S8E10 In Paracale, the Faintest Gleam of Gold

<html><p>According to historian Linda Newson, Bicol did not bow down easily to the Spanish occupation. For their resistance, they paid a dear price. Population showed Camarines lost almost half of its population from 1591 to 1649. With no major plagues or Moro raids recorded, Newson could only conclude that it must have been because of brutal conflict with the Spaniards. Either the Bicolanos were killed, or they fled so far inland that they escaped the census takers. </p><p>One of the things the Spaniards were looking for in Camarines were the gold mines of Paracale. By the time of the occupation, this town was already known far and wide for its gold deposits. What riches would it yield in the centuries to come?</p><p></p><p>My book <em>Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves</em> is now available on <u><a href="https://shopee.ph/SILK-SILVER-SPICES-SLAVES-by-Lio-Mangubat-i.125283795.43033620371" target="_blank">Shopee</a></u> and <u><a href="https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/pdp-i15586603473-s133491767104.html" target="_blank">Lazada</a></u> for only P395.</p><p>Support the podcast: <a href="https://patreon.com/thecolonialdept" target="_blank">patreon.com/thecolonialdept</a></p><p>Follow us on IG:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/thecolonialdept/" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thecolonialdept/" target="_blank">@thecolonialdept</a></u></p><p>Follow us on TikTok:<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thecolonialdept" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thecolonialdept" target="_blank">@thecolonialdept</a></u></p><p>Email us: <u><a href="mailto:thecolonialdept@gmail.com" target="_blank">thecolonialdept@gmail.com</a></u></p><p></p><p>Thumbnail image is of Potosí, from Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, Historia general (Antwerp: Juan Bautista Verdussen, 1728). John Carter Brown Library at Brown University</p><p></p><p>References: </p><p>Newson, Linda A. (2011). <em>Conquest &amp; Pestilence in the Early Spanish Philippines. </em>Ateneo de Manila University Press.</p><p>Soltes, Jonas Cabiles (11 July 2012). “Paracale mining: A way of life, death.” <em>Inquirer Southern Luzon. </em><u><a href="https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/227467/paracale-mining-a-way-of-life-death" target="_blank">https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/227467/paracale-mining-a-way-of-life-death</a></u></p><p>Santos, Paz Verdades M. (2024). “Maria Timbang Palo: Pabirik na Kuwento ng Camarines Norte.” <em>Malay, 36</em>(2), pp. 18-25</p><p>Estrella, Victor (29 November 20