【简译】西班牙征服者的白银

2022-08-29 21:14 作者:神尾智代 0人读过 | 我要投稿

The Spanish conquistadors might have gained a lasting reputation as the great gold-seekers of history, but they were actually far more successful in acquiring silver. Over 100 tons of gold were extracted from the Americas from 1492 to 1560, but the quantity of silver ultimately shipped in the treasure fleets back to Spain dwarfed that figure. By 1600, 25,000 tons of silver had been transported to Spain.

西班牙征服者可能是历史上最臭名昭著的淘金者，但他们在获取白银方面要成功得多。从1492年到1560年，西班牙人从美洲开采的黄金超过100吨，但最终通过运宝船队运回西班牙的白银数量却使这个数字相形见绌。到1600年，有25,000吨白银被运到西班牙。

The process of acquiring silver had two phases. First, the conquistadors stole whatever they came across of value, kidnapping and torturing anyone they thought had knowledge of the whereabouts of valuables. The second phase was to investigate the source of the metal, that is to find and expand through forced labour the silver mines American rulers had themselves been exploiting. Mines like Potosí in Bolivia proved to be so lucrative that silver soon far outstripped gold as the most valuable cargo of the Spanish treasure fleets that shipped the resources of the Americas to Europe.

获取白银的过程有两个阶段。首先，征服者们洗劫他们遇到的任何有价值的东西，绑架和折磨任何他们认为知道贵重物品下落的人。第二阶段是调查金属的来源，也就是通过强迫劳动力找到并扩大开采银矿规模。玻利维亚的波托西（Potosí）等矿场被证明是有利可图，白银的产量很快就远远超过了黄金，成为将美洲资源运往欧洲的西班牙财宝船队最宝贵的货物。

财产与供应

Silver was esteemed by many ancient cultures because of its relative softness, which made it easy to work by metalsmiths, and the fact that when polished it gains a lustrous shine. Silver was mined in ancient Mesoamerica and South America and was much valued by the Aztecs, Incas, Moche, Wari, Lambayeque, and Chimu cultures, amongst others.

银被许多古代文化所推崇，因为它相对柔软，便于加工，而且经过抛光后会变得光泽。古代中美洲和南美洲很早就开采银，阿兹特克人、印加人、莫切人、瓦里人、兰巴耶克人和奇穆人等文化也很珍视它。

The Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Americas in the final decade of the 15th century, and they were most interested in finding gold since it was much more valuable than silver – 1 oz of gold bought 11 oz of silver in Amsterdam in the 16th century. Silver was a good second prize, though. The early conquistadors plundered whatever artefacts they could of silver and melted them down to create coinage and bullion bars for ease of transport and sharing out between them. Indigenous people were mercilessly robbed, captured, and tortured to find out where their silver and other valuables were hidden. Countless works of art, often of high religious significance to the indigenous peoples, were lost forever in this ruthless quest for cash. When the silver items ran out, the conquistadors turned their attention to the source: the mines. These they found and further exploited while new mines were also located. Eventually, thanks to the massive yields of the silver mines in Mexico and Bolivia, it was silver and not gold that dominated the meticulously kept pages of Spanish colonial accountants. By 1540, silver made up over 85% of annual precious metal shipments to Spain.

西班牙征服者在15世纪的最后十年到达美洲，他们最感兴趣的是寻找黄金，因为黄金比白银更有价值——在16世纪的阿姆斯特丹，1盎司黄金可以买到11盎司白银。不过，白银是一个很好的第二选择。早期征服者们掠夺了他们所能得到的任何银器，并将其熔化以制造硬币和金条，方便运输和交易。原住民被无情地抢劫、捕获和折磨，说出他们的银器和其他贵重物品的藏身之处。无数的艺术品，通常对原住民具有高度的宗教意义，在这种对现金的无情追求中永远消失了。银制品被掠夺完后，征服者们将注意力转向了源头：矿场。他们接管并进一步开发这些矿场，同时也找到了新的矿场。最终，由于墨西哥和玻利维亚的银矿产量巨大，在西班牙殖民时期会计人员精心保存的账簿中，占主导地位的是银而不是金。到1540年，在每年运往西班牙的贵金属中，白银占了85%以上。

