Episode notes
The Spanish Empire was built through conquest, sustained by silver, and connected by trade routes that stretched across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
In this episode, we explore how Spain’s victories over the Aztec and Inca empires opened access to enormous mineral wealth, especially the silver mines of Potosí and Mexico. We follow the journey of Spanish silver from dangerous colonial mines to European financial centers, across the Pacific through the Manila galleons, and into the markets of China.
But this is also a story of contradiction. Spain controlled one of the greatest sources of wealth in history, yet repeatedly struggled with inflation, debt, costly wars, and economic dependence. The same silver that made Spain a global superpower also exposed the weaknesses of an empire built on extraction.
Discover how conquest, forced labor, international finance, and global commerce helped create the first truly interconnected world economy—and why possessing immense wealth did not guarantee lasting prosperity.