Global silver trade from the 16th to 18th centuries American mining for the early part of the 16th Century. Mining in the Americas became formally industrialized when the process of mercury amalgamation became popularized. Mercury amalgamation was invented by a Spaniard in central Mexico in the 1550s. Historians dispute what individual was the first to invent the process, however most agree that it was a Spaniard. Mercury was the one of the highest costs of production for the Americas, since much of it had to be shipped. The ratio of Mercury to silver produced was about two to one. Furthermore, German miners introduced the stamp mill and lead smelting
Sami people Sápmi, the Sami traditional lands, cross four national borders. Traditional summer and winter pastures sometimes lie on different sides of the borders of the nation-states. In addition to that, there is a border drawn for modern-day Sápmi. Some state that the rights (for reindeer herding and, in some parts, even for fishing and hunting) include not only modern Sápmi but areas that are beyond today's Sápmi that reflect older territories. Today's "borders" originate from the 14th to 16th centuries when land-owning conflicts occurred. The establishment of more stable dwelling places and larger towns originates from the 16th century and was