墨西哥的银矿

In Mesoamerica, silver was a valuable material, although not perhaps as much as gold, turquoise, and jade. The Maya, for example, had no source of the metal of their own in the lowlands. In 1547-8 the Zacatecas mines in Mexico began operation under Spanish control, the rich local vein of silver having already been mined on a smaller scale by the Zacatec people. The man who first supervised the mining was Juan de Tolosa, and he became the richest man in New Spain as a result. Guanajuato in central Mexico (opened in 1550) was another highly profitable mine. To better exploit silver-bearing ore, deep shafts were required along with extensive drainage channels, a labour-intensive process that required a serious investment. As the historians D. A. Brading and H. E. Cross note, "To construct a deep shaft cost as much as to build a factory or a church" (549).

在中美洲，银是一种有价值的材料，尽管可能没有黄金、绿松石和玉石那么多。例如，玛雅人在低地没有自己的金属来源。1547-1548年，墨西哥的萨卡特卡斯矿区在西班牙的控制下开始运作，当地丰富的银矿脉已经被萨卡特卡斯人小规模地开采出来。第一个监督采矿的人是胡安·代·托洛萨，他因此成为新西班牙最富有的人。墨西哥中部的瓜纳华托（1550年开矿）是另一个高利润的矿山。为了更好地开采含银的矿石，需要有深井和广泛的排水渠道，这是一个劳动密集型的过程，需要大量的投资。正如历史学家D.A.Brading和H.E.Cross所指出的，"建造一个深井的费用与建造一个工厂或教堂的费用一样多"（549）。

A second round of spending was required to refine the mined ore. A mine like Sombrerete had no fewer than 84 stamp mills (arrastres) to crush the ore and 14 furnaces to smelt out the silver. Fortunately for the Spaniards, there was, at least, a spread of knowledge on how to most efficiently mine silver from other European experts (especially German miners) and from such published works as G. Agricola's 1556 De re metallica. Methods using an amalgamation process involving mercury were employed, but still, the yield of silver from ore was relatively low compared to later periods, on average 1-2 oz per 112 lbs (28-56 g per 50 kg). It was not uncommon for up to 30% of the silver to remain unextracted from the ore.

需要第二轮开支来提炼开采的矿石。像松布雷雷特这样的矿场有不少于84台碾压机（arrastres）来粉碎矿石，14个熔炉来熔炼银子。对西班牙人来说，至少从其他欧洲专家（特别是德国矿工）和格奥尔格·阿格里科拉的1556年《坤舆格致》等出版作品中教授了关于如何最有效地开采银矿的知识。使用汞齐化工艺的方法被西班牙人采用，但与后来相比，矿石的银产量仍然相对较低，平均每112磅出产1-2盎司（每50公斤28-56克）。高达30%的银未从矿石中提取出来的情况并不罕见。

When the mine owner had finally got his silver bullion bars neatly stacked and ready for transport, he next had to give the Spanish Crown one-fifth of them. Bars were taken to the local royal representative, who stamped them ready for shipping back to the king in Spain. The same 20% tax was applied on silver in South America.

矿主将他的银条堆放整齐并准备运输时，必须将其中的五分之一交给西班牙王室。银条被送到当地的皇家代表处，由他们盖章，准备运回西班牙王室。南美洲的白银也同样被征收20%的税。

南美洲的银矿

For the Incas, silver was thought to derive from the tears of the moon goddess Mama Kilya. She had a magnificent temple dedicated to her at the Inca capital Cusco, which was covered with sheets of beaten silver. The thunder god Illapa brought rain and storms, and the lightning, it was thought, came from him flashing his silver robes. For this reason, mountains which were mined by the Incas for precious metals like silver often had shrines as they were considered sacred places or huacas.

