174 Ch. 5 • Rise of the Atlantic: Economy: Spain and Englandcontributed to its expanding economy. During the first years of the Spanish
colonial period, Mexican gold helped finance the next wave of conquests. In
1545, Spaniards discovered the rich silver mines of Potosf (then in Peru,
now in Bolivia), and a year later they uncovered more deposits in Mexico.
A new refining process helped Spain triple the silver resources of Europe to
its own profit. Mules carried silver extracted at Potosf on a fifteen-day jour
ney down 12,000 feet and many miles to the port of Arica in northern Chile;
then the sea voyage of several months by convoy began. Among other things,
the silver paid for slaves brought from the coast of Africa. The Spanish
Empire contributed considerably to the sixteenth-century European trading
boom. Spain shipped colonial products and Spanish woolens to France and
the Italian city-states. Spanish ships also supplied the colonies with wine,
oil, European grain, shoes, and clothing.
The Castilian economy developed rapidly. The mountain ranges and cen
tral plateaus of Castile were divided between land for agricultural produc
tion and for raising sheep. The wool trade formed the basis of the Castilian
export economy. The mining of silver, lead, iron, and mercury also developed
in sixteenth-century Castile. Agricultural production was closely linked
to manufacturing, as were sheep to the production of woolen goods. None
theless, 85 percent of the land of Spain could not be plowed because it was
too mountainous or rocky, or could not be irrigated because of the high
elevation.
Spanish royal revenue came from peasant obligations owed on royal
domains as well as from taxes on commerce and manufacturing, import and
export taxes, levies assessed for moving sheep through specific mountain
passes, and payment from the Church for collecting tithes (the ecclesiastical
tax of 10 percent of revenue). The crown imposed protectionist measures
against foreign goods, banned the export of gold and silver, and attracted
Italian and Flemish craftsmen to Spain.
In northern Spain, the mountains and valleys of the rainy Cantabrian
coast were populated by farmers and fishermen. To the south, the Castilian
provinces of Andalusia and Granada produced wheat, olives, and wine.
Castilian farmers expanded production by terracing hillsides and planting
them in perennials, including grapevines and olive trees. Demand for tex
tiles increased, and farmers planted flax and hemp. Farm towns built irriga
tion works and processing facilities such as wine and olive presses,
flax-soaking ponds, and grist and fulling mills to turn these crops into mar
ket commodities.
Spanish nobles incurred no social stigma by engaging in wholesale or
international commerce until the eighteenth century. Many nobles capital
ized on their revenues from farm products by building facilities to store
and process the products—including flour mills, tanneries, and wine cellars,
which often doubled as taverns. Several wealthy dukes became shipping
magnates. They owned the tuna fishing rights on Castile’s Mediterranean
shore, exporting fish preserved in salt or olive oil all over Europe.