Mining And Agriculture In The Spanish Empire

Question 1

what resource attracted Spanish colonists the most?

Answer 1

precious metals

-melted from Aztecs and Incas
and mined

Question 2

where were the largest silver mining operations in the Latin World?

Answer 2

1) thinly population Mexican north
- region around Zacatecas
2) high, cold, central Andes
- rich mines of Potosí

Question 3

describe the labor system employed by the Spanish to mine silver?

Answer 3

the mita system:
-Spanish authorities required each village to send 1/7th of of its male population to work 4 months at the mines in Potosí

-the draft laborers got paid- very little and did hard work

Question 4

describe the working conditions of these silver mines.

Answer 4

harsh

• hauling heavy baskets of silver ore up steep mine shafts
• toxic mercury - separates silver from ore
• high death rates - men tried to escape by fleeing and hiding

Question 5

how did the vast amount of silver taken from the New World impact the Spanish government and the world economy?

Answer 5

-powered the Spanish economy and stimulated the world economy (profits for private investors and 1/5 of the silver goes to the govnt)= quinto
-they made a good army and bureaucracy
-

Question 6

silver affect around to world (paths)

Answer 6

Atlantic-> Spain -> markets throughout Europe->Asia
(for silk, spices, porcelain)

Acapulco (W coast of Mexico)-> Manila Galleons->Asia

Question 7

purpose for a hacienda

Answer 7

sites of agricultural and craft production in Spanish America

• produced foodstuff for own use and local markets
• mostly European origin foodstuff

Question 8

how hacienda functioned

Answer 8

• labor from indigenous (encomienda system)
• rewards Spanish conquerors with ability to extract labor and tribute from defeated Moore populations with —————enconemderos to look after the laborers
• encomienda system went out of use for debt peonage
• landowners loan native tools, supplies, seeds and debtors repaid with labor, but they could never pay it off

Question 9

describe native resistance to Spanish rule

Answer 9

-rebellion, halfhearted work, retreat into the mountains and forests where Spanish power didn’t reach

• Pueblo revolt: several large groups in N Mexico had an uprising
• –led by Popé (native shaman)
• –drove Spanish settlers out for 12 years
• Túpac Amaru: Peru uprising
• –led by Túpac Amaru= last of Inca rulers

-Guaman Poma de Ayala: sent a 1,200 page letter to King Phillip III about oppressive colonists