对印加人来说，银是月亮女神Mama Kilya的眼泪。她在印加首都库斯科有一座宏伟的神庙，上面铺满了加工过的银片，供奉着她。雷神Illapa带来了雨水和风暴，人们认为闪电来自于他闪烁的银袍。因此，印加人开采银等贵重金属的山常常有神龛，因为他们认为这是神圣的地方（huacas，在南美的克丘亚语中，huaca或wak'a是代表某种受人尊敬的物体，通常是某种纪念碑。）。

The Potosí mines in the Andes at Cerro Rico, Bolivia, were discovered in 1545 by Diego de Huallpa, and they proved to be the single most spectacular source of wealth for the Spanish in the whole of their empire. At their peak around 1600, the Potosí mines numbered over 600, and they collectively yielded some 9 million silver pesos each year, more than all the silver mines then operating in the world combined. The motto on the coat of arms of Potosí was boastful perhaps, but entirely accurate: "I am rich Potosí, treasure of the world, king of all mountains and envy of kings" (Sheppard, 89). The Potosí mines became such a synonym for wealth they lent their name to other mines in the Spanish Empire, notably the San Luis Potosí mines in Mexico (established in 1550). There is, too, the still-used expression in Spanish, vale un-Potosí, meaning "that's worth a fortune."

安第斯山脉中位于玻利维亚塞罗-里科的波托西矿区，是由迭戈-德-瓦尔帕于1545年发现的，该矿区是西班牙人在其整个帝国中最大的财富来源。在1600年左右的采矿高峰期，波托西矿区的数量超过600个，它们每年共生产约900万银比索，比当时世界上所有银矿的总和还要多。波托西国徽上的座右铭也许很夸张，但完全符合情况。"我是富有的波托西，世界的宝藏，所有山脉的国王，国王的荣誉"（Sheppard，89）。波托西矿区成为财富的代名词，它们的名字也借给了西班牙帝国的其他矿区，特别是墨西哥的圣路易斯波托西矿区（成立于1550年）。还有一个至今仍在使用的西班牙语表达。vale un-Potosí，意思是 "那是价值连城的财富"。

By 1600, Spanish America produced ten times the quantity of silver then mined in Europe. Production kept rising through the 17th century, but as veins were steadily worked out, by 1700 the existing silver mines produced only a quarter of the silver per year they had yielded a century before. Thanks to new mines elsewhere, though, and greater investment in the mechanisation of mining and better understanding and availability of explosives, the overall silver production in the Americas increased again in the 18th century.

到1600年，西班牙美洲的银产量是当时欧洲银产量的十倍。在整个17世纪，美洲银产量不断上升，但随着矿脉的不断开采，到1700年，现有银矿的年产量仅为一个世纪前的四分之一。不过，由于其他地方的新矿，以及对采矿机械化的更多投资和对炸药的更好理解和供应，美洲的总体银产量在18世纪再次增加。

The labour that extracted silver from mines was forced in the encomienda license system, which gave its holder the right to use local labour for free in return for offering a nominal degree of security and the "opportunity" to be educated in the Christian religion. As the Spanish state took one-fifth of all precious metals from the Americas, so the total exploitation of labourers was not discouraged. However, as diseases and poor working conditions eventually took such a severe toll on local populations, a rethink was needed. The encomienda system was consequently replaced by one of low pay, the repartimiento system, called the mita system in the South American colonies. African slaves were also brought to work in the mines; over 100,000 slaves were shipped to Mexico alone between 1521 and 1650, largely to make up for the shortfall in native labourers as the Americas became steadily more and more depopulated.

从矿场提取白银的劳动力在监护征赋制度中被强制使用，该制度给予其持有人免费使用当地劳动力的权利，以换取提供名义上的安全和接受基督教教育的 "机会"。由于西班牙国家从美洲拿走了所有贵金属的五分之一，所以对劳工的全面剥削并没有被阻止。然而，由于疾病和恶劣的工作条件最终对当地居民造成了严重的损失，因此需要进行自责与忏悔。因此，监护征赋制度被一种低报酬的制度所取代，即分派劳役制度，在南美殖民地称为mita制度。非洲奴隶也被带到矿区工作；在1521年至1650年期间，仅运往墨西哥的奴隶就超过10万名，这主要是为了弥补美洲人口逐渐减少而造成的本地劳动力的不足。

Mines like those at Potosí caused the growth of cities around them to house those who toiled for the Spanish overlords. By 1600, Potosí, despite its elevation of over 13,000 feet (4000 m), had a population of 160,000. Potosí's Spanish-speaking population was the largest in the Americas, and the city became infamous for murderous feuds between the Europeans. Despite its wealth and ability to attract people, Potosí's remote location, altitude, and frontier dangers meant that the Spanish colonial government never selected it as a centre of local government or trade. The silver was transported on to blossoming ports like Buenos Aires on the Rio de la Plata, so named for the silver (plata) that was carried on its waters. Potosí's fate was to remain a large shambling shanty town that thrived only as long as the veins of silver held out.

