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place must be attributed to the increase of population on the table land of Mexico, the progress of knowledge and national industry, the freedom of trade conceded to America in 1778, the facility of procuring at a cheaper rate the iron and steel necessary for the mines, the fall in the price of mercury, the discovery of the mines of Catorce and Valenciana, and the establishment of the Tribunal de Mineria.

The two years in which the produce of gold and silver attained its maximum, were 1796 and 1797. In the former, there was coined at the mint of Mexico, 25,644,000 piastres; and in the latter, 25,080,000 piastres. To judge of the effect produced by the freedom of trade, or rather from the cessation of the monopoly of the galleons, we have merely to remember that the value of the gold and silver coined at Mexico, was from 1766 to 1778, 191,589,179 piastres, and from 1779 to 1791, 252,525,412 piastres; so that from 1778, the increase has been more than a fourth part of the total produce.

We find in the archives of the mint of Mexico, very accurate accounts of the quantity of gold and silver coined since 1690, from which I have framed the two following tables: the first indicates the value of the gold and silver expressed in double piastres, and the second exhibits the quantity of marcs of silver given in to the mint, and converted into piastres.

TABLE I.

Gold and silver extracted from the mines of

Mexico, and coined at Mexico, from 1690 to

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piastres. 1690 5,285,580 1720 1691 6,213,7091721 |16925,252,729 1722 1693 2,802 3781723 1694 5,840,529 1724 16954,001,293 1725 1696 3,190,618 1726 16974,459,9471727 :698 3,319,765 1728 1699 3,504,787 1729

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7,874,323 1750|13,209,000 1780 17,514,263 9,460,734 1751 12,631,000 1781 20,335,842 8,824,432 1752 13,627,500 1782 17,581,490 8,107,348 1753 11,594,000 1783 23,716,657 7,872,822 1754 11,594,000 1784 21,037,374 7,370,815 1755 12,486,500 1785 18,575,208 8,460,146 1756 12,299,500 1786 17,257,104| 8,133,088 1757 12,529,000 1787 16,110,340 9,228,545 1758 12,757,594 178820,146.365 8,814,970 1759*3,022,000 1789 21 229,911) 1700 3,379,122 1730 9,745,870 1760 11,968.000 790 18,063.688 1701 4,019,093 1731 8,439,871 1761 11,731,000 1791|21,121,713 |17025,022,550|1732| 8,726,465 1762|10,114,492 179224,195,041 1703 6.079,254 1733 10,009,795 176311,775,041 1793|24.312,942 1704 5,627 0271734 8.506,5531764|| 9,792.5751794|22,011,031 1705 4,747,1751735 7,922,001 1765 1,604, 845|1795|24,593,481| 1706 6,172,037 1736 11,016,000 1766 11,210,050 1796 25,644,566 1707 5,735.0321737 8,122,140 1767 10,415,1161797,25,080,038 1708 5,735.601 1738 9,490,250 1768 12,278 9571798 24 004,589 1709 5,214,1431739 8,550,785 1769 11,938,784 1799 22,053,125 1710 6,710,587 1740 9,556,040 1770 13,926 320 1800 18,685,674 17115,666 0851741 8,663,000 1771 13,803,196 1801 16 568,000 17126,613.425 174216,677,000 1772 16,971.857 1802 18,798,600 1713 6.487.872 1743 9,384,000 1773 18,932,766 1803 23,166,906 1714 6,220,822 1744 10.285,000 1774 12,892,074 1715 6.368.918 1745 10,327,500|1775|14,245.286 1716 6,496,288 1746 11 509.000 1776 16,463,282 1717,6,750,734 174712 002 0001777|21,600,020 17187 173,590 1748 11 628,000 1778 16,911,462 1719/7,258,706 1749/11,823,500|1779|19,435,457)

Total of gold and silver from 1690 to 1803 1 353 452.020 piastres*.

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Total in silver alone, from 1690 to 1800 149,350,721 marcs*.

* 98,008,212 lb. Troy. Trans.

It appears from these tables that the mines of New Spain have produced from 1690 to 1800, the enormous sum of 149,350,721 marcs of silver*; and from 1690 to 1803, gold and silver to the value of 1,353,452,020 double piastres†, or 7,105,623,105 livres tournois, estimating the piastres at 105 sous, French

money.

For a hundred and thirteen years, the produce of the mines has been constantly on the increase, if we except the single period from 1760 to 1767. This increase becomes manifest, when we compare every ten years, the quantity of the precious metals given in to the mint of Mexico, as is done in the following tables, of which the one indicates the value of the gold and silver in Piastres, and the other, the quantity of silver in marcs

* 98,008,212lb. troy, Trans.
284,224,924 Sterling. Trans.

1

Progress of the mining operations of Mexico.

Table I. Gold and Silver.

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