Plata - History Lab

Quicksilver mines in New Spain

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:14 +0000

Quicksilver, or mercury, is a metal obtained from the mineral known as cinnabar, which was decisive in the processing of silver, and was therefore of vital importance to the miners of New Spain. The extraction of quicksilver was a monopoly of the Crown and was mainly supplied from the Peninsula, which sometimes caused shortages and difficulties, mainly due to wars and complications in maritime transport. It was in the 16th century when Bartolomé de Medina introduced the method of amalgamation with quicksilver, a method that was very successful and which revolutionised American metallurgy. This technique spread to all the mining centres in the Americas until the 19th century. The mines from which the Crown mainly supplied this metal were Almadén, in Spain, and Huancavelica, in Peru. During the 17th century in New Spain, despite some difficulties in the exploitation of the mercury mines existing in this viceroyalty, such as the lack of manpower, the scarcity of knowledge and metallurgical preparation or the lack of capital to cover the costs, some of them were exploited.

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Quicksilver mines in Almadén

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:14 +0000

Quicksilver, or mercury, is a metal obtained from the mineral called cinnabar, which was decisive for the processing of silver, and was therefore of vital importance for the production of this metal. It was in the 16th century when Bartolomé de Medina unveiled the method of amalgamation with quicksilver, a method which was very successful and which brought about a revolution in metallurgy. The Spanish Crown obtained most of its supplies of quicksilver from the mines of Almadén in Spain and Huancavelica in Peru. Almadén’s cinnabar reserves had been exploited since ancient times. In modern times, from the beginning of the 16th century, the mines were perpetually incorporated into the Crown of Castile. Until the mid-17th century, the mines were exploited by private individuals who obtained a right granted by the Crown of Castile. From 1645 onwards, the mine returned to the hands of the State, and a process of slow reforms and the appointment of superintendents began. The upper part of the selected resource depicts the furnaces used to separate the quicksilver. From one of them starts a row of aludels (terracotta pipes) used for the condensation of the mercury vapour that ends in the condensation chamber. The lower part of the print shows the tools and implements for working and processing the quicksilver, such as a balance, pieces of metal, hammer and chisel, cart, wood for holding the baskets, a bag of badana, aludeles, earthenware vessel for storing the mercury, basket and mould for shaping. The drawing is a copy by José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez, published by Antoine de Jussieu. Antoine de Jussieu was sent to Spain by the Duke of Orleans to collect plant species for the gardens of Paris. Together with his brother Bernard, he visited the Almadén mines in 1717 and 1719, and presented a Memoir to the Academy of Sciences in Paris. The translation of this Memoir was made by José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez, who also copied the prints that were published in it, under the title “Observations on what is practised in Almadén in Spain to extract quicksilver and on the nature of the illnesses of those who work by Mr. Jussieu, on 15 November 1778”.

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Silver production, expressed in thousands of marks (Augsburg weight) at the main European silver mines (1500-1550).

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:41 +0000

In the mid-15th century, a number of circumstances seem to have come together to bring about general economic development. In that period, the population grew at a faster rate, a series of needs arose in the princely courts, which were driven by the Renaissance spirit, the great nation states developed and wars required arms and precious metals. All this was combined with the great overseas expansion of the Iberian peoples. Between 1470 and 1540, the demand for precious metals for minting and sustaining military conflicts reached an all-time high. The second period of flourishing, centred on the 16th century, appeared in a different form from those previously mentioned. The mining fever had a capitalist and monopolistic character, stimulated by monarchs and princes with specific needs. However, it should be noted that the mining companies attracted large amounts of capital from Nuremberg, Magdeburg, Dresden, Augsburg or Cologne, where the princes also played an important role in these investments. At the beginning of the 16th century, massive capital investments appeared for the first time, reaching peak production in Bohemia in the years 1520-1540.

The post Silver production, expressed in thousands of marks (Augsburg weight) at the main European silver mines (1500-1550). first appeared on History Lab.