像波托西这样的矿场促进周围城市的发展，以安置那些为西班牙霸主工作的人。到1600年，尽管波托西的海拔超过13,000英尺（4000米），但它有16万人口常住。波托西的西班牙语人口是美洲最多的，该市因欧洲人之间的谋杀纠纷而臭名昭著。尽管波托西的财富吸引人，但其偏远的位置、海拔和边疆的危险意味着西班牙殖民政府从未选择它作为当地政府或贸易中心。白银被运往布宜诺斯艾利斯等普拉塔河上的新兴港口，普拉塔河因其河水中携带的银子（plata）而得名。波托西仍然是一个大型的棚户区，只要银矿脉还在，它就会一直繁荣下去。

Such was the massive number of labourers involved in mines like Potosí that whole industries sprang up to support them, like coca production (the leaves were chewed to make the terrible underground conditions bearable for the miners). Ranches sprang up to provide the meat for workers and the mules to transport mined ore and refined silver. Then again, so much wheat and grain were demanded in these industrialised areas that surrounding rural areas suffered famines. To extract more silver, mercury was used in the process from around 1560, further deteriorating the working conditions of the mines, which were widely described as the "mouth of hell," spitting out silver but swallowing countless victims. The mita system was not abolished until 1821.

像波托西这样的矿场涉及到大量的劳工，以至于整个行业都兴起来支撑，比如古柯生产（咀嚼古柯叶是为了让矿工能够忍受可怕的地下条件）。牧场的兴起是为了给工人提供肉食，以及提供骡子来运输开采的矿石和精炼的白银。然后，这些工业化地区对小麦和谷物的需求如此之大，以至于周围的农村地区遭受饥荒。为了提取更多的银，从1560年左右开始，汞被用于开采过程中，使矿场的工作条件进一步恶化，矿场被广泛描述为 "地狱之口"，吐出银子却吞下无数的受害者。直到1821年，mita制度才被废除。

白银流向欧洲与菲律宾

A not insignificant amount of the silver mined in the Americas stayed in the Americas. As more and more Europeans settled in cities, particularly the capitals of Mexico City and Lima, so more silver was needed to buy imported goods and for the elite to establish themselves in an increasingly industrialised environment. Even if they owned the land and encomiendas around the mines, the elite preferred urban life, and so the silver found its way back to enrich the cities of Spanish America. However, the very raison d’être of the empire was to extract wealth from colonies, and so the bulk of the silver mined was sent back to Spain.

在美洲开采的白银中，有相当一部分留在了美洲。随着越来越多的欧洲人在城市定居，特别是在墨西哥城和利马的首都，因此需要更多的银子来购买进口商品，并让精英阶层在日益工业化的环境中建立自己的地位。即使他们拥有矿山周围的土地和庄园，但精英们更喜欢城市生活，因此，白银又被用来充实西班牙美洲的城市。然而，帝国存在的理由就是要从殖民地榨取财富，所以大部分开采出来的银子都被送回了西班牙。

The Spanish galleons that carried this wealth operated in annual treasure fleets that were loaded with so much silver they were widely called the plate fleets, (a corruption of the Spanish plata), even if they carried all manner of other valuables from emeralds to pepper. Portobelo (aka Puerto Bello) on the isthmus of Panama was the first major collection point for silver taken from the Potosí mines. The silver was sent by Spanish galleons to Panama on the western coast of the isthmus and from there overland by mule train to Portobelo (which had replaced Nombre de Dios in this capacity in 1596). The Englishman Francis Drake once described this corner of the Spanish Empire as "the treasure house of the world" (Cordingly & Falconer, 15).

