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Inspired by the legend of El Dorado, the realm of the gold-covered king. |
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After defeating the Inca army at the Battle of Cajamarca, their quest began in earnest. |
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At Potosi, in what is now Bolivia, the Spaniards struck it rich. |
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They discovered the Cerro Rico, literally the Rich Hill. |
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Towering nearly 16,000 feet above sea level, it was a money mountain. |
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In their 250 years of Spanish rule, more than 2 billion ounces of silver were extracted from mines like this one,14,000 feet up in the Andes. |
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What the Incas couldn't grasp was why the Europeans had such an insatiable lust for gold and silver. |
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They couldn't understand that to Pizarro and the Conquistadores, silver was much more than just shiny metal, |
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it could be made into money, a store of value, a unit of account, portable power. |
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