Why America Got Rich While Latin America Stayed Poor

In 1700, Mexico was almost as rich per person as the British colonies that became the United States. The Caribbean sugar islands were even richer. Today the average American produces about eight times more than the average person in Latin America. Same continent, same oceans, even the same story of European colonies. So what happened? The answer isn't the people, and it isn't luck. It's what the colonizers found when they arrived... and the rules they built because of it. In this video: Potosí, the silver mountain that produced most of the world's silver, and the forced labor behind it Why Spain ran its empire through one port and viceroys from Madrid Why the English colonies ended up with small farms and early self-government Who owned the land: giant haciendas vs the 1785 grid and the Homestead Act Literacy and voting: the numbers that show the gap "Extractive institutions" and the 2024 Nobel Prize in economics Independence, caudillos, 1848, geography and the boom-and-bust of single exports Why none of this is destiny ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 In 1700, Mexico was almost as rich 00:36 Today: 8 times less 01:04 It starts with the map 01:21 Potosí, the mountain of silver 01:47 The mita: forced labor 02:06 Silver to Spain, rules from Madrid 02:30 The model: find it, take it, extract it 02:38 Sugar and slavery 03:01 Look north: no silver, no empires 03:31 The biggest advantage of all 03:36 Governing themselves (1619) 03:56 Who owned the land 04:19 The 1785 grid 04:31 The Homestead Act 04:43 Why landowners want good rules 05:00 Tens of millions of Europeans 05:10 Reading and voting 05:39 Extractive institutions 06:01 The 2024 Nobel Prize and the reversal of fortune 06:24 The American South 06:38 Independence 06:49 One empire, many countries 07:11 1848: Mexico loses half its land 07:32 Geography didn't help 07:59 One export, boom and bust 08:12 None of this is destiny 08:43 Your turn 08:53 Next video Subscribe to MapWise and learn to read the world like a map. #history #economics #latinamerica