The odyssey of quicksilver. The long road from Almadén to America in the Modern Age

Abstract

In 1556, the Sevillian Bartolomé de Medina discovered in Pachuca (New Spain) the industrial method of amalgamating silver ores with quicksilver, which allowed the exploitation of low-grade silver ores. From then on, the Almadén mine acquired great importance, since the more quicksilver was sent to America, the more silver reached the metropolis. The transport of mercury, a liquid and heavy metal, along the land route between Almadén and Seville or Cadiz was complicated, but even more so was the transport by sea between the metropolis and America due to the wars, corsairs and hurricanes in the Caribbean. Nevertheless, the Crown provided the silver miners with the necessary quicksilver throughout the Modern Age, and the Viceroyalty of New Spain became the world's largest producer of silver at the end of the 18th century.