Question

this is an excerpt from a letter written in 1559 by michele soriano about spains interactions with its colonies in the americas. ... from new spain are obtained gold and silver, cochineal, (little insects like flies,) from which crimson dye is made, leather, cotton, sugar and other things; but from peru nothing is obtained except minerals. the fifth part of all that is produced goes to the king, but since the gold and silver is brought to spain and he has a tenth part of that which goes to the mint and is refined and coined, he eventually gets one - fourth of the whole sum, which fourth does not exceed in all four or five hundred thousand ducats, although it is reckoned not alone at millions, but at millions of pounds. nor is it likely that it will long remain at this figure, because great quantities of gold and silver are no longer found upon the surface of the earth, as they have been in past years; and to penetrate into the bowels of the earth requires greater effort, skill and outlay, and the spaniards are not willing to do the work themselves, and the natives cannot be forced to do so, because the emperor has freed them from all obligation of service as soon as they accept the christian religion. wherefore it is necessary to acquire negro slaves enslaved africans, who are brought from the coasts of africa, both within and without the straits, and these are selling dearer more expensive every day, because on account of their enslaved africans natural lack of strength and the change of climate, added to the lack of discretion care upon the part of their masters in making them work too hard and giving them too little to eat, they fall sick and the greater part of them die.... source: merrick whitcomb, ed., the gold of the indies - 1559, translations and reprints from the original sources of european history, the department of history of the university of pennsylvania. questions about the source 1. (source) what do you think might have motivated soriano to write this account of spains interactions with its colonies? 2. (close read) according to this text, what were two influences or effects that the gold and silver trade had on spain? 3. is this source reliable? why or why not?

Explanation:

1. Soriano may have been motivated to inform about economic - colonial relations, possibly for record - keeping or to advise authorities. He details the resources from colonies and the economic arrangements with the king.
2. First, the king received a significant portion of the gold and silver produced, enriching the monarchy. Second, the difficulties in obtaining more precious metals led to a shift towards using enslaved African labor, which had far - reaching social and economic implications.
3. It has some reliability as it is a contemporary account from 1559 about Spain's colonial interactions. However, it may be one - sided and lack a comprehensive view. The author may have had his own biases or limited knowledge of all aspects of the colonial situation.

Answer:

1. To inform about economic - colonial relations and possibly advise authorities.
2. Enriched the monarchy; led to a shift towards using enslaved African labor.
3. Somewhat reliable as a contemporary account but may have biases and limited perspective.