运载这些财富的西班牙大帆船每年都会组成运宝船队，这些船队装载了大量的白银，因此被广泛称为 "板块船队"（西班牙文 "plata "的谐音），即使它们装载了从绿宝石到胡椒的各种其他贵重物品。巴拿马地峡上的波托贝洛（又称贝洛港）是第一个从波托西矿区获取白银的主要收集点。这些银子由西班牙大帆船运到地峡西海岸的巴拿马，然后从那里通过骡车运到波托贝洛（1596年取代了诺布雷德迪奥斯的地位）。英国人弗朗西斯-德雷克曾将西班牙帝国的这个角落描述为 "世界的宝库"（Cordingly & Falconer, 15）。

Huge quantities of silver also crossed the Pacific Ocean in the Manila galleons that returned to Spanish colonies in the Philippines (1565-1815). These galleons had brought valuable trade goods like spices and silk to the Americas, goods which were then shipped on to Europe. The silver was sent back to the Philippines to be used to buy the goods for the next voyage to the Americas. At their peak, each Manila galleon carried an average of 3 million silver pieces of eight per trip.

大量的白银也随着返回西班牙菲律宾殖民地的马尼拉大帆船穿越太平洋（1565-1815）。这些大帆船为美洲带来了宝贵的贸易货物，如香料和丝绸，这些货物随后被运往欧洲。银子被运往菲律宾，用于购买下一次运到美洲的货物。在高峰期，每艘马尼拉大帆船每趟平均运载300万枚银币。

The massive influx of American silver and gold to European markets caused hyperinflation, not then a concept understood by many economists. Prices of commodities increased by 400% over the 16th century, and Spanish exports suffered as a consequence when wages rose to match. In addition, the Crown frittered away its precious metals, usually to secure loans from bankers long before the annual Spanish treasure fleets had even arrived in Europe.

美洲白银和黄金大量涌入欧洲市场，造成了恶性通货膨胀，当时许多经济学家并不了解这个概念。商品的价格在16世纪增长了400%，西班牙的出口也因此受到影响，因为工资也随之上涨。此外，王室将其贵重金属挥霍一空，通常是为了在西班牙每年的财宝船队到达欧洲之前就从银行家那里获得贷款。

The so-called second wave of Spanish silver of the 18th century was better managed and helped improve Spain's fortunes again. As the historian J. H. Parry notes:

The flow of silver steadily increased; it irrigated the economic soil of Old and New Spain, and enriched Cadiz and Barcelona. Together with the gold of Brazil, it helped to finance the early industrial revolution of northern Europe; and since the highest demand for silver was felt, and the highest prices paid, in the Far East, it helped also to finance the commercial and military operations of the East India Companies, and to quicken European maritime trade all around the world (313).

18世纪所谓的第二次西班牙白银浪潮得到了更好的管理，有助于再次改善西班牙的命运。正如历史学家J.H.Parry所指出的：

白银的流量稳步增长；它灌溉了新旧西班牙的经济土壤，并使加的斯和巴塞罗那变得富裕。它与巴西的黄金一起，为北欧的早期工业革命提供了资金；由于远东地区对白银的需求最大，价格也最高，它还为东印度公司的商业和军事行动提供了资金，并加快了欧洲在世界各地的海上贸易（313）。

The silver that was destined for the safe deposit boxes of the government and wealthy investors in Spain had first to run many risks. Smugglers were keen to syphon off silver bars before the state could claim its tax levies. Corruption was rife amongst the accountants at the mines, those in charge of the silver's collection and transport to key ports like Acapulco, Panama, and Buenos Aires, and the silver masters who were responsible for its shipment across the Atlantic.

白银的目的地是西班牙政府和富有的投资者的保险箱，首先要冒很多风险。走私者热衷于在国家征收税款之前抽走银条。矿场的会计、负责收集和运输白银到阿卡普尔科、巴拿马和布宜诺斯艾利斯等重要港口的人以及负责将白银运过大西洋的银匠之间的腐败现象十分猖獗。

Then there was the threat from the sea - the buccaneers, pirates, and privateers of all nationalities who were keen to intercept the Spanish galleons as they sailed the Atlantic. In 1579, for example, Francis Drake captured the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción off the coast of Peru, which was taking treasure that included 26 tons of silver bullion. In 1628, a Dutch force of 31 ships led by Admiral Piet Pieterszoon Hein (1577-1629) captured the entire New Spain treasure fleet on its way to Havana. Hein managed to seize 46 tons of silver and many other valuables besides. Storms were an even greater threat and accounted for many wrecks like the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which was carrying a cargo worth $400 million, which included 20 tons of silver when it was sunk in a storm in 1622 off the Florida Keys.

