Potosí Silver Mining Boom

Name: Potosí Silver Mining Boom
Start: 1551
End: 1560

Type Event Region South America Time 1551–1560

In the 1550s, silver output at Potosí (Cerro Rico) in Bolivia surged, making it the core of Spanish Empire silver exports from the Americas.

Timeline

1551–1554Cerro Rico · PotosíAfter the silver discovery in 1545, mining at Potosí expanded rapidly in the early 1550s, attracting Spanish mine owners, merchants, and large numbers of immigrants. The city's population and the number of mines grew sharply, forming the largest mining center in the Americas.
1554–1558Potosí · PotosíThe colonial authorities intensified mita labor conscription of Indian communities in Charcas and Potosí, and promoted the amalgamation process (patio process) to increase silver recovery from low-grade ore. Output rose significantly in the mid-to-late 1550s, but Andean indigenous communities suffered heavy population losses.
1556–1560Lima · LimaIn the late 1550s, Potosí silver was registered in Charcas and Lima, then shipped to the port of Callao, and carried via the Isthmus of Panama or the Cape Horn route to Seville, becoming a major source of funding for Philip II's wars and debt financing.

Potosí: The Silver City That Changed the World — Kris Lane (2019)
The Colonial Elite of Early Caracas: Formation and Crisis, 1567–1767 — Robert J. Ferry (1989)