ABSTRACT
The majority of goods needed in the Americas were produced in the Americas and circulated around the Caribbean and throughout the primary cities of the interior of South America. In the interior, several important trade networks existed, moving products such as wheat, cattle, corn, minerals, and mules throughout the cities and towns in the plains and mountainous regions of South America. Intra- and interregional trade made up the vast majority of trade during the early colonial period in Latin America. Spaniards tried to control all trade and production in the Americas, but this proved impossible given the vast distances and difficult terrain in South America. The Spanish overseas empire—with its vast network of coastal and interior cities—depended on the wide circulation of commercial activity: this included locally produced manufactured goods, mineral and other primary products, and goods produced in Europe.
