Tehuantepec Isthmus Trade

Timeline

1. 1641–1645Tehuantepec · TehuantepecIn the 1640s, caravans carried Asian goods such as silk and porcelain overland from the Acapulco–Oaxaca line across the Tehuantepec Isthmus to the Gulf coast, where they were shipped to Veracruz and Havana, forming a vital link in the Spanish Empire's transoceanic trade network.
2. 1643–1647Oaxaca · OaxacaThe colonial authorities levied customs duties and port fees on isthmus transshipment, contracting transport to local officials and merchants; the Oaxaca diocese and municipal authorities participated in trade regulation, while indigenous forced labor and mule trains formed the social foundation of the route's operation.
3. 1647–1650Isthmus coast · OaxacaBy around 1650, isthmus trade continued to sustain the commerce of Oaxaca and Tehuantepec towns, and a mixed-race and indigenous merchant class rose; meanwhile, silver outflow, forced labor, and the expansion of church estates deepened social tensions, planting the seeds for later colonial reforms.