The Silver Road

C06　—　Chain of people

Silver dug at Potosí passes through Manila and arrives in China.

Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama　／　Reading time (main text): course text ~8 min + textbook ~35 min = ~43 min　／　Beyond the text: 10 exercises · 11 readings

What this course teaches you to do

• You can name three points on the route by which New World silver circled the globe.
• You can explain why the country that held the silver did not grow rich.
• You can explain how the labour of the mines was procured.
• You can judge what reservations the phrase "the birth of world trade" requires.
• Can explain the significance and limitations of Hamilton's tally (16,886 tons of registered silver).
• Can discuss the Iwami Silver Mine and the Manila Galleons as key points on the eastern part of the Silver Way.

TEXTBOOK

Lessons (8)

1. Where did the silver flowHolding silver and being able to use it are different. If you borrowed before it landed, it passes straight through.
2. Who was it that dug the silverExisting institutions are easily repurposed. The name may stay while content and aim have changed.
3. Enemies gather along the silver roadThe longer the road, the costlier the guard. Guarding silver can cost more than the silver.
4. What reservations "the birth of world trade" needsThe more striking the sentence, the more it needs whose thesis it is. That alone makes it safe to use.
5. The Man Who Measured the Road — Hamilton's LedgerFour hundred years later, an economic historian measured the breadth of the Silver Road from the Seville registers. Unregistered amounts are not included.
6. The Cupellation Masters of the Eastern Island — The Silver of IwamiJapanese silver, once said to account for one-third of the world's supply. The introduction of refining technology connected the island to the Silver Road.
7. Sails of the Pacific — The Merchants of the Manila GalleonFrom Acapulco to Manila. The exchange of silver and silk transformed the Pacific into a single trade route.
8. What Remains at the End of the Road — From Silver Dollar to YenAt the end of the Silver Road, there is no silver. What remained were the names: dollar, yen, and yuan.

Case studies — applied in the materials (11)

• The mountain eats men　Spain　1573　The villages of the high Andes
  §2. Read it together with the chapter title "the mountain eats men." It is the record of those who dug.
• The Manila galleon　Spain　1571　Manila
  §4. This is where the phrase "the birth of world trade" comes from.
• Italy　Overview: 2,700 years of the world　the 16th century　The Treasurers of Genoa
  §1. The scene where silver flows to Genoa. Note the line about fighting with ledgers rather than swords.
• The asiento　Spain　1556–1557　The hall of the abdication
  §1. The scene where debt is inherited along with the territory.
• The price revolution　Spain　1503–1660　Seville, the archive of the official register
  Section 5. A survey four hundred years later. A model for stating figures along with their limitations.
• Silver goes round the world　Overview: 2,700 years of the world　the 16th century　The Iwami Silver Mine
  Section 6. "Said to be" one-third of the world's silver—reading the claim with its caveat.
• Mexico　Overview: 2,700 years of the world　the 16th–18th centuries　Silver Across the Pacific
  Section 7. The eagle silver coin most beloved in Asia.
• Towards the euro　Spain　the present　Madrid, the Puerta del Sol
  Section 8. Dollar, Yen, Yuan—the path of silver in their names.
• Taxes turn to silver　China　the later 16th century　A county office, the tax registers
  The reason silver flowed to China lies in this point. It is written here that the Single Whip Reform, which consolidated various taxes and labor services into a single payment in silver, took fifty years to spread throughout the country after its proposal in 1530.
• The Magic of the Patio　Mexico　1554–　Almadén → Veracruz
  This is about what the miners lacked. Please note that the mercury required for the patio process was a royal monopoly, and the amount supplied directly determined the upper limit of silver production. Also, see that the Crown measured production by the rule of thumb of one marco of silver per pound of mercury.
• A country with no mines had enough silver　India　16th–17th centuries　Caravans of the Near East and Central Asia
  The silver road was not only across the Pacific. Please note that it reached India via two routes: a land route through caravans in the Near East and Central Asia, and a sea route carried by company ships. Also, see that historians have written that Spain ceased to be the greatest beneficiary of New World silver.

Assessment

10 exercises in this course (7 check, 0 compare, 3 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.