HS 122 Lecture 10: Silver and Globalization, 1570-1700
8 Mar 2018
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Document Summary
Inflation of paper money due to excessive printing and frontier wars. Late yuan/mongol period (to 1368) into the ming dynasty. Return to silver as the basis for currency. 1580-single whip reform-one annual tax collection in silver coins. Need for new sources of silver in china- japan and spanish empire. Significant silver deposits were found in the mountains of bolivia, in the viceroyalty of. Most significant mine at potos , high in the mountains. 25,000-35000 tons of silver annually from the americas. Mita system-compulsory labor under the incas to build roads. Spanish as a form of tribute, pressing peoples of peru and bolivia to work in the mines. Over 200 communities enrolled in mita from 1573-1812. Short life expectancy-high mortality due to lung diseases, industrial accidents. Use of coca to cope with conditions in the mines. Low salaries to mita workers; salary of agricultural day laborer. Conditions in the mines: pay own travel expenses to potos .
