← Explore on the interactive map
Hispaniola Gold Mining (1501–1510)
Between 1501 and 1510, Spanish colonists mined gold on a large scale in the Cibao region of Hispaniola, using the encomienda system to force Taíno la…
Timeline
- 1501–1503Cibao River Valley · Island of HispaniolaAfter the Taíno revealed news of Cibao's gold to the Spanish in the late 1490s, colonists quickly organized extraction; output surged around 1501, drawing large numbers of Spanish settlers from the coast inland.
- 1503–1505Island of Hispaniola · Island of HispaniolaIn 1503 King Ferdinand issued an edict requiring colonists to relocate to the gold-producing districts and concentrate Taíno labor, establishing the Crown's monopoly on gold collection (the royal fifth), fully strengthening the encomienda in mining.
- 1506–1510Cibao gold belt · Island of HispaniolaAfter 1506 easily accessible placer gold grew scarce, and the Taíno population plummeted from overwork, disease, and oppression; the colonial economy was forced to shift to sugar cultivation and seek new islands, driving expansion into Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and elsewhere after 1508.
Sources
- Hispaniola https://www.britannica.com/place/Hispaniola
- Bartolomé de las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies — Bartolomé de las Casas (1552)