Peak Silver Production at Potosí in the 1610s

Name: Peak Silver Production at Potosí in the 1610s
Start: 1610
End: 1619

Type Event Region South America Time 1610–1619

In the 1610s, the Potosí silver mines in Upper Peru (present-day Bolivia) maintained the world's most important silver output.

Timeline

1610–1615Potosí · Potosí DepartmentThe amalgamation process was widely adopted across the veins at all levels of Cerro Rico, with the Royal Mint and private refining works operating in parallel. Low-grade ore could also be processed, keeping output at a high level.
1610–1619Potosí · Potosí DepartmentThe colonial authorities conscripted mita laborers from Andean communities into the mines; high-altitude work and mercury poisoning caused severe population losses, prompting repeated petitions from clergy and local officials and limited reform attempts.
1610–1619Lima–Panama–Seville route · LimaIngots were carried overland to Lima for registration; part was sent north along the Pacific route, and part was transferred via the Isthmus of Panama to Atlantic fleets, forming a core source of revenue for the Spanish royal quintos tax and European trade.