The Miners During Colonial Latin America

Yet despite any conjectures drawn from accounts of scholars, merchants, officials and priests it is impossible to know the full extent of the economic and social effects of silver without the voice of the common people. It was the commoners, laborers, slaves, farmers and peasants which bore the full brunt of the trade. Their every day lives relied on day to day paychecks, which mandated how they survived. It is the rise and fall of poverty in the peasantry, the social unrest or benefit of the commoners that would reveal the true effect of silver. The majority of all of

An increase in the flow of silver during the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century initiated economic and social effects in all areas linked by trade building more economic opportunities and also distinguished social divisions. The documents are written by people from either the British, Chinese, or Spanish all in different social classes. The negative social effects on the lower ranked classes caused an unequal distribution of silver which can be seen in documents 1, 3, 5, and 6. The economic effect of increased prices of traded goods can be seen in documents 2 and 7. Lastly, the economic effect of merchant’s travels caused competition among countries which can be seen in documents 4 and 8. It would have be helpful to read

The workforce constituted mainly of immigrants. Well-connected railway networks allowed the United Mine workers of America to bring immigrants to Colorado. It surely proved to be cost-effective for the company. The migrant workers were paid too poorly for them to be able to sustain their families. Miners were forced to work 10-12 hours a day. “Mine work seemed to turn boys into drones, women into men, and manly laborers into an inferior class of beings.”The company employed women and children in arduous working conditions with inadequate pay, compromising their health and well being. This in turn reduced the wages of the miners as they became easily replaceable.

The book "Silver and Entrepreneurship in Seventeenth-Century Potosi" show us that men who exploited silver mines used to be ordinary Spaniard that came to Potosi in the early stages. For example Antonio Lopez was an ordinary male, familiar and with not that much education, but he became a silver trader at Potosi. Lopez's experience as a silver trader brought him into contact with the processes of silver making in knowledge, and especially seems likely to have provided him with an education in the capital structure and operations of the industry. Potosi gives to Antonio Lopez the opportunity to grow economically and change him into an important person that delineates the economic and social history of Potosi .

The working conditions in factories were so bad during this time that it often led to sickness, injuries and death. People who worked in mines had to face many dangerous disadvantages every day. The working conditions in mines were very unsafe,

1). The Nations of Europe sought to expand their empire because they were on the verge of overpopulation.Between 1550 and 1600 the population grew from three million to four million people. Also, England and Spain were at a war for power. The Spanish attempts at colonizing the New World had been extremely successful, for they had gained both wealth and power. The English did not see such success, as their ships would crash, be lost to the seas, or their colonization efforts would cease to be useful. Through the Spaniards control over the Americas they had gained a massive naval army, noted as the Spanish Armada. The Spanish attempt to invade England in 1588 failed which lead to the beginning of the fall of the Spanish empire in the New World.

The Susan Lee Johnson article on miners in California helped me to understand the how men in the mining towns behaved in the absence of Anglo-women. It was interesting to see some of similarities between men assuming female gender roles in California Gold Mines with that of the men in the early establishment of Jamestown, Virginia. However, the added factors like spare time and the local women in California added an even more distorted spin to the men's behavior.

conditions these miners had to face. The author starts of talking about the gold rush, but how the Candian

The Conquest of Mexico and the conversion of the peoples of New Spain can and should be included among the histories of the world, not only because it was well done but because it was very great. . . . Long live, then, the name and memory of him [Cortés] who conquered so vast a land, converted such a multitude of men, cast down so many men, cast down so many men, cast down so many idols, and put an end to so much sacrifice and the eating of human flesh! —Francisco López de Gómara (1552)

The global flow of silver managed to redefine the social structure in many societies, as well as dramatically altered the basis of the economy in many European and Asian countries. Despite the economic change that came from the mass production of silver and its use as a standard currency, the growth of the silver industry brought as much change socially and culturally as it brought economic transformation. Many people viewed the conversion to silver being the standardized currency as a huge hindrance to their daily lives, but the silver industry brought wealth to many societies and became a necessity in trade. On one side of things, the flow of silver throughout the world brought a wave of economic change, as mentioned in documents 3,5,6,

During the mid-seventeenth century and early eighteenth century, many events occurred along with the global flow of silver bullion. In the early 1600’s, the Dutch East India Company was founded and this contributed to the Dutch Golden Age of trade, science, military and art. Also in the early 1600’s, Tokugawa Ieyasu seized Japan and made the Tokugawa Shogunate military government that was headed by the shoguns. In the mid 1600’s the Taj Mahal was being built in Agra, India by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. In the late 1600’s, John Locke was starting to publish his first work and he was starting to influence Voltaire and Rousseau. With these influential time periods came the global flow

One of the weaknesses of this book was the way in which a strong opinion of the author frequently came to the surface. The impression given when reading was one of bias in that the Spanish were wrong to come in and refine everything. This was reflected in the fact that periodically within the book, when the Spanish conquistadors did something to the Indians, it was pointed out how inhumane it was. Yet, when the Indians retaliated in some way, it was quickly pointed out how justified they were. The mentioned advantages that the Indians gained through the Spaniards were infrequent and underdeveloped.

From the mid 1500's to the early 1700's, silver has influenced economy and social life in the countries Spain and China. The documents provided state that the silver trade contributed to many controversies worldwide in this time period. One issue from this silver trade was economic and social effects. In Documents 2, 3, and 4 the economic consequences of the silver trade are made seen. In Documents 6, 7, and 8 the social consequences can be seen.

As a new and mysterious world awaits to be discovered, daring conquistadors leave their home country of Spain in a journey of exploration. Two men by the name of Narvaez and Cabeza de Vaca set sail to thwart the untrustworthy Cortez who, behind the backs of Narvaez and Cabeza de Vaca, sailed to the New World with half of Narvaez’s crew in search of treasures. However, the journey would prove to be treacherous as the conquistadors would have to encounter hostile Native Americans and strange terrain they have never seen before. Throughout the expedition, future encounters between the Native Americans and conquistadors were heavily influenced by the personalities of the individuals and past experiences the Native Americans faced.

Because the Indians and Spanish lived in different areas in Latin America, the Indian culture and society did not change significantly. Or did there society change?