Potosi, a city located in present-day Bolivia, held immense significance during the period studied in AP World History. Its prominence stemmed from the Cerro Rico, a mountain that yielded vast quantities of silver. This resource extraction transformed the area into a major urban center and a crucial hub within the Spanish colonial empire.
The massive silver output fueled the Spanish economy and facilitated global trade networks. This influx of wealth, however, came at a tremendous human cost, as indigenous populations were subjected to forced labor in the mines under extremely harsh conditions. The exploitation of the region’s resources and its people had profound and lasting social, economic, and political consequences for both the Americas and Europe.
