Why didn't the spanish mine more gold in California?

[firebird]

Wikipedia says that there were some spanish gold discoveries in the 1700s but how could they have missed the rich placer deposits?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[smokeythecat]

They may not have gotten that far north and inland.

 

[ncclaymaker]

They were too busy murdering the indigenous people to steal the gold that they had already fabricated into objects.

 

[nagant]

Never understood that either. They sailed across the ocean, climbed mountains, crossed deserts turned south America and Mexico upside down.

 

[russau]

They didn't have a current Rand - McNally road map !

 

[Clay Diggins]

Two reasons.

California natives did not have a tradition of Mita service like the South American cultures. With slavery banned and the natives living in an easy climate with abundant food in California convincing them to labor in a mine for rocks they could care less about just wasn't working. The Spanish simply didn't have a good source of labor in California to mine any deposits found.

Spain never mined much gold in the new world. They mined huge amounts of silver ore. Silver was what Spanish money was made of. To process the silver ore they needed a rare and expensive metal -Mercury. The lack of enough mercury was the biggest limiting factor for mine production. Most of the mercury was imported from Almaden Spain and Slovenia at great expense. Most mercury was sent to the Potosi mines in Bolivia and the mines in Mexico. The mercury deposits at New Almaden California were developed after the Spanish were run out of California. If Spain had known of the New Almaden mercury deposits it's doubtful they would have given up California so easily.

Heavy Pans

 

[unclemac]

well, while I did like your post, they hardly gave California up easily.... what with the occupation of Mexico City and all that...

 

[Clay Diggins]

well, while I did like your post, they hardly gave California up easily.... what with the occupation of Mexico City and all that...

Educate yourself. The Treaty of Cahuenga surrendered California to the U.S. on this day (January 13th) in 1847.

California was already in U.S. possession before the occupation of Mexico in September of that year.

 

[unclemac]

Please, it was a treaty within the Mexican American war so that the Mexican army could concentrate on at least saving some of their territory. But I will concede that the Mexican American war is a significant event in American history that is practically overlooked in schools. Of course it is overshadowed by the Civil War but all the same it is almost treated as a blip in our history.

 

[nagant]

Spain was out in 1821. But what seems strange is they explored the coast and built missions and never had a clue. You would think natives would have some bling or would recognize the gold the Spanish surely showed them and asked if any was known. Spain was in a rough period with the inquisition and pueblo revolts, losing ground east of the Mississippi.

 

[firebird]

Spain was out in 1821. But what seems strange is they explored the coast and built missions and never had a clue. You would think natives would have some bling or would recognize the gold the Spanish surely showed them and asked if any was known. Spain was in a rough period with the inquisition and pueblo revolts, losing ground east of the Mississippi.

Maybe the catholic missions knew the gold would destroy the natives and kept it secret? As Clay diggins mentioned the other spaniards used slavery and the native americans living in California got almost completely wiped out during the gold rush. I read somewhere that Fremont brutally massacred many of them.

 

[unclemac]

i am not familiar with any NA gold artifacts from California.

 

[southfork]

Maybe the catholic missions knew the gold would destroy the natives and kept it secret? As Clay diggins mentioned the other spaniards used slavery and the native americans living in California got almost completely wiped out during the gold rush. I read somewhere that Fremont brutally massacred many of them.

The missions were a big part of problem. https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1978/april/labor/

 

[Clay Diggins]

Maybe the catholic missions knew the gold would destroy the natives and kept it secret? As Clay diggins mentioned the other spaniards used slavery and the native americans living in California got almost completely wiped out during the gold rush. I read somewhere that Fremont brutally massacred many of them.

I think you misunderstood what I wrote. Spain outlawed native slavery in 1542. The California natives were not inclined to volunteer and had no use for wages. The natives were not forced to work so there was no labor to develop mines beyond a few small placers in Southern California.

unclemac is correct. The native population did not wear or accumulate gold. There was nothing to steal from them. There was a major effort to wipe out the natives by American colonists like Freemont but the Spanish and later Mexicans did not participate.

 

[ARC]

Wikipedia says that there were some spanish gold discoveries in the 1700s but how could they have missed the rich placer deposits?

They didnt care about mining... they just took it from those who had already mined it.

Why work for it when you can just take it was their motto.

 

[nagant]

Way earlier but The Pueblo revolt curbed there future actions i beleive. "Catholicism was forced on them by missionaries who burned their ceremonial pits (kivas), masks, and other sacred objects. Indians were tried in Spanish courts and received severe punishments—hanging, whipping, dismemberment (of hands or feet), or condemnation to slavery. From 1645 on there were several abortive revolts, after each of which medicine men were especially singled out for reprisals. One medicine man, Popé of the San Juan pueblo, embittered by imprisonment, believed himself commanded by the tribal ancestor spirits (kachinas) to restore the old customs; on Aug. 10, 1680, he led a full-scale revolt in which almost all the Pueblos participated. On August 21 the Spaniards were forced to flee, leaving 400 dead, including 21 priests. The Indians celebrated their victory by washing off the stains of Christian baptism, annulling Christian marriages, and destroying churches. They remained free until 1692, when New Mexico was reconquered by Gov. Pedro de Vargas."

 

[Clay Diggins]

Please, it was a treaty within the Mexican American war so that the Mexican army could concentrate on at least saving some of their territory. But I will concede that the Mexican American war is a significant event in American history that is practically overlooked in schools. Of course it is overshadowed by the Civil War but all the same it is almost treated as a blip in our history.

Yes it was a war. The U.S. settled for paying a little more than 16 million ounces of gold for the territory and letting the Mexican's keep their grant lands. They probably could have made a better deal but the Mexican's stalled so long the U.S. Army panicked because the malaria season was approaching and they weren't willing to take the losses of their troops to disease if they didn't retreat.

The Mexican war was a part of the lead up to the civil war. The drawing of the border lines were designed to give the northern states a bigger base to control southern labor from. It's not a coincidence where the northern border of Alta California was set or where the Texas republic claimed it's borders. Add in the Compromise of 1850 with the designation of a new "free" state and you can see the taking of California was as much north/south politics as greed or gold.

 

[N-Lionberger]

The Catholic Church knew about the gold they were trying to keep it hush hush

 

[nagant]

The church? they were pea's in a pod.

 

[alchris]

They were too busy murdering the indigenous people to steal the gold that they had already fabricated into objects.

Philippines is more gold hidden