Spanish Empire Dynamics, Early Globalization, and Copper Production in Early Colonial Mexico (1522–1648)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Technological Transitions in Prehispanic and Colonial Metallurgy: Recent and Ongoing Research at the Archaeological Site of Jicalán Viejo, in Central Michoacán, West Mexico" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mesoamerica, they found a well-developed metallurgical tradition based on copper and copper-based alloys. With an increasing demand for copper and an almost complete lack of copper extractive knowledge, the Spaniards relied on indigenous labor and specialized metallurgical know-how to provide the newly founded New Spain with all the necessary copper demanded by the colonial expansion. This was a metal of exceptional importance used extensively for artillery making and coinage, but whose local production in considerable quantities and at a relatively low price also facilitated the development of some of the most important economic activities in New Spain, such as silver and sugar production. However, this hybrid Indigenous-Spanish production was deeply influenced by the global expansion of the Spanish Empire, and the recurrent armed conflicts in which Spain was immersed defined the social and technological characteristics and the political economy of its production. This presentation analyses the development of early colonial Mexican copper production within the context of expansion and conflict in the Spanish Empire.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Technological Transitions in Prehispanic and Colonial Metallurgy: Recent and Ongoing Research at the Archaeological Site of Jicalán Viejo, in Central Michoacán, West Mexico   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36878.0