Silver+Trade+1500-1750

=Silver in the New World (Derick Buffum)= From 1500 to 1800 Mexico and Peru produced around 85% of the world's silver. 40% of that silver eventaully ended up in China. In the Columbian exchange it wasn't worth trading chaper goods long distance, because of the shipping costs. Luxury goods such as silver and silk, however were worth shipping long distances. This was because you could still make a large profit. Overall silver created the most economic influence throughout the Columbian exchange.

In the 1545 the Spanish discovered the richest silver mine in the Americas at **Potosi**. Potosi was in Bolivia, and was one of the most populated cities in colonial Spanish America. However men who worked in the mine were not expected to live past their second year in the mine.

=The Spanish and the Silver Trade= At the silver refinery at Potosi the miners would mix mercury with silver ore. SIlver's profits increased when mixed with mercury. The Spanish took advantage of this. However silver mines like Potosi meant enslavement for the Native Americans and slaves imported from Africa by the Spanish. The silver was often traded in Europe, China, and Japan for loans and cash. Spain had the most control over the silver trade. The silver went through the Spanish before being spread throughout Europe. Between 1560 and 1685 Spanish America imported 25,000 to 35,000 tons of silver to Spain annually. Silver even funded wars for countries like Portugal. Also the silver was moved to China on Spanish Galleons. Spain had a monopoly on silver in the new world.

=**Effect of Silver in Europe, China and the Americas**= Besides causing the enslavement of many native americans, the mining of silver led to deforestation in South America and Mexico. As for the Chinese and European economies, their economies were based on silver coinage. This was able to happen because of the sudden large supple of silver that America was producing. European entrepreneurs could buy commodities from Asia such as (coffee, tea, pepper, and other spices) with silver. Potosi, along with the mines in Mexico pumped so much silver into the trade networks of Europe that it completely changed Europe's relationship with it's trading partners. It developed strong trade relations between Europe, India, and China.



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"Silver Trade Part 2." Accessed December 15, 2011. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/chinawh/web/s5/s5_4b.html. "The Great Global Convergence." Accessed December 15, 2011. [].
 * References:**

Barbara, Bode. //No Bells to Toll//. New York, NY: Charles Scibner's Sons, 1989.