Currents of Gold in a Sea of Silver

The Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada (present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Western Venezuela) was one of the largest global gold producers during the late colonial period. A distinctive commerce-oriented society emerged that diverged from the silver economies of Mexico and Peru. This study examines how the crossflow of precious metals fostered monetization, productive specialization, and financial complexity across New Granada societies. It interweaves a unique, broad set of quantitative sources to analyze the direction, magnitude, and dynamics of interregional flows of precious metals, domestic staples, and global goods. Combining Social Network Analysis and innovative sources, this is one of the first attempts to provide a quantitative assessment of monetary and commodity flows in any region of the former Spanish Empire.