When miners roamed the globe

As of the 16th century, German-speaking miners were coveted experts whose work was sought after in mining regions around the world. Economic historian Gabriele Marcon examines this early labor migration and its significance for global trade. He explores how mobility was organized in practical terms, how the workers developed their expertise regarding nature, and what role women played in mining at that time.

Culture and Society

by Alois Pumhösel

May 18, 2026

Situated in present-day Bolivia, Potosí can be regarded as one of the first global cities in the 16th century. The city was a central hub of the global economy, comparable in size to London or Paris. People flocked in from all over the world to seek their fortune in the region of the silver mines at Cerro Rico, the “rich mountain.” A large share of the mined metal was minted on site into coins, which were then shipped to China and Europe. The mine workers were mostly indigenous forced laborers, but the city bustled with craftspeople, merchants, and clergy, as well as mining experts from the Old World who sold their knowledge at a high price. Many of these experts came from German-speaking regions, because they were renowned for their exceptional mining expertise.

A visit to the old mines and museums of Potosí was one of the central sources of inspiration for Gabriele Marcon’s project “Mining the Earth, Roaming the Globe,” which is funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF. Marcon, an economic historian at the University of Vienna, wants to learn more about the German-speaking miners who, between the 16th and 18th centuries, set out with their families for new mining sites in Europe, as well as those in the new Spanish colonies overseas. This was a meeting point not only for different languages and practices, but also for a diversity of notions concerning the processes in nature that miners were confronted with.

“In the early modern period, there was a great deal of ambivalence when it came to mining. It made some people very rich very quickly, but it could also ruin lives just as quickly,” notes Marcon. “Hazardous underground work was a global phenomenon, crucial to the economy and politics of the time. Art, culture, and history in general were informed by the availability of raw materials and metals from the mines.”

The Project

Why did highly specialized miners in the early modern period leave their homes to work in distant, often unfamiliar places? This project examines the migration of German-speaking miners between 1500 and 1800—from Europe to colonial mines in South America. The focus is on their working conditions, their mobility, and the role of women in mining. At the same time, it demonstrates how their knowledge shaped local practices and helped shape early concepts of sustainability.

A painting of a neighborhood in Potosí, Bolivia, featuring Cerro Rico, the “Rich Mountain,” where silver was mined — Silver was mined at Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain) in Potosí, Bolivia. Painting by Gaspar Miguel de Berrío, 1758 © Public Domain

From Murano glassblowers to Tyrolean miners

Marcon became intrigued by this topic in Tyrol, where he wrote his master’s thesis on Murano glassblowers at the court of Ferdinand II and worked as an intern at the Museum of Tyrolean Regional Heritage. In this context he was confronted with the question as to whether the mining experts – who were extremely important to the Tyrolean economy at the time – traveled the world in a similar way to the glassblowers. “I learned that the miners were surprisingly mobile, much more so than I had previously assumed,” says Marcon.

At that time, mining expertise was certainly not limited to the grueling labor underground. It involved the washing of the ore in dedicated facilities, as well as smelting and processing it in foundries, smelting works, and metal refineries. Around the mines, entire towns were able to spread. Merchants supplied them not only with equipment for ore processing but also with daily necessities. In the areas surrounding these towns – even if they weren’t located at 4,000 meters altitude like Potosí – there was hardly any agriculture due to the enormous impact of ore processing on the environment. Thick clouds of smoke, poisoned rivers, and radically deforested areas were typical elements of the mining regions. The health of miners suffered from their work, which made nursing and medical services important fields of activity in the mining towns.

Scattered sources across Europe

Marcon bases his exploration of this world on three focal points. “First, I examine the circumstances of the mobility of German-speaking miners – that is, how the knowledge transfer worked in terms of practical logistics,” he notes. In this context he explores how specialists from mining regions such as Tyrol, Saxony, and Bohemia were recruited and resettled with their families.

Marcon finds the sources for his research scattered across Europe – archives in Italy, Spain, Germany, and the UK. “The documents I examine include contracts between mining experts, entrepreneurs, and merchants like the Fugger family or the Welser family, who were major investors at the time. They invested a lot of money in mines in Europe, but also in the Spanish colonies,” says Marcon. “My sources also include a wide variety of correspondence and reports promoting the working methods and skills of German miners.”

A young man wearing a helmet and a headlamp, stepping onto a mine via a ladder — Gabriele Marcon in a mine in Schneeberg, Germany (right) and at the entrance to Cerro Rico in August 2025. © Gabriele Marcon

The diverse working conditions of women

Even though they did not feature in the contracts and documents of the time, women formed a large part of labor migration in mining. They are the second focal point in Marcon’s project. “Women worked in many areas of mining – just not underground. They were kept away from the mines by deeply ingrained gender stereotypes and the superstition that it was bad luck to have them underground,” explains Marcon. “Ore washing, on the other hand, was an important field of female activity. You could say that household duties like doing the laundry were transferred to the mining environment.”

In the process, the female workers developed new expertise in assessing and processing ore-bearing rock. In addition, women were often responsible for the transport of items used in mining as well as the provision of food and medical care. It must be noted, though, that the wives and daughters of mining experts could not expect any pay for their work.

The third focal point of Marcon’s research concerns the natural sciences knowledge about the Earth’s interior and ore-bearing landscapes that miners acquired through their work. “The first geological treatises of the modern era were produced by consulting mining experts. But one must not mistake their wealth of experience as being similar to modern science,” explains Marcon. “The miners’ knowledge at that time was informed by magic, alchemy, legends, and folk traditions.” Silver veins in the mountain, for example, were understood as being the branches and twigs of a large tree growing underground. Underground noises and other omens were taken as signs that one was approaching an ore deposit. In the absolute darkness of the mine shafts, belief in goblins and ghosts was omnipresent. But the most important aspect for the miners was to be a good Christian – only then was finding ore considered to be at all likely.

Not only expertise, but also good image management

The enormous success of German-speaking miners in the 16th and 17th centuries was not exclusively due to their technical expertise. “They weren’t just good at their work. They were also very well versed in building and maintaining their image as respected mining experts,” Marcon emphasizes. Mining experts liked to keep themselves to themselves. Where they were in charge, they did not permit any practices other than their own. In the Spanish colonies, however, they were also confronted with indigenous workers who could look back on the experience of many generations involved in ore mining. This knowledge was particularly drawn upon when searching for new deposits.

For Marcon, this raises an important research question: “The written records of mining practices from that time come from the Europeans. If truth be told, we don’t know much about how indigenous groups worked – nor do we know, for instance, whether any form of knowledge transfer took place between them and the Europeans,” explains the researcher.

“But there are numerous sources showing that miners from Central Europe found it quite difficult to apply their knowledge to new mining territories. Their search for ore was often futile.” This observation is illustrated by a journey undertaken by about 100 Tyrolean experts to the copper mines of Keswick in northwest England in the 1560s, which Marcon is currently researching. “It is a convoluted story that ends in failure. The interests and knowledge systems of the Tyroleans and the English were not compatible. Ultimately, the venture was very unproductive.”

About the researcher

Gabriele Marcon is a Senior Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic History at the University of Vienna. Following his PhD studies at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, his academic career has included positions at the Warburg Institute, Durham University, and the Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Study, as well as visiting stays at Oxford University in the UK, and Columbia University in the US. Set to run from 2024 to 2027, the project “Mining the Earth, Roaming the Globe,” receives EUR 294,000 in funding from the Austrian Science Fund FWF.