Merchants and Golden River Ports

Reassessing the Role of Caribbean New Granada in Imperial Bullion Flows, 1740-1832

Bibliographic Data

ID2799129
AuthorsJames V Torres (0000-0002-0841-2961), José Henao-Giraldo, José Leonardo Henao Giraldo (0000-0002-0342-7507)
Year2025
Volume105
Issue2
Pages233-269
Publication date2025-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHispanic American Historical Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-2168 • E-ISSN: 1527-1900
PublisherDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1215/00182168-11676670
OpenAlexW4405911397
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited17

The essay provides a reassessment of mining production in late colonial and early republican New Granada by studying gold smelting in Mompox, the largest inland river port of northern South America. By analyzing previously unexplored treasury logbooks, the article argues that, parallel to the illegal gold outflows from Mompox, a significant stream of gold bars reached international markets via legal networks that tied this river port with outlets in Havana and beyond. The river port smelted 12-20 percent of New Granada's gold production, a sizable amount that historians have not included in their estimates. These numbers reflect the importance of placer mining in Caribbean New Granada and northeastern Antioquia Province, for which the essay offers new evidence to understand its geological, labor, network, and financial structures. Mompox's smelting house was destroyed during the independence wars, strengthening Medellín's role as the main pivot of New Granada's gold trade in the early republican years

Ancient history · Archaeology · Bullion · Geography · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Cuban History and Society · History

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