Long-Term Silver Mining Trends in Spanish America: A Comparative Analysis of Peru and Mexico

Abstract

When Spain conquered the aztec and inca empires, it acquired territories so rich in silver that Spanish America became the world’s leading supplier. Scholarly opinion has long held that silver mining had a profound impact on the development of the colonial economies and, because so much silver was exported, on the development of the economies of Spain and Europe. Mexican miners had to be cost-conscious, too, but with higher profit margins they could attract the long-term financing that was crucial to keep the industry healthy. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, a substantial part of the silver mined in America was exported to Europe. This fact has led some historians to contend that the shipment of treasure from America caused an inflation in Europe during the second half of the sixteenth century and the early seventeenth century.