
17
35
17
40
17
45
17
50
17
55
17
60
17
65
17
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17
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90
17
95
18
00
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18
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18
15
18
20
16
230
chapter five
30,000,000
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
Year
Figure 51. Mexican Silver Mintage, 16901821, in pesos
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
new world mintage
231
Once the wars began, coinage decreased over 60 percent and in 1821
was at its lowest point since 1709, testimony to the effects of the rebel
insurgency on the Mexican mint and the mining industry.
Coinage of silver in Mexico closely paralleled actual silver production in New Spain. For the most part mintage was a bit greater than
output (see Table 53 and Figure 53),45 but this can be attributed to
the frequent practice of reminting coins. This was true, for example,
following the royal decree in 1728 to replace moneda macuquina with
pesos cordoncillos. Later, in the 1760s and 1770s when Charles III
decreed the minting of new pesos de bustos bearing the visage of the
reigning Spanish monarch, old coins began flowing into the mint to
be melted down and refashioned into the new specie.
Gold mintage was only a small fraction of the silver minted. Between
1733 and 1821 the Mexican ceca stamped gold coins worth 59,919,000
silver pesos (see Table 52 and Figure 52), 4 percent of the total value
of coinage during this period. Unlike silver mintage which generally
increased in the eighteenth century, the coinage of gold fluctuated
more widely, rising in some years and decades and falling in others,
depending upon new gold strikes, the exhaustion of old placers in New
Spain, or the delivery of gold ornaments to the mint to be transformed
into coin. The most dramatic increase occurred between the 1780s
and 1790s when mintage almost doubled in value from 5,516,000 to
9,354,000 silver pesos. In the first decade of the nineteenth century,
gold mintage reached an all-time high of 11,022,000 silver pesos, the
first time the value of gold coinage in Mexico exceeded 10,000,000
pesos. During the wars of independence, however, mintage of gold
dropped by over 50 percent, another manifestation of the devastation
wrought by the rebellion in New Spain. In all, between 1733 and 1821
the Mexican casa de moneda coined an annual average of 673,251 pesos.
Like silver, the production of gold and gold mintage were closely
related (see Table 54 and Figure 54). In the eight decades from 1731
to 1810, output and coinage were remarkably similar. Only in the first
decade of the nineteenth century did gold output significantly surpass
that of gold coins minted. In those ten years gold worth 16,120,000
silver pesos was registered yet a value of only 11,022,000 silver pesos
in gold was coined. This difference of almost 5,000,000 pesos perhaps
45
232
chapter five
250,000,000
200,000,000
150,000,000
Output
100,000,000
Mintage
50,000,000
0
1691
1701
1711
1721
1731
1741
1751
1761
1771
1781
1791
1801
By Decade 1751 = 17511760
Figure 53. Mexican Silver Mintage and Output, 16911810, in pesos
18,000,000
16,000,000
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
OUTPUT
8,000,000
MINTAGE
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
0
1731
1741
1751
1761
1771
1781
1791
1801
By Decade 1761 = 17611770
Figure 54. Mexican Gold Mintage and Output, 17331810, in pesos
new world mintage
233
resulted from donations in gold requested by the crown for waging

war in Europe and the Indies.
The casa de moneda in Mexico City succeeded in attracting a great
number of miners, traders, and refiners to the mint to sell their gold
and silver bars in exchange for coin. Despite Alexander von Humboldts disparagement of mint machinery and the technological expertise of its workers, the huge mint in Mexico City was an efficient, well
managed operation. It produced significant revenues for the crown
after its changeover to a royal operation in 1732, emerging from its
modest beginnings to become the largest mint in the world.
The Casa de Moneda of Espaola, 15421595?

Much about the mint in Espaola remains shadowy and elusive, including the dates when coins were first stamped and when the mint ceased
operation. According to Jos Toribio Medina, Spaniards struck their
first coins on Espaola in 1495. These were brass or copper tokens or
medallions to be placed around the necks of the natives to indicate they
had paid tribute.46 Although casas de fundiciones were set up on the
island to refine gold, Spaniards did not establish an early mint to take
advantage of a modest gold boom in the Spanish Caribbean during the
first few decades of Spanish penetration. In fact, royal law specifically
prohibited the mintage of gold coins in the Indies. For the most part,
the residents of Espaola and other parts of the Spanish Caribbean
had to rely on coins of velln sent from the Seville mint, the gold bars
assayed at the island smelters, gold nuggets, gold dust, and simple barter as a means of exchange. As early as 1505 Ferdinand attempted to
remedy the shortage of coin by ordering a shipment of 2,000,000 pesos
in velln coins to Espaola to be exchanged for the gold being mined
and refined there, but there is no evidence the money ever arrived.47
A good indication that it did not was the issuance of a similar royal
cdula on 10 May 1531.
Meanwhile, a financial crisis had developed for the merchants and
residents of Espaola, who had no medium of exchange except the
traffic in assayed gold bars, gold dust, and nuggets and a few velln or
46
47

234
chapter five
silver coins that found their way to the island. When the new President of the Audiencia of Santo Domingo, Sebastin Ramrez, arrived
late in 1528, he decided something had to be done. Thus, on the last
of February, 1529, he convoked the most prestigious political and
religious leaders on the island, who petitioned the king for a mint
to provide badly needed coins. The junta suggested that all the casas
de fundiciones be closed and replaced by a single mint where miners
could have their gold refined and exchanged for gold coins in ducats
of 375 maraveds and two-escudo and one-escudo coins. They reasoned that a mint would give royal officials more control over the
gold content, eliminate payment of salaries to officials of the smelters,
and enable the proper working of oro guanines (low-carat gold). They
stated too that a mint would stimulate trade and industry and help
repopulate the island. Moreover, it would allow royal treasury officials
to collect in coin royal revenues such as the tax on gold output, the
import-export tax (almojarifazgo), and other imposts slated for shipment to Spain. Income from the mint could also be used to pay the
salaries of the fifty foot soldiers and cavalry men assigned to Espaola
to keep peace on the island. The junta believed Concepcin de la Vega
would be an ideal site for the new mint since it already had a casa de
fundicin and workers skilled in gold assay and refining. It was also
the residence of the Bishop of Santo Domingo and had suitable stone
structures to house the mint.48
On 11 May 1535 Charles V responded by ordering a mint established on Espaola and provided for the coining of velln in it.49 The
king did not, however, lift his ban on the minting of gold coins. Queen
Juana issued a similar order on 28 February 1538, indicating that the
first pragmatic had been ignored. The Audiencia of Santo Domingo
objected to the provision on two grounds: that minting reales initially
at forty-four maraveds would cause difficulties; and that no one had
the qualifications to mint coins. The audiencia therefore suspended
execution of the cdula. Nonetheless, by early March of 1542 a mint
was operating in Espaola under orders to proceed as mints in Castile.
It presumably was at Concepcin de la Vega as suggested in 1529.
48
Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 128134. In this long document dated
28 February 1529, the junta argued its case for a mint in Espaola.
49
new world mintage
235
Very little silver was coined at the new mint, and the copper velln
coins drove the small number of silver coins out of circulation. Moreover, the copper coins were badly stamped, not properly marked as
they would have been in Castile. In short the experiment with copper
coins failed as badly as it would in Mexico in the 1540s. Although the
velln coins provided residents with at least some means of exchange,
they caused residents more trouble than they were worth.
It is not clear when the mint closed, but Jos Toribio Medina calculates it was around 1595. Very little except velln coins and a few
silver pieces were minted in Espaola. The tragedy for the island was
that the crown did not establish the mint until after the gold boom had
ended. Also, Charles V had specifically prohibited the mintage of gold
coins and there was virtually no silver mined on the island or in the
Caribbean. In short the mint did not meet the needs of Espaola or
the other Caribbean islands and failed to resolve the problems posed
by the Ramrez junta of February 1529. Meanwhile, the islands fell on
hard times until sugar cane became a lucrative export crop later in the
colonial epoch.
The Casa de Moneda of Lima, 15681821

On 21 August 1565, after repeated requests from the Audiencia of
Lima to establish a mint in the City of Kings, Philip II issued the necessary cdula.50 The new mint was to strike half its coinage in denominations of one real, one quarter in two- and four-real pieces, and the
remainder in half and quarter reales.51 One real of the sixty-seven
reales coined from each mark belonged to the mint for seigniorage.
The minting of gold coins and velln was strictly prohibited. Three
reales of each mark coined paid the braceaje, the costs of working the
bars into coin. Organized in the same manner as in Mexico and with
the same functionaries, the mint was erected at a cost of about 30,000
pesos provided by the Lima caja, and it began operation early in 1568.
Initially the mint deviated from the kings orders by coining only eight-,
four-, and two-real pieces. Furthermore, the coins stamped during the
50
For an excellent description of the operation of the Lima mint, see Moreyra Paz
Soldn, Moneda colonial, 101226; and Lazo Garca, Economa colonial, II. Lazo also
provides a good deal of information about the Potos mint.
51
236
chapter five
early days of the mint were not of the proper fineness.52 From 1580
to 1587, the mint at Lima coined an average of about 450,000 pesos
yearly, but during this period the number of coins struck fell from
over one million pesos in 1581 to only a bit over 32,000 in 1587 (see
Table 55).53 A deterrent to increased mintage at Lima was a royal
cdula of 15 February 1567, ordering mint officials to strike no more
than ten thousand marks a year.54
In the 1580s these early problemsthe Lima cecas failure to mint
many coins, its issuing coins of short weight and fineness, and the difficulty in procuring qualified personnel willing to purchase mint offices
prompted a move to close the Lima casa de moneda and to move all
mint operations to Upper Peru. In fact, this had already begun in the
early 1570s, although the Lima mint remained open until 1588. Virtually all mint activity shifted to Potos in Upper Peru, where a mint
started stamping coins in 1575 after only two months of operation in
La Plata.55
In December 1658 the Lima mint opened once again on the Calle
del Colegio Santo Toms de Aquino on orders from the viceroy, the
Conde de Alba de Liste. It shut down soon after on 8 April 1660, however, because so few coins were being stamped at the ceca and because
of charges that coins were being falsified in Lima.56 Nonetheless, on
7 January 1684 the Lima mint reopened after adding two more furnaces.57 By 4 May of the following year, the revived mint had stamped
3,695,714 pesos in silver coins. Twelve years later in 1696 it coined its
first gold32,979 escudos in two-escudo pieces. The second epoch in
Lima mintage thus began auspiciously at the end of the seventeenth
century, surprisingly at a time when Lima and Lower Peru were suffering a severe financial crisis, particularly in the public sector.58
In the new mint, officials performed the same functions as their predecessors in the sixteenth-century casa de moneda. Silver miners, trad52
Torbio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 155.

Lazo Garca, Economa colonial, 1:182.
54
Cited in Lazo Garca, Economa colonial, 1:211.
55
On the issue of when the mint closed, see Moreyra Paz Soldn, Moneda colonial,
108111; and Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 156158.
56
Lazo Garca, Economa colonial, II, 196.
57
Joseph Mugaburu and Francisco Mugaburu, Chronicle of Colonial Lima: The
Diary of Joseph and Francisco Mugaburu, ed. and trans. Robert Ryal Miller (Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1975), 280. See also Lazo Garca, Economa colonial,
1:196197.
58
See Andrien, Crisis and Decline, particularly 133197.
53
new world mintage
237
ers, and refiners who brought their ingots to the mint paid ninety-six
maraveds per mark for seigniorage and labor costs. This represented
fifty maraveds to the crown for seigniorage, sixteen to the work-crew
foreman, eleven to the tesorero particular, six to the coin strikers, four
to the smelter, three to the engraver, and one each to the assayer, two
guards, weight specialist, and scribe. Estimates of monthly salaries of
these officials were 350 pesos for the treasurer, 150 for the smelter,
125 for the engraver, one hundred for the assayer, eighty each for the
keeper of the weights, blanquecedor, and two guards, and fifty for the
scribe. The doorman of the mint received only a meager ten centavos.59
The mint shifted from private to royal control in October 1748 after
an earthquake destroyed most of Lima, including the mint. To make
the changeover, Ferdinand VI appointed Andrs Morales from Mexico as the superintendent of the new royal casa de moneda in Lima.
Morales was a good choice because he already had considerable experience at the Mexican mint. Arriving in November 1748 with instructions to end the private mint concession and to remove all its officials,
Morales laid the first stone for the new Lima mint one month after
his arrival. He was assisted by Salvador de Villa, who later supervised
construction of a new ceca in Potos.60 Construction costs in Lima
ultimately amounted to 78,162 pesos, which included the acquisition
of new property and new equipment for cutting and shaping pesos
cordoncillos. A shortage of lumber delayed construction a bit, but by
1751 the new royal mint was in full operation. Regulations governing
the Lima mint were the same as those for Mexico.
The new mint did well under Moraless superintendency. In 1751, its
first year under royal auspices, the casa de moneda coined silver worth
2,235,849 pesos and gold worth 1,885,476 silver pesos (see Tables 56
and 57 and Figures 55 and 56). With the inauguration of the royal
mint, coinage of both gold and silver specie continued unabated until
the end of the wars of independence.
Silver mintage rose steadily from the reopening of the mint in 1684,61
except for a small drop in the first two decades of the eighteenth century.
59
Moreyra Paz Soldn, Moneda colonial, 132133.

Lazo Garca, Economa colonial, 199.
61
Tables 56 and 57 on Lima silver and gold mintage have been taken from Lazo
Garca, Economa colonial, II, 325338. Also consulted were various legajos in AGI,
Lima, Legajos 12591270. See the carefully constructed tables of silver and gold mintage by Moreyra Paz Soldn, Moneda colonial, at the close of this chapter.
60
16
96
06
86
Year
Figure 56. Lima Gold Mintage, 16961821, in pesos
18
21
16
11
18
18
01
06
18
18
17
96
91
17
76
81
17
17
71
66
17
17
17
56
51
61
17
17
17
46
17
41
36
31
17
17
17
17
26
17
21
17
16
11
17
17
17
01
84
16
89
16
94
16
99
17
04
17
09
17
14
17
19
17
24
17
29
17
34
17
39
17
44
17
49
17
54
17
59
17
64
17
69
17
74
17
79
17
84
17
89
17
94
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99
18
04
18
09
18
14
18
19
16
238
chapter five
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
Year
Figure 55. Lima Silver Mintage, 16841821, in pesos
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
new world mintage
239
60,000,000
50,000,000
40,000,000
30,000,000
Output
Mintage
20,000,000
10,000,000
0
1691 1701 1711 1721 1731 1741 1751 1761 1771 1781 1791 1801
By Decade 1761 = 17611770
Figure 57. Lower Peru Silver OutputLima Mintage, 16911810, in pesos
After 1770 the Lima ceca consistently stamped between 3,500,000 to

4,500,000 pesos annually to a peak in the early 1790s when, between
1793 and 1797, more than five million pesos were being minted yearly.
In 1799 the casa de moneda struck its highest volume, 5,511,492 pesos.
With the onset of the early nineteenth century, however, silver coinage
fell into the four-million-peso range in the first decade and into the
three-million-peso range after 1813. Still, from 1811 to 1820 almost as
much silver was being minted in Lima as in the 1770s. In 1821, the
last year of the colonial epoch for Lima, the ceca in Lima struck only
a bit more than 475,000 pesos.
As in Mexico, Lima silver mintage generally followed the same
path as Lower Peruvian silver output (see Table 58 and Figure 57).
Mintage was consistently higher than silver production in Lower Peru
for the same reason as in Mexicorecoinageforcing those with old
moneda macuquina to come to the mint to exchange their old money
for the new. Lima also made the change to pesos de cordoncillos and
pesos de bustos.
Gold mintage in Lima fluctuated more than that of silver. In fact,
its trajectory was cyclical. In the early eighteenth century ten-year
output was between eight million and nine million pesos. During the
1730s and 1740s gold coinage jumped into the 12,000,00013,000,000
range but never reached that level again after 1750. The 1740s were
the peak years for gold mintage in Lima, when its mint struck gold
240
chapter five
14,000,000
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,000,000
OUTPUT
6,000,000
MINTAGE
4,000,000
2,000,000
0
1701 1711 1721 1731 1741 1751 1761 1771 1781 1791 1801
By Decade 1741 = 17411750
Figure 58. Lower Peru Gold OutputLima Gold Mintage, 17011810,

in pesos
coins worth 13,720,026 silver pesos. Mintage of gold dropped somewhat

after that.
The wide disparity between gold output and gold mintage is clearly
evident in Lower Peru (see Tables 57 and 59 and Figure 58). Between
1696 and 1821 gold worth 102,220,924 silver pesos was struck in the
City of Kings, an annual average of about 820,000 silver pesos. Still,
during this epoch only 24,129 kilograms were registered in the cajas of
Lower Peru while six times as much was minted146,891 kilograms.
What occurred to cause this wide gap between gold mintage and registrations, so vast in the early decades of the eighteenth century to 1770
that mintage was thirty to one hundred times greater than registrations? One explanation may well be that after the first gold was coined
in Lima in 1696 wealthy residents of Lower Peru trooped into the City
of Kings with gold plates, ornaments, and jewelry to transform them
into escudos. If so, in the first part of the eighteenth century the mint
may have become the recipient of a great deal of hoarded gold. Only
after 1770 did gold output and mintage begin to come together, presumably because the supply of hoarded gold had been exhausted and
more gold was being mined in Lower Peru.
As in Mexico the shift of the mint in Lima to royal control was
a success. Shortly after Morales arrived, the reconstructed ceca was
stamping the new pesos cordoncillos and soon thereafter the pesos de
new world mintage
241
bustos with the visage of the reigning Spanish monarch. From the time
the mint began operation under royal officials, it made a profit, never
as large as the mint in Mexico, but a profit nevertheless. Net earnings
were greatest in the biennium 179495700,139 pesosand lowest
at the outset in 17525373,981 pesosbut generally mint profits
ranged between two hundred thousand and five hundred thousand
pesos per biennium. Royal administrators had achieved their goal of
creating a profitable royal monopoly.62
The Casa de Moneda of Potosi, 15751821

The establishment of a mint at Potos resulted from the early failure
of the Lima ceca to stamp many coins, the crowns desire to stop the
circulation of plata corriente, and a need to bring mintage operations closer to major silver production centers in Upper Peru. Initially
Arequipa and La Plata (also called Chuquisaca or Charcas and now
Sucre), were the choices to house the mint, but La Plata was chosen
since it was closer to Potos and the site of a royal audiencia, which
could oversee mint operations. Authorities in the Lima mint thus
remitted dies for stamping coins to La Plata, but the mint in that city
functioned only two months, from December 1574 until January 1575,
and struck only 2,104 silver marks worth 17,627 pesos. It then moved
to the Imperial City of Potos.63
The first Potos mint was of simple construction. Built at a cost of
only 8,321 pesos (ironically of plata corriente), it was located on the
Plaza del Regocijo on a spacious piece of property called El Pedregal.64
This first mint had three smelting furnaces, each one under the charge
of a crew foreman assisted by three slaves. Its initial stamping consisted
of ten thousand marks or approximately eighty-five thousand pesos of
silver.65 A fourth furnace was added in August 1575. As time went on,
62
Lazo Garca, Economa colonial, 2:295296 and 300301.

The exact date when the mint was moved to Potos and started functioning in
the Imperial City is not clear. See Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 211. Julio
Benavides indicates construction of the Potos mint began on 8 December 1572 and
was completed on 27 September 1575, when it actually began functioning, Historia
de la moneda, 16.
64
The Lima mint was constructed at a cost of about 30,000 pesos.
65
Benavides, Historia de la moneda, 17.
63
242
chapter five
the mint was stamping an average of fifty thousand pesos a week and
2,600,000 pesos a year.66 The first tesorero particular was Juan Lozano
Machuca, who paid five thousand pesos for the post. Later, however,
mint functionaries at Potos paid a good deal more for their offices.
Alan Craig points out that early in the seventeenth century the post of
tesorero particular at one mint went for 160,000 pesos in 1607, another
for 260,000 pesos in 1612.67 In fact, one argument for reopening the
Lima mint in the 1680s was to attract large sums to the royal treasury
from the sale of mint offices as had happened in Potos.
Under private empresarios the seventeenth-century Potos mint was
riddled by scandal and fraud, particularly the falsification of coins. In
a boom-town atmosphere and removed from the centers of administrative authority in Lima or La Plata, mint functionaries with impunity stamped coins of less than the required weight and fineness and
sold them at official value. A visitor from the Audiencia of Charcas
to the Potos mint in 1617 uncovered one such scandal. Still another
occurred in the mid-seventeenth century when the silver trader Francisco Gmez de la Rocha conspired with the mint assayer Felipe
Ramrez Arellano and a number of other mint officials and workers
to stamp coins after hours of short weight and fineness, a scheme
uncovered when coins from the Potos mint were sent to Lima for
assay by authorities there. Ultimately the perpetrators were discovered
and arrested. Such a crime was punishable by death. Nine days after
his seizure, de la Rocha was garrotted, and his head was cut off and
displayed at the mint site on the Plaza del Regocijo. Ramrez was also
executed. To clean up the mint, the government forbade further sale
of the office of ensayador in the Potos mint. In the future the viceroy
in Lima was to appoint the ensayadores. The Potos mint was also
ordered to coin only the amount needed for normal trade and commerce, but no more. This did not end fraud in the Potos mint, but the
fate of de la Rocha and Ramrez served as a harsh reminder to officials
to follow the laws laid down for colonial mints.68 Although the Potos
mint continued its coinage of silver under the tesoreros particulares,
the mint stamped fewer coins after it reached its peak in the 1640s.
Silver production in Upper Peru declined steadily after the 1630s, and
66
Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 211212. See also Table 510.

