Spain was (and still is) the largest producer of mercury in the world. Stories of Spanish galleons carrying tonnes of gold and silver looted from Central and South America back to Spain are well documented. Less well known is the fact that many tonnes of mercury were shipped from Spain to the “New World.” The Spanish conquistadors used that mercury to process precious metals. Parts of Mexico are still heavily contaminated from the thousands of tonnes of mercury that were brought from Spain during the four-hundred-year period of Spanish rule. Tales of the toxic effects of mercury are also littered throughout history. The human health hazards associated.
