The Silver of Potosí

In the Cerro Rico by Potosí the richest deposits of silver are discovered; soon Indian labourers are driven here under the mita labour levy, and later African slaves are brought as well. Mortality in the mines, and in refining the ore with mercury, is very high. The silver flows through Seville into Europe and through Manila into China, setting world prices for generations and feeding the wars of the Spanish crown. The city swells past a hundred thousand inhabitants. Spanish keeps the phrase to this day: worth a Potosí.