Craig, Silver Coins, 13.
68
Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 212217; Benavides, Historia de la moneda,
2427; and Craig, Silver Coins, 2238.
67
new world mintage
243
viceregal authorities kept a closer watch on mint procedures at Potos,

particularly after the de la Rocha-Ramrez scandal. Furthermore the
reestablishment of the Lima mint in the 1680s provided an alternative site for exchanging ingots into coin, albeit a considerable distance
from Upper Peru.
By the late 1740s, the Potos mint had become outdated, unable to
meet the new requirements for colonial mints laid out in the cdula
of June 9, 1728 for the minting of pesos cordoncillos. Since the crown
had placed both the casa de moneda of Mexico and Lima under royal
control, Potos awaited the same fate. On 3 October 1750 Ferdinand VI
issued a decree to that effect, appointing Ventura Santelices as the new
royal mints first superintendent.
Santelices immediately made plans for a new building to house
operations. Although some residents and officials in Potos argued
for a new site, Santelices was insistent that it remain in the Plaza del
Regocijo. Land and buildings were purchased on the nearby Plaza del
Gato, and construction and expansion of the new mint began in 1753.
It was finally completed twenty years later, 31 July 1773. The costs
were astronomical1,148,452 pesoswhich included construction
expenses, new equipment for stamping coins, and salaries of royal
mint officials. When Charles III heard what it had cost, he reportedly
said: This building ought to be made of silver. One observer points
out, however, that the mint was such a magnificent stucture that it
could only be compared with the baroque church of San Francisco in
La Paz.69 Today it is located on Calle Ayacucho and houses an archive
and a museum.
The new mint coined its first pesos cordoncillos and pesos de bustos
on 17 July 1773, two weeks before the mint building was finished. The
Mexico City and Lima mints had been producing these same coins
for many years. Four years later, in 1777, the king lifted his ban on
minting gold coins at Potos. Gold coinage began the next year, but
not in significant amounts.
A number of aggregate estimates have been put forward on how
much silver and gold was minted at Potos. According to Modesto
Omiste, the nineteenth-century historian of Potos, to the end of the
eighteenth century, the Potos ceca coined 111,204,308 pesos in silver
69
244
chapter five
and 2,024,912 pesos in gold.70 A more modern observer, Julio Benavides, believes 800,000,000 pesos were minted during the same period,
or an annual average of 3,000,000 pesos of eight reales.71 Fortunately,
the Peruvian historian Carlos Lazo Garca has examined the Potos
mint accounts and made projections based on seignorage payments
found in the Potos royal accounts (see Tables 510 and 511 and
Figures 59 and 510).72 Through his indefatigable efforts, reasonable
estimates of the mintage of silver from 1575 and gold from 1778 to the
end of the colonial epoch are now possible.
Between 1574 and 1825 the Potos mint coined silver worth 632,700,813
pesos or an average of about 2,511,000 pesos annually. From 1778
through 1824 it struck gold coins worth 11,976,114 silver pesos, or an
annual average of about 363,000 pesos. Silver constituted 92 percent
of the total during this late eighteenth-century period. Gold made up
the other 8 percent, although it was less than 1 percent of the mints
total output for the entire colonial epoch. The trajectory of Potos
silver mintage from 1574 to the 1640s rose steadily and sometimes
dramatically. With silver production in Upper Peru increasing during this epoch, miners, refiners, and traders came to the mint with
their ingots to be stamped into coin. In fact, 46,061,423 pesos were
struck in the 1640s, the peak ten years in Potos minting history,
but as Upper Peruvian silver output declined, so too did silver mintage. It fell to about 15,455,600 pesos in the third decade of the eighteenth century, the low point of silver coinage at the Imperial City.
Recovery occurred a bit in the 1730s and 1740s and quite rapidly
after that. By the 1790s it had reached over forty-one million pesos, a
mint output almost as large as the high point in the 1640s. As at other
mints, however, the Potos ceca suffered during the turbulent years of
independence.
When comparing Upper Peruvian silver output with Potos mintage
(see Table 512 and Figure 511), the pattern is quite different from
that in Lima or Mexico where mintage was usually greater than silver
output. In Potos it was the opposite. In fact the gap between output
70
Modesto Omiste, Obras escogidas tomo 2 (La Paz: Editorial del Estado, 1941),
117.
71

See Lazo Garca, Economia colonial, 2:315324. The silver table for the Potos
mint also includes the small sums minted in La Plata in 1574 and 1575. See also
AGI, Charcas, 284285 and 688691 for late eighteenth-century documents on Potos
mintage.
72
17
83
17
84
17
85
17
86
17
87
17
88
17
89
17
90
17
91
17
92
17
93
17
94
17
95
17
96
17
97
17
98
17
99
18
00
18
01
18
02
18
03
18
04
18
05
18
06
82
17
81
17
54
54
Year
Figure 510. Potos Gold Mintage, 17811806, in pesos

24
18
14
04
18
18
94
17
84
74
17
17
64
17
17
44
34
17
17
24
17
14
04
17
17
94
84
74
16
16
16
64
16
16
44
34
16
16
24
16
14
04
16
16
94
15
84
74
15
15
new world mintage

245
6000000
5000000
4000000
3000000
2000000
1000000
Year
Figure 59. Potos Silver Mintage, 15741825, in pesos
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
246
chapter five
80,000,000
70,000,000
60,000,000
50,000,000
40,000,000
Output
30,000,000
Mintage
20,000,000
10,000,000
01
18
81
17
61
17
41
17
21
17
01
17
81
16
61
16
41
16
21
01
16
16
15
81
By Decade 1681 = 16811690
Figure 511. Upper Peru Silver OutputPotos Mintage, 15811810, in pesos
and mintage at Potos was vast at first, but gradually began closing in
the mid-seventeenth century when the two began to develop a similar trajectory. This probably meant the use of coin had increased as
Upper Peru came to rely more and more on the exchange of coins
for economic transactions. Only once, in the first decade of the nineteenth century, did mintage exceed output. A number of factors
appear responsible. Shipping new mint equipment to Potos in the
high Andes of Upper Peru was no easy task, and undoubtedly caused
delays in getting new coinage under way. More importantly, as Lazo
Garca has aptly pointed out, money in Upper and Lower Peru was of
two types: moneda mayor, or major money in ingots of silver and gold;
and moneda menor, lesser money in silver and gold coins. In Upper
Peru to the eighteenth century the traffic in ingots was far more extensive than in minted coins, a practice that had been deeply ingrained
in silver miners, traders, and refiners. Because ingots could be used
effectively in many trade and business transactions and had legitimacy
elsewhere, there was no necessity for them to pay mint seoreage or
braceaje. Still another manifestation of the monetization of the economy was the disappearance after 1720 from the Potosi royal accounts
of entries in pesos ensayados,73 replaced solely by entries in pesos of
eight reales.
73
A peso or accounting unit worth 450 maraveds.
new world mintage
247
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
OUTPUT
2,000,000
MINTAGE
1,000,000
0
1781
1791
1801
By Decade 1791 = 17911780
Figure 512. Upper Peru Gold OutputPotos Gold Mintage, 17811810,

in pesos
Gold had a more varied trajectory (see Table 511 and Figure 510).
From 1781 to 1790 coinage of gold averaged 250,000 silver pesos annually and rose to over four hundred thousand pesos in 1786. The secular trend in the ensuing ten years was upward with over six hundred
thousand pesos being stamped in 1798. In the years from 1801 to 1806,
gold mintage fluctuated, between a low of 283,288 pesos in 1803 to a
high of 618,898 pesos in 1806. When Upper Peruvian gold output and
gold coinage are compared for the thirty years from 1781 to 1810 (see
Table 513 and Figure 512), gold output was always greater than gold
mintage with the gap growing ever wider until the turn of the century.
Thereafter it began to narrow a bit, but generally production and mintage did not follow the same path toward the end of the century. In
the years from 1778 to 1824, gold coined at the Potos ceca amounted
to only 17,844 kilograms worth 11,976,114 silver pesos or an annual
average of about 363,000 pesos. Overall gold amounted to a miniscule
amount, less than 1 percent, for the entire history of the Potos mint.
Establishment of the new royal mint encouraged miners, refiners,
and traders to come to the casa de moneda to exchange their ingots
for coin, not only from Potos but also from other mining districts in
Upper Peru. Moreover, the mint and the miners worked hand-in-hand
with the exchange bank of San Carlos in Potos to bring more order
and consistency to mint activities. During the wars of independence
the mint continued operation, but at various times served as both
a military barracks and a jail, during which a large number of mint
records were lost or destroyed.74
74
248
chapter five
Tables
Table 51. Mexican Silver Mintage 16901821 (in Pesos of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms
of Fine Silver).
YEAR
PESOS
1690
5,285,581
5,285,581
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
135,105
135,105
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
6,213,710
158,829
5,352,729
136,821
2,802,379
71,632
5,840,530
149,290
4,001,293
102,277
3,190,618
81,555
4,459,948
114,001
3,319,766
84,857
3,504,787
89,586
3,379,122
86,374
42,064,882 1,075,220
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
4,019,094
102,732
5,022,650
128,384
6,076,254
155,315
5,827,027
148,945
4,747,176
121,343
6,172,038
157,763
5,735,029
146,593
5,737,610
146,659
5,214,143
133,279
6,710,588
171,529
55,261,609 1,412,542
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
5,666,086
6,663,425
6,487,872
6,220,823
6,368,918
9,527,738
6,750,735
7,173,590
7,258,707
7,874,343
69,992,237
144,831
170,324
165,836
159,010
162,796
243,539
172,556
183,364
185,540
201,276
1,789,072
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
9,460,735
241,826
8,823,933
225,549
8,107,348
207,232
7,872,823
201,237
7,369,816
188,380
8,466,146
216,403
8,133,089
207,890
9,228,545
235,891
8,814,970
218,691
9,745,870
241,785
86,023,275 2,184,883
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
8,439,871
209,385
8,726,466
216,495
10,024,193
248,690
8,522,782
211,442
7,937,260
196,915
11,033,512
273,730
8,209,685
203,674
9,502,206
235,740
8,694,108
215,692
9,589,268
237,900
90,679,351 2,249,664
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
8,655,415
8,235,390
8,636,013
10,303,735
10,428,355
11,524,180
12,883,668
11,644,788
11,898,590
13,228,030
107,438,164
214,732
204,312
214,251
255,625
258,717
285,903
319,631
288,896
295,192
328,174
2,665,433
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
12,657,275
314,014
13,701,533
339,921
11,607,974
287,982
11,608,024
287,983
12,606,340
312,751
12,336,733
306,062
12,550,035
311,354
12,773,187
316,890
13,031,337
323,294
11,975,347
297,096
124,847,785 3,097,349
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
11,789,390
292,483
10,118,689
251,035
11,780,563
292,264
9,796,522
243,042
11,609,497
288,020
11,223,987
278,456
10,445,285
259,137
12,326,499
305,808
11,985,422
297,346
13,980,817
346,850
115,056,671 2,854,441
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
12,852,166
17,036,345
19,005,007
12,938,060
14,298,094
16,518,936
20,705,592
19,911,460
18,759,841
17,006,909
169,032,410
318,849
422,655
464,349
316,116
349,345
403,607
505,900
486,497
458,359
415,530
4,141,207
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
15,958,044
17,959,477
22,520,856
26,130,971
25,806,074
23,383,673
20,703,985
386,903
435,428
546,018
633,545
625,668
566,937
501,968
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
19,710,335
17,180,389
23,105,799
20,492,432
18,002,957
16,868,615
15,505,325
481,583
419,768
564,544
500,692
439,866
412,151
375,927
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
20,140,937
23,225,612
23,428,680
21,216,872
23,948,930
24,346,833
24,041,183
488,317
563,105
568,028
514,403
580,642
590,289
582,878
new world mintage
249
Table 51 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
1788
1789
1790
19,540,902
473,769
20,594,876
499,323
17,435,645
422,727
188,437,275 4,590,350
1798
1799
1800
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
8,956,432
217,149
4,027,620
97,650
6,133,984
148,718
6,902,082
167,341
6,454,800
156,497
8,315,616
201,612
7,994,951
193,838
10,852,368
263,116
11,491,139
278,603
9,897,078
239,955
81,026,070 1,964,477
1821
PESOS
KGS
23,004,981
557,756
21,096,031
511,473
17,898,511
433,949
222,348,570 5,390,841
5,600,022
5,600,022
YEAR
PESOS
1808
1809
1810
20,502,434
24,708,164
17,950,684
215,624,362
KGS
497,082
599,049
435,214
5,227,813
135,773
135,773
TOTAL
1,578,718,264 38,914,169
* Walter Howe, Mining Guild, 45359; Soria Murillo, Casa de Moneda de Mexico, 10107, 11214; AGI,
Mexico, Legajos 2606, 27982803, 2817, 281920, 28272832; Humboldt, Ensayo Poltico, III, 302303.
Table 52. Mexican Gold Mintage 17331821 (in Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds and
Kilograms of Fine Gold).
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
151,702
385,878
422,576
787,556
313,870
468,802
311,148
316,670
3,158,202
236
600
657
1,225
488
729
484
492
4,911
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
676,580
495,036
861,104
553,406
788,428
524,312
599,214
933,332
497,770
606,494
6,535,676
1,052
770
1,339
861
1,226
815
932
1,451
774
943
10,164
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
606,264
625,836
804,846
819,380
509,818
428,356
370,846
327,582
315,756
476,294
5,284,978
943
973
1,252
1,274
793
666
577
509
491
741
8,219
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
255,592
267,724
452,404
309,974
418,696
759,796
555,486
173,080
450,322
465,702
4,108,776
397
416
704
482
651
1,182
864
269
700
724
6,390
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
501,266
1,853,440
1,232,318
728,895
734,100
796,602
819,214
818,298
675,616
507,354
8,667,103
780
2,882
1,879
1,111
1,119
1,214
1,249
1,248
1,030
774
13,286
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
625,508
400,102
610,808
544,942
572,252
388,490
605,616
605,464
535,036
628,044
5,516,262
954
610
931
831
872
592
897
896
792
930
8,305
250
chapter five
Table 52 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
980,776
969,430
884,262
794,160
644,552
1,297,794
1,038,856
999,608
957,094
787,164
9,353,696
1,452
1,435
1,309
1,176
954
1,921
1,538
1,480
1,417
1,165
13,848
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
610,398
839,122
646,050
959,030
1,359,814
1,352,348
1,512,266
1,182,516
1,464,818
1,095,504
11,021,866
904
1,242
956
1,420
2,013
2,002
2,239
1,751
2,169
1,622
16,318
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1,085,364
381,646
0
618,069
486,464
960,393
854,942
533,921
539,377
509,076
5,969,252
1,607
565
0
915
720
1,422
1,266
790
799
754
8,837
1821
303,504
303,504
449
449
TOTAL
59,919,315
90,727
* Walter Howe, Mining Guild, 45359; Soria Murillo, Casa de Moneda de Mexico, 10107, 11214; AGI,
Mexico, Legajos 2606, 27982803, 2817, 281920, 28272832.
Table 53. Mexican Silver Mintage and Output 16911810 (in Pesos of 272
Maravedis and Kilograms of Fine Silver).
DECADE
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
Mintage
PESOS
Output
KGS
PESOS
KGS
42,064,882
55,261,609
69,992,237
86,023,275
90,679,351
107,438,164
124,847,785
115,056,671
169,032,410
188,437,275
222,348,570
215,624,362
1,075,220
1,412,542
1,789,072
2,184,883
2,249,664
2,665,433
3,097,349
2,854,441
4,141,207
4,590,350
5,390,841
5,227,813
49,880,000
49,790,000
64,690,000
81,400,000
92,530,000
102,300,000
119,030,000
107,028,000
146,080,000
170,360,000
198,870,000
201,210,000
1,274,770
1,272,680
1,653,420
2,067,040
2,295,920
2,537,890
2,954,020
2,662,270
3,578,740
4,149,710
4,821,600
4,878,510
1,486,806,591
36,678,815
1,383,168,000
34,146,570
new world mintage
251
Table 54. Mexican Gold Mintage and Output 17331810 (in Silver Pesos of
272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE
Output
PESOS
KGS
Mintage
PESOS
KGS
17331740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
3,100,000
4,770,000
4,820,000
6,390,000
7,980,000
5,800,000
10,410,000
16,120,000
4,816
7,411
7,493
9,897
12,220
8,738
15,422
23,843
3,158,202
5,284,978
4,108,776
6,535,676
8,667,103
5,516,262
9,353,696
11,021,866
4,911
8,219
6,390
10,164
13,286
8,305
13,848
16,318
59,390,000
89,840
53,646,559
81,441
Table 55. Early Lima Silver Mintage 15801587 (in Marks and Pesos of
272 Maraveds).
YEAR
MARKS
PESOS
1580
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
106,032
129,416
74,216
8,000
59,088
30,960
15,840
3,832
888,018
1,083,859
621,559
67,000
494,862
259,290
132,660
32,093
TOTAL
427,384
3,579,341
Table 56. Lima Silver Mintage 16841821* (in Pesos of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of
Fine Silver).
YEAR
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
PESOS
4,867,567
3,228,043
1,974,176
1,797,521
1,043,912
1,142,175
1,268,068
15,321,462
KGS
124,420
82,512
50,462
45,946
26,683
29,195
32,413
391,632
YEAR
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
PESOS
KGS
726,238 18,563
2,110,731 53,952
1,723,156 44,046
1,944,181 49,695
2,188,434 55,939
2,425,908 62,009
1,776,086 45,399
1,859,459 47,530
1,668,459 42,647
1,477,023 37,754
17,899,675 457,534
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1,432,162
1,072,390
1,438,739
1,199,015
1,384,294
1,309,817
919,960
319,217
710,599
592,456
10,378,649
36,607
27,411
36,776
30,648
35,384
33,480
23,515
8,160
18,164
15,144
265,289
252
chapter five
Table 56 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
608,259
412,459
101,788
361,910
138,825
302,976
768,257
1,660,401
1,639,653
1,243,612
7,238,140
15,548
10,543
2,602
9,251
3,549
7,744
19,637
42,442
41,911
31,788
185,014
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
2,040,774
1,834,751
1,759,398
1,592,866
1,630,487
1,664,020
1,060,287
2,589,912
2,066,593
1,568,613
17,807,701
50,630
45,518
43,649
39,517
40,451
41,283
26,305
64,253
51,270
38,916
441,791
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
2,995,000
3,896,122
4,295,940
4,398,188
4,500,519
4,190,360
4,245,245
4,091,725
3,636,231
3,837,545
40,086,875
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
4,523,232
4,143,165
3,989,971
4,340,237
4,383,115
4,347,991
3,773,950
4,143,652
4,337,432
4,492,682
42,475,427
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1,027,981 26,276
1,109,993 28,373
1,457,761 37,262
1,117,503 28,564
1,850,889 47,311
1,094,022 27,964
1,536,704 39,280
1,507,454 38,532
1,809,461 44,891
2,111,468 52,383
14,623,236 370,836
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
1,323,858
1,485,852
1,324,156
1,441,813
1,559,155
1,438,642
2,029,809
2,031,806
2,442,331
1,842,775
16,920,197
32,844
36,863
32,851
35,770
38,681
35,691
50,358
50,407
60,592
45,717
419,773
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
2,235,849 55,469
2,154,675 53,455
1,827,016 45,326
2,054,023 50,958
2,059,243 51,088
2,092,918 51,923
2,114,599 52,461
1,939,687 48,122
2,084,183 51,706
2,654,306 65,851
21,216,499 526,360
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
2,988,665
3,251,453
2,298,127
2,836,984
2,808,909
3,090,307
2,968,276
3,066,249
2,938,113
2,966,221
29,213,304
74,146
80,665
57,014
70,383
69,686
76,667
73,640
76,071
72,892
73,589
724,753
74,303
96,659
104,963
107,461
109,961
102,383
103,724
99,973
88,844
93,763
982,034
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
4,180,517 102,143
3,249,489 79,395
3,223,272 78,754
3,518,149 85,959
3,120,738 76,249
3,610,456 88,214
3,581,282 86,828
3,770,759 91,422
3,580,756 86,815
4,582,361 111,099
36,417,779 886,879
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
4,260,754 103,302
4,910,644 119,059
5,294,745 128,371
5,308,939 128,715
5,288,423 128,218
5,269,580 127,761
4,531,285 109,861
4,743,000 114,994
5,511,492 133,626
4,398,724 106,647
49,517,586 1,200,554
109,666
100,451
96,737
105,229
106,269
105,417
91,499
100,463
105,161
108,925
1,029,817
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
4,508,825 109,316
1821
3,886,892 94,238
4,090,036 99,163
3,628,717 87,978
3,745,218 90,803
3,866,918 93,753
3,388,555 82,156
3,386,907 82,116
3,271,208 79,310
4,000,986 97,004
37,774,262 915,837 TOTAL
* The years 1699 and 1729 are averages.
PESOS
KGS
476,529
478,529
11,553
11,553
357,367,321 8,809,655
new world mintage
253
Table 57. Lima Gold Mintage 16961821 (in Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds and
Kilograms of Fine Gold).
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
0
365,620
631,916
702,644
1,912,844
1,946,895
1,980,946
686,050
712,888
745,886
9,685,689
0
567
980
1,090
2,967
3,020
3,072
1,064
1,106
1,157
15,023
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
867,122
860,895
656,770
718,284
1,044,050
887,036
937,280
1,084,617
1,000,998
858,545
8,915,597
1,345
1,335
1,019
1,114
1,619
1,376
1,454
1,682
1,553
1,332
13,828
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
131,916
0
111,085
198,192
207,492
648,685
205
0
172
307
322
1,006
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
1,097,808
590,380
583,111
614,584
1,378,269
360,278
1,017,796
694,160
869,230
913,152
8,118,768
1,703
916
904
953
2,138
559
1,579
1,077
1,348
1,416
12,592
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
586,346
931,736
787,980
1,009,112
928,702
574,660
2,563,566
2,080,394
1,715,270
1,125,994
12,303,760
909
1,445
1,222
1,565
1,440
891
3,976
3,227
2,660
1,746
19,083
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1,483,256
1,260,442
1,456,000
1,607,390
816,110
1,370,908
1,224,544
1,344,092
1,574,452
1,582,232
13,719,426
2,301
1,955
2,258
2,493
1,266
2,126
1,899
2,085
2,442
2,454
21,279
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
1,885,476
1,648,558
1,149,736
1,014,696
976,616
691,832
1,074,944
945,336
1,395,619
568,072
11,350,885
2,924
2,557
1,783
1,574
1,515
1,073
1,667
1,466
2,165
881
17,605
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1,192,467
757,427
951,320
927,243
960,568
958,392
1,067,753
918,272
867,544
678,368
9,279,354
1,850
1,175
1,475
1,438
1,490
1,486
1,656
1,424
1,346
1,052
14,392
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
889,440
717,672
706,792
794,104
516,800
244,392
456,552
810,560
1,041,896
712,776
6,890,984
1,380
1,113
1,078
1,211
788
373
696
1,236
1,588
1,087
10,548
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
523,872
569,317
527,000
391,679
433,024
437,196
664,632
622,650
766,768
623,239
5,559,377
799
868
803
597
660
667
984
922
1,135
923
8,358
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
755704
694824
646947
783860
660338
624,136
583,209
535,160
495,990
378,216
6,158,384
1119
1029
958
1161
978
924
863
792
734
560
9,117
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
327,785
337,280
350,200
352,385
399,501
217,872
385,472
366,792
340,260
343,395
3,420,942
485
499
518
522
591
323
571
543
504
508
5,065
254
chapter five
Table 57 (cont.)
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
339,339
575,008
683,128
760,784
502,248
772,267
778,517
472,088
517,615
501,859
5,902,853
502
851
1,011
1,126
744
1,143
1,153
699
766
743
8,739
1821
266,220
266,220
394
394
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
TOTAL
102,220,924
157,030
Table 58. Lower Peru Silver OutputLima Mintage 16911810 (in Pesos
of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Silver).
Output
DECADE
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
PESOS
KGS
Mintage
PESOS
KGS
5,900,000
2,750,000
4,020,000
7,830,000
11,340,000
15,710,000
15,490,000
17,540,000
22,360,000
26,990,000
40,700,000
38,660,000
150,770
70,260
102,730
199,230
281,140
389,860
384,050
434,900
548,370
657,210
986,560
937,650
17,899,675
10,378,649
7,238,141
14,623,236
16,920,197
17,808,401
21,216,499
29,213,304
40,086,875
36,417,779
49,517,586
42,475,427
457,534
265,289
185,014
370,836
419,773
441,809
526,360
724,753
982,034
886,879
1,200,554
1,029,817
209,290,000
5,142,730
303,795,769
7,490,652
new world mintage
255
Table 59. Lower Peru Gold OutputLima Gold Mintage 17011810 (in
Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE
OUTPUT
PESOS
KGS
MINTAGE
PESOS
KGS
16961700
17011710
17111720
17211720
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
200,000
260,000
170,000
200,000
180,000
160,000
110,000
820,000
2,900,000
4,250,000
4,410,000
2,560,000
312
402
263
309
282
256
170
1,285
4,430
6,392
6,539
3,801
648,685
9,685,689
8,915,598
81118,768
12,303,760
13,720,026
11,350,285
9,279,354
6,890,984
5,559,377
6,158,385
3,420,942
1,006
15,023
13,828
12,592
19,083
21,280
17,605
14,392
10,548
8,358
9,117
5,065
16,020,000
24,129
95,403,168
146,891
TOTAL
Table 510. Potos Annual Silver Mintage 15741825* (in Pesos of 272 Maraveds and
Kilograms of Fine Silver).
YEAR
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
PESOS
17,627
604,248
582,146
582,146
823,263
750,609
222,675
3,582,714
KGS
451
15,445
14,880
14,880
21,043
19,186
5,692
91,578
1,224,367 31,296
1,034,504 26,443
1,462,254 37,377
1,242,641 31,763
1,440,042 36,809
1,566,251 40,035
1,844,347 47,143
1,569,274 40,112
1,680,640 42,959
1,805,779 46,158
14,870,099 380,095
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
444,294
1,237,825
1,361,566
1,608,101
851,218
1,291,425
251,250
0
1,666,943
528,463
9,241,085
11,357
31,640
34,803
41,105
21,758
33,010
6,422
0
42,609
13,508
236,211
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
393,206
1,002,488
952,447
134,000
0
2,243,872
0
232,825
650,913
1,068,994
6,678,745
10,051
25,625
24,345
3,425
0
57,356
0
5,951
16,638
27,325
170,715
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
1,930,918
1,827,447
1,953,363
2,008,118
2,092,995
1,876,445
1,693,016
1,531,923
1,905,699
1,234,267
18,054,191
49,356
46,711
49,930
51,330
53,499
47,964
43,275
39,157
48,712
31,549
461,483
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
1,576,553
2,081,591
1,644,164
2,425,561
1,840,784
942,053
2,358,891
1,823,758
1,977,208
2,130,657
18,801,220
40,298
53,208
42,026
62,000
47,052
24,080
60,296
46,617
50,539
54,462
480,578
256
chapter five
Table 510 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
3,753,030 95,931
2,207,655 56,430
2,215,672 56,635
2,310,856 59,068
2,278,124 58,231
3,423,926 87,519
2,080,425 53,178
3,157,246 80,702
3,776,654 96,535
3,519,200 89,954
28,722,788 734,183
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
3,947,481
4,791,284
5,180,968
4,600,411
4,839,251
5,005,126
4,494,745
4,592,238
4,856,889
3,753,030
46,061,423
100,902
122,470
132,431
117,591
123,696
127,936
114,890
117,382
124,147
95,931
1,177,376
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
3,340,134
2,220,539
2,781,618
3,342,697
3,033,995
3,429,052
4,018,534
3,930,798
4,111,614
3,428,951
33,637,932
85,377
56,759
71,101
85,443
77,552
87,650
102,718
100,475
105,097
87,647
859,819
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
3,559,551 90,986
2,918,210 74,592
3,010,126 76,942
3,202,625 81,862
3,403,902 87,007
3,261,225 83,360
3,770,685 96,382
3,619,256 92,512
2,959,357 75,644
2,785,274 71,194
32,490,211 830,482
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
4,111,614
3,049,321
2,898,437
2,721,724
2,587,222
2,220,950
2,173,631
2,567,069
2,936,091
2,429,060
27,695,119
105,097
77,944
74,087
69,570
66,132
56,770
55,560
65,617
75,049
62,089
707,915
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
2,450,810
3,117,954
4,588,897
4,061,582
3,461,178
3,103,055
3,569,132
3,281,861
3,243,487
3,660,411
34,538,367
62,645
79,698
117,297
103,818
88,471
79,317
91,231
83,888
82,907
93,564
882,835
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
2,985,461 76,311
2,582,867 66,021
2,887,893 73,817
2,742,796 70,109
2,938,520 75,112
2,529,158 64,648
2,700,209 69,020
2,276,668 58,194
2,326,994 59,480
2,354,263 60,177
26,324,829 672,889
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1,965,278
2,263,411
2,425,274
2,138,665
2,499,728
2,513,656
2,058,617
2,346,683
2,031,139
1,786,337
22,028,788
50,234
57,855
61,992
54,666
63,896
64,252
52,620
59,984
51,918
45,661
563,078
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
1,475,189
1,157,341
1,570,874
1,433,470
1,296,065
1,399,588
2,204,434
2,012,655
2,025,351
1,362,721
15,937,688
37,707
29,583
40,153
36,641
33,129
35,775
56,348
51,445
51,770
34,833
407,383
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
1,362,470 34,826
1,329,221 33,976
1,363,701 34,858
1,398,181 35,739
1,282,099 32,772
1,628,351 41,622
1,666,604 42,600
1,904,926 48,692
1,808,392 44,864
1,711,658 42,465
15,455,603 392,414
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
1,518,456
1,688,755
1,655,710
1,372,930
1,624,198
1,704,040
2,090,653
1,769,748
2,021,881
2,182,716
17,629,087
37,671
41,896
41,077
34,061
40,295
42,276
51,867
43,906
50,161
54,151
437,360
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
2,107,428
2,142,808
2,108,484
1,961,860
2,116,393
2,356,645
2,335,367
2,484,894
2,633,039
2,809,699
23,056,617
52,283
53,161
52,309
48,672
52,506
58,466
57,938
61,648
65,323
69,706
572,012
new world mintage
257
Table 510 (cont.)

YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
3,044,709 75,536
2,966,857 73,605
2,818,010 69,912
3,009,170 74,654
2,837,768 70,402
3,234,369 80,241
3,058,854 75,887
3,234,548 80,246
3,289,704 81,614
2,669,711 66,233
30,163,700 748,331
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
3,112,063
3,125,102
3,093,931
2,875,060
2,833,174
3,010,403
2,959,150
3,067,863
3,214,411
3,241,839
30,532,996
77,207
77,531
76,757
71,327
70,288
74,685
73,414
76,111
79,746
80,427
757,493
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
3,014,639
3,646,823
3,021,567
3,204,228
3,367,666
4,081,284
4,206,268
4,909,609
4,630,418
4,938,670
39,021,172
74,790
90,474
73,817
78,279
82,272
99,706
102,759
119,942
113,121
120,652
955,812
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
3,807,363
3,487,270
4,127,575
4,125,424
3,705,873
3,725,253
4,280,124
3,865,945
3,581,849
3,969,832
38,676,508
93,014
85,194
100,837
100,784
90,534
91,008
104,542
94,426
87,487
96,963
944,789
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
4,365,175
4,278,781
4,355,927
4,379,294
4,228,844
4,408,032
3,853,050
4,237,242
3,997,601
3,889,150
41,993,096
106,619
104,509
106,394
106,964
103,290
107,666
94,111
103,495
97,641
94,992
1,025,681
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
4,345,778
2,268,242
2,352,741
3,125,620
3,240,022
3,152,854
3,683,271
3,435,981
3,107,396
3,257,719
31,969,624
106,146
55,402
57,466
76,343
79,138
77,008
89,964
83,924
75,898
79,570
780,858
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
3,640,805 88,927
2,497,207 60,994
1,699,431 41,509
2,682,967 65,531
689,388 16,838
1,909,610 46,642
1,945,786 47,526
1,691,806 41,322
1,552,763 37,926
1,447,117 35,346
19,756,880 482,562
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1,204,348
1,640,593
1,074,052
1,601,323
260,015
5,780,331
29,416
40,071
26,234
39,112
6,351
141,184
TOTAL 632,700,813 15,895,117
* For the year 1574 the amount listed was minted in La Plata December 1574January 1575. The years 1610,
1629, 1653, 1714, 1723, and 1729 are averages.
258
chapter five
Table 511*. Potos Gold Mintage 17781810** (in Silver Pesos of 272
Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1778
1779
1780
28,826
315,200
480,757
824,783
44
481
733
1,257
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
266,810
158,844
238,906
298,256
277,008
390,582
554,158
629,329
387,720
456,604
3,658,217
395
235
354
442
410
578
820
932
574
676
5,416
YEAR
PESOS
KGS
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
218,634
300,123
250,718
208,197
221,762
333,662
255,120
263,644
281,952
300,260
2,634,072
333
458
382
317
338
509
378
390
417
445
3,967
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
476,196
328,146
283,642
360,620
785,922
619,736
625,456
572,316
360,688
446,320
4,859,042
705
486
420
534
1,164
918
926
847
534
661
7,194
TOTAL
11,976,114
17,834
* Lazo Garcia, Economia colonial, II, 339. He also notes that gold worth 431,860
silver pesos were minted in 1822 and 103,530 pesos in 1824.
** The year 1789 is an average.
Table 512. Upper Peru Silver OutputPotosi Mintage 15811810 (in Pesos
of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Silver).
DECADE
Output
PESOS
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
63,460,000
69,240,000
69,480,000
68,930,000
68,650,000
72,980,000
60,450,000
49,010,000
Mintage
KGS
1,622,010
1,769,960
1,776,120
1,761,860
1,754,880
1,865,420
1,545,260
1,253,050
PESOS
9,241,085
6,678,745
14,870,099
18,054,191
18,801,220
28,722,788
46,061,423
33,637,932
KGS
236,211
170,715
380,095
461,483
480,578
734,283
1,177,376
859,819
new world mintage
259
Table 512 (cont.)

DECADE
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011810
TOTAL
Output
PESOS
Mintage
KGS
PESOS
KGS
45,370,000
42,910,000
45,860,000
36,660,000
25,320,000
23,390,000
22,490,000
25,010,000
28,170,000
37,940,000
40,030,000
46,140,000
41,530,000
46,260,000
30,210,000
1,160,070
1,096,700
1,172,060
937,110
647,190
598,110
570,950
620,520
698,830
941,390
993,450
1,130,880
1,011,570
1,121,740
732,730
32,490,211
27,695,119
34,538,367
26,324,829
22,028,788
15,937,688
15,455,603
17,629,087
23,056,617
30,163,700
30,532,996
39,021,172
38,676,508
41,993,096
31,969,624
830,482
707,915
882,835
672,889
563,078
407,383
392,414
437,360
572,012
748,331
757,493
955,812
944,789
1,025,681
780,858
1,059,490,000
26,781,860
603,580,888
15,179,892
Table 513. Upper Peru Gold OutputPotos Mintage 17811806 (in Silver
Pesos of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE
17811790
17911800
18011806
TOTAL
Upper Peru Gold Output

PESOS
KGS
Potos Gold Mintage

PESOS
KGS
3,580,000
6,200,000
3,216,000
5,366
9,186
4,768
2,434,242
3,592,617
2,790,673
3,675
5,319
4,132
12,996,000
19,320
8,817,532
13,126
CHAPTER SIX
NEW WORLD MINTAGE II: SANTA FE DE BOGOT,

POPAYN, SANTIAGO DE GUATEMALA, SANTIAGO DE
CHILE, AND BRAZIL RIO DE JANEIRO, BAHIA, AND
VILA RICA DE OURO PRETO
The opening of the Mexican, Santo Domingo, Lima, and Potos mints
occurred in the sixteenth-century. Despite pressure from other parts
of the empire for creation of casas de moneda, only one mint was
established of the Spanish empire in the seventeenth century, at Santa
Fe de Bogot in the late 1620s in gold-rich New Granada. At the very
end of the seventeenth century in 1694, the Portuguese set up a mint in
Bahia in 1694, but in Spanish America Guatemala, Chile, and Popayn
waited until the eighteenth century for their cecas.
The Casas de Moneda of New Granada

(Santa Fe de Bogota and Popayan)
Santa Fe de Bogot (16211819)
Gold dominated in the northern reaches of Spanish South America
with gold in New Granada constituting 96 percent of total bullion
output and silver only 4 percent. In Spanish America New Granada
was by far the largest gold producer, yielding almost 50 percent of
Spanish American production. Silver simply was not a major factor in
the mining economy of New Granada. One authority on New Granada
mining, Robert West, has identified a few silver mines in the cordillera
oriental of the Andes near Bucaramanga and Jos Toribio Medina the
mines of Santa Ana in Mariquita, but otherwise gold prevailed in the
mining camps of New Granada.1 Estimates of early gold and silver production to 1620 are tentative at best, but because the mining economy
254.
West, Placer Mining, map inset 11, 34; and Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales,
262
chapter six
of colonial New Granada has received attention from well-respected

Colombian historians, informed estimates can at least be attempted
(see Table 61 and Figure 61).2 During the period 15331620 both
gold and silver output rose after the initial conquest. Gold production amounted to 1,500,000 silver pesos in the eight years 15331540
and rose to a high of almost 9,000,000 pesos in the first decade of the
seventeenth century, falling off after that. Silver had the same trajectory, but in no decade did silver production reach more than 400,000
pesos. Gold output grew, however, as Spaniards exploited new placers
in New Granada.
In the late 1550s authorities in both New Granada and Spain considered establishment of a mint in the New Kingdom, but nothing
came of these deliberations until sixty years later in 1620 in response,
as elsewhere, to the need to encourage trade and to establish a standardized medium of exchange to stop the persistent traffic in gold
10,000,000
8,000,000
6,000,000
Gold
4,000,000
Silver
2,000,000
0
1533
1541
1551
1561
1571
1581
1591
1601
1611
By Decade 1581=15811590
Figure 61. New Granada Gold and Silver Production, 15331620, in pesos
2
For a combined picture of New Granada gold output to 1620 and gold mintage 16211810, see Chapter 2, Figure 29. Also see Colmenares, Formacin de la
economa colonial; and Jaramillo Uribe, Economa del virreinato, in Ocampo, ed.
Historia econmica de Colombia, 585. For Jaramillo Uribes estimates, see 4956.
For those of Colmenares, see 3439. Also refer to Colmenares, Historia econmica y
social de Colombia, 288317. Vicente Restrepo, Estudio, also provides some aggregate
estimates. The estimates on early production of gold and silver in New Granada are
derived from these sources. Silver is estimated at 4 percent of total bullion output.
new world mintage ii
263
dust and gold nuggets. On 1 April 1620, Philip III appointed Captain
Alfonso Turillo de Yerba as the mint concessionaire for New Granada.
Arriving in Cartagena on 9 April 1621 with a number of appropriate mint functionaries, he began stamping gold and silver coins, plus
velln currency, consisting of one part silver to four parts copper.
Initially, Turillo minted 1,387 marks of silver, seventy marks of gold,
and a meager two-hundred ducats of velln at Cartagena.3 Because of
complaints from the local populace over its circulation and the lack
of copper, however, the velln coins were taken out of circulation by
1626, another failed experiment with that type of specie in the Indies.
Turillo returned to Spain and managed to gain the concession as tesorero proprietario for a mint in Santa Fe de Bogot to be built at his
own cost. Unusual in Turillos mint concession was royal permission
to mint one-escudo and two-escudo pieces, prohibited in other areas
of the Indies until 1675. Turillo erected the new Bogot mint at what
is now the corner of Calle 11 and Carrera 5a with a second floor added
in 1637. The entire building was replaced in the mid 1750s when it
was placed under royal control. Construction began in 1753 and was
completed by 1759 at a cost of 58,863 pesos.4
Turillos early mint was simply a type of blacksmith shop with
ovens for smelting and refining.5 It stamped its first coins in 1627.
During his tenure as tesorero particular (16271637), Turillo minted
2,366 kilograms of gold worth 1,525,240 silver pesos and 16,345 kilograms of silver worth 640,637 pesos.6 Gold coins of one and two escudos were stamped along with silver specie of eight, four, two, one, half,
and quarter reales. From its launching in 1627 the mint at Santa Fe de
Bogot operated continuously throughout the colonial epoch and into
the national period.
The Bogot mint apparently ran smoothly until the late 1660s when
tesorero particular Toms Prieto de Salazar overcharged miners and
traders for seigniorage and labor costs. When the news reached Spain,
royal authorities threatened to close the mint unless the overcharges
were returned. The clamorous outcry from Santa Fe de Bogot over
the possible loss of the mint was enormous. The royal audiencia of

Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 253; and Barriga Villalba, Casa de Moneda,
I:1533; 2:1231.
5
6
4
264
chapter six
Santa Fe, city council (cabildo), ecclesiastical cabildo, merchants, and

encomenderos all opposed the shut-down, pointing out that the cost
of living in New Granada was thirty times that of Spain and that mint
officials were justified in demanding the additional charges. In the end
the mint remained open.7
Mint procedures also underwent a change in the late seventeenth
century, a change that ostensibly had been made in Philip IVs reign
in a royal order of 17 November 1639, but not immediately put into
effect in New Granada. This called for the elimination of the touchstone or simlar devices such as the needles of different colors used in
Ecuador to differentiate the fineness of gold nuggets and gold dust.
In Bogot an elaborate system had developed based on color with a
touchstone used to determine fineness. For ore containing copper and
gold, for example, if the major portion was copper, it was red (rojo);
half of each, strong pink (rosado fuerte); and pure gold, canary yellow
(amarillo canario). For a combination of gold and silver ore which was
at least 90 percent silver, it was white (blanco); half of each, pale yellow
(amarillo palido); and 90 percent gold, canary yellow. A similar system
was used to assay ore containing gold, copper, and silver. Charles II
put an end to this practice with a royal pragmatic of 13 September
1687, over forty years after the earlier cdula of Philip IV, which was
finally enforced in Bogot in late October 1688. All assayers were to be
examined to insure they were capable of making their assay by smelting and cupellation.8
Mintage in New Granada was stimulated in the first decade of the
eighteenth century by the reduction on gold taxes to 5 percent. Hitherto, some mining areas in New Granada paid the 20-percent quinto,
while other favored regions paid only 5 percent. To rectify the inequality on 1 March 1708, Philip V issued a royal cdula ordering the
5 percent tax for the entire region. Not surprisingly, a striking increase
in gold mintage occurred after the reduction in the tax rate.9
Another major change came in the early 1750s when the tesorero
particular, Toms Prieto Salazar, lost his concession. The mint reverted
7

Barriga Villalba, 1:10608. This method of assay is described in Georgius Agricola, De re metalica, trans. Herbert C. Hoover and Lou H. Hoover (New York: Dover
Publications, 1950), 242245. See also Vannoccio Bringuccio, Pirotechnica (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1966), 136140. The Pirotechnica appeared first in 1540 and De
re metalica in 1556.
9
8
265
to royal control, a change which had already occurred in Mexico City

and Lima. A royal decree of 4 September 1752 named Lieutenant Colonel Miguel de Santisteban as the new superintendent with a salary of
3,000 pesos, half that of the superintendent of the Mexican or Lima
mints.10 Mint regulations were the same New Ordinances governing
mintage in Mexico City and Lima. One of Santistebans first tasks was
to supervise construction of the mint, assisted in this enterprise by
engineer Thoms Snchez Reziente. They also installed the new coinstamping machinery. Begun in 1753, the new edifice was completed
by 1759 at a cost of 58,863 pesos. While the new mint was being constructed, Santisteban engaged mainly in recutting coins already in circulation, transforming them into pesos cordoncillos. Like the mint in
Mexico City, the Bogot casa de moneda immediately made a profit,
12,232 pesos in its first sixty days under royal auspices.11
Santisteban remained as superintendent of the Bogot mint for
almost a quarter century, but he finally succumbed to old age and
illness in 1775. He was succeeded by Juan Martn de Sarratea y Goyeneche, who assumed the superintendents post on December 15,
1775, and remained in that office until 1797. During his tenure several
problems arose. One was a rash of illness encountered by mint assayers who suffered from inhaling acidic fumes at the casa de moneda.
Still another was the crisis over the cuartillos, the so-called money of
the people. The need for the quarter-pesos or escudos was particularly
crucial for those making small transactions in local shops and markets.
Sarrateas solution for this problem was to acquire new dies for such
coins, to stamp virtually all silver presented to the mint in coins of
this denomination, and to insure a greater supply of gold cuartillos.
In late 1796, however, Sarratea fell gravely ill and died early in 1797,
well regarded for his energy, probity, and active interest in promoting mint affairs through a difficult period, including the revolt of the
Comuneros in the early 1780s.12
The tenures of the first and second superintendents of the Bogot
mint lasted almost a quarter century each, but the terms of subsequent superintendents were much shorter. Antonio Saliquet y Negrete,
for example, succeeded Sarratea for a little more than three years
10
Barriga Villalba, Casa de Moneda, 2:10 and 26.

Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 253; Barriga Villalba, Casa de Moneda,
1:1533 and 2:1232.
12
11
266
chapter six
(17971800). When Saliquet died suddenly in 1800, he was replaced

on an interim basis by the mint accountant, Lorenzo Morales Coronel,
and then permanently by Pedro Fernndez Madrid (18011803), who
died on 24 October 1803, shortly after assuming the office. He fittingly
died in his rooms at the casa de moneda. Once again Lorenzo Morales
Coronel stepped in but this time as the mints fifth superintendent
(18041812). He retired in 1812 after forty years in various capacities
at the royal mint and also assisted the rebels in making the transformation from a royal to a national mint in the newly independent state
of Cudinamarca, which reverted to royalist control for a time in the
second decade of the nineteenth century. Not surprisingly, in view of
both the royalists and rebels need for funds, mint activities continued
during the wars of independence.13 The disruptions, however, were not
as severe as might be imagined. Between the first and second decades
of the nineteenth century, gold mintage dropped by only about onequarter. For the same period silver coinage quadrupled.
The trajectory of gold mintage at the Santa Fe casa de moneda (see
Table 62 and Figure 62)14 was generally upward, although in certain periods the pace slowed or dropped a bit and at times rose dramatically. After a small rise when Turillo became tesorero particular
in 1627, gold mintage accelerated, doubling in the next two decades
from the 1630s, but dropping again to the 1630s level in the 1660s and
1670s. A slight resurgence occurred from the 1680s until the second
decade of the eighteenth century when gold coinage began to increase
even more rapidly in a secular trend that went steadily and sometimes
rapidly upward. In the last decade of the eighteenth century and first
of the nineteenth, in fact, the mint was striking well over 12,000,000
silver pesos worth of gold, although as might be expected gold coinage
fell off during the turbulent years of 18101819 but not as severely as
silver in Mexico.
Contrasted with gold mintage, silver coinage was miniscule (see
Table 63 and Figure 63). Only in its first few decades did the Bogot
casa de moneda stamp many silver coinsfrom a high of 900,000
pesos in the 1620s down to a little over 200,000 pesos in the 1640s.
After 1670 silver coinage was virtually non-existent for the next 120
years until the 1790s when close to 90,000 pesos were minted and in
13
Barriga Villalba, 2:99202.

The mintage tables for Santa Fe de Bogot are taken from Barriga Villalba, Casa
de Moneda, I and II; and Melo, Sobre historia y poltica, 6184. See also AGI, Quito,
Legajos 565, 568, and 586; and AGI, Santa Fe, Legajos 373, 828833.
14
267
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
61
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
18
11
17
17
41
51
17
17
21
11
31
17
17
17
91
81
01
17
16
16
61
71
16
16
41
51
16
16
21
16
16
31
Year
Figure 62. New Granada Annual Gold Mintage, 16211819, in pesos
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
16
2
16 1
2
16 6
31
16
36
16
4
16 1
4
16 6
5
16 1
5
16 6
6
16 1
6
16 6
7
16 1
7
16 6
8
16 1
8
16 6
9
16 1
9
17 6
0
17 1
0
17 6
11
17
1
17 6
2
17 1
2
17 6
3
17 1
3
17 6
4
17 1
4
17 6
5
17 1
56
17
6
17 1
6
17 6
71
17
76
17
8
17 1
8
17 6
9
17 1
96
18
0
18 1
0
18 6
1
18 1
16
Year
Figure 63. New Granada Annual Silver Mintage, 16211819, in pesos
the years 1811 to 1819 when the mint stamped 179,000 pesos, many
of these the small cuartillos. From 16211819 gold minted in Bogot
amounted to 189,189 kilograms worth 123,931,224 pesos or 97 percent
of all coinage; silver coined at the Santa Fe de Bogot ceca amounted to
83,402 kilograms of silver or 3,285,684 pesos, 3 percent of all coinage
for the period. The greatest output of gold coins came in 1801 when
2,228 kilograms of gold worth 1,504,568 silver pesos were minted.
268
chapter six
For silver the peak year was 1815 when 793 kilograms of silver worth
33,150 pesos were struck.
Casa de Moneda of Popayn (17581810)
The Popayn mint had a shaky beginning.15 The Popayn cabildo initially requested royal permission to establish a mint in the city in 1725.
Philip V authorized it five years later with the stipulation that the city
fathers build it at their own expense: this abruptly ended the negotiations. A bit later, a certain Martn Arrachea asked for an appointment
as tesorero particular, backing his request by agreeing to construct the
mint at his own cost. Immediately the mint concessionaire at Santa
Fe de Bogot, Jos Prieto de Salazar, challenged the offer. He claimed
that his family had received the privilege in perpetuity of establishing
one or more mints in New Granada. After a review by the authorities,
Prieto prevailed and Arracheas offer was rejected.16
In 1748 when Pedro Agustn de Valencia made a new offer to build a
mint at his own cost, Ferdinand VI quickly accepted and made Valencia the new tesorero particular. Sadly for Valencia in May 1752, after
he had erected a building to house the mint and had put the minting
machines in place, the viceroy of New Granada suspended the concession, again because it infringed on Jos Prieto de Salazars privilege:
Prieto clearly had friends in high places. When Valencia complained
to the king, Ferdinand VI revoked the viceroys decision, and on 31
January 1758, Valencia struck his first coins. On 20 May 1763, however, the mint was closed, again because of the arguments put forward
by Jos Prieto de Salazars family. The mint had been operating five
years, three months, and twenty-nine days before it was shut down.17
When miners and officials in Quito complained about the mint shutdown, Charles IIIs cdula of 23 August 1766 ordered it reopened, and
it began functioning again on 28 February 1767. Meanwhile a debate
ensued over whether Valencia should be forced to give up his concession in order to place the mint under royal control. The issue was
finally resolved when Agustn de Valencia was made superintendent of
15
A valuable work on the colonial economy of Popayan for the early period is Daz
Lpez, Oro, sociedad y economa. For the later period see, Barona B., Maldicin de
Midas; and Melo, Historia y poltica, 6184.
16
17
269
the new royal mint in Popayn with a salary of 2,000 pesos a year for
life. The royal cdula to this effect was issued on 12 September 1770,
and by the end of January 1771, a mint under royal control began
functioning in Popayn. Some officials in Bogot argued for its closing, that one mint in Santa Fe de Bogot was enough and that paying
duplicate salaries to mint officials at Popayn was a waste of money.
Nevertheless the mint survived this new onslaught and remained in
operation until 1822, when it stamped its last pesos de bustos.18
From very modest beginnings, once it began mintage in earnest in
1771, the Popayn mint struck a considerable number of gold coins,
but virtually no silver (see Table 64 and Figure 64).19 As already
indicated Popayn was the place where gold producers or traders from
Ecuador and southern New Granada came to exchange their ingots
for gold coins, saving them a long trek to Santa Fe or Lima. From
1758 to 1810 the Popayn mint stamped gold coins worth 41,332,168
silver pesos, but silver worth only 33,074 pesos (17711784), an overwhelming ratio in favor of gold. The trends in gold mintage had a
small secular trend upward. In its first five years, from 1758 to 1762,
gold mintage averaged about 800,000 silver pesos per year but was
at its lowest point of 600,000 pesos annually in 1762, the year before
the mint closed. When it reopened, however, mintage of gold went
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
64
17
66
17
68
17
70
17
72
17
74
17
76
17
78
17
80
17
82
17
84
17
86
17
88
17
90
17
92
17
94
17
96
17
98
18
00
18
02
18
04
18
06
18
08
18
10
17
62
17
58
17
17
60
Year
Figure 64. Popayn Gold Mintage, 17581810, in pesos
18

The sources for mintage at Popayn may be found in the AGI, Quito, Legajos
562568 and 586 and Santa Fe, Legajos 830 and 832.
19
270
chapter six
up, and in 1772 was worth over 1,000,000 silver pesos. In the 1770s
gold coinage again averaged 800,000 silver pesos annually, in the next
two decades over 900,000, and in the first ten years of the nineteenth
century over 1,000,000 pesos. Popayn mint output during the turbulent period of independence is difficult to estimate, although the mint
continued to function until 1822. Barriga Villalba indicates that in this
epoch the Popayn mint made a sally into the minting of pure copper
velln coins of eight, two, and half reales.20 Whether this had the same
disastrous effect as in Mexico, Espaola, and northern New Granada
is not known; more than likely it did. From 1758 to 1810, the Popayn
mint coined 144,924 kilograms of fine gold worth 41,332,168 silver
pesos, but as indicated, silver worth only 33,074 pesos in the fourteen
years (17711784) it was struck into coin at Popayn.
The Casa de Moneda of Guatemala, 17331817

Of all Spanish colonial mints Guatemalas was the smallest. A veritable backwash of the Spanish empire in America, Central America was
an agricultural region characterized primarily by subsistence farming
with cacao as the major export crop. The area had only a few silver
mines and gold placers concentrated mostly in Honduras. Spaniards
very early mined gold in Central America in streams and rivers on the
Caribbean coast,21 and they achieved some success at silver mining in
Honduras at Agalteca near Comaygua, site of a royal treasury and a
casa de fundicin, and at San Juan, Santa Luca, Mololoa, San Lorenzo,
Guazucarn, Yuscarn, and San Marcos closer to Tegucigalpa.22 Again,
some educated estimates are possible because early silver mining
has received attention from informed observers of colonial Central
America.23 Generally production in the region was modest (see Table
66 and Figure 65). Before 1570 it was under 100,000 pesos per
decade but rose to almost 300,000 pesos in the 1580s, when a boom
20
Barriga Villalba, 2:12933.

