Gold Mining in Seventeenth-Century Darién. Origin and Consolidation of a Frontier Mining System (1637-1641 and 1679-1698)

Abstract

Objective: This article analyzes the historical development of various forms of gold extraction in seventeenth-century Darien. Particularly, Spanish attempts to access gold, first through mining during the 1640s, and later with the establishment of an extraction system based on alluvial gold, underground veins, and slave labor, since 1679. Methodology: Based on the study of unpublished archival documentation and some edited works, we develop a chronological framework for gold mining in the region, which is later analyzed in its political, economic and social contexts. Originality: Until now, gold mining in seventeenth-century Darien has been studied fragmentarily. In order to understand its regional complexity, this study analyzes one of its economic engines at the dawn of the 17th century. Conclusions: The consolidation of mining during the last two decades of the century occurred in a context of the growth of colonial pressure, indigenous resistance, and pirates and corsair activity on the Caribbean coasts of the Isthmus. This reality led to the configuration of a gold extraction system marked by instability and corruption and gave rise to profound human changes in the region, which would further develop during the 18th century.