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Gold and Silver Mining in Spanish and Portuguese America

It was not until the late 17th and early 18th century that gold gained momentum and decreased the value of silver. The challenges presented by poor technology, labor and higher capital required in the production of silver and cost of shipping was no longer profitable to the European Markets. Massive gold deposits found by bandeirantes in the interior region of Brazil came to be known as Minas Gerais. Brazil became the major producer of gold in the 18th century, shipping more than 170,000 kilograms of gold.
             For the quest of Silver, miners moved deeper into inlands of New Spain, sometimes into dry lands or high plateaus where they became an easy target for the indigenous attacks and raids. Production of silver experienced declined due to various factors like lack of mercury used to process ores, labor shortages and insufficient capital and technology to excavate below the surface of ground. The government aids and tax cuts offered to miners for technical improvements helped many entrepreneurs to cut tunnels and shafts underground. Some miners used gunpowder to broaden the shafts and tunnels where workers would work grueling hours to pick the loose silver-bearing rocks and carry hundreds of pound of sacks of ore above the ground. Some miners used smelting techniques used by native Andeans to extract silver from ores but scarcity of firewood made it harder to achieve the supply. Some modern refiners used advanced technique of amalgamation, a method used by crushing the ore, combining it with mercury and salt and then heating the mixture for long period of time to extract silver after mercury had vaporized. This method was adapted and commonly used by many refiners after the deposits of mercury were found in Peru. Like Silver, the discovery of gold in Minas Gerais drew attention of many miners and prospects that immigrated to the inland regions of Colonial Brazil. Many aspiring miners led expeditions into more remote areas in search of gold that turned out favorable when extra gold was found in Goias and Mato Grosso.


Essays Related to Gold and Silver Mining in Spanish and Portuguese America

1. A Brief History of Latin America

More specifically it was the Aztec and Inca civilizations that remain noted because of the remarkable gold and silver they possessed which caused Cortés, Pizarro, and the Spanish government to colonize these areas as quickly as possible. ... But it was Atahuallpa ransomed himself, offering Pizarro a room full of gold and one of silver. ... But that time the Spanish had took hold of the mining industry in Peru and dominated the surrounding areas from Colombia to Chile. ... But it was these men that would bring home gargantuan wins for Spain and the Spanish Empire. 2) Explain and compar...

  • Word Count: 1949
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Coloninazation of the new world

When one looks at the colonization of the New World from the Spanish and Portugal crown, the resources were limited. ... According to the Spanish and Portugal crown, the only person of high hierarchy status, could question the Divine Right. ... To understand the heritage of colonialism, one has to look at the Spanish and Portugal's vivid role of the fathers. ... While religion was affecting colonies, colonizers focused on sugar cultivation and silver mining. ... While doing this they expanded the Portuguese claims, finding gold and diamonds. ...

  • Word Count: 656
  • Approx Pages: 3

3. African Slave Trade

This region was referred to as the Gold Coast. ... Spanish conquistadors set out hoping to trade goods for riches, but quickly enslaved the Native American people to make them search for gold and silver. Millions of Native Americans died either from disease, malnutrition, or Spanish torment. ... Mining silver Peru, Africans worked alongside with Native Americans. ... The Portuguese's early dominant position gave them an advantage in the slave trade, because the profit of Native American labor created the finances needed to import African slaves. ...

  • Word Count: 2584
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Racism and Economics of the Atlantic Slave Trade

There was an urgent need for laborers in order to further develop the colonies - especially in their agricultural and mining endeavors. ... The Atlantic Slave Trade benefited the Europeans, the slave traders, and the American colonists. ... Mining of gold and silver was also hard and tedious work. ... It excluded prior enslavement of Africans by Europeans in Sicily, Spain, Portugal, and the Eastern Atlantic Islands. ... If the lands colonized in the Americas were to yield a profit, labor was needed. ...

  • Word Count: 1359
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Plantation Complex

From the Americas, colonial products such as fur, tobacco, silver, and sugar was sent to Europe to be manufactured. ... After Columbus discovered the West Indies in 1492, Spanish and Portuguese exploration and colonization brought many people to migrate to the Americas. ... The Spanish Empire focused on the cultivation of sugar and the mining of gold in Mexico, New Granada and Peru, which essentially covered the entire west coast of both North and South America, as well as all of Central America including islands such as Cuba and Santo Domingo. ... Finally, the Portuguese had settled mostly in...

  • Word Count: 2790
  • Approx Pages: 11
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. The African Slave Commodity

Europe was colonizing in the New World, "Silver and later sugar, and tobacco paid for African Slaves required the slave labor for production.... As another example, Jesuits were big production empires with the help of slavery, they were the largest land holders in America, and the Spanish were the largest owner of slaves. ... Portugal is connected to this by contributing to the Arab slave trade. ... "They give in exchange slaves whom the Arabs bring from the land of the Blacks, and gold tiber. ... There was also skilled labor of sailing, fishermen, mining, blacksmith shops, and weavi...

  • Word Count: 1507
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Cultural Analysis Of Bolivia

The Spanish conquest of the country began in 1531 under Francisco Pizarro. In 1544, deposits of silver were discovered at Poto­. ... The expansion of mining by the end of the nineteenth century attracted foreign investment, which led to the development of three large foreign mining corporations that became dominant in Bolivia's economic and political life. ... Bolivia has kept a democratic tradition ever since, which is considered one of the most stable democracies in South America. ... The Cordillera Occidental is part of the Andean range that extends along the western fringe of South ...

  • Word Count: 4719
  • Approx Pages: 19

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