Traditional historical literature has stressed a generalised crisis throughout the world in the 17 th century. First proposed for Europe with its numerous dynastic, religious and state conflicts, it has now been expanded to include Asia and the Middle East as well. It was also assumed that there was a significant crisis in the Americas, a theme which until recently has dominated the traditional literature. The claim that there was such a crisis was based on a series of classic studies by Earl J. Hamilton, Chaunu and Borah, among others. But new research has challenged this hypothesis and we will examine both these new studies as well as offering our own research findings on this subject. JEL Code: N00, N01, N16, N20 RESUMENLa historiografía tradicional ha subrayado la existencia de una crisis generalizada en todo el mundo durante el siglo XVII. Propuesta por primera a Columbia University. hsk1@columbia.edu b Hoover Institution, Stanford University. hklein@stanford.edu

is a PhD candidate in the University of Helsinki Doctoral Program of History and Cultural Heritage. His research interests focus on early modern military history, particularly its broader economic and social history. His upcoming dissertation examines the role of military entrepreneurship in the Swedish Army during the Ingrian War (1609-1617).

This article presents evidence from archival sources that allows us to reconstruct the commercial networks that permitted the continuous flow of silver and gold from northern New Spain to Asia during the early modern era. These networks obtained various consumer goods – fabrics, spices, porcelain – that were then introduced into Spanish American markets. The narrative follows the bullion through its journey from the production center in San Luis Potosi to the Pacific and Asia. This vantage point contributes to the construction of a polycentric view within the framework of global history by assessing the role played by the American and Asiatic possessions of the Hispanic Empire in the first globalization. Using a methodological framework provided by social network analysis, the article presents a study of two commercial networks based in New Spain and extending to the Philippines and Peru. The essay underlines the role merchants played in mobilizing precious metals to accelerate exchanges and generate extraordinary profit margins.