Yerba Mate Interregional Trade

Timeline

1. 1500–1550Paraguay River basin · ParaguayGuaraní people gathered holly leaves in subtropical forests and brewed them in gourd vessels; after contact with Spanish conquerors and missionaries, its stimulant and social functions were recognized and it entered the colonial economic sphere.
2. 1561–1570Jesuit Paraguay missions · missionsJesuits in the Paraguay missions organized indigenous planting and drying of mate leaves, shipping them by river and road to Buenos Aires, Asunción, and upstream towns, forming an early interregional commodity circulation chain.
3. 1565–1650Upper Peru–La Plata corridor · La PlataMate traveled overland to mining cities like Potosí in Upper Peru, meeting silver-economy consumer demand; return caravans carried European manufactures and colonial goods, forming a key category of inland South American transverse trade.
4. 1570–1700Southern South America · South AmericaMate-drinking spread from missions to colonial urban elites and laborers, maturing trade networks laid the foundation for the mate economies of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and others in the 18th–19th centuries.