The Potosí Mint: How Silver Coins Fueled Global Empire

Lucas and Luna dive into the heart of Spain's colonial economy: the Royal Mint of Potosí. How did a single mint in the Andes produce the silver coins — the famous pieces of eight — that bankrolled the Spanish Empire and transformed global trade? Lucas traces the mint's founding after the discovery of Cerro Rico, the brutal mita labor system that supplied workers, the technical process of minting macuquinas (cob coins), and the corruption and fraud that plagued the operation. He explains how the mint's output flowed through the Manila Galleon to China, reshaping economies on both sides of the Pacific. The conversation also touches on the later Bourbon Reforms, which introduced milled coinage and attempted to curb smuggling. Along the way, Luna asks about the human cost: the mitayos who died in the mint's dangerous conditions. A vivid look at how a single institution turned Andean silver into the lifeblood of early modern capitalism. #PotosíMint #RoyalMint #PiecesOfEight #Mita #CerroRico #ViceroyaltyOfPeru #CasaDeMoneda #Macuquina #SilverCoin #BourbonReforms #ManilaGalleon #GlobalTrade #LaborHistory #ColonialEconomy #16thCentury #17thCentury #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo