Andean Mule Train Transport

Timeline

1. 1630Potosí silver mining district · PotosíIn the 1630s, Potosí's silver output reached its peak, requiring mule trains to bring in mercury, salt, wine, tools, and rations for large numbers of Indian laborers from the coast and lowlands each year; at 4,100 meters elevation, transport depended entirely on mules adapted to thin air and a few llamas.
2. 1631Cusco · CuscoIn the 1630s, the "Royal Road" from the port of Lima through Cusco to Potosí was a mule train trunk route carefully maintained by the colonial authorities, with rest stations and muleteer inns along the way; silver moved down and European goods moved up, forming two-way pack traffic, with caravans reaching several hundred mules.
3. 1635Arequipa · ArequipaIn the 1630s, mule trains were operated on contract by arrieros (muleteers), who often combined systems of forced Indian labor such as the mita to organize Indians as packers and porters; commercial towns like Arequipa served as distribution nodes where mule trains changed horseshoes, bought fodder, and hired labor.