A single Bolivian mountain produced so much silver that it crashed the European economy.

Cerro Rico, or the Rich Mountain, was discovered by the Spanish in 1545 in what is now modern-day Bolivia. By the late 16th century, the city of Potosí had grown to a population of 160,000 people, making it one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world. The mountain was so rich in ore that it effectively became the primary engine of the Spanish Empire's global dominance.Between 1540 and 1700, the mountain yielded an estimated 40,000 tons of silver. This unprecedented volume of precious metal led to the Price Revolution, a series of economic events where prices across Europe rose sixfold over 150 years. The sudden abundance of silver lowered its value, causing massive inflation that destabilized the economies of Spain, France, and England.The silver from Potosí was used to mint the Spanish Dollar, also known as the Piece of Eight. This coin became the first truly global currency, accepted in markets from Mexico to China. Historians from the University of California and other institutions note that this mountain single-handedly shifted the center of gravity of the global economy toward the Atlantic and Pacific trade routes.