Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine no relation Cerro Rico mine of Potosí
Economic influences
Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine played a pivotal role in East Asian trade, where silver was a key currency. In Europe and China, the mine had been known as the largest silver mine that could compare to the renowned Spanish colonial Cerro Rico mine of Potosí in the Viceroyalty of Peru, a present-day World Heritage Site in Bolivia.
In foreign countries, because the silver mined at Iwami Ginzan was of very high quality, it came to be known as one of the Japanese brands of silver, sold as "Soma Silver". The name derived from the village of Sama (Soma) in which the mine was located. This silver was given the highest trading credit in East Asia. From the 17th century on, the silver coins made from the mine's silver were traded as not only one of the basic currencies within Japan, but also as the currency for trade with China, Portugal, and the Netherlands. (Japan began trading with Portugal in late 16th century, and the Netherlands in the 17th century)
The prosperity of the mine can be known by its indication on the maps of the period as the "Silver Mine Kingdom". With the progress of navigation, the monarchs of Western Europe had gained many maps imported from Muslim civilizations, and then developed their own maps. A trading fleet using the maps sailed via India and China to Japan, to trade European goods for Japanese silver. The feudal lords who controlled the mine actively traded with the Europeans.
no relation