The Environmental Dynamics of Colonial Mining and Metallurgy in the Bishopric of Michoacan, 1522 to 1810

Summary

Mining and metallurgy played a critical role in the economic, political, and social development of Spanish American colonies, and although it has consequently received extensive attention by scholars, there have been very few studies of the environmental dimensions of these industries. The present work explores the impact of mining and processing of metal ores on the environment, for the mining districts located along the Bishopric of Michoacan (which included the modern states of Michoacan and Guanajuato, as well as parts of Jalisco, Colima, Guerrero, and San Luis Potosí), from the beginning of colonial mining (1522) to the turn of the nineteenth century. It also details the more local environmental dynamics of metallurgy and fuel wood consumption –the main source of energy for metal smelting and processing –, and their related social aspects.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• The Environmental Legacies of Colonialism in the Neotropics

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