Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/618

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598

MINES AND MINING.

new rich mines, gave a fresh impulse to the mining industry, so much so that the increase in production after 1778 amounted to more than twenty-five per cent.^[1] The total annual yield of Mexico in gold and silver has been estimated at $1,500,000 for the epoch 1521-48, at $2,000,000 from 1548 till 1600, and at $3,000,000 for the following nine decades, aggregating $414,500,000. Since that time the statistics of the mint of Mexico show a considerable increase of the amount yearly coined; from $5,285,581 produced in 1690, it advanced with slight fluctuation till in 1805 it reached the maximum of $27,165,888. In the following years it declined to $21,886,500 for 1808, the total amount till then, from 1690, being $1,496,832,112.^[2] To this must be added the value of all metal wrought into jewelry, and of that which was illegally exported without being coined or taxed. The amount, frequently overrated, in all probability did not exceed one million pesos yearly; and adding this, the average

The statistics given by Zamora, Bib. Leg. Ult., i. 25-8, which have served as a base, contain evidently information from official sources, some of which have not been seen by Humboldt.

↑ The total value of gold and silver coined in Mexico during the years 1766 till 1778 amounted to $191,589,179, against $252,525,412 for the period 1779-91. Humboldt, Essai Pol., u. 577.

↑ Zamora, Bib. Leg. Ult., i. 25-8, followed by Alaman, Hist. Méj., i. app. 13-17. Their statements for the period of 1690 to 180.3 give the total coinage of gold and silver at $1,373,939,000, whilst Humboldt places it at $1,353,452,020. Essai Pol., ii. 578. The aggregate yield of silver from 1690 till 1800, was of 149,350,721 marks, whereas the annual average at the close of the eighteenth century was 7,000 marks gold and 2,500,000 marks silver, worth about $22,000,000. Id., 576-9. The following table shows the production from 1690 till 1808, by decades:

	Amount in Pesos.		Amount in Pesos.
1690-99	43,971,340	1750-59	130,219,836
1700-09	51,933,145	1760-69	119,556,109
1710-19	65,828,482	1770-79	174,772,560
1720-29	84,151,727	1780-89	193,403,561
1730-39	93,677,484	1790-99	231,080,280
1740-49	108,124,854	1800-08	200,112,734
Total yield		$1,496,832,112

[1] The total value of gold and silver coined in Mexico during the years 1766 till 1778 amounted to $191,589,179, against $252,525,412 for the period 1779-91. Humboldt, Essai Pol., u. 577.

[2] Zamora, Bib. Leg. Ult., i. 25-8, followed by Alaman, Hist. Méj., i. app. 13-17. Their statements for the period of 1690 to 180.3 give the total coinage of gold and silver at $1,373,939,000, whilst Humboldt places it at $1,353,452,020. Essai Pol., ii. 578. The aggregate yield of silver from 1690 till 1800, was of 149,350,721 marks, whereas the annual average at the close of the eighteenth century was 7,000 marks gold and 2,500,000 marks silver, worth about $22,000,000. Id., 576-9. The following table shows the production from 1690 till 1808, by decades:

Amount in Pesos. Amount in Pesos.

1690-99 43,971,340 1750-59 130,219,836

1700-09 51,933,145 1760-69 119,556,109

1710-19 65,828,482 1770-79 174,772,560

1720-29 84,151,727 1780-89 193,403,561

1730-39 93,677,484 1790-99 231,080,280

1740-49 108,124,854 1800-08 200,112,734

Total yield $1,496,832,112

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