然后是来自海上的威胁——各种国籍的海盗和私掠者，他们热衷于拦截航行在大西洋上的西班牙大帆船。例如，1579年，弗朗西斯-德雷克在秘鲁海岸捕获了 "Nuestra Señora de la Concepción "号，该船装载的财宝包括26吨银条。1628年，由海军上将皮特·彼得松·海因（1577-1629）率领的一支由31艘船组成的荷兰部队在前往哈瓦那的途中捕获了整个新西班牙宝藏舰队。海因设法缴获了46吨白银和许多其他贵重物品。风暴是一个更大的威胁，也是许多船只沉没的原因，比如 "阿托查 "号，它载有价值4亿美元的货物，其中包括20吨白银，1622年它在佛罗里达群岛附近的风暴中沉没。

Still, the silver kept coming despite these difficulties, and the Spanish Crown was so enriched it became overconfident in the constancy of its supply and its military capabilities, stretching the empire beyond its limits so that it reached a tipping point of neglect and underfunding. Even the riches of Potosí could not meet the enormous costs of raising Spanish armies across Europe, especially when they were defeated armies. By the mid-17th century, the empire had long attracted the covetous eyes of other European nations eager to sweep in and challenge Spain's dominance. States like France, the Netherlands, and Britain, who were now building their own lucrative empires, used their powerful and more modern navies with devastating effect to reshape the world map, both Old and New.

尽管困难重重，白银还是源源不断运往欧洲，西班牙王室非常富有，它对其供应的稳定性和军事能力过于自信，使帝国的发展超出了其极限，以至于达到了忽视和资金不足的临界点。即使波托西的财富也无法满足西班牙在欧洲各地组建军队的巨大成本，特别是当这些军队战败时。到17世纪中叶，这个帝国早已吸引了其他欧洲国家觊觎的目光，他们渴望扫荡并挑战西班牙的统治地位。像法国、荷兰和英国这样的国家，现在正在建立自己有利可图的帝国，他们利用自己强大的、更加现代化的海军，以毁灭性的效果重塑世界，包括新旧世界。

问题与解答

西班牙人是如何处理他们的白银的？

The Spanish melted down silver and mined it to create bullion bars and coinage. These were then shipped to the Philippines and Europe to use in trade and to pay for armies.

西班牙人将银子开采并融化，制成银条和银币。然后，白银被运往菲律宾和欧洲，用于贸易和支付军队的费用。

西班牙征服者从哪里获得金银？

The Spanish conquistadors got their gold and silver by stealing and melting down artefacts and from mines in Mexico, Bolivia, and Peru.

西班牙征服者通过偷窃和熔化文物以及从墨西哥、玻利维亚和秘鲁的矿场获得金银。

为什么白银对西班牙人来说如此重要？

Silver was important to the Spanish because the Americas produced ten times the silver produced in Europe. It was used to buy goods from Asia and to pay for armies to expand the Spanish Empire.

白银对西班牙人很重要，因为美洲的白银产量是欧洲的十倍。它被用来从亚洲购买商品和支付军队费用，以扩大西班牙帝国。

参考书目：

Alan Covey, R. . Inca Apocalypse. Oxford University Press, 2020.

Carballo, David M. Collision of Worlds. Oxford University Press, 2020.

Cervantes, Fernando. Conquistadores. Allen Lane, 2020.

D. A. Brading and Harry E. Cross. "Colonial Silver Mining: Mexico and Peru." The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 52, No. 4 (Nov., 1972), pp. 545-79.

Hugh Thomas. Golden Age. Penguin Books, 2022.

Kris Lane. "Potosí." New World Objects of Knowledge, A Cabinet of Curiosities , edited by Mark Thurner, Juan Pimentel (eds). University of London Press, Institute of Latin American Studies., 2021

Olson, James S. Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Empire, 1402-1975. Greenwood, 1991.

Parry, J.H. (John Horace). The Spanish Seaborne Empire. Alfred A Knopf, 1966.

Sheppard, Si & Rava, Giuseppe. Cuzco 1536–37. Osprey Publishing, 2021.

Wise, Terence & McBride, Angus. The Conquistadores. Osprey Publishing, 1980.