belt information, was made by a farmer of the town o f
Guadalcanal, whofe name was Delgado. This man accidentally
met with the ore, as he was ploughing his
fields : being ftruck with its brightnefs, he carried it
home, after carefully covering the place, and then fet
out for Seville, where he was informed it was a valuable
ore. This is faid to have happened in the year 1509:,
foon after the difeovery o f America by Columbus, and
is looked upon as the molt ancient record of this mine.
The furp fifing accounts which ufed daily to arrive from
America, relating to thofe new difcovered mines, added
to the little information Delgado was able to procure at
home, infpired him with the fame ardour as many of his
countrymen, and engaged him to repair thither for further
inflruchion, where, after obtaining all the lights in
his power fiom the American miners, he returned again
to Spain, made a difeovery to the court of the mine of
Guadalcanal, foliciting a grant, and propofing to work it
at his own expence. Though it might be fuppofed,
this muft have anfwered his purpofe, nothing appears
f r om hiftory, either with refpeft to himfelfi, or his heirs ;
and what is ftill more lingular, the mine feemed to be
without any proprietor in the reign of Philip the fecond,
which gave rife to the feveral laws promulgated in his
reign, under the title of Ordenanzas de Minas, and are to
be found in the Recopilación, or code, publiihed by that
prince,
prince, which with refpeft to mines, are the only laws
extant in the kingdom.
The Fuggers of Augiburg, obtained a grant o f them
from Philip the fecond, after they had been worked for
fome time on the king’s account. Several Spanifh writers
aftert, that immenfe riches were taken out o f this
mine, particularly Carranza, in his treadle on Spanifh
coins (ui), affirms, that one week with another, they
extracted the value of fixty thoufand ducats. The hiftory
of the houfe o f Herafti fays, that this mine had produced
eight millions o fpejetas(b), which were employed
in building the Eicurial. Be this as it may, the chief
ihaft in the mine acquired the name of Pozo Rico, “ The
rich ihaft” , and continued in the hands o f the Fuggers
and their heirs, until 1635, when they totally abandoned
it, after having gone a great depth, and formed ten galleries,
though it is furmifed they continued it for political
reafons, to cover other projects, as theyfolicited confide-
rable loans to purfue their works, and when they relin-
quiihed it, reports were fpread, that it contained feveral
rich veins o f filver ore, which none could contradict, for
in lefs than a month the mine filled with water within
thirty feet o f the furface. This opinion however has
(a) Licenciado Alonfo Carriinzi A'juftamit'nto de ^Uont'rtas y- redaccion de metaics. Ms-
d v id , 162-9.
(b) Valuing the pefeta at 10 d. ilerling, th.e eight millions above-mentioned .will amount
M n H 8 rf. fterling.
o 0 2 been