Silver coin issues in the Crown of Aragon (1480-1598)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:13 +0000

The discovery of America by the Hispanic Monarchy led to the use of Castilian reales in the Crown of Aragon due to the remittances of silver received by Castile. Ferdinand the Catholic sought to increase the legal value of the silver coins of the Aragonese crown so that they would not be annulled, nominally devaluing the vellon to facilitate conversion with the Castilian reales. The monarch refused to reduce the weight of the silver coins during his reign in order to prevent their export. why were the Valencian dieciochenos exported? Their weight in silver exceeded the nominal value which the law recognised. During the reign of Charles V between 1480 and 1598, the weight of the silver coinage in the Crown of Aragon tended to be reduced in the Kingdom of Valencia, without any loss of value. Thus, the weight of the Valencian dieciocheno was reduced by 25.25% in 1522 and by 29% in 1547. Compared to the Valencian money market, the Catalan one was more stable. In fact, the weight of the Catalan croat remained constant at 3.23 grams throughout the 17th century.

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Silver coin issues in the Crown of Aragon (1601-1700)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:13 +0000

For the Crown of Aragon, made up of the kingdoms of Aragon, Valencia and the principality of Catalonia, the issue of silver coins was one of the main concerns of the monetary economy. If during the 16th century the weight of the Valencian dieciocheno had to be reduced so as not to exceed its legal tender value and thus avoid its export, the 17th century saw similar measures for the Catalan “croat” and real and the Valencian dieciocheno itself. In the first case, the 3.12 grams that the croat had weighed since 1493 was reduced in 1619 to 3.04 grams, reaching 2.81 grams in 1653. The Catalan real fell from 2.5 grams to 2.04 between 1674 and 1698. For its part, the Valencian silver coin ended the century at 1.87 grams, almost half the 3 grams it weighed in 1480. However, the Aragonese real remained at a fixed weight of 3.42 for more than a century: from 1519 to 1652. All these adjustments were carried out as reforms aimed at readjusting the silver to the fleece.

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Vellón issues and nominal stock of vellón in circulation in Spain (in millions of maravedíes), 1596-1680

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:52 +0000

The Catholic Monarchs drew up a reform of the monetary system of the Crown of Castile in 1497, basing the system on three metals: gold, silver and vellón (an alteration of silver and copper). The unit of account was the maravedí, which in practice did not correspond to any specific metal coin. The gold coin established by the Catholic Monarchs was called the ducado or excelente, which was equivalent to 375 maravedíes with a degree of purity of 98.958%. The silver coin was called real, equivalent to 34 maravedíes with a degree of purity of 93.055%, while the vellón had a degree of purity of 2.43%. Modifications followed in the following reigns, with Charles V beginning new alterations which continued to be reproduced by the Hispanic monarchs: Philip II decreed in 1596 the minting of pure copper without silver alloy in order to take advantage of a new system which would allow greater profits; Philip III in 1602 decreed the elimination of the 0.3% of silver in the minting of fleece coins until it was stopped in 1608. Due to the inflation caused by the vellon, in the 1620s various pragmatic rates were enacted that limited prices and salaries. However, after 1636, following the cessation of hostilities with France, prices began to rise again until 1638, when it was decreed that the fleece coinage minted after 1602 would be melted down at a rate of 375 million maravedíes per year. Since 1602 only pure copper coinage had been minted until the decree of 29 October 1660 ordered the minting of a new coinage with a 7% silver content, of which 816 maravedíes were to be minted. Between 1657-1662 there was a moderate rise in prices and an increase in the price of silver to around 80% at the beginning of 1662, which lasted until 1669.

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Potosí. Example of a colonial space

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:11 +0000

Chapter of the series “Horizontes Ciencias Sociales”, part of the Encuentro channel, broadcast by the Ministry of Education (Argentina), which explains the process of mining the immense silver deposits by the Spanish colonists. This exploitation had a lot to do with the growth of the city of Potosí, a city that reached similar dimensions to European cities such as London. It also tells what life was like for the mine workers, in this case the Ayaconas Indians, and how their work equipment was made. Of course, the great human toll of the hard work in the mines is not overlooked. Gradually, guilds began to form around the exploitation. In this context, inequalities increased as a result of the wealth and the increase in capital of a few bourgeois merchants whose social ascent had repercussions in Europe, especially in Spain.

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The mints of the Indies

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:11 +0000

This short video explains the birth of the mints in the American dominions. The regions of Mexico and Santo Domingo, and later Lima and Potosí, are particularly highlighted. The first Bourbons imposed quality measures which prompted the opening of new mints in Guatemala, Popayán and Santiago de Chile. Silver from the colonies arrived in Spain where it was minted, above all, in the form of reales de a ocho, a coin also known as the peso and later as the duro. The type of coins was also varied, with special emphasis on the symbolism in the form of the Pillars of Hercules and the motto of Emperor Charles: PLVS VLTRA.

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