The US vs Latin America: Why Did One Get So Much Richer?

Why Did the US Get Rich While Latin America Fell Behind? Latin America once minted the world’s money. The silver behind the Spanish dollar came from Potosí, and the young United States based its own dollar on that coin. Yet today the average American produces several times more than the average Latin American. We follow one silver coin from the mines of Potosí, Bolivia, through Panama and Seville, all the way to China. Along the way we look at the mita forced-labor system and why Spain’s silver fortune drained away. In the north, the English colonies had no gold and no silver, but they had land, and they handed it out to settlers. From Virginia’s 50-acre grants to the Homestead Act, owning land gave ordinary people a say in how they were governed. In Latin America, giant estates kept land and votes in a few hands. Then come independence, the loss of half of Mexico, the commodity booms, the coups and la década perdida. We also cover the countries rewriting the ending today: Chile, Uruguay and Costa Rica. 👉 Do you think we missed a factor? Tell us in the comments, because we read every one. If you enjoy map-based history, subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next video. 0:00 - The Coin That Ruled the World 0:48 - Two Continents, One Bet 1:49 - Potosí: A City on Top of a Fortune 3:15 - Follow the Coin 4:27 - The North’s Problem: Too Much Land 5:28 - Who Got a Say 6:35 - Breaking Apart 7:41 - Booms, Coups and a Lost Decade 8:55 - Is That the Whole Story? 9:33 - The Countries Rewriting the Ending 10:07 - The Answer SOURCES: Engerman, S. & Sokoloff, K. (2000). “History Lessons: Institutions, Factor Endowments, and Paths of Development in the New World.” Journal of Economic Perspectives. Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S. & Robinson, J. (2002). “Reversal of Fortune.” Quarterly Journal of Economics. Dell, M. (2010). “The Persistent Effects of Peru’s Mining Mita.” Econometrica. Bértola, L. & Ocampo, J. A. (2012). The Economic Development of Latin America since Independence. Oxford University Press. World Bank, World Development Indicators and Country Classifications by Income Level (FY2026). Music and most sound effects: original, made for this video. #LatinAmerica #Economic #History