High-Output Period of the Potosí Silver Mines

Name: High-Output Period of the Potosí Silver Mines
Start: 1660
End: 1669

Type Event Region Bolivia Time 1660–1669

In the 1660s, the silver mines of Potosí in Bolivia, though slightly below their 16th-century peak, remained the world's most important source of sil…

Timeline

1660–1669Cerro Rico (Potosí Mountain) · PotosíPotosí's mines extracted silver from low-grade ore using the amalgamation method; although the richest veins were gradually exhausted, total output still ranked among the highest in Spanish America, maintaining the city's status as the "Silver Capital."
1662–1669Silver route from Potosí to Lima/Panama · Río de la PlataIndian mita forced laborers mined under extreme conditions; refined silver bars were transported overland and by sea to Spain, and indirectly flowed into Asian and European markets, forming the monetary basis of early globalized trade.

Sources

Potosí: The Silver City That Changed the World — Kris Lane (2019)