See Chapter 2 on Caribbean gold, pp. 1014. Tierra Firme output is outlined
there.
22
See Robert C. West, Mining Economy of Honduras, 76777; and the chapter
on Honduran mining in Murdo J. MacLeod, Spanish Central America: A Socioeconomic History, 15201720 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973), 253263.
23
These include the work of Robert West noted above, particularly the graph on
page 770.
21
271
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
18
13
08
03
18
18
93
88
98
17
17
83
73
68
63
78
17
17
17
17
17
17
53
48
58
17
17
43
38
17
17
17
17
33
Year
Figure 65. Guatemala Silver Mintage, 17331817, in pesos
occurred from the 1580s through the 1610s. After that it remained low
until the opening of the eighteenth century when it rose once again to
over 300,000 pesos in the first decade and 500,000 pesos in the next.
With just a few silver mines in Central America, the pressures to
establish a mint in Guatemala were not as strong as in Upper Peru,
Mexico, Popayn, or Santiago de Chile. In fact, most of these pressures
came largely from the small merchant community which realized the
value of a reliable coinage to carry on their business.24 Moreover, the
desperate need for specie meant that coins minted in Potos and elsewhere found their way to the Isthmus of Panama on the ships of the
Armada del Sur and sold there and in Central America at inflated
prices. Unfortunately, for merchants and the general populace, the
region also became a dumping ground for falsified coins of lesser fineness and weight. This was the situation in the mid-seventeenth century:
in 1653 complaints surfaced about the circulation in Central America
of coins of the type being produced in Potos during the epoch of the
Gmez de la Rocha-Ramrez Arellano scandal. According to Jos Toribio Medina, these coins were called moclones. When the falsification
was discovered, the authorities either melted down the coins to fashion them into worked silver objects, such as goblets, plates, or jewelry,
or had them recast into bars that were properly assayed at royal treasuries or local casas de fundiciones and restamped as coins in the mint
in Mexico. One effect of all this was to drive the inhabitants of Central
America to trade in cacao beans as their major means of exchange. In
24
On the currency shortage see MacLeod, Spanish Central America, 280287.
272
chapter six
the mining areas of Honduras mine operators had to pay their workers
in silver shavings because of the shortage of coin.25
On 10 December 1714 the captain general of Guatemala, supported
by the principal religious and political leaders in Guatemala, wrote to
the king that with no source of reliable currency except from the farther reaches of Mexico or Santa Fe, the region remained impoverished
without any meaningful business activity. The remedy, he asserted, was
to establish a mint in Guatemala. He argued that of the thirteen gold
and fifteen silver mines being worked, the king was being deprived
of taxes on mine output because miners could not pay the quinto in
effective currency. Sadly for Guatemala nothing came of this request.
Three years later the president of the Audiencia of Guatemala made
a similar plea, arguing that a mint could be set up at very little expense.
It would be much less costly than the one in Mexico because fewer
employees would be needed and seignorage fees, sale of mint offices,
and mint profits could pay for construction and for the machinery
needed by a new casa de moneda. Convinced by these arguments, on
10 February 1730, Philip V ordered a ceca established in Guatemala.
When the news reached Guatemala City, the population rejoiced with
a number of religious and civic celebrations.26
Guatemalan mint proponents found an ally in Toms de Arana,
senior judge of the Audiencia of Guatemala, who offered his house
adjoining the audiencia chambers as the new site for the mint. Renovation began on Aranas house, and mintage experts arrived from
Mexico City with the proper dies and equipment. The Guatemala casa
de moneda struck its first silver coins on 19 March 1733, even though
the mint was still under construction. In fact, it was not finally finished
until May 1739, with construction costs and machinery ultimately
amounting to 28,772 pesos. The first mint superintendent was Jos
Eustaquio de Len, who had experience in the mint in Mexico City.
According to Jos Toribio Medina, from 18 March 1733 to 1 March
1734, the new mint coined 211,989 silver pesos, and sometime in 1734
its first gold coin: a one-escudo piece.27
The mint suffered some early problems with charges of mint fraud
and deliberate or accidental falsification of the weights and fineness
25
Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 281282; and MacLeod, Spanish Central

America, 283.
26
27
273
of coins struck. Still the mint provided badly needed currency to the
struggling economy of the region. In Guatemala as in Mexico, Lima,
Potos, and Bogot, the new pesos cordoncillos and then pesos de bustos
replaced the moneda macuquina, the old cobs or hammer money. For
many of these changes, mint officials received aid from experts at the
Mexican mint who made the trek southward to assist their colleagues
in Guatemala. In Guatemala as in Lima thirty years earlier the casa de
moneda received a severe blow on 29 July 1773, when an earthquake
destroyed Santiago de Guatemala (now Antigua Guatemala), the mint
included. Initially, this forced officials to move the mint machinery
and the silver being prepared for coinage to a safe site at La Hermita
just outside the ruined city. Although authorities made plans to move
the mint permanently to that location, Charles III rejected this proposal in favor of building a totally new mint in the new capital. Once
it was in place, the mint continued to function as before. The only
change was in the mint mark on the coins, a change from a G (Guatemala) to NG (Nueva Guatemala). In 1793 the mint began striking
its first quarter- and eighth-real pieces, which partially eliminated the
use of cacao beans as a means of exchange. The mint finally ended
its operation under royal auspices in January 1822, when the rebels
declared independence from Spain.
Silver and gold mintage in Guatemala had no discernible upward or
downward trends (see Tables 65 and 66 and Figures 65 and 66).28
Mint output of silver fluctuated from decade to decade. The most productive decade was the 1750s when the mint stamped over 2,000,000
silver pesos, although it never reached that level again. Overall, for
the eighty-five years silver mintage was reported for the Guatemala
mint (17331817), the mint averaged about 170,000 pesos annually. In
Potos during a similar period, it amounted to almost 4,000,000 pesos
annually, while at Popayn it was close to 800,000 pesos per year, evidence of the modest level of mint activity in Guatemala. In the epoch
from 1733 to 1817, the Guatemalan mint coined 354,190 kilograms of
silver worth 14,420,731 pesos, 96 percent of all coinage at the mint for
that period.
28
Annual mintage can be determined from a variety of mint records in AGI, Guatemala, Legajos 791795. In Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 287, is a list of gold
marks minted from 17291746.
274
chapter six
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
13
18
08
18
03
98
93
83
78
73
88
18
17
17
17
17
17
17
68
58
53
48
43
38
63
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
33
Year
Figure 66. Guatemala Gold Mintage, 17331817, in pesos
Gold mintage was inconsequential. Although a little gold was minted

after the creation of the mint to 1746, none was coined after that until
1776. In the 1780s gold worth 221,000 silver pesos was minted, and
129,000 pesos a decade later. After 1800 gold coinage fell off, and in
some years none was minted at all. In fact for the eighty-five years
from 1733 to 1817, annual gold coinage averaged a value of only 7,400
silver pesos a year, most of that between 1776 and 1800 with a banner
year in 1782 when the mint stamped 66,232 silver pesos worth of gold.
In the end between 1733 and 1817 the Guatemalan casa de moneda
struck only a meager 944 kilograms of gold worth 634,920 silver pesos,
4 percent of its total output for the epoch.
Although its output of gold and silver coins was small, the Guatemalan mint provided the agricultural and merchant communities with
a common currency, giving them new links to Spanish America and
the outside world. Existence of minted specie enabled the natives to
pay tribute in coin rather than in kind, the miners to pay royal mining
taxes in pesos, and the merchants and general population of Central
America to carry on their business transactions and to pay their taxes
in hard money rather than cacao beans.
The Casa de Moneda of Santiago de Chile, 17491820

Chile, the southernmost possession of Spain in the Indies, was the
last to get a mint. In the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the
275
populace of Santiago frequently pressed Spanish authorities to establish a mint in Chile for the same reasons as in Guatemala, Popayn,
and other areas: the need to end the use of gold nuggets or gold dust
in commercial activity; to provide hard currency to pay taxes of all
kinds such as the sales tax (alcabala), trade tax (almojarifzgo), tribute,
and mining and minting imposts (quinto and seoreage); and to insure
that merchants had a reliable, standard means of exchange that united
them commercially with the rest of the Spanish empire and the world
at large. As an inducement to the king, Chileans argued that a mint
would set up a profit-making enterprise for the royal fisc in a rich
gold-producing region. In a plea for a mint in 1668, the city council of
Santiago reported that coins were so scarce that a peso of eight reales
sold for ten reales in the city, a 25 percent mark up. Also in a region
subject to earthquakes, the city fathers argued, lack of a mint made it
difficult to rebuild or engage in new construction.29
This plea and similar requests for creation of a mint in Santiago did
nothing to move authorities in Spain, who did not respond favorably
until the mid-eighteenth century. In 1741 a well-known resident of
Santiago, Toms de Aza, was at the royal court in Spain representing the city council of Santiago. Also in Spain at the same time was
another Chilean, Francisco Garca Huidobro, who in consultation with
Aza and royal authorities offered to build a mint at his own expense
in return for designation as tesorero particular perptuo for himself
and his heirs. He also agreed to engage the necessary mintage experts
and acquire the equipment necessary for minting the new pesos cordoncillos. Moreover, when he found a skilled assayer, Garca Huidobro
agreed to pay him 1,000 pesos annually to serve in the new Santiago
mint. Philip V accepted the Chileans offer and issued a cdula on
1 October 1743, establishing a mint in Santiago under Garca Huidobros direction.30
The newly designated tesorero particular assembled his mint functionaries and the required equipment in Cdiz and set out for Buenos
Aires. Just outside Cdiz, however, the English seized his ship and
took it to Lisbon. There Garca Huidobro agreed to pay a ransom for
release of his vessel, but not on the spot. He offered instead to pay the
English 100 to 150 percent of the value of his coinage machinery on
29
30

Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 32426, 33646.
276
chapter six
the vessel for the mint he was to set up in Santiago, an amount ranging
somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 silver pesos.31 On the strength
of his promise, the English allowed Garca Huidobro to leave Lisbon
for Buenos Aires.
Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, he and his mint functionaries made
the trek across the Andes with the coinage equipment. Once in Santiago Garca Huidobro began building the mint on the Calle de Hurfanos. His construction costs amounted to 11,000 pesos. In September
1749, the new tesorero particular stamped his first coin, a half-ounce
or four-escudo piece with the bust of Ferdinand VI on it. Initially,
however, miners brought very little gold to the casa de moneda, and
very little was coined in the mints first few years of operation.
Only in 1756 and over the following next fourteen years did mintage begin in earnest under Garca Huidobros direction. On 8 August
1770, however, Charles III revoked the tesoreros concession and
placed the mint under royal control. The tesorero at least took some
solace for the loss of his concession when the king awarded him a lifetime salary equaling that of the alguacil mayor of the royal audiencia.
Jos Toribio Medina asserts that from the time the mint began in 1749
until the end of 1770, Garca Huidobro coined 77,344 gold marks,
although another estimate for the same period is 88,346 marks, which
most likely included some silver.32
The royal mint at Santiago under royal auspices began functioning on 11 March 1772, with the Conde de Conquista as its interim
superintendent. This shift to royal control also occasioned the removal
of the mint to a provisional site at the Jesuit Colegio Mximo de San
Miguel where it remained until work began on a new casa de moneda
on 30 April 1783 at the present site of the mint. Building costs this
time amounted to almost 60,000 pesos. Once it began functioning,
the mint encountered a number of problems: in the late 1780s and
early 1790s miners brought little gold to the mint for coinage because
heavy rains cut placer output; mercury was scarce; the superintendent
of the casa de moneda had to be replaced; and the mint had to borrow money from the royal treasury to provide minted coins to miners
who appeared with gold and silver bars. Still, it managed to increase
31
32
There is no evidence the English collected a single escudo of this ransom.

Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 328 and 333.
277
its output each decade, not dramatically but increase it nevertheless

despite these early problems.33
From 1749 to 1755, mint records are scanty for Santiago de Chile.
Although the mint began production in 1749, the first extant systematic
records of coinage date from 1756. Thereafter to 1820, mint accounts
or reports of gold and silver actually fashioned into coin (rendiciones)
can be established with more assurance (see Tables 67 and 68 and
Figures 67 and 68).34 From 1756 to 1820 gold mintage amounted
to over 39,000,000 silver pesos (58,782 kilograms) and silver coinage
to close to 7,400,000 pesos (179,390 kilograms), gold constituting 84
percent and silver a surprising 16 percent, surprising because in the
first two centuries after the Spanish conquest virtually no silver was
mined in Chile at all.
The general trend in gold mintage in Santiago de Chile (see Table
67 and Figure 67) between 1756 and 1820 was generally upward but
only modestly so until 1810 when the wars of independence caused a
slight drop. In the period from 1756 to 1770, coinage averaged 400,000
silver pesos annually, but in the 1770s and 1780s that average rose by
one and one-half times to almost 600,000 silver pesos per year. In the
last decade of the eighteenth century mintage of gold reached its highest
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
16
18
11
18
06
18
01
18
96
17
91
17
86
17
81
17
76
17
71
17
66
17
61
17
17
56
Year
Figure 67. Chile Gold Mintage, 17561820, in pesos

33
A chatty but exceedingly informative history of the mint in the colonial period
may be found in Vicua Mackenna, Edad del oro. On the establishment of the mint,
see 2:95112.
34
Gold and silver mintage records for Santiago de Chile for the years 17561771,
178288, and 180104 are taken from AGI, Audiencia of Chile, Legajos 374376, 381,
and 38485. For the years 17721781, 17891800, and 180520, they are from Vicua
Mackenna, Edad del oro, 1:107 and 110.
278
chapter six
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
11
18
06
18
01
18
96
17
91
17
86
17
81
17
76
17
71
17
66
17
61
17
17
56
Year
Figure 68. Chile Silver Mintage, 17561815, in pesos
point ever, almost 800,000 pesos annually, belying the assertion of Jos
Toribio Medina that the mint was languishing in this epoch. Between
1811 and 1820 gold coinage averaged a bit over 600,000 pesos a year,
the level of the 1770s and 1780s. Gold mintage also continued after
the ouster of the royalists, as the newly independent Chilean republic
carried on mint affairs much as before.35 In fact, in 1819 and 1820 gold
mintage averaged about 600,000 pesos annually.
Santiago silver mintage had a strange trajectory (see Table 68 and
Figure 68). As indicated, little or no silver was mined in Chile until
the very end of the colonial epoch. In the 1750s, for example, no silver
was reported as being mined or minted, but in 1762 the mint finally
stamped a few silver coins, averaging about 10,000 pesos a year between
1762 and 1770. That amount rose by ten times in the last two years of
the 1770s to over 100,000 pesos annually. In the 1780s it reached an
annual average of 140,000, a veritable Chilean silver boom. This rise
continued in the next decade, averaging over 200,000 pesos annually
to 1803 but dropping a bit after that. In 1810, however, it rose once
again and continued to rise until Chile became independent. In the
five years from 1811 to 1815, for example, the mint struck an average
of 300,000 pesos annually with 1815 being the most productive year of
silver coinage in colonial mint history. This was two years before the
battle of Chacabuco freed central Chile from Spanish rule.
35
An effort to compare gold mintage with estimated gold production, similar to
that done for Mexico, Lima, and Potos, reveals that mintage was usually greater than
production for the decades 17611810.
279
The Casas da Moeda of Brazil, 16941822

Colonial Brazil also had its mints (casas da moeda).36 The first was
established at Bahia in 1694. It was subsequently moved to Rio de
Janeiro in 1699 and then to Pernambuco but ultimately was returned
to Rio. In 1715 a mint was reestablished in Bahia, and eleven years
later, in 1725, one was operating in Vila Rica de Ouro Preto in Minas
Gerais, although it closed a short time later in the early 1730s. At the
beginning of the nineteenth century a royal decree ordered the transfer of the Rio casa da moeda to Vila Rica and the Bahia mint to Gois,
but the order was ultimately rescinded.37
The casas da moeda of colonial Brazil have an elusive history. Thoroughgoing studies of the mints at Rio de Janeiro and Bahia have yet to
be written. In fact, the issue of whether the first mint was established
in So Paulo in 1633 is still being debated.38 The general consensus
among informed historians, however, is that regular coinage began in
colonial Brazil in Bahia in 1694, that the mint in Rio functioned from
the opening of the eighteenth century to the end of the colonial epoch,
and the casa da moeda in Bahia continuously after 1715. For a brief
period in the late 1720s and early 1730s a mint also stamped coins
in Vila Rica in Minas Gerais. When it was shut down, it became the
residence of the governor of Minas Gerais.39
The mints of Luso-America were organized and functioned in much
the same fashion as in Spanish America, and with similar personnel.
A provedor da moeda, superintendent, or intendent served as mint
director and was responsible for all its operations. Also attached to the
casa da moeda were one treasurer (tesoureiro), two scribes (escrivo de
receite and escrivo da conferencia), two weight specialists ( juizes da
balana), two guards (guarda-livros and guarda de cunho), one foundryman ( fundidor), two assayers (ensaiadores), one treasurers assistant
36
A useful book on minting and the monetary history of colonial Brazil is Severino
Sombra, Histria monetria do Brasil colonial (Rio de Janeiro: n. p., 1938). Equally
useful but emphasizing Portuguese coinage is A. C. Teixeira de Arago, Descripo
geral e histrica das moedas cunhadas em nome dos ris, regentes e governadores de
Portugal 3 vols. (Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional, 1877).
37
Dauril Alden, Royal Government in Colonial Brazil with Special Reference to the
Administration of the Marquis of Lavradio, Viceroy 17691779 (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1968), 286.
38
Sombra, Histria monetria, 317337.
39
Alden, Colonial Brazil, 286; Boxer, Golden Age of Brazil, 29; and Sombra, Histria
monetria, 194.
280
chapter six
for gold coinage and another for silver ( fiel de ouro and fiel de prata)
who followed the mintage process from beginning to end, two engravers (abridores de cunho), one locksmith (serralheiro), one doorman
(porteiro), one bailiff (meirinho), one office boy (continuo), 104 coin
stampers (moedeiros), and one conservator (conservador) who dealt
with legal matters for the casa da moeda.40 In the Rio de Janeiro casa
in 1726 the assayer was paid 2,000 ris daily and the foundraman 1,200
ris.41 As testimony of the need to keep newly minted coins in a secure
place in Brazil, the mint locksmith (serralheiro) received 1,500 ris per
day.42 In the Lisbon mint in 1720, the provedor received a stipend of
10,000 milris; the treasurer, two scribes, and weight specialist 5,0000
milris each; the fiel for gold and silver 4,000 milris; the assayer,
engraver, smelters, doorman, office boy, striker, baliffs, guards and the
cashier for the treasurer 2,500 milris apiece.43 Total payroll for the
Lisbon mint was 81,500 milris.44
Unique to Brazilian mintage was the stamping of two types of coin:
national money or coin of the realm (moeda nacionais) and provincial money (moeda do Brasil ). National money was used in business
transactions with Portugal and for overseas remittances. Provincial
money circulated only in Brazil.45 Between 1768 and 1779 the Rio
mint coined approximately 30,300,000 milris of both types of coin.
Coin of the realm constituted 97 percent of the total for those twelve
years and provincial coin only 3 percent. Because they could circulate
virtually anywhere, moedas nacionais were clearly the preferred kind
of coinage at Brazilian mints. The discount rate in Portugal on Brazilian provincial coinage was close to 10 percent. In 1748, for example,
4,000 milris of gold minted in Brazil was worth 3,536 milris in Portugal. For silver 640 ris coined in Brazil was valued at 582 ris in the
mother country.46
40
For a full description of the duties of these various functionaries, see Teixera de
Arago, Descripo geral, 2:316333. See also Sombra, Histria monetria, 125.
41
The real (its plural is ris) was the standard unit of account for the Portuguese
monetary system. It should not be confused with the Spanish real, which in Spanish
America was 34 maraveds, or one eighth of a peso. Just as the maraved was the Spanish unit of account, the real served the same purpose for the Portuguese. The milris
was one thousand ris.
42
43
Teixeira de Arago, Descripo geral, 2:8081.
44
45
Alden, Colonial Brazil, 286.
46
281
Brazilian mints stamped a myriad of gold, silver, and copper coins.

