1545
High in the mountains of South America, a silver mountain was discovered. They called it the 'Rich Mountain'.
Around 4800 meters
The altitude where it was found
WORDS
The phrase "Worth as much as Potosí"
Potosí, a silver mine in South America, became a byword for "immense wealth." Its silver travelled the world and moved history, but for the land where it was mined, it left not riches, but countless deaths.
Potosí's Silver in 3 Minutes
1See it
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The second half of the 16th century
This one mountain produced about 60% of the world's silver.
In 1571, production jumped again thanks to a new technique using mercury.
Around the same time
About 13,000 people were forced to work there every year.
Many died from falls, lung disease, and mercury poisoning.
Eventually
The native people of the land lost half of their population.
After that
The silver was made into large silver coins and flowed across the sea to North America.
People called them 'Spanish dollars'.
Around that time
The silver also flowed through Manila and was absorbed by China.
China had decreed that taxes must be paid in silver.
Looking back
The countries that became rich were the ones the silver just passed through.
2In numbers
60%
Approximate share of the world's silver produced by the single mountain of Potosí in the second half of the 16th century.
13,000people
Approximate number of people rounded up for forced labor each year.
3What would you do?
The phrase 'worth as much as Potosí' came to mean immense wealth. So, who do you think became the richest?
Pick one
The land of Potosí where the silver was mined
It was the opposite. The land was left not with wealth, but with countless deaths. The native people lost half of their population.
The countries the silver passed through
That's right. The silver flowed to Europe, North America, and then through Manila to China, enriching the countries it passed through.
The story of the dollar begins with the sight of North America, a land filled with the silver coins of a foreign empire.
4Read more
At the Foot of the Mountain of Riches
The phrase "worth as much as Potosí" was even coined to describe immense wealth. This expression refers to a single silver mountain located in the highlands of the South American Andes.
In 1545, a cone-shaped mountain discovered at an altitude of approximately 4,800 meters was named "Cerro Rico," the mountain of riches. At its foot, the town of Potosí was founded.
Silver Carried Out with Blood
In the latter half of the 16th century, the single mountain of Potosí produced about 60% of the world's mined silver. When the technique of refining with mercury reached the Andes in 1571, production, which had fallen, soared again.
However, this wealth was built on countless deaths. Approximately 13,000 people were conscripted each year for forced labor known as the "mita." Many perished from falls, lung diseases, and mercury poisoning. The indigenous population of this region eventually lost half of its people. The silver that moved European prices was thus carried out from the depths of the earth, along with blood.
The Spanish Dollar Crosses the Sea
With the silver mined from Potosí and other mines, the Spanish Empire minted large silver coins: the 8-real silver coin, a currency people called the "Spanish dollar."
This silver coin crossed the Caribbean Sea, entered the Atlantic trade network, and flowed into the North American colonies. Despite being British colonies, Spanish silver coins were used for daily payments. A land without its own currency was being filled with the silver coins of another empire. The story of the dollar begins with this scene.
To the Great Sink on the Other Side of the World
The destination for Potosí's silver was not just Europe and North America. It crossed vast oceans and was also drawn into the great sink on the other side of the world: China during the Ming dynasty.
The Ming dynasty, having failed with its own paper currency, mandated that taxes be paid in silver, which the people trusted. This was the Single Whip Reform. The system began with a proposal by Grand Secretary Gui E in August 1530 and was spread nationwide by Grand Chancellor Zhang Juzheng in the 1580s.
Thus, silver from all over the world headed for China. Silver from Potosí, opened in 1545, was also loaded onto ships from Acapulco, Mexico, passed through Manila, founded in 1571, and reached the coast of Jiangnan in China. It was not the countries that produced the silver that grew rich, but the countries through which it passed.
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