Potosí

Potosí is a city in the Bolivian Andes, founded near the Cerro Rico silver deposit. Its mines supplied enormous quantities of silver to the Spanish Empire.

Cerro Rico: A mountain above Potosí, famous for its rich silver deposits. Its silver lodes drove Potosí’s rapid growth and imperial importance.
Mita: A system of compulsory labor obligations imposed on communities in the Andes under Inca and Spanish rule. Spanish officials adapted the mita to supply workers for Potosí’s mines.
Spanish Empire: A global empire ruled by Spain from the late fifteenth century into the nineteenth century. Potosí’s silver financed the monarchy and its overseas ambitions.
Casa de la Moneda: A historic mint in Potosí, built in the eighteenth century and now a museum. Its machinery and collections document the city’s silver coinage.
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: The sixteenth-century Spanish campaign that dismantled Inca rule across much of the Andes. Spanish control of the region enabled colonial exploitation of Cerro Rico.
Amalgamation (metallurgy): A process that uses mercury to separate precious metals from crushed ore. Mercury amalgamation enabled large-scale recovery of silver from Potosí ores.
Price revolution: A prolonged rise in prices across Europe during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The influx of American silver contributed to inflation in Spain and Europe.
Potosí, Bolivia: A city in southwestern Bolivia, situated at high altitude in the Andes. This is the modern urban place, distinct from the historical mining system associated with its name.
Viceroyalty of Peru: A Spanish colonial jurisdiction established in South America in 1542, initially encompassing much of the continent. Potosí was governed within this vast colonial administration.
Mercury poisoning: Illness caused by exposure to elemental or organic mercury, which can damage the nervous system and other organs. Mercury used to refine Potosí silver created serious hazards for workers and communities.

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