If they conformed to the Portuguese standard, gold coins struck in
Brazilian mints from the opening of the Bahia mint in 1694 to 1822
had a fineness of twenty-two karats.47 Silver coins had a fineness of
eleven dineros. Unlike the changes in the fineness of gold ordered in
Spanish America in 1772 and 1786 and in silver in 1728, 1772, and
1786, there is no evidence that the Portuguese made such changes, a
surprising development because the less fine Spanish gold and silver
coins would have driven Brazilian currency out of circulation.
In the very early years of Brazilian mintage to 1706, gold moedas
nacionais were stamped in denominations of one-quarter moeda
(1,100 ris), one-half moeda (2,200 ris), and one-moeda pieces (4,400
ris); and later in one-moeda pieces of 4,000 ris, half-moedas of 2,000
ris, and quarter-moedas of 1,000 ris. Silver was coined as moedas
nacionais in denominations of one-half tosto of 50 ris, one tosto of
100 ris, two tostes of 200 ris, and one cruzado of 400 ris. Smaller
silver coins were struck also: one vintm of 20 ris, 2 vintns of 40 ris,
three vintns of 60 ris, four vintns of 80 ris, six vintns of 120 ris,
and twelve vintns of 240 ris. Copper coins were issued in denominations of one-and-a-half, three, five, and ten ris. For use in Brazil as
provincial money, the Rio mint initially stamped one-quarter moedas
of 1,200 ris, one-half moedas of 2,400 ris, one-moeda gold coins of
4,800 ris. It also made gold one-quarter moedas of 1,000 ris, one-half
moedas of 2,000 ris, and one-moeda gold pieces of 4,000 ris. Provincial money of silver was minted in denominations of one-quarter
pataca of 80 ris, one-half pataca of 160 ris, one pataca of 320 ris,
two patacas of 640 ris, one vintm of 20 ris, two vintns of 40 ris,
and four vintns of 80 ris.48 The silver finding its way to Brazilian
mints was probably Spanish American, smuggled out of Upper Peru to
Brazil where it was taken to the mint either in bars or in coin.
As in Spanish America, Brazilian coinage was altered over time.
Between late 1706 through July 1750, the two mints in Brazil still
coined the two types of moneyof the realm and of Brazil. Some coins
47
See the tables in Teixeira de Arago, Descripo geral, II:23744. These provide
the name of the ruling monarch, the gold or silver coins in circulation, their fineness
in quilates (karats) or dineros, value in ris, weight in grains, number of pieces struck
per mark, value of a mark of gold or silver in ris, and value in milris in 1877. Presumably, the coin of the realm stamped in Brazil met this Portuguese standard.
48
Sombra, Histria monetria, 121. Texeira de Arago, Descripo geral, 2:237244.
282
chapter six
of the realm were called doubloons (dobres): a doubloon of two escudos (1/2 pea) of 3,200 ris, another of four escudos (pea) of 6,400
ris, an eight-escudo doubloon of 12,800 ris, a dobro of 12,000 ris,
and a dobro of five moedas of 24,000 ris. Gold one-quarter moedas
of 1,200 ris, one-half moedas of 2,400 ris, and one-moeda gold coins
of 4,800 ris were also stamped, along with a half- and one-escudo
coin of 800 ris and 1,600 ris respectively. The Brazilian mints also
produced a gold cruzado, which was a one-quarter escudo piece of
400 ris; and a gold coin of 480 ris labeled the cruzado novo. Silver
appeared in vintns: one vintm of 20 ris, three vintns of 60 ris, six
vintns of 120 ris, twelve vintns of 240 ris, and a silver cruzado of
480 ris. Silver coins of a half tosto of 50 ris and one tosto of 100
ris were also stamped. Copper coins continued to be issued in the
same denominations as before: one and one-half, three, five, and 10
ris coins. Provincial money appeared in the following denominations:
gold dobres of 24,000, 12,800, 12,000, 6,400, and 3,200 ris, plus onequarter, one-half and one-escudo pieces of 400, 800, and 1,600 ris
respectively. The quarter gold escudo constituted the provincial cruzado of 400 ris. Silver in provincial coin was minted in half-, one-,
and two-pataca pieces of 160, 320, and 640 ris. Copper money in
Bahia, issued as local currency, consisted of coins of 10 ris and a
vintm of 20 ris.49
Between 1750 and late February 1777, mints in Brazil were stamping
one-quarter, one-half, and one-escudo coins valued at 400, 800, and
1,600 ris respectively. A gold cruzado in this epoch was a one-quarter
escudo worth 400 ris, and the mints also turned out dobras of two
escudos (ostensibly a replacement for the dobres) of 3,200 ris (meia
pea) and four escudos of 6,400 ris (pea).50 In this epoch silver coins
of the realm still being issued included one vintm of twenty ris, three
vintns of sixty ris, six of 120 ris, twelve of 240 ris, and a silver cruzado valued at 480 ris or 24 vintns. A tosto of 100 ris and a half
tosto of 50 ris were being stamped as well. Mints stamped copper
coins in denominations of three-, five-, and ten-ris pieces. Gold coin49

In Brazil a doubloon, either a dobro or dobra, simply meant a gold coin of different denominations. As already noted in Spanish America the doubloon (dobln)
was a coin of one ounce, worth eight escudos. In the early nineteenth century Spanish America coins of two escudos were called pistoles (pistols) and a joe if they were
from Brazil.
50
283
age for circulation in Brazil were half- and one-escudo pieces of 800
and 1,600 ris and dobras of two escudos (3,200 ris) and four escudos (6,400 ris). Quarter-, half-, and one-moeda pieces were valued at
1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 moedas. Silver provincial money appeared as
quarter, half, one, and two patacas of 160, 320, 640, and 1,280 ris, and
there were also six tostes of 600 ris, three totes of 300 ris, one and
one-half tostes of 150 ris, and a piece half of thatquarto de trs
tostes. Copper coins were in denomination of one vintm of twenty
ris and two vintns of forty, along with five- and ten-ris pieces. To
the end of the colonial epoch there was little change. A gold cruzado
remained at 400 ris and a silver cruzado at 480 ris.51
Mintage in Rio de Janeiro and Bahia was far more complex than in
Spanish America because these Luso-American casas da moeda had to
stamp a far wider variety of coins. Moreover, the necessity of minting
both coins of the realm and provincial money for use in Brazil added
to this complexity. Brazilian mints struck not only gold but also silver and copper coins. Although little or no silver was mined in LusoAmerica, silver was nevertheless abundant enough to make its coinage
possible, good evidence of the smuggling of Spanish American silver
into Brazil. In Luso-America too both silver and copper coins became
the peoples money, small-denomination coins used in every-day
transactions. Whether the existence of copper coins in Brazil caused
the same problems as in Spanish America, where they drove gold and
silver out of circulation, is not clear, but the two major mints continued to issue copper coins until the end of the colonial epoch.
As in Spanish American mints, falsification of the weight and fineness of Brazilian gold coins was common. Mint officials connived with
the provedor and assayer to certify stamped coins that did not meet
royal standards of fineness. They then kept the difference for themselves. Cases of falsification were regularly reported to royal authorities in Lisbon.52 Moreover, mintage was less carefully regulated than in
Spanish America, which made fraud more common in Brazilian casas
da moeda than in their Spanish American counterparts.
51
Sombra, Histria monetria, 233234. For coinage carried on at the end of the
eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth century, see Sombra, Histria
monetria, 259 and 285.
52
See Sombra, Histria monetria, 165, 215, 230, and 232.
284
chapter six
Accurate assessment of the gold, silver, and copper actually minted

in Brazil is difficult to ascertain. Like Spanish American mints, Brazilian casas da moeda were required to remit to Lisbon the accounts of
all coins stamped (relaes do rendimento),53 but either colonial mint
officials ignored this requirement or these records have not yet been
analyzed systematically. Fortunately, though, French historian Michel
Morineau has offered some estimates for Brazilian gold mintage for
virtually the entire eighteenth century which makes possible at least an
informed assessment based on his gold-shipment estimates taken from
the gazettes. Also useful is a systematic compilation of annual Lisbon
gold mintage from 1688 to 1797.54
The trends in Brazilian mintage and output in many ways mirror
those in Spanish America, with one exception (see Table 69 and
Figure 69): as in Potos, coinage was never greater than gold output, probably reflecting the continuing trade in gold nuggets and gold
dust. Still, gold mintage rose steadily in Brazil from about 27,000 kilograms worth 17,000,000 Spanish silver pesos in the second decade of
50,000,000
40,000,000
30,000,000
20,000,000
10,000,000
0
1701
1711
1721
1731
1741
1751
1761
1771
1781
1791
1801
Year
Figure 69. Brazil Gold Mintage, 17031800, in pesos

53
Sombra, Histria monetria, 148, 154, and 214.

Morineau, Incroyables gazettes, 144145. Morineaus estimates are for the years
1703 to 1806. His estimates for gold shipments from Brazil may be found on 135137
and 139. For Lisbon mintage 16881797 see the unpublished paper by Jorge Braga de
Macedo, Alvaro Ferreira da Silva, and Rita Martins de Sousa, War Taxes, and Gold:
The Inheritance of the Real, 3436. (Table compiled by Martins de Sousa.) These
provide the basis of Table 523 and Figures 523 and 524.
54
285
the eighteenth century to a peak of almost 71,000 kilograms valued at

45,500,000 pesos in the 1760s and then declined after that by half in
the 1770s and 1780s to a bit over 30,000 kilograms (20,600,000 pesos)
in the last decade of the eighteenth century as the gold boom in Brazil diminished. Over the the eighteenth century, mints at Rio, Bahia,
and Vila Rica minted almost 440,000 kilograms of gold worth almost
284,000,000 Spanish silver pesos. How much silver and copper was
minted simply is not known.
This brief summary of Brazilian mintage provides a number of surprising revelations. One is that Brazilian mints provided more coin in
small denominations than those of Spanish America. The myriad of
small coins of silver, gold, and copper indicate Portuguese authorities
were concerned that there be a medium of exchange that could be
used by petty marketers for small transactions. As already noted, Brazilian casas da moeda continued the stamping of small copper and silver coins until the end of the colonial epoch, coins which did not seem
to drive gold and silver out of circulation. A second surprise is that
Brazilian mints coined silver. While it is no surprise that silver from
Upper Peru found its way to Brazil, it is surprising that it was coined.
As was also true in New Granada, gold was the precious metal which
dominated in colonial Brazil, but the extent to which silver intruded
on this dominance remains a mystery.
Afterword
This overview verifies much of the conventional wisdom about colonial coinage. First, despite the abundant amounts of gold and silver
and a number of mints scattered throughout the Indies, Spanish and
Portuguese America suffered a perpetual shortage of minted coin.
Because of its desirability in other areas of America, Europe, and the
rest of the world, coins from American mints were rapidly shipped
out of the Indies. That Mexico City may have housed the largest mint
in the world made no difference. The pesos and escudos coined there
quickly left New Spain to go elsewhere. Moreover, mints everywhere,
except perhaps in Luso-America, failed to stamp enough coin to meet
the needs of the folk, of the men and women engaged in small transactions. Attempts were made in some colonial mints to remedy this
situation, but in many places it was common to use cacao beans, silver
shavings, sugar, cotton balls, and other items as a means of exchange,
286
chapter six
in addition to gold dust and gold nuggets in gold-rich areas like Brazil
and New Granada.
In Spanish America the state benefitted when it set up colonial
mints, operated under royal auspices. Earlier, in the epoch of the
concessionaires, royal authorities had sold most mint offices, many
of them for considerable sums. The money from such sales went to
the royal treasury, but these payments were miniscule compared to
the greater benefit accruing to the royal fisc when mintage became a
state enterprise. When the age of the tesoreros particulares ended and
royal mints replaced them, the casas de moneda of Spanish America
proved to be profitable for the crown everywhere, a royal monopoly
that helped fill royal coffers from seoreage and braceaje charges and
apartado in Mexico, profits that were much greater than the sums paid
earlier for mint offices. At crucial times too the state made money
from the debasement of colonial coinage by not notifying the general
public, a kind of legal falsification that lasted until people discovered
the lesser gold and silver content of their coinage. At the same time
mints provided a source of coin for the payment of taxes to the crown
in effective currency which had previously been paid in kind. Mints
established in Santiago de Guatemala and Santiago de Chile were good
examples of this benefit. Also for colonial merchants a reliable coinage
forged more solid links with the merchant communities of the Spanish
empire in America, Europe, and the world at large, with the mint in
Espaola in the sixteenth century a notable exception.
The creation of state-run mints also increased royal authority in
the Indies. By controlling coinage Spanish functionaries established a
firmer control over economic affairs. The trade in gold dust and gold
nuggets in the gold-rich areas of Spanish and Luso America led to anarchy in the commercial sector, a loss in tax revenues, and fraud by those
involved in such traffic. It was no accident that when mints were set up
in the Indies, they were located symbiotically near the seats of power
the viceregal palace in Mexico and Santa Fe de Bogot, the audiencia
chambers in Guatemala, the government offices in Chile, the cathedral in Potos, the main square (Praa do Palacio) in Bahia, the cabildo
at Popayn, and the bishops palace in Espaola. This was similar to
the location of the mint in Sevilla, which was close to the Casa de
Contratacin, the Exchange (Lonja), the Holy Office of the Inquisition, and the cathedral. The port of entry, where the fleets deposited
their New World treasure, was only a block away from the docks at the
Torre del Oro.
287
Tables
Table 61. Estimated Early New Granada Gold and Silver Production by
Decade, 15331620* (in Silver Pesos of 272 Maravedis and Kilograms of Fine
Gold and Silver).
DECADE
15331540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
TOTAL
Gold
PESOS
1,459,440
1,346,714
3,605,981
4,902,861
5,143,197
4,337,688
8,085,543
8,984,093
7,191,133
45,056,650
* See Chapter 6, footnote 2.
KGS
2,264
2,089
5,593
7,604
7,977
6,728
12,541
13,934
11,153
69,883
Silver
PESOS
58,378
53,869
144,239
196,114
205,728
173,508
323,422
359,364
287,645
1,802,266
KGS
1,492
1,377
3,687
5,013
5,259
4,435
8,267
9,186
7,353
46,068
272,408
272,408
272,408
272,408
272,408
272,408
1,768
26,928
52,224
51,680
1,767,048
2,003
2,003
2,003
2,003
2,003
2,003
13
198
384
380
12,993
5,014
4,314
2,132
3,950
4,526
3,709
5,293
2,347
2,682
1,781
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
681,904
586,704
289,952
537,200
615,536
504,424
719,848
319,192
364,752
242,216
58,340,736
PESOS
YEAR
MARKS
1,058
910
450
833
955
782
1,116
495
566
376
423
423
423
423
423
423
3
42
81
80
2,741
KGS
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
812
1,445
1,810
1,199
2,714
2,162
2,152
2,255
1,562
3,353
19,464
765
2,103
1,047
1,285
1,402
1,606
2,034
1,374
2,690
2,510
16,816
YEAR MARKS
110,432
196,520
246,160
163,064
369,104
294,032
292,672
306,680
212,432
456,008
2,647,104
104,040
286,008
142,392
174,760
190,672
218,416
276,624
186,864
365,840
341,360
2,286,976
PESOS
171
305
382
253
572
456
454
476
329
707
4,106
161
444
221
271
296
339
429
290
567
529
3,547
KGS
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
YEAR
2,112
1,559
2,775
2,912
1,534
1,537
2,198
2,883
1,661
1,713
20,884
3,043
5,407
2,728
6,929
2,943
2,609
3,668
3,274
3,021
3,758
37,380
MARKS
287,232
212,024
377,400
396,032
208,624
209,032
298,928
392,088
225,896
232,968
2,840,224
413,848
735,352
371,008
942,344
400,248
354,824
498,848
445,264
410,856
511,088
5,083,680
PESOS
445
329
585
614
324
324
464
608
350
361
4,405
642
1,141
575
1,462
621
550
774
691
637
793
7,885
KGS
Table 62. Santa Fe de Bogota Gold Mintage 16211819 (in Marks, Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds, and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
288
chapter six
489,192
121,856
495,584
736,712
472,192
330,888
392,496
433,432
493,680
184,688
4,150,720
3,597
896
3,644
5,417
3,472
2,433
2,886
3,187
3,630
1,358
30,520
3,014
2,871
3,325
2,840
3,175
2,230
3,123
2,929
4,054
7,989
35,550
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
409,904
390,456
452,200
386,240
431,800
303,280
424,728
398,344
551,344
1,086,504
4,834,800
PESOS
YEAR
MARKS
Table 62 (cont.)
636
606
701
599
670
470
659
618
855
1,685
7,499
759
189
769
1,143
732
513
609
672
766
286
6,438
KGS
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
5,492
3,860
1,225
3,040
4,580
3,548
2,317
5,351
4,835
6,381
40,629
1,652
3,394
3,753
1,655
1,188
1,313
1,402
2,196
4,686
2,225
23,464
YEAR MARKS
746,912
524,960
166,600
413,440
622,880
482,528
315,112
727,736
657,560
867,816
5,525,544
224,672
461,584
510,408
225,080
161,568
178,568
190,672
298,656
637,296
302,600
3,191,104
PESOS
1,158
814
258
641
966
748
489
1,129
1,020
1,346
8,570
348
716
792
349
251
277
296
463
988
469
4,949
KGS
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
YEAR
4,841
5,074
4,323
5,204
5,618
4,669
4,382
4,243
5,110
4,939
48,403
1,965
1,723
1,745
3,018
2,950
2,904
2,997
1,504
3,212
2,348
24,366
MARKS
658,376
690,064
587,928
707,744
764,048
634,984
595,952
577,048
694,960
671,704
6,582,808
267,240
234,328
237,320
410,448
401,200
394,944
407,592
204,544
436,832
319,328
3,313,776
PESOS
1,021
1,070
912
1,098
1,185
985
924
895
1,078
1,042
10,210
414
363
368
637
622
613
632
317
678
495
5,140
KGS

289
1,156,136
981,376
849,592
1,039,856
990,488
743,512
1,019,728
729,912
1,013,608
1,013,608
9,537,816
8,501
7,216
6,247
7,646
7,283
5,467
7,498
5,367
7,453
7,453
70,131
3,617
6,313
5,566
5,152
3,737
4,254
4,976
5,098
5,840
5,222
49,775
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
491,912
858,568
756,976
700,672
508,232
578,544
676,736
693,328
794,240
710,192
6,769,400
PESOS
YEAR
MARKS
Table 62 (cont.)
763
1,332
1,154
1,068
775
882
1,032
1,057
1,211
1,083
10,356
1,793
1,522
1,318
1,613
1,536
1,153
1,582
1,132
1,572
1,572
14,793
KGS
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
4,105
7,571
10,261
5,472
7,018
5,644
7,214
6,620
7,140
7,343
68,388
7,453
7,453
10,044
7,048
8,425
7,553
6,784
4,676
3,438
3,089
65,963
YEAR MARKS
KGS
558,280
851
1,029,656 1,570
1,395,496 2,128
744,192 1,135
954,448 1,455
767,584 1,170
981,104 1,453
900,320 1,333
971,040 1,438
998,648 1,478
9,300,768 14,010
1,013,608 1,572
1,013,608 1,572
1,365,984 2,119
958,528 1,487
1,145,800 1,777
1,027,208 1,593
922,624 1,431
635,936
986
467,568
725
420,104
652
8,970,968 13,914
PESOS
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
YEAR
8,318
8,158
8,659
7,307
9,310
7,909
10,562
10,912
10,662
10,506
92,303
3,527
4,366
5,769
11,534
6,444
7,966
4,501
3,495
2,896
2,730
53,228
MARKS
1,131,248
1,109,488
1,177,624
993,752
1,266,160
1,075,624
1,436,432
1,484,032
1,450,032
1,428,816
12,553,208
479,672
593,776
784,584
1,568,624
876,384
1,083,376
612,136
475,320
393,856
371,280
7,239,008
PESOS
1,675
1,643
1,743
1,471
1,875
1,592
2,127
2,197
2,147
2,115
18,585
744
921
1,217
2,433
1,359
1,680
949
737
611
576
11,228
KGS
290
chapter six
2,228
1,834
1,643
1,885
2,167
2,157
2,207
1,643
1,815
1,643
19,222
KGS
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
8,109
6,261
10,212
8,561
8,560
6,608
8,060
6,759
6,658
69,788
YEAR MARKS
KGS
1,102,824 1,633
851,496 1,261
1,388,832 2,056
1,164,296 1,724
1,164,160 1,724
898,688 1,331
1,096,160 1,623
919,224 1,361
905,488 1,341
9,491,168 14,052
PESOS
TOTAL
YEAR
911,259
MARKS
123,931,224
PESOS
189,189
KGS
MARKS
10035
10035
10035
10035
10035
10035
3096
22766
YEAR
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
85,298
85,298
85,298
85,298
85,298
85,298
26,316
193,511
PESOS
2,180
2,180
2,180
2,180
2,180
2,180
673
4,946
KGS
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
YEAR
10295
7379
4706
4108
1282
1003
380
11367
MARKS
87,508
62,722
40,001
34,918
10,897
8,526
3,230
96,620
PESOS
2,237
1,603
1,022
893
279
218
83
2,470
KGS
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
YEAR
1368
1224
3798
0
0
5567
1550
5400
MARKS
11,628
10,404
32,283
0
0
47,320
13,175
45,900
PESOS
297
266
825
0
0
1,210
337
1,173
KGS
Table 63. Bogota Silver Mintage 16211819 (in Marks, Silver Pesos of 272 Maravedis and Kilograms of Fine Silver).
* Barriga Villalba, Casa de Moneda, I, 62, 9497, 109, 121, 132; II, 3233, 4849, 167168, 170.
1,504,568
1,239,096
1,109,760
1,273,096
1,463,768
1,456,968
1,490,968
1,109,760
1,225,632
1,109,760
12,983,376
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
11,063
9,111
8,160
9,361
10,763
10,713
10,963
8,160
9,012
8,160
95,466
PESOS
YEAR
MARKS
Table 62 (cont.)

291
MARKS
11670
8686
106428
8076
3744
3330
21933
7615
2051
3730
2918
1632
7170
62199
0
0
1030
1196
0
0
1476
507
0
2713
6922
YEAR
1629
1630
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
Table 63 (cont.)
0
0
8,755
10,166
0
0
12,546
4,310
0
23,061
58,837
68,646
31,824
28,305
186,431
64,728
17,434
31,705
24,803
13,872
60,945
528,692
99,195
73,831
904,638
PESOS
0
0
224
260
0
0
321
110
0
589
1,504
1,755
813
724
4,765
1,654
446
810
634
355
1,558
13,514
2,536
1,887
23,123
KGS
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
1639
1640
YEAR
98
675
692
582
127
0
1364
4557
1503
2240
11838
7170
7170
7170
7170
2512
1820
9409
3954
2804
1902
51081
770
1042
42332
MARKS
833
5,738
5,882
4,947
1,080
0
11,594
38,735
12,776
19,040
100,623
60,945
60,945
60,945
60,945
21,352
15,470
79,977
33,609
23,834
16,167
434,189
6,545
8,857
359,822
PESOS
21
147
150
126
28
0
296
990
327
487
2,572
1,558
1,558
1,558
1,558
546
395
2,044
859
609
413
11,098
167
226
9,197
KGS
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
1649
1650
YEAR
0
1332
1711
554
1013
0
517
211
0
0
5338
1902
1902
1902
1009
0
0
0
0
0
2516
9231
4420
1775
25102
MARKS
0
11,322
14,544
4,709
8,611
0
4,395
1,794
0
0
45,373
16,167
16,167
16,167
8,577
0
0
0
0
0
21,386
78,464
37,570
15,088
213,367
PESOS
0
289
372
120
220
0
112
46
0
0
1,160
413
413
413
219
0
0
0
0
0
547
2,006
960
386
5,454
KGS
292
chapter six
0
0
0
0
0
137
0
0
0
0
137
0
1477
390
390
390
390
390
390
0
0
3817
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
MARKS
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
YEAR
Table 63 (cont.)
0
12,555
3,315
3,315
3,315
3,315
3,315
3,315
0
0
32,445
0
0
0
0
0
1,165
0
0
0
0
1,165
PESOS
0
311
82
82
82
82
82
82
0
0
805
0
0
0
0
0
30
0
0
0
0
30
KGS
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
YEAR
0
0
0
0
228
541
0
1339
617
2009
4734
0
786
447
395
1234
56
2170
447
0
0
5535
MARKS
0
0
0
0
1,938
4,599
0
11,382
5,245
17,077
40,239
0
6,681
3,800
3,358
10,489
476
18,445
3,800
0
0
47,048
PESOS
0
0
0
0
48
114
0
282
130
424
998
0
171
97
86
268
12
471
97
0
0
1,203
KGS
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
YEAR
269
638
61
81
242
356
685
167
965
299
3763
371
125
140
93
0
74
111
0
126
0
1040
MARKS
2,287
5,423
519
689
2,057
3,026
5,823
1,420
8,203
2,542
31,986
3,154
1,063
1,190
791
0
629
944
0
1,071
0
8,840
PESOS
57
135
13
17
51
75
144
35
203
63
794
78
26
30
20
0
16
23
0
27
0
219
KGS

293
MARKS
1173
2873
662
830
431
323
200
252
235
428
7407
1000
1300
550
450
150
350
0
550
150
1000
5500
YEAR
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
Table 63 (cont.)
8,500
11,050
4,675
3,825
1,275
2,975
0
4,675
1,275
8,500
46,750
10,642
26,988
11,254
13,209
3,664
2,746
1,700
2,142
1,998
3,638
77,979
PESOS
206
268
113
93
31
72
0
113
31
206
1,133
264
670
275
323
90
67
42
52
49
89
1,919
KGS
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
YEAR
1150
2300
0
2450
3900
3850
950
3250
3200
21050
343
227
451
776
125
120
363
221
92
162
2880
MARKS
9,775
19,550
0
20,825
33,150
32,725
8,075
27,625
27,200
178,925
2,916
1,930
5,848
8,611
1,063
1,020
3,086
1,879
782
1,377
28,509
PESOS
237
474
0
505
804
793
196
670
659
4,338
71
47
143
210
26
25
75
46
19
33
695
KGS
TOTAL
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
YEAR
59,368
248
1134
525
1060
500
2200
500
1350
1700
1000
10217
MARKS
3,318,757
2,108
9,639
4,463
9,010
4,250
32,725
4,250
11,475
14,450
8,500
100,870
PESOS
84,208
51
234
108
218
103
793
103
278
350
206
2,446
KGS
294
chapter six
MARKS
6,690
5,432
6,103
18,225
6,131
4,379
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10,510
6,607
7,426
7,426
7,426
8,204
7,909
6,456
6,973
6,887
6,925
72,239
YEAR
1758
1759
1760
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
898,552
1,009,936
1,009,936
1,009,936
1,115,744
1,075,624
878,016
948,328
936,632
941,800
9,824,504
833,816
595,544
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1,429,360
909,840
738,752
830,008
2,478,600
PESOS
1,330
1,495
1,495
1,495
1,652
1,592
1,300
1,404
1,387
1,394
14,545
1,293
924
924
924
844
844
844
844
844
991
9,274
1,411
1,146
1,287
3,844
KGS
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
YEAR
7,194
7,194
6,537
8,162
9,921
7,142
7,197
9,921
6,834
5,949
76,051
5,087
7,481
5,202
5,664
5,279
7,028
6,448
5,828
5,967
5,242
59,226
MARKS
978,384
978,384
889,032
1,110,032
1,349,256
971,312
978,792
1,349,256
929,424
809,064
10,342,936
691,832
1,017,416
707,472
770,304
717,944
955,808
876,928
792,608
811,512
712,912
8,054,736
PESOS
1,448
1,448
1,316
1,643
1,998
1,438
1,449
1,998
1,376
1,198
15,313
1,073
1,578
1,079
1,174
1,095
1,457
1,337
1,208
1,237
1,087
12,325
KGS
TOTAL
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
YEAR
303,903
6,150
6,848
6,699
6,699
6,424
6,423
7,125
7,124
6,212
7,958
67,662
MARKS
41,332,168
836,400
931,328
911,064
911,064
873,664
873,528
969,000
968,864
844,832
1,082,288
9,202,032
PESOS
144,924
1,275
1,420
1,389
1,389
1,332
1,332
1,435
1,434
1,251
1,602
13,859
KGS
Table 64. Popayan Gold Mintage 17581810 (in Marks, Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds, and Kilograms of Fine Gold).

