Increasing amounts of precious metals quickly began to be shipped to Spain, first from the alluvial deposits of the Caribbean and later from the looting of the treasures of indigenous empires. Precious metals reached an overwhelming percentage within the total of products arriving at the peninsular ports. During the 16th and 17th centuries, most of the metals shipped in America arrived in Seville. Initially, the export was fundamentally gold (see Chart and Table). To get a clear idea of the initial predominance of gold, it should not be measured in weight but in value, which was more than ten times that of silver. Gold arrivals began to reach spectacular levels after 1530, with the highest production volumes being obtained in the middle decades of the 16th century.
Arrival of American precious metals in Spain
| Years | Silver (tons) | Gold (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| 1503 – 1510 | – | 50.2 |
| 1511 – 1520 | – | 92.5 |
| 1521 – 1530 | 0.1 | 49.4 |
| 1531 – 1540 | 86.2 | 148.8 |
| 1541 – 1550 | 177.6 | 264.8 |
| 1551 – 1560 | 303.1 | 452.2 |
| 1561 – 1570 | 942.9 | 131.0 |
| 1571 – 1580 | 1 118.6 | 114.3 |
| 1581 – 1590 | 2 103.0 | 146.7 |
| 1591 – 1600 | 2 707.6 | 235.7 |
The arrival of silver to the Peninsula increased with the discovery of the Potosí and Zacatecas deposits, and especially from the 1570s, with the introduction of the patio method . The arrival of cash in Spain and Europe gave rise to strong inflation, the so-called price revolution . Although various authors question whether the arrival of precious metals was the sole cause of the rise in prices, it is clear that the increase in the money supply had serious repercussions. While a quarter of the metal arrived, from the collection of the American Boxes, went to the Royal Treasury, a large percentage of gold and silver, whose exact figure is unknown, went to merchants. There were also the remittances of the emigrants and the savings of the passengers who returned to the Peninsula. According to Morineau, the arrivals of American precious metals to Europe during the 17th century were important (see Graph). added more than 55 million pesos.