295
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1,650
0
0
0
0
1,650
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
MARKS
1758
1759
1760
YEAR
0
0
0
0
0
14,025
0
0
0
0
14,025
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
PESOS
0
0
0
0
0
340
0
0
0
0
340
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
KILOS
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
YEAR
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
79
302
662
724
0
0
0
0
0
0
1,767
MARKS
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
672
2,567
5,627
6,154
0
0
0
0
0
0
15,020
PESOS
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
17
64
137
150
0
0
0
0
0
0
368
KILOS
TOTAL
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
YEAR
3,891
0
0
237
237
0
0
0
0
0
0
474
MARKS
33,074
0
0
2,014
2,014
0
0
0
0
0
0
4,029
PESOS
807
0
0
49
49
0
0
0
0
0
0
98
KILOS
Table 65. Popayan Annual Silver Mintage 17581810 (in Marks, Pesos of 272 Maraveds, and Kilograms of Fine Silver).
296
chapter six
MARKS
11,661
5,918
11,306
29,037
33,369
32,757
40,292
24,445
188,785
25,320
35,498
23,047
25,292
30,720
19,575
19,575
26,820
21,910
17,251
245,008
17,292
17,292
YEAR
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
1771
1772
146,982
146,982
215,217
301,734
195,900
214,984
261,117
166,388
166,388
227,970
186,235
146,634
2,082,566
99,117
50,300
96,100
246,817
283,634
278,434
342,484
207,784
1,604,670
PESOS
3,646
3,646
5,339
7,486
4,860
5,334
6,478
4,128
4,128
5,656
4,620
3,638
51,666
2,459
1,248
2,384
6,123
7,037
6,908
8,497
5,155
39,810
KGS
1781
1782
17,942
19,445
20,163
23,656
22,131
22,151
23,647
19,678
14,674
21,875
18,152
17,292
203,419
25,084
13,075
34,833
21,078
9,853
16,877
28,437
9,859
24,078
20,941
204,116
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
MARKS
YEAR
152,507
165,283
171,386
201,076
188,114
188,284
201,000
167,263
124,729
185,938
154,292
146,982
1,729,062
213,217
111,134
296,084
179,167
83,750
143,450
241,717
83,800
204,667
178,000
1,734,987
PESOS
3,726
4,038
4,252
4,988
4,667
4,671
4,987
4,150
3,094
4,613
3,828
3,646
42,896
5,290
2,757
7,346
4,445
2,078
3,559
5,997
2,079
5,078
4,416
43,043
KGS
Table 66. Guatemalan Silver Mintage 17331817 (in Marks, Pesos of 272 Maraveds, and Kilograms of Fine Silver).

297
MARKS
16,432
16,432
15,900
15,368
21,999
14,963
14,963
17,942
168,583
44,869
12,706
12,706
20,039
20,039
21,301
27,352
19,913
15,830
19,940
214,695
24,382
12,130
12,130
YEAR
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1811
1812
1813
Table 66 (cont.)
207,247
103,105
103,105
381,387
108,001
108,001
170,332
170,332
181,059
232,492
169,261
134,555
169,490
1,824,908
139,672
139,672
135,150
130,628
186,992
127,186
127,186
152,507
1,432,956
PESOS
5,025
2,500
2,500
9,247
2,618
2,618
4,130
4,130
4,390
5,637
4,104
3,262
4,109
44,245
3,413
3,413
3,302
3,192
4,569
3,108
3,108
3,726
35,122
KGS
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
YEAR
19,940
9,159
9,159
18,109
18,109
14,944
14,944
16,364
16,364
24,382
161,474
18,960
11,658
11,658
11,944
14,943
2,288
21,154
44,869
174,861
MARKS
169,490
77,852
77,852
153,927
153,927
127,024
127,024
139,094
139,094
207,247
1,372,529
161,160
99,093
99,093
101,524
127,016
19,448
179,809
381,387
1,486,319
PESOS
4,109
1,888
1,888
3,732
3,732
3,080
3,080
3,372
3,372
5,025
33,277
3,938
2,421
2,421
2,481
3,079
472
4,359
9,247
36,182
KGS
298
chapter six
26,413
19,406
20,187
20,968
135,616
1814
1815
1816
1817
224,511
164,951
171,590
178,228
1,152,736
PESOS
5,443
3,999
4,160
4,321
27,948
KGS
TOTAL
YEAR
1,696,557
MARKS
14,420,731
PESOS
354,190
KGS
MARKS
0
0
0
0
0
0
173
164
337
0
0
0
YEAR
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
1761
1762
1763
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
23,528
22,304
45,832
PESOS
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
KGS
0
0
0
75
0
182
5
332
0
0
0
0
0
594
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1771
1772
1773
MARKS
YEAR
0
0
0
10,200
0
24,752
680
45,152
0
0
0
0
0
80,784
PESOS
0
0
0
36
35
16
0
38
1
70
0
0
0
196
KGS
1781
1782
1783
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
YEAR
108
487
128
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
MARKS
14,688
66,232
17,408
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
PESOS
29
22
22
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
KGS
Table 67. Guatemalan Gold Mintage 17331817 (in Marks, Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds, and Kilograms Of Fine Gold).
MARKS
YEAR
Table 66 (cont.)

299
110
139
140
51
52
75
232
59
93
0
951
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
14,960
18,904
19,040
6,936
7,072
10,200
31,552
8,024
12,648
0
129,336
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
PESOS
* For sources, see Table 66.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
MARKS
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
YEAR
Table 67 (cont.)
35
22
22
28
28
10
10
15
47
12
229
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
KGS
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
YEAR
149
0
0
31
31
62
0
44
44
0
361
0
0
111
112
142
142
108
615
MARKS
20,264
0
0
4,216
4,216
8,432
0
5,984
5,984
0
49,096
0
0
15,096
15,232
19,312
19,312
14,688
83,640
PESOS
19
0
30
0
0
6
6
12
0
9
83
0
0
0
0
23
23
29
76
KGS
0
57
56
0
0
0
0
113
4,595
TOTAL
85
85
97
180
173
172
109
1,624
MARKS
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
YEAR
624,920
0
7,752
7,616
0
0
0
0
15,368
11,560
11,560
13,192
24,480
23,528
23,392
14,824
220,864
PESOS
944
9
0
0
11
11
0
0
32
101
27
18
18
20
36
35
328
KGS
300
chapter six
301
Table 68. Santiago de Chile Gold Mintage 17561820 (in Marks, Silver
Pesos of 272 Maraveds, and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
YEAR
MARKS
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
MARKS
PESOS
KGS
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
2,324
3,501
975
2,841
4,069
13,710
316,064
476,136
132,600
386,376
553,384
1,864,560
490
738
206
599
858
2,892
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
3,004
3,004
3,004
3,131
3,131
3,131
3,131
3,259
3,612
3,226
31,633
408,544
408,544
408,544
425,816
425,816
425,816
425,816
443,224
491,232
438,736
4,302,088
634
634
634
660
660
660
660
687
762
680
6,673
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
3,226
3,226
3,226
3,226
4,774
4,774
5,191
5,191
5,299
5,299
43,432
438,736
438,736
438,736
438,736
649,264
649,264
705,976
705,976
720,664
720,664
5,906,752
680
680
669
669
990
990
1,076
1,076
1,099
1,099
9,029
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
5,015
5,015
4,320
4,320
3,144
3,144
4,840
4,840
5,160
5,160
44,958
682,040
682,040
587,520
587,520
427,584
427,584
658,240
658,240
701,760
701,760
6,114,288
1,040
1,040
896
896
652
652
975
975
1,039
1,039
9,202
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
5,512
5,512
5,279
5,279
6,159
6,159
5,972
5,972
5,835
5,835
57,514
749,632
749,632
717,944
717,944
837,624
837,624
812,192
812,192
793,560
793,560
7,821,904
1,110
1,110
1,063
1,063
1,240
1,240
1,202
1,202
1,175
1,175
11,580
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
5,279
5,279
4,718
4,718
4,969
4,969
4,634
4,634
3,705
0
42,905
717,944
717,944
641,648
641,648
675,784
675,784
630,224
630,224
503,880
363,564
6,198,644
1,063
1,063
950
950
1,000
1,000
933
933
746
538
9,177
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
5,230
5,631
4,574
3,455
4,778
4,719
4,398
3,702
4,603
4,290
45,380
287,639
711,280
765,816
622,064
469,880
649,808
641,784
598,128
503,472
626,008
583,440
6,171,680
39,118,904
1,053
1,134
921
696
962
950
886
745
927
864
9,138
58,782
TOTAL
* Both gold and silver mintage for Santiago de Chile for the years 17561771, 17821788, and
18011804 have been taken from AGI, Chile, Legajos 174176, 381, and 384185. For the
other years they are from Benjamn Vicua Mackenna, La edad del oro, 107, 110. The years
17641767, and 18101813 are averages.
302
chapter six
Table 69. Santiago de Chile Silver Mintage 17561815 (in Marks, Pesos of 272 Maraveds, and Kilograms of Fine Silver).
YEAR
MARKS
PESOS
KGS
YEAR
MARKS
PESOS
KGS
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
0
972
972
1,570
1,570
1,570
1,570
2,167
1,833
1,231
13,455
0
8,262
8,262
13,345
13,345
13,345
13,345
18,420
15,581
10,464
114,368
0
205
205
331
331
331
331
457
387
260
2,837
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
628
1,281
1,282
1,282
2,955
2,955
9,021
9,021
12,931
12,931
54,287
5,338
10,889
10,897
10,897
25,118
25,118
76,679
76,679
109,914
109,914
461,440
132
270
266
266
614
614
1,873
1,873
2,686
2,686
11,280
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
12,432
12,432
15,409
15,409
6,328
6,328
24,337
24,337
25,708
25,708
168,428
105,672
105,672
130,977
130,977
53,788
53,788
206,865
206,865
218,518
218,518
1,431,638
2,582
2,582
3,200
3,200
1,314
1,304
5,015
5,015
5,298
5,298
34,809
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
22,603
22,603
27,030
27,030
28,619
28,619
25,282
25,282
23,700
23,700
254,468
192,126
192,126
229,755
229,755
243,262
243,262
214,897
214,897
201,450
201,450
2,162,978
4,658
4,658
5,570
5,570
5,898
5,898
5,210
5,210
4,884
4,884
52,441
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
23,598
23,598
16,224
16,224
21,595
21,595
12,915
12,915
15,762
30,203
194,629
200,583
200,583
137,904
137,904
183,558
183,558
109,778
109,778
133,977
256,726
1,654,347
4,863
4,863
3,343
3,343
4,450
4,450
2,662
2,662
3,248
6,224
40,110
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
30,203
30,203
30,203
44,644
48,421
183,674
256,726
256,726
256,726
379,474
411,579
1,561,229
6,224
6,224
6,224
9,200
9,979
37,852
TOTAL
868,941
7,385,999
179,330
* 17641767, 18101813 are averages. See Table 68 for sources.
303
Table 610. Brazilian Mintage Estimates by Decade 17031806 (in Spanish

Silver Pesos of 272 Maraveds and Kilograms of Fine Gold).
DECADE
17031710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18001806
TOTAL
RIO DE JANEIRO
PESOS
KGS
5,399,531
17,244,725
28,574,544
39,065,693
37,375,186
41,888,034
45,575,725
23,506,527
24,771,900
20,587,518
6,001,770
289,991,155
8,375
26,747
44,319
60,591
57,969
64,968
70,688
35,838
37,767
30,480
8,886
446,627
Michel Morineau, Gazettes et mtaux, pp. 144145.
VILA RICA
PESOS
KGS
14,940,709
11,879,038
6,517,085
2,664,097
2,636,563
1,382,819
40,020,310
23,173
18,424
9,936
4,062
3,903
2,047
61,546
CHAPTER SEVEN
CONCLUSION
Precious metals from the Indies literally found their way to the ends
of the earth, but this book does not deal with global dispersion of New
World gold and silver. Even though the major portion of American
bullion exports went first to Sevilla (and after 1717 to Cdiz), much of
the treasure was subsequently shipped to other destinations.1 Ships of
the Dutch East India Company, for example, carried American silver
around the Cape of Good Hope to India and the Dutch East Indies.
There they traded American bullion for tea, jade, damask, spices, and
other commodities. British, French, and Flemish vessels plied the
North Sea to the Baltic to Russia where American ingots and pesos
were exchanged for furs and lumber. Genoese and Venetian traders
carried gold and silver from Sevilla and Cdiz to the eastern end of
the Mediterranean.2 Some of this wealth remained in Turkey where it
purchased luxury goods; the rest was shipped farther east to India and
beyond. In addition, precious metals of the New World made their
way westward to the Far East on the Manila galleons wending their
way from Acapulco to the Philippines, a major entrept for silver and
the oriental luxury goods for the mining barons of Mexico. Adventurous Peruvian sea captains (peruleros) did the same for the miners and
silver producers in the southern hemisphere.
The quantity and ultimate destination of gold and silver exported
from the New World has become a much debated issue, particularly
with the publication in 1985 of the book by the French economic historian Michel Morineau, Incroyables gazettes et faubleaux mtaux. Based
on European commercial newsletters or gazettes of the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, Morineaus book put forward new estimates
1
On European world trade patterns and American bullion, see Attman, American
Bullion.
2
An excellent description of how this trade operated can be found in the volumes
by Stanley J. Stein and Barbara H. Stein, Silver, Trade and War: Spain and America
in the Making of Early Modern Europe (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,
2000); and Apogee of Empire: Spain and New Spain in the Age of Charles III, 1759
1789 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003).
306
chapter seven
of exportation of American treasure to Europe. His work challenged

long-standing conventional wisdom on this issue and sought to disprove historians assumption that the import of American bullion
caused European inflation.
Earlier in the twentieth century, a number of scholars made serious efforts to document bullion exports from the Indies (see Table
71). In the early 1930s, for example, Earl J. Hamilton published his
groundbreaking work, American Treasure and the Price Revolution in
Spain, 15011650. He relied on the documents of the Contratacin
(trade) section of the Archive of the Indies in Seville for his shipment
data and on hospital records throughout Spain for price information,
a process that took Hamilton and his wife 30,750 hours with another
12,500 hours contributed by assistants. As mentioned in Chapter 1,
his original intent was to disprove the quantity theory of money by
analyzing the effect of the influx of American treasure on prices in
Spain. The theory held that imports of gold and silver should lead
to higher prices, a view that Hamilton resisted. In the end, however,
his research seemed to show that inflation beset Spain along with the
arrival of American bullion, and he became a proponent of the quantity theory.
For historians of the New World, one of Hamiltons major contributions was authentication of the flow of treasure from the Indies to
Spain 15011660. Hamilton meticulously documented the cargoes of
precious metals officially carried to Spain on the galleons (galeones)
from Peru via Tierra Firme (Panama) and the fleets (flotas) from New
Spain (Mexico). The Contratacin accounts typically listed the quantity of bullion on each ship in maraveds, both on royal3 and private
account (particulares). He ended his analysis in 1660 for good reason. Accounting methods for remissions changed markedly, and he
believed the later ledgers could not be used safely along with the pre1660 accounts.
Following World War II, the research on bullion exports continued. French historians Pierre Chaunu and Huguette Chaunu undertook the monumental task of documenting all the ships making their
3
The sums remitted were from surpluses generated by the royal treasuries in the
Indies (real hacienda) and those revenues reserved for the crown only (ramos remisibles), such as income from stamped legal paper (papel sellado), sales of indulgences
(bulas de santa cruzada), the wealth of those dying intestate (bienes de difuntos) and
the sale of offices (oficios vendibles y renunciables).
conclusion
307
way between Spain and the Indiescommanders, port and dates of

departure and arrival, size of the vessels, and cargoes. They also compiled data on shipments of gold, silver, and mercury. Like Hamilton
they carried on their research in the Contratacin and Contadura
(accounting) sections of the Archive of the Indies. For the early period
to 1660, surprisingly, their findings on bullion shipments to Spain did
not agree with those of Hamilton. (Table 72 documents the shipments from Peru and Mexico to Castile for the epoch from 1584 to
1650 generated by the Chaunus.)
As already pointed out, Hamiltons data on gold and silver remissions ended in 1660, leaving a gap in the data until the end of the
colonial epoch. Into this breach stepped two Spanish historians from
Sevilla, Lutgardo Garca Fuentes for the last half of the seventeenth
century and Antonio Garca-Baquero for the years from 1717 to 1778.
Garca Fuentes put forward quantitative data on Spanish colonial
trade with America based on research in the Contratacin, Consulado, Contadura, Indiferente General, and Juzgado de Arribadas sections of the Archive of the Indies.4 His task was more difficult than
Hamiltons because in some cases he had to document the voyages
of lone ships (sueltos or azogues) which began sailing to and from the
Indies in addition to the long-standing convoys of flotas from New
Spain and galeones from Tierra Firme. On balance this work constitutes a well-documented picture from Spanish records of official commerce between Spain and America for the last half of the seventeenth
century.
Emulating the Chaunus but focusing on the eighteenth century,
Garca-Baquero documented the ships coming and going between
Castile and the Indies.5 He ended his analysis when the era of Spanish
imperial free trade began in 1778. Like Lutgardo Garca he had to cope
with the increasing numbers of single ships (registros) going to and
from the Indies and could not, like Hamilton and the Chaunus, deal
solely with the flotas and galeones. In fact the last convoy of galleons
left Panama in 1739 and the last fleet departed Veracruz in 1778. By
4
Garca Fuentes, El comercio espaol con Amrica, 16501700 (Sevilla: Escuela de
Estudios Hispano-Americanos, 1980).
5
Antonio Garca Baquero, Cdiz y el Atlntico (17171778): el comercio colonial
espaol bajo el monopolio gaditano 2 vols. (Sevilla: Escuela de Estudios HispanoAmericanos, C. S. I. C., 1976).
308
chapter seven
these dates the sueltos and registros had gradually replaced the convoy
system.
For the remainder of the colonial period through independence,
English historian John R. Fisher provided benchmarks on bullion
shipments, although in somewhat less detail than his predecessors.
In two books he followed the course of treasure shipments to Cdiz,
Barcelona, and other Spanish ports opened to the Indies trade in 1778.
Fisher also examined commercial patterns in the Indies trade during
the Napoleonic wars and wars of independence in Spanish America.6
What characterized the work of all these analystsHamilton, the
Chaunus, Garca, Garca-Baquero, and Fisheris that they relied
exclusively on Spanish sources, particularly the records of the House
of Trade set up in 1503 to regulate all matters relating to commerce
with the Indies. This obviously presents the historian with the question of how accurate those records are. Regarding the late Habsburg
period, Stanley Stein and Barbara Stein write:
Nothing exemplifies better the incapacity, even the outright complicity
of the seventeenth-century Spanish state apparatus as well as the ingenuity and rapacity of Spanish mine owners, merchants, bureaucrats,
religious and naval personnel, and merchant vessel operators than the
massive, indeed extraordinary hemorrhage of silver bullion and coin
past the states mechanisms of surveillance.7
The Steins estimate that during the second half of the seventeenth
century, half of the silver arriving in Spain was unregistered and thus
smuggled.8
For the Spanish bureaucracy, there had to have been massive collusion by officials both in Spain and the Indies from the time the gold
and silver was placed on board the treasure vessels until they arrived at
the House of Trade in Sevilla or Cdizcollusion of viceregal officials
in Lima and Mexico City, of port officials at Callao and Veracruz, of
sea captains transporting treasure back to Castile, and of officials who
supervised and checked the bullion upon arrival in Spain. That there
6
John R. Fisher, Commercial Relations between Spain and Spanish America in the
Era of Free Trade, 17781796 (Liverpool: Centre for Latin American Studies, University of Liverpool, 1985); and El comercio entre Espaa e Hispanoamrica, 17971820
(Madrid: Banco de Espaa, 1993). Barcelona and Cdiz were the principal recipients
of American gold and silver.
7
Stein and Stein, Silver, Trade, and War, 23.
8
Stein and Stein, Silver, Trade, and War, 92.
conclusion
309
was fraud, cheating, and misreporting cannot be denied, but at the

same time there were always those earnest royal officials anxious to
expose the cheaters and thereby attain a higher post for themselves in
so doing.
During the late Habsburg period, Spain was in clear decline in
Europe and its control over the colonies seems to have waned also.
Its reign over the Andes was so tenuous by the time Charles II died
in 1700 that fiscal officials in Spain had little information about the
state of the Peruvian economy or the viceroyaltys finances.9 Yet the
final decades of Habsburg rule were probably an anomaly, and Spains
fiscal control was likely stronger before that period and during the
eighteenth-century when the Bourbon government managed to reassert control once again.
Controversy over the amount of fraud in Spanish governmental
reporting led historians to search for non-official sources that could
illuminate the volume of the bullion flowing into Europe from the
Americas. This was Morineaus great innovation: his Incroyables
gazettes et fabuleaux mtaux tapped other sources to challenge the
data generated by the Spanish bureaucracy. Morineau studied the commercial newsletters or gazettes circulating throughout Western Europe
concerning exchange rates, commodity prices, arrivals and departures
of vessels at various European ports, cargoes and other commercial
data of great benefit to the ever-growing number of trading companies and commercial agents.10 Dutch gazettes yielded rich data, and he
consulted French and German publications as well.11 In compiling his
data, Morineau scrupulously recorded reports in the gazettes concerning gold and silver shipments from the Indies arriving on the treasure
fleets in Sevilla before 1717 and in Cdiz after that. He found that
bullion shipments were much larger in the late seventeenth century
than previously believed. According to the quantity theory of money,
Brown, Crisis financiera, 350.

On this type of publication, see John J. McCusker and Cora Gravesteijn, The
Beginnings of Commercial and Financial Journalism: The Commodity Price Currents,
Exchange Rate Currents and Money Currents of Early Modern Europe (Amsterdam:
NEHA, 1991); and John J. McCusker, European Bills of Entry and Marine Lists: Early
Commerical Publications and the Origins of the Business Press (Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Library, 1985).
11
Morineau, Incroyable gazettes et fabuleaux mtaux, 656660, contains a list of
the gazettes which the author consulted. (I have personally consulted the gazettes in
the Dutch archives as well.)
10
310
chapter seven
such large bullion imports should have caused but apparently did not
produce inflation in the late 1600s. Indeed, Morineau had undertaken
his research largely to challenge the widely held belief in the quantity
theory.
Of course, just as there were questions regarding the accuracy of
data found in official records, historians also raised questions about
the gazettes. Particularly crucial was the question of who provided the
shipment data to the editors of the gazettes. Were the informants reliable? Did they get their information on bullion deliveries by personal
inspection and/or insider knowledge? John Lynch indicates that the
Morineau figures coincide with the reports of British consular officials at Spanish ports, but were these consular officials the same ones
providing the data to the gazettes? Surely the arrival of treasure ships
generated a great deal of speculation and many rumors on how much
they carried.
Table 71 has been included to highlight the differences between the
data in the gazettes and the estimates drawn from the Spanish ledgers.
Clearly the amounts of precious metals that Morineau found listed
in the gazettes are far greater than those from the Spanish records
used by Hamilton, the Chaunus, Garca Fuentes, Garca-Baquero, and
Fisher, although at the beginning of the eighteenth century the gap
begins to narrow a bit.
Using another approach, I have included Figure 71 and Table
72 juxtaposing registered silver output in the Spanish Indies with
the shipment figures from in the gazettes. The results are provocative.
From the 1580s to 1660, silver output outstripped remissions quoted
in the gazettes, but wide discrepancies appeared in the last half of the
seventeenth century. In this period shipments noted in the gazettes
became far greater than registered silver productionover 67 million
more in the 1660s, 36 million in the 1670s, 27 million in the 1680s,
35 million in the 1690s, but only 8 million in the first decade of the
eighteenth centuryin Morineaus words incroyables. Furthermore,
sizeable quantities of bullion left the Americas directly for Asia aboard
the Manila Galleons.12 This made the difference between registered
production and exports even more unbelievable.
12
Dennis O. Flynn and Arturo Girldez estimate that the Manila Galleons carried
an average of 50 tons (2 million pesos) per year over the course of the seventeenth
century. See their Cycles of Silver: Global Economic Unity through the Mid-Eighteenth Century, Journal of World History 13, no. 2 (2002), 398.
conclusion
311
400
350
300
250
200
Gazettes
150
Output
100
50
51
61
16
71
16
81
16
91
17
01
17
11
17
21
17
31
17
41
17
51
17
61
17
71
17
81
17
91
18
01
16
16
31
41
16
16
11
01
21
16
16
16
81
15
91
0
15
450
By Decade 1601 = 16011610
Figure 71. Gazette Bullion Shipments and Registered Silver Output, 15811805
After 1710 this trend reversed, and silver production was always
greater than shipments reported in the gazettes. In the second decade
of the century, output surpassed gazette remittances by almost 40 million and in the next 50 million. As the century wore on, the gap grew
increasingly wider. In the 1780s it was 90 million pesos, and after that
output was always greater than 100 million pesos. Unlike the seventeenth century, production and shipments in the 1700s seemed more
rooted in reality, more consonant with the silver actually coming out
of the mines of the New World. Perhaps, too, Bourbon reforms led to
more rigid surveillance of silver remissions by colonial and metropolitan authorities in addition to more precise reporting on fiscal matters
and bullion production in the Indies. On balance the remissions presented in the gazettes offer valuable insights into the condition of late
Habsburg fiscal control, and the stark contrast between shipments and
registered silver production in the seventeenth century shows that the
data for those decades must be used with the utmost caution.
What, then, do Morineaus data and other estimates about bullion
exports reveal about New World bullion production, particularly in
light of what Humboldt and others have speculated about the level
of smuggling and other illicit production of gold and silver? First,
that even without correcting the official output figures to include estimated illicit production, the colonial mines generally yielded sufficient
legal bullion to meet the levels uncovered by Morineau. Only during
the second half of the seventeenth century is that not true. During
those years, when shipping fraud was rampant, it is also likely that
a higher percentage of bullion also went unregistered at the mines,
reflecting a general weakening of imperial fiscal controls. Second, if
312
chapter seven
the official figures for bullion output are increased to include illicit
production, it significantly narrows the difference between output
and Morineaus data. Using Humboldts estimate that illicit output in
Spanish America was 16.8 percent of the total reduces the difference
somewhat. If a modestly higher fraud figure of 25 percent is used for
the 16511700 period, it essentially removes the deficit between output
and Morineaus remission figures altogether except for the decade of
16511660. A third point also requires consideration: although official
shipping registers of bullion may be wildly off for the late seventeenth
century, the estimates contained in the gazettes may also be inaccurate. It is not clear who provided the information for the publishers of
the gazettes or how accurate their sources were. Fourth, the amount
of fraud and smuggling, both in terms of bullion production and shipping, undoubtedly varied over time and from place to place. Humboldt
himself recognized this and attempted to account for it in his estimates
of illicit output. He reckoned, for example, that the chief period of
fraud at Potos, amounting to perhaps 25 percent of output, occurred
during the sites early years.13 It seems clear that there must have been
considerably high rates of fraud during the late seventeenth century,
but to ascribe those same percentages of 25 or even 50 percent to the
remainder of the colonial period would be a mistake. And fifth, fraud
in silver production was probably most common among refiners using
smelting rather than amalgamation. This is important when considering the massive amounts of unregistered silver reaching Spain in the
second half of the seventeenth century. During those decades, production at Almadn, the chief source of mercury for Mexican amalgamators, had fallen off, forcing many Mexican refiners to depend heavily
on smelting. This meant, however, that treasury officials could not use
the correspondencia to verify the amount of silver being produced.
In the Andes smelting was never as important as in Mexico, although
even at Potos the trapiche owners, who did smelt ores, produced significant amounts of silver.14
13
Humboldt, Political Essay, 3:417418. Refer also to Ward Barrett, World Bullion
Flows, 14501800, in The Rise of Merchant Empires: Long Distance Trade in the Early
Modern World, 13501750, ed. James D. Tracy (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1990), 224254.
14
Tandeter, Coercion & Market, 9093, estimates that in the eighteenth century,
the trapiches may have at times generated a quarter of Potos output.
conclusion
313
Of course, royal treasury data are unable to account for fraudulent production of gold and silver, the registers, along with the mintage records, provide a clear view of the trends in bullion output and
the quantities available to lubricate the wheels of the newly emergent
world economy. Indeed, students of the flow of American bullion trace
the establishment of the world economy to 1571, when the Spaniards
founded Manila in the Philippines as a commercial entrept where
New World silver could be traded for the silks, spices, and other luxuries of East Asia.15 That trade, so dependent upon Chinese hunger for
American silver, could not have flourished without the mining, refining, assaying, and mintage revealed in the treasury and mint records.
15
Dennis O. Flynn and Arturo Girldez, Born with a Silver Spoon: The Origin of
World Trade in 1571, Journal of World History 6, no. 2 (1995): 201.
314
chapter seven
Tables
Table 71. Estimates of Bullion Shipments From the Indies to Europe 15031805
(by Decade in Millions of Pesos of 272 Maraveds).
DECADE
15011510
15111520
15211530
15311540
15411550
15511560
15611570
15711580
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011805
TOTAL
HAMILTON CHAUNUS
(15031660) (15841653)
2.0
3.6
1.9
9.2
17.3
29.6
41.9
48.2
88.0
115.2
92.3
90.4
86.0
55.3
42.2
17.7
740.8
2.8
33.7
50.5
91.9
27.8
30.6
7.7
1.1
246.1
GAZETTES
(15811805)
87.9
121.0
92.2
92.9
101.1
89.2
95.8
80.1
156.9
141.0
142.5
135.8
119.4
90.0
129.5
94.7
118.5
145.2
154.2
135.7
249.2
170.4
147.8
2,891.0
GARCIA F. A G-BAQUERO
(16511700) (17171777)
17.4
11.2
8.2
4.2
2.7
22.1
93.7
74.9
82.7
157.0
188.8
121.1
43.7
740.3
conclusion
315
Table 72. Gazette Bullion Shipments and Registered Silver Output

15811805 (by Decade in Millions of Pesos of 272 Maraveds).
DECADE
GAZETTES
OUTPUT
15811590
15911600
16011610
16111620
16211630
16311640
16411650
16511660
16611670
16711680
16811690
16911700
17011710
17111720
17211730
17311740
17411750
17511760
17611770
17711780
17811790
17911800
18011805
TOTAL
88
121
92
93
101
89
96
80
157
141
143
136
119
90
130
95
119
145
154
136
249
170
148
2,892
110
125
135
135
134
134
110
99
90
105
116
101
111
130
187
230
257
265
262
321
344
393
362
4,256
GLOSSARY
acordonador
tool for putting ridged or milled edge on

coins
acuador
mint employee
acuadores
mint workmen
administracin de azogues mercury administration
alcabala
sales tax
almojarifazgo
import-export tariff
altiplano
Andean high plain or plateau, which lies
at an altitude of around 12,000 feet
apartado
separation of traces of gold from silver
bars submitted for mintage
apiri
ore carrier in the Andean mines
arroba
measure of 15 kilograms or 25 pounds
audiencia
high court
balanzario
mint worker responsible for weights and
scales
banco de rescate
mining bank where silver and gold could
be exchanged for coins
barretero
mining pickman
batea
bowl used for panning gold
blanquecedor
worker who cleaned coins
blanquicin
cleansing process that used an alkaline
solution to remove residues from newly
minted silver coins
braceaje
fee collected when minting coins in Spanish America to pay mint officials and
workers
buen oro
good or fine gold
cabildo
city council
caja
royal treasury office
capataz lleva
mint crew supervisor
carta cuenta
summary report of a royal treasury office
that specified revenues collected and
spent
casa da moeda
Portuguese mint
318
casa de afinacin
Casa de Contratacin
casa de fundicin
casa de moneda
ceca
cdula
Cerro Rico
cizalla
cobos
contador
correspondencia
cospeles
cruzado
cuartillo
diezmo
dineral de ensaye
dineros, granos,
milsimos
dobln
dobro (pl. dobres)
ducado
el camino real
emboadas
encomendero
glossary
smelter; refinery
House of Trade
smelter and assay office
mint
mint
royal decree
the Rich Hill of fabulously wealthy silver
lodes, which lies just to the south of the city
of Potos
tailings
revenue from a mining tax awarded to his secretary, Francisco de los Cobos, by Charles V,
which amounted to 1 or 1.5 percent on bullion
presented to the royal treasury for registration
and payment of other taxes. The monarchy
later collected the cobos for its own use.
accountant or comptroller of a treasury office
relationship between the amount of mercury
purchased by the refiner and the quantity of
silver registered with the treasury; usually
expected to be around one mark of silver per
pound of mercury
blanks of silver or gold for minting coins
a coin worth one-quarter escudo
one-quarter real coin
tithe or tenth on mining output
weights used in assaying
an eight-escudo gold coin

doubloon; sometimes also called a dobra
ducat, a gold coin
Royal Road or Kings Highway
outsider; derisive term used by Paulistas to
designate the Portuguese who migrated to the
gold fields
holder of an encomienda, which was a protectorate over indigenous villages and which
conferred upon the holder the right to receive
indigenous tribute
glossary
319
ensaiador (Port.), ensayador (Sp.) assayer

entrada
privately financed expedition of
exploration and conquest
escobilla
tailings
escribano (Sp.), escrivo (Port.)
scribe
escudo
a Spanish gold coin whose value
varied from 400 to 550 maraveds,
depending in part on the value of
gold relative to silver
febles
coins of less than standard fineness
fiel
chief inspector and supervisor of
the mint
flete
transportation; shipping cost
flota
fleet, particularly the fleet between
Spain and Veracruz
fundador
smelter; foundryman
fundidor
smelter or foundryman
galeones
galleons; the fleet that serviced
northern Cartagena and Portobelo
gremio
guild
guaquera
plundering Andean huacas (tombs
and shrines)
guarda
guard
guayra
indigenous Andean smelting oven
Ingenio
mill, often a stamp mill; at Potos
the mill and other infrastructure
used for amalgamation
juiz da balana
Brazilian mint official in charge of
weights and scales
kajcha
worker at Potos who invaded
mines on the weekend and took
ore for his own profit
laminador
laminating equipment used to roll
sheet of silver or gold for coins
libro de remache
account book that recorded information about bars of bullion
brought to the mint
libros mayores
treasury daybook
320
magistral
glossary
copper sulphate added to the mixture of silver

ore and mercury to speed the process of amalgamation
maraved
unit of account for Spanish money
marca real
royal mark, stamped into a bar of silver or gold
and which attested to its fineness and its owner
having paid the appropriate taxes
marcador
craftsman who put mint mark on the coin
mercaderes de plata silver merchant
mingado
voluntary wage laborer at Potos and other
Andean mines
mita
colonial Andean system of forced labor, especially at Potos and Huancavelica mines
moclones
fraudulent coins minted at Potos
moeda
coin; also, as a moeda nacional, a gold coin
worth 4,400 ris and later worth 4,400 ris; and
as a moeda do Brasil, a gold coin worth 4,800
ris
moeda do Brasil
coins minted for circulation only in Brazil
moedas nacionais
coins minted for circulation in both Brazil and
Portugal
molino
equipment to roll sheet of silver or gold for
coins
moneda de la cruz coin with an engraved cross of Jerusalem on one
side
moneda de martillo a hammered coin, stamped with a die and hammer
moneda feble
coin of less than standard finess
moneda fuerte
coin of better than standard fineness
moneda macuquina hand-hammered, cob coin
moneda mayor
money in silver and gold bars
moneda menor
money in coins
montn
a heap of silver ore to which mercury and other
ingredients were mixed in the process of amalgamation
navio de azogues
a ship carrying mercury to the Americas
navio suelto
a ship sailing by itself to or from the Americas
rather than part of a fleet
negrillos
silver sulphide ores
oro bajo
low-grade gold
glossary
oro de sepultura de indios
oro guanines
oro limpio
oro muy malo
pallacos
Pataca
pea
perulero
peso
peso cordoncillo
peso de velln
peso ensayado
peso of ocho reales
pesos de bustos
peso fuerte
piedra de toque
pia
plata corriente
plata negra
provedor da moeda
321
gold plunder from indigenous tombs

gold-copper alloy
clean, washed ore
very low-grade gold
bits of silver ore taken by workers at
Huantajaya as part of wage
a silver Brazilian coin worth 3,200 ris
Portuguese gold coin worth 4 escudos or
6,400 ris
someone from Peru; especially a merchant
trading with Peru
weight; also a Spanish coin
peso with a milled edge minted beginning
in 1728 (peso de plata corriente, plata corriente, plata ensayada, peso de plata enayada y marcada, and pesos ensayados)
a peso made in Spain of silver and copper,
of substandard fineness
monetary unit used at Spanish American
mines, equivalent to 450 maraveds
piece of eight; a peso of eight reales; coin
equivalent to 272 maraveds; also called a
peso de a ocho
peso minted after 1761 which featured a
portrait of the monarch on one side
strong peso; a peso of eight reales minted
in the New World, in contrast to the
weaker peso de velln coined in Spain
touchstone, used to determine the purity
of gold or silver
pineapple; in mining the lump of silver
after the amalgam had been heated to
remove the mercury
unassayed silver of undetermined fineness
dirty silver coins awaiting cleansing in
the blanquicin process
superintendant or director of a Portuguese mint
322
glossary
proyectista
term used to describe Spanish political

thinkers and economists who designed
reforms for the empire, especially in the
eighteenth century
dies, hammers, and punches for stamping coins
colored needles designed to determine
through comparison with gold or silver
its purity
karat
hundredweight; for mercury a hundred
pounds
royal fifth on mining output and plunder
a Spanish monetary unit of 34 maraveds; unit of account for Portuguese
money (plural is ris)
royal treasury
royal mining tribunal
a mining town, especially in Mexico
a ship permitted to sail by itself to the
Americas after registering its cargo and
passengers with the Casa de Contratacin
plural of Portuguese real
the distribution of plunder by the Spaniards in 1534 after they had occupied
Cuzco
mint room in which newly made coins
were turned over to the individual who
had brought the silver or gold to the
ceca
seigniorage; the revenue collected by
the treasury as the difference between
the value of gold or silver presented for
mintage and the face value of the coins
stamped.
mining adit or horizontal tunnel
mercury superintendancy
engraver
ore carrier in the Mexican mines
punzonera
punzones
quilate
quintal
quinto
real
real hacienda
real tribunal de minera
reales de minas
registro
ris
reparto del Cuzco
sala de libranzas
seoreaje
socavn
superintendencia de azogue
tallador
tenatero
glossary
tesorero
tesorero particular
tesorero proprietario
323
treasurer in a treasury office

treasurer of a mint
treasurer of a private mint authorized by the
monarchy
tesorillo de la fundicin strongbox in the smelter
tesoureiro
mint treasurer
tosto
a silver coin worth 100 ris
trapiche
small mill to grind ore
troquel
tool for cutting blanks for coins
trozo
silver bar
vintm
a coin worth 20 ris
volante
tool for stamping coins
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INDEX
Numbers in italics refer to maps, figures, and tables

Acapulco: 79, 305
administracin de azogues: 177, 317
Alamos: xii, 36, 83, 90, 103104, 119,
136
Alba de Liste, count of (viceroy): 236
Almadn: 43, 72, 77, 82, 106107, 138,
146, 149150, 174177, 312
Almagro, Diego de: 40, 44, 165
amalgamation: 25, 7172, 7576, 81,
99100, 105, 110, 144, 151, 154, 178,
213, 312, 319, 320
Amatepec: 85
Andacollo: 45
Anori: 26
Anserma: 37, 71
Anserma, Mariquita, New Granada:
3738, 71, 261
Antioquia: 23, 26, 37, 38, 39, 40
apartado charges: 228, 286, 317
apartador, position: 228
Arana, Toms: 272
Araucanians: 44
Archivo General de Indias (Archive
of the Indies): 1012, 7980, 108,
306307
Areche, Jos Antonio de: 174
Arequipa: xxii, 44, 62, 63, 148, 155158,
159, 171, 179, 182, 184, 195, 241
Arequipacaja of: 157158
Arica: xxii, 44, 45, 62, 63, 69, 148, 158,
166, 170171, 172, 182, 184, 209
Aricacaja of: 170171
Armada del Sur: 51, 271
Arrachea, Martn: 268
Atahualpa: 42, 141143, 149, 165, 169
Aymaras (Aymara): 159
Aza, Toms: 275
bancos de rescate (silver exchange

banks): 83, 147
Bank of San Carlos (Potos): 152, 247
barbacoas: 37, 3940
Barcelona: 1, 17, 308
Barona B., Guido: 10
barreteros: 70, 171
Barriga Villalba, A. M.: 10, 270
Benalczar, Sebastin: 37, 40
Benavides, Julio: 244
Bibanco, Antonio (Viscount of Bolaos):
101102
Bogot: xxii, 8, 10, 26, 32, 37, 3940,
213, 215, 219, 261, 263269, 273, 286,
288, 291
Bogotmint8, 10, 26, 3940, 213,
215, 219, 261268, 262, 267, 268269,
273, 286, 288294
Bolaos: xxi, 8, 77, 79, 82, 8384, 90, 97,
101, 102, 109, 111, 116, 135
Bolaoscaja of: 101102
Bolvar, Simn: 146
Borda, Jos de la: 89
Boxer, Charles: 14, 47
braceaje: 214, 235, 246, 286, 317
Brading, David: 78, 89, 100
Braga de Macedo, Jorge: 15
Brazil: 2, 4, 1217, 17, 21, 23, 25, 2729,
28, 36, 40, 4649, 47, 48, 53, 54, 55,
56, 65, 66, 70, 78, 214, 261, 279285,
284, 286, 303, 319321
Brazilgold production: 14, 4649, 47,
48, 49
Brown, Kendall: 24, 107108, 154, 180
Bucaramanga (New Granada): 38, 262
bullionism12
Buriticgold mines: 3738
Bahia, Brazil: xxii, 14, 47, 48, 66, 213,

261, 279, 281283, 285286
Bajo: 94, 109
Bakewell, Peter: 67, 53, 72, 79, 9899,
177179, 211
Baltic Sea: 305
Banco de San Carlos (see Bank of San
Carlos)
Cceres: 37
Cadereita: 100
Cdiz: 275, 305, 307309
Cailloma: xxii, 141, 144, 146147, 148,
155158, 157, 162163, 166, 182, 184,
194
Caillomacaja of: 156157
Cajamarca: 42, 142143, 149, 165
334
index
Cajatambo: 144
California gold rush, 1849: 24
Callao: 51, 148, 308
Calgeras, Joo Pandi: 1415
Camagey: 32
Caman: 144, 158
camino real (royal road): 87, 91, 318
Caparra: 31
Cape of Good Hope: 305
Carabaya: 23, 43, 62, 63, 143
Carangas: xxii, 141, 143, 146147, 148,
158161, 161, 166, 171, 182, 184
Carangascaja of: 160161
Carlos V (see Charles V)
Cartagena (New Granada): 10, 263, 319
cartas cuentas: 15, 79, 94
casa de afinacin: 73, 318
casa de fundicin: 31, 73, 84, 227, 243,
270, 318
Casa de la Contratacin (House of
Trade): 5, 286, 306307, 318, 322
casa de moneda (mint): 911, 214215,
226231, 233, 235237, 239, 241, 243,
247, 249, 250, 261270, 272274, 276,
291, 318
Casafuerte, marqus de (viceroy): 228
Castilla del Oro (Golden Castille): 32
Castrovirreyna: xxii, 144, 148, 155156,
161, 163, 182, 184, 193
Castrovirreynacaja of: 155156
Catorce mines: 69, 9394, 109
Cear: 14, 4748, 48, 66
cdulaof 10 May 1531: 233; of 1535:
213214; of 21 August 1565, regarding establishment of the mint in
Lima: 235; of 1567: 214; of 15 February 1567, limiting Lima coinage: 236;
of 1 March 1708, establishing Santiago mint: 264; of 9 June 1728, establishing requirements for new colonial
mints: 222; cdulaof 1 October
1743, regarding Santiago mint: 275; of
23 August 1766, reopening the mint
of Pedro Agustn de Valencia: 268; of
12 September 1770, establishing royal
mint at Popayn: 269
Central America: xxi, 17, 21, 27, 29, 74,
78, 112, 113, 270272, 274
Cerro de Pasco: 69, 144, 146, 163164
Cerro Rico (Rich Hill) of Potosi: 75,
143, 318
Csar, Francisco: 37
Chacabuco, Puerto Rico: 278
Charcas: 87, 94, 120, 241242, 244
Charcasaudiencia of: 242

Charles III: 223224, 228, 231, 243, 268,
273, 276, 305
Charles IV: 2
Charles V: 25, 50, 213215, 226,
234235, 318
Chaucalla: 143
Chaunu, Huguette: xvii, 6, 180, 306308,
310, 314
Chaunu, Pierre: xvii, 6, 180, 306308,
310, 314
Chayanta: 143
Chihuahua: xxi, 35, 36, 58, 59, 77, 82,
8384, 92, 104105, 105, 107, 114,
116, 119, 137
Chihuahuacaja of: 36, 104105
Chile: xxii, 2, 4, 5, 89, 1112, 16, 17,
21, 23, 28, 2829, 30, 34, 40, 4446,
45, 49, 54, 55, 56, 64, 78, 112, 113,
149, 170, 173, 213, 219, 262, 271,
274275, 277278, 278, 286, 301, 302
ChileNorte Chico: 45
ChileNorte Grande: 45
Chilleo: 143
Chocaya: 143
Choc: 23, 3740
Chontalpa: 85, 120
Chucuito: xxii, 44, 50, 62, 63, 69, 141,
144, 146148, 158159, 161162
Chucuitocaja of: 161162
Cibao: 31
cinnabar (mercuric sulphide): 146, 171,
174
Citar: 37, 39
Ciudad Real, province: 106
cobos: 5051, 80, 179, 215, 318
Cobos, Francisco de los: 50, 215, 318
Cocina: 101
coinsBrazilian: 281, 321; copper coins,
beginning of mintage at Mexico City
mint: 227, 235;
copper, introduction and failure in
Espaola: 233235, 270; cuartillo: 216,
225226, 265, 267, 318; dobln: 26,
215216, 282, 318; escudo: 1, 26, 31,
213, 215216, 223234, 236, 240, 263,
265, 272, 276, 282283, 285, 318319,
321; moneda macuquina: 217, 218,
220, 223, 231, 239, 273, 320; money
of the cross (moneda de la cruz): 217,
320; peseta: 225; peso de plata corriente:
72, 321; peso de plata enayada y
marcada: 73, 321; pesos cordoncillos:
217, 222223, 227, 231, 237, 240, 243,
index
265, 273, 275; pesos de bustos: 223224,
231, 239, 243, 269, 273, 321; pesos de
ocho: 51; pesos de velln: 225; pesos
ensayados: 11 51, 73, 246, 321; pesos
fuertes: 225; silver pesos de ocho as
monetary standard: 51
Colmenares, Germn: 10, 3839
Columbus: 1, 27, 30, 31
Comanja: 95, 120
Comaygua: 270
Compostela: 85
Comuneros revolt, 1780s: 265
Concepcin (Chile): 44
Concepcin de La Vega, Espaola: 31,
71, 234
Condesuyos: 144, 158
contador: 50, 71, 318
Cook, Noble David: 141142
Copiap: 45
Coquimbo: 45
Crdoba: 106
Cosal: 36, 83, 92, 103104, 119, 136
Count of Regla: 97, 100
Coxip river: 46
Craig, Alan K.: 242
Cross, Harry: 7
Cuba: 27, 30, 32, 33, 33, 57
Cubacaja of: 32
Cuenca: 40, 92
Cuiab River: 46
cupellation: 71, 106, 220, 264
Cuzco: xxii, 42, 43, 44, 62, 63, 141143,
148, 149, 166168, 167, 182, 184, 205,
214, 322
Cuzcocaja of: 167169
Daz Lpez, Zamira: 10
Durango: xxi, 34, 35, 36, 58, 59, 81, 82,
8384, 86, 9193, 93, 104, 106107,
109, 109, 114, 116, 119, 125, 213
Durangocaja of: 36, 9193
Dutch East Indies: 306
Ecuador: 2, 16, 17, 21, 23, 2627, 28, 29,
30, 4042, 44, 49, 52, 54, 55, 56, 61,
142, 264, 269, 330
Ecuadorgold production: 4042;
textile industry: 4042
Elhuyar, Fausto: 111
emboadas: 46, 318
Emoraca: 143
Encino: 97
Escanela: 100
Eschwege, Wilhelm Ludwig von: 12, 13, 15
335
Espaola (see Hispaniola)

Espinal: 26
Eustaquio de Len, Jos: 272
Ferdinand VI: 222, 237, 243, 268, 276
Fernndez Madrid, Pedro: 266
Fernndez Oviedo y Valds, Gonzalo: 23
Fernndez Veitia Linage, Joseph: 227
Ferreira da Silva, Alvero: 15
Figuerido Murta, Domicio de: 13
fineness standard, gold: 2426, 5053,
215, 217, 219, 220221, 264, 273, 281,
283, 319321
Fisher, John R.: 163, 308, 310
fraud rate, gold economy: 3, 1213, 15,
23, 25, 5253
fraud rate, New Granada40, 53
fraud rate, silver economy: 3, 5253
fraud, Brazil: 3, 12, 15, 23
Fresnillo: 8788, 120
functional currency, shortage: 226
Garca Fuentes, Lutgardo: 307, 310
Garca-Baquero, Antonio: 307308, 310
Garner, Richard: 7, 89
Gois: 1315, 23, 4648, 48, 66, 279, 325
goldoro bajo: 25, 320; oro de sepultura
de indios: 26, 321; oro guanines: 25,
234, 321; oro limpio: 26, 321; oro muy
malo: 26, 321
gold mining methods, Native American:
2324, 3031, 37, 69
gold mining methods, Portuguese: 24
gold mining methods, Spanish: 24, 27,
30, 31, 37, 69
gold mintage: 10, 26, 50
gold smelting: 15, 25, 3132, 34, 3738,
40, 4546, 5051, 213, 220221 227,
233, 237, 263, 264, 318, 319, 323
gold strikes in Brazil, 1690s: 17, 2729,
28, 4648, 47, 48
gold, world output: 4, 19, 41, 42, 4851,
75, 76, 77, 78, 78, 110, 151, 155, 177,
178, 178
Gmez de la Rocha, Francisco: 242, 271
gremio (guild): 173174, 176177, 319
Grito de Dolores: 229
ground sluicing: 24, 69
Guadalajaraaudiencia of: 90
Guadalajara, Mexico: xxi, 35, 36, 58, 59,
79, 82, 8384, 86, 9091, 91, 98, 101,
103, 106107, 109, 109, 114, 116, 119,
123, 213
Guadalczar: 94, 120
336
index
Guallpa: 150
Guanajuato: xxi, 8, 35, 36, 50, 52, 58, 59,
69, 79, 81, 82, 8386, 90, 9496, 96,
9798, 100, 106109, 109, 111, 114,
116, 120, 130
Guanajuatocaja of: 36, 9496
Guanca: 150
Guapor: 46
Guatemalaaudiencia of: 12, 272
Guatemala City: 8, 219, 272
Guatemala mint: 270274, 271, 274,
297300
guayras: 7071, 151
Haina River: 31
Hamilton, Earl J.: 5, 6, 17, 25, 306308,
310, 314
Haring, Clarence: 5, 80
Hausberger, Bernd: 8
Heredia, Antonia: 107108, 109
Hernndez Palomo, Jos: xviii, 79
Hernndez Palomo, Mari Luz: xviii, 79
Hidalgo revolt, 1810: 91, 104
Hispaniola (Espaola): 9, 27, 3033, 33,
57, 71, 213, 227, 233235, 270, 286,
325
House of Trade (see Casa de la Contratacin)
Howe, Walter: 229
Hualgayoc: 7, 69, 77, 144, 147, 165, 171,
175
Huallanca: 69, 144, 165
Huamachuco: 144, 165
Huamangacaja of: xxii, 148, 166, 166,
168169, 169, 182, 184, 208
Huancavelica: xxii, 44, 62, 63, 72, 7677,
106, 146, 148, 149, 154155, 166, 168,
171177, 179180, 182, 184, 207, 210,
211, 320
Huancavelicacaja of: 168169
Huantajaya: 7, 69, 77, 144, 147, 158, 160,
170171, 175, 321
Huarochir: 144, 147
Huscar: 141, 142
Huayna Capac: 141
Humboldt, Alexander von: xix, xx, 25,
910, 1213, 15, 52, 141, 228229,
233, 311312; estimate of fraud
factorxx, 34, 4, 12, 1213, 52,
310312
Ibagu: 38,
Idria, Slovenia: xii, 72, 77, 82, 106107,
138
India: 305
ingenio (see stamp mill)
inquisition: 147, 286
Isaquand: 37
Izatln: 90, 119
Jacala: 100
Jalpn: 100
Jamaica: 30
Jara, Alvaro: 5, 178179
Jaramillo Uribe, Jaime: 10, 38
Jauja: xxii, 148, 166, 169170, 170, 182,
184, 209
Jaujacaja of: 169170
Jimnez de Quesada, Gonzalo: 37
Kajchas: 70
Karasch, Mary: 15
La Paz: xxii, 11, 43, 44, 62, 63, 86, 120,
143, 148, 158159, 161, 172, 182, 184,
197, 243, 244
La Pazcaja of: 158159
La Plata (also called Chuquisaca or
Charcas, present-day Sucre): 213, 236,
241, 242, 257
La Serena: 23, 45
Lambayeque: 165
Lazo Garca, Carlos: 221, 246
Len: 217
Lexis, Wilhelm: 4
libros de remache: 221
libros mayors: 179, 319
Lima: xxii, 2, 9, 11, 43, 44, 52, 62, 63,
77, 147, 148, 148150, 155, 159, 163,
165, 169173, 182, 184, 185, 187, 213,
217, 219, 220223, 226, 235244, 238,
239, 240, 251, 253, 254, 255, 261, 265,
273, 278, 308
Limaearthquake: 237
Limaaudiencia of: 2, 235
Limacaja of: 148150
Lima mint213, 219, 221222, 226,
235237, 238239, 239241, 251255;
transition to royal ownership: 219,
222, 237, 240241
Lisbon: 14, 15, 275, 276, 280, 283, 284
Lohmann Villena, Guillermo: 180
Loja: 40
Lozano Machuca, Juan: 242
Lucanas144, 147
Lynch, John: 310
Magdalena River: 37
index
Manila: 7, 224, 305, 310, 313
Manila galleons: 224, 305, 310
Mariquita (New Granada): 38, 71, 261
Mato Grosso: 13, 14, 23, 4648, 48, 66
Maule River: 45
Mazapil: 87, 88, 94, 120
Medina, Mateo: 26
Melo, Jorge Orlando: 10, 39
Mendoza: 28, 29, 55, 56
Mendoza, Antonio de (viceroy): 215,
227, 329
mercurysources of: 6, 7, 25, 4344, 76,
77, 80, 82, 89, 105110, 108, 109, 111,
138, 139, 146, 149150, 154155, 168,
170177, 176, 180, 210, 211, 219, 276,
307, 312, 318
mercuryuse in amalgamation: 50,
7273, 99, 320321
methodology for calculating mining output: xix, 27, 1214, 5053, 80, 179
Mexico: xxi, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 17, 17, 2137,
50, 52, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 6168,
69140, 78, 141142, 144, 146, 153,
173, 175177, 179180, 213215, 217,
219, 220224, 226229, 231, 235, 237,
239, 240, 241, 243
Mexicocaja of: 8, 34, 36, 8487
Mexico City (Mxico), xxii, 8, 34, 52,
77, 79, 8487, 90, 9395, 97, 106, 111,
213, 215, 219, 226, 228229, 233, 243,
265, 272, 285
Mexico City mintfirst Spanish colonial mint: 34, 213214, 220, 226227;
annual average: 228229, 230, 231,
232, 248251, 285; expansion:
227228, 285; governing regulations:
215, 226227; home of Hernn
Corts: 226227
Michoacn: 227
Minas Gerais: 1214, 23, 4648, 48, 66,
279
mintageprocess: 214217
mintageprohibition of in Indies: 215,
233235, 263
mintage reform, Ferdinand VI: 222223,
237, 243, 268; Philip V: 222223
mintscolonial Brazil: 213, 279285,
284, 303; Concepcin de la Vega,
Espaola: 233235; concessionairerun: 214217, 286; improvised: 213;
laws: 214, 217, 231; Luso-America:
279280; positions: 214215; procedures before state control: 214217,
233, 286; procedures, state-controlled:
337
220225, 286; salaries of officials: 215,

219, 221, 223, 226, 228, 234, 237, 243,
265, 269, 276; state-run or royal: 219,
220223, 286
mita: 70, 144, 146, 151, 154, 171, 172,
273, 320
moclones: 271, 320
Morales, Andrs: 237, 240
Morales, Lorenzo: 266
Morcillo, Jalisco: 85
Moreyra Paz Soldn, Manuel: 11, 25,
142143
Morineau, Michel: xx, 1415, 284, 305,
309312
Nambija: 40
Napo River: 40
Napoleonic wars: 308
Necker, Jacques: 23
negrillos (silver sulphide ores): 154, 320
New Galicia (Nueva Galicia): 90
New Granada: xxii, 2, 4, 8, 10, 16, 17,
21, 2329, 28, 30, 32, 3740, 39, 42,
45, 53, 54, 55, 56, 60, 6971, 78, 78,
112, 113, 213, 217, 223, 261270, 262,
267, 285286, 287
New Ordinances (Nuevas Ordenanzas):
222, 265
New Spain, silver production: 2, 4, 7, 8,
9, 16, 3637, 40, 79, 80111, 81, 82,
87, 88, 91, 93, 9596, 9899, 101105,
108109, 111140
New Vizcaya (Nueva Vizcaya, Pnuco):
9192, 104, 119
Nordenflicht, Thaddeus von: 174
Normano, Joo F.: 13
Noticias secretas (Discourse): 173
Nvita: 37, 39
Ojasanchas: 26
Omiste, Modesto: 243244
Orozco y Berra, Manuel: 9, 229
Oruro: xxii, 6, 44, 62, 63, 69, 141, 143144,
146148, 148, 148, 152, 153155, 154,
158, 160161, 163, 166, 182, 184, 191
Orurocaja of: 153155
Osorno River: 45
Ostotipaquillo: 90, 119
Otavalo: 40
Ozumatln: 86, 120
Pachuca: xxi, 35, 36, 58, 59, 79, 81, 82,
8386, 90, 9698, 98, 100, 106109,
109, 111, 114, 116, 120, 153
338
index
Pachucacaja of: 9698

Pachucamines
pallacos: 171, 321
Palo Blanco: 90, 119
Pamplona: 38
Panama: 3233, 51, 306307
Panama, Isthmus of: 3233, 271
Pnuco (Nueva Vizcaya): 87, 90, 92, 119
Paracat: 46
Parral: 69, 92, 119
Pasco: xxii, 7, 52, 69, 141, 144, 146148,
148, 163166, 164, 171, 175176, 182,
184, 202
Pascocaja of: 163164
paulistas: 46, 318
Pernambuco, Brazil: 213, 279
Peru: xxii, 45, 78, 11, 1617, 21, 23,
25, 2729, 28, 30, 34, 3940, 4244,
5051, 54, 55, 56, 62, 63, 6978, 93,
105106, 110113, 138, 141212,
213, 236, 244, 245, 246247, 251255,
258259, 306, 307, 309
Perucivil war: 44
Perugold output: 4244, 4344, 240,
245, 247, 255, 238
Peru, Lower: 4244, 51, 69, 7778, 142,
144, 147, 148, 150, 155158, 163179,
181187, 192197, 202211, 213,
236240, 246, 251255
Peru, Upper: xxii, 4244, 51, 6971,
7678, 93, 111, 141143, 147149,
151154, 158162, 166, 171, 173, 175,
177179, 181183, 188193, 197202,
236, 241247, 255, 258259, 271, 281,
285
Pez, Andrs: 106
Philip II: 25, 73, 151, 213, 214, 235
Philip III: 215, 263
Philip IV: 93, 264
Philippines: 106, 205, 313, 330
piedra de toque (touchstone): 25, 264,
321
Pinto, Virgilio Noya: 14
Pizarro, Francisco: 42, 44, 141, 148, 165
placer mining: 23, 24, 37, 70, 261
plata corriente: 73, 241, 321
plata ensayada: 73, 321
Ponce de Len, Juan: 31
Popayn: xxii, 9, 10, 11, 26, 37, 39, 40,
213, 219, 261, 268270, 269, 271, 273,
275, 286, 295, 296, 325
Popaynmint: 3940, 268270, 269,
295296
Porco: 143, 144, 151
Portugal: 1, 15, 279, 280, 320, 330

Potos: xxi, xxii, 4, 6, 9, 11, 23, 34, 35,
36, 43, 44, 50, 5253, 58, 59, 62, 63,
6973, 75, 81, 82, 8386, 9394, 95,
100, 106107, 109, 109, 114, 116, 120,
127, 142144, 146155, 148, 159,
163164, 166, 171172, 175176, 179,
182, 184, 188, 190, 213214, 216217,
219223, 226, 228, 235237, 241247,
245, 246, 247, 255, 258, 259, 262, 271,
273, 278, 284, 286, 312, 318320
Potoscaja of: 150153
Potosmint, construction of first mint:
213, 241243; lifting of gold mintage
ban: 243; reconstruction: 243; mint,
transition to royal control: 219, 223,
243247
Potosschool of metallurgy: 147, 152
Prieto de Salazar, Jos: 268
Prieto de Salazar, Toms: 263264
Prieto, Carlos: 150
Puebla: 107, 108, 109, 110
Puerto Rico: 27, 30, 31, 32, 33, 33, 57, 71
Puno: 44, 62, 63, 144, 148, 161, 162, 182,
184
punzones: 26, 264, 322
quantity theory of money: 5, 306,
309310
Quillota: 45
Quito: 37, 40, 142, 165, 268
Ramrez Arellano, Felipe: 242, 271
Ramrez, Sebastin: 234
Raynal, Guillaume Franois Thomas
(Abb Raynal): 2, 3
Real de las Plomosas: 90, 98
Real del Monte: 69, 96, 97, 120
Real Tribunal de Minera (see Royal
Mining Tribunal)
Restrepo, Vicente: 10
Rio das Mortes: 46
Rio das Velhas: 46
Rio de Janeiro: xxii, 213, 261, 279280,
287, 303
Ro de la Plata: 17, 21, 28, 29, 55, 56, 78,
78, 112, 113, 148
Rio Doce: 46
Rio So Francisco: 46
Riobamba: 40
Robertson, William: 3
Rosario: xxi, 35, 36, 58, 59, 77, 82,
8384, 9091, 103104, 104, 109, 114,
116, 119, 136
index
Rosario/Alamos/Cosalcaja of: 36,
103104
Royal Mining Tribunal: 82, 107, 322
royal order of 17 November 1639264
royal pragmatic of 13 September
1687264
royal pragmatic of 153725
Russia: 305
Sabar: 46
Sabarbuss, the shining mountain: 78
Salinas, Antonio de: 154
Saliquet y Negrete, Antonio: 265
Saltillo: 94, 104, 120
San Antonio del Nuevo Mundo: 143
San Jos del Oro: 100, 120
San Juan de Matucana: 169, 209
San Luis Potos: xxi, 23, 34, 35, 36, 58,
59, 72, 81, 82, 8386, 9394, 95, 100,
106107, 109, 109, 114, 116, 120, 127,
228
San Luis Potoscaja of: 36, 9394
Snchez Reziente, Toms: 265
Santa Ana mines (New Granada): 90,
119, 261
Santa Fe de Antioquia: 3738
Santelices, Venturafirst superintendent, Potos mint: 243
Santiago: 3132
Santiago (Chile): xxii, 5, 9, 23, 44, 149,
213, 219, 261, 271
Santiago (Chile)mint: 12, 271,
274278, 277278, 286, 301302
Santiago de Guatemala: 261, xxi, 213,
219, 261, 273278, 277, 278, 286, 301,
302
Santiago de Guatemalamint: 274278,
277, 278, 286, 301, 302
Santisteban, Miguel de (lt. colonel): 265
Santo Domingo: xxi, 26, 31, 213, 234, 261
Santos, Juan: 169
So Joo del Rei: 46
So Paulo: 13, 14, 46, 48, 48, 66, 279
Saravia, Nicols de: 174
Sarratea y Goyeneche, Juan Martn de:
265
seigniorage charges: 246, 275, 286
Serro Frio: 46
Sevilla: 5, 11, 30, 79, 80, 107, 286, 305,
307309
Sevilla de Oro: 40
Sicasica: 143
Sierra de Pinos: 87, 94, 120
Sierra Uruela, Juan: 101102
339
silverfineness standard: 51
silver output: 18, 4, 6, 7, 1518, 16, 17,
19, 20, 21, 23, 27, 30, 34, 36, 37, 40,
4344, 5051, 52, 53, 69212
silver refiners (azogueros): 7071
silver smelting: 7072, 84, 99, 100, 110,
151, 213, 220221, 227, 237, 241, 263,
312, 318, 319, 323
silver traders (mercaderes de plata): 71,
103, 216, 222, 320
Simonsen, Roberto: 14
Sinaloa: 90, 103, 119
Slaves: 38, 241
Sluiter, Engel: 8, 3032
Soetbeer, Adolf: x, 45, 13, 19, 140
Solrzano Pereira, Juan: 2
Sombrerete: xxi, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86,
87, 89, 90, 97, 98100, 99, 106, 109,
110, 114, 116, 120, 133
Sombreretecaja of: 98100
Sonora: 92, 119
Soria Murillo, Victoria Manuel: 910
stamp mill (ingenio): 70, 319
Sultepec: 85, 120
superintendencia de azogue: 106, 322
Szasdi, Adam: 7, 80
Tacna: 171
Tahuantinsuyu (Inca Empire): 141
Taxco: 85, 89, 120
Temascaltepec: 85, 120
Tenochtitln, Aztec capital: 84
Tepeyac: 95
tesorero: 50, 71, 213, 214, 215, 216, 219,
220, 228, 237, 242, 263, 264, 266, 268,
275, 276, 286, 323
tesorero particular: 214, 215, 219, 220,
228, 237, 242, 263, 264, 266, 268, 275,
276, 286, 323
tesorero proprietario: 263, 323
textile production: 40, 41
Toledo, Francisco de (viceroy): 146, 171
Toribio Medina, Jos: 9, 12, 233, 235,
261, 271272, 276, 278
trapiches: 71, 312
treasury tax multipliers: 5052, 80, 179
Trujillo: xxii, 43, 44, 62, 63, 69, 141, 147,
148, 165166, 166, 179, 182, 184, 204
Trujillocaja of: 165
Tpac Catari revolt: 154, 159
Turillo de Yerba, Captain Alfonso: 263
Twinam, Ann: 26
Ulloa, Antonio de: 173, 177
340
index
Urab: 32, 37
Uztriz, Gernimo: 3
Vadillo, Juan de: 37
Valdivia: 4445
Valdivia, Pedro de: 44
Valencia, Pedro Agustn de: 268
Veitia Linage, Juan Jos: 106, 227
Velsquez, Diego: 32
velln currency: 225, 227, 233235, 263,
270, 321
Veracruz: 51, 82, 83, 102103, 103, 106,
136, 307308, 319
Veracruzcaja of: 102103
Vicua Mackenna, Benjamn: 12, 4445
Vila do Principe: 46
Villa Rica de Ouro Preto: 213
Villa Rica de Oropesa: 171
wars of independenceMexico, effect

upon coinage: 36, 89, 213, 229231;
Spanish America: 10, 213, 237, 247,
266, 277, 308
West, Robert C.: 7980, 261
Zacatecas: xxii, 68, 35, 36, 50, 52, 58,
59, 69, 7374, 77, 7984, 82, 8691,
88, 9395, 97100, 106109, 109, 111,
114, 116, 120, 121, 144, 153, 174, 213
Zacatecas, caja of: 8789
Zamora: 40
Zaruma: 23, 40
Zimapn: xxi, 35, 36, 58, 59, 77, 79, 82,
83, 84, 85, 90, 97, 100101, 101, 110,
114, 116, 120, 134
Zimapncaja of: 36, 100101
The Atlantic World

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Transatlantic Trade and Shipping, 1585-1817. 2003. ISBN 90 04 12562 0
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16. Ebert, C. Between Empires: Brazilian Sugar in the Early Atlantic Economy,
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17. Schorsch, J. Swimming the Christian Atlantic. Judeoconversos, Afroiberians and Amerindians in the Seventeenth Century. 2009.
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18. Huigen, S. Knowledge and Colonialism. Eighteenth-century Travellers in
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21. TePaske, J.J. (Brown, K.W. ed.). A New World of Gold and Silver. 2010.
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A New World of Gold and Silver

A New World of Gold and Silver

Maps, Illustrations, Figures, and Tables ........................................

Gold: The Scarcer Metal? ......................................

Silver, the Abundant Metal: Mexico ................

Chapter Four Silver, the Abundant Metal: Upper and Lower

Chapter Five New World Mintage: Mxico, Santo Domingo,

Chapter Six New World Mintage II: Santa Fe de Bogot,

MAPS, ILLUSTRATIONS, FIGURES, AND TABLES

Mining Cajas and Mints in Colonial Mexico and

maps, illustrations, figures, and tables

Caribbean Gold Production by Decade, 14921555, in

New World Silver Output, 15211810, in pesos ..............

maps, illustrations, figures, and tables

Peruvian Silver Production, 15311810, in pesos ............

Mexican Silver Mintage, 16901821, in pesos ...................

maps, illustrations, figures, and tables

Lima Gold Mintage, 16961821, in pesos ..........................

New Granada Gold and Silver Production, 15331620,

Gazette Bullion Shipments and Registered Silver Output,

Adolf Soetbeers Estimates of World Silver and Gold

maps, illustrations, figures, and tables

Estimated Total Gold and Silver Production in the

Estimated New World Gold Production by Region and

New World Silver production by Region and Decade,

maps, illustrations, figures, and tables

Upper and Lower Peruvian Silver Production by Caja

maps, illustrations, figures, and tables

Lima Registered Silver Production, 15741820, in pesos

maps, illustrations, figures, and tables

Mexican Silver Mintage, 16901821, in pesos and

Estimated Early New Granada Gold and Silver

maps, illustrations, figures, and tables

Estimates of Bullion Shipments from the Indies to

colonial treasuries over the entire colonial period. He and Herbert

San Luis Potos

Bogot NEW GRANADA

Map 2. Mining Cajas and Mints in Colonial South America.

Early Estimates of New World and World Bullion Output

in the colonial epoch Europeans discovered gold in the Caribbean and

1770, New World bullion output was 5,154,000,000 pesos. Minister of

Humboldt, Ensayo poltico, 3:378.

Figure 11. New World Gold and Silver Output, 14921803

Humboldt, Ensayo poltico, 3:379381.

remained conventional wisdom since they were published in 1892

Millions of Silver Pesos of 272 maraveds

By Decade 1571 = 15711580

Figure 12. Shipment of Gold and Silver to Castille, 15031660, according

groundbreaking primarily because he used the royal accounts during

variety of published material on mercury shipment and production

Industry in the 1590s, Humanitas (University of Nuevo Len) 19 (1978): 383409;

as analyst of the Mexican mining scene, particularly in Guanajuato,

von Staat, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Lateinamerikas 17 (1980): 157185; Problmes

Popayn, Lima, Potos, and Santiago de Chile. The mint on Espaola

Humboldt, Ensayo polttico, 3:302304.

silver coined, including those of lower silver or gold content ( febles).27

the Audiencia of Guatemala section, Legajos (bundles) 79195. For the

Toribio Medina, Monedas coloniales, 287.

century and beginning of the nineteenth, he assumed the office with

One arroba was equal to 15 kilograms.

kilograms of gold were coined in Brazilian mints between 1703 and

Millions of Silver Pesos of 272 maraveds

By Decade 1681 = 16811690