Colonial Period Glass Production
Unlike other activities, glass production in Mexico City showed gradual progress over time, due just as much to the social circumstances of the colonial period context as to economic conditions. Doubt has been cast on its existence in the city, despite the fact that Mexico City was the political and economic center of New Spain. Nonetheless, the presence of glassmakers since the sixteenth century and facilities dedicated to this type of production, evidenced in written sources, reveal its presence.
From an early stage, glass production was linked to metallurgical activities, specifically to the Casa del Apartado (associated with monetary production), which set the tone of its establishment and also promoted the development of luxury items and containers used by physicians and apothecaries. The tendency to replace barilla (soda ash) with tequesquite and salitre (lime and saltpeter), led to difficulties in the manufacture of glass, since the latter was used by the Gunpowder Factory, and both were subject to individual leases until the late eighteenth century, which conditioned developing glass production.
The production process was similar to that practiced in Spain; nevertheless, glass makers were restricted by the available mineral resources and had to adapt the industry to the natural and geological conditions of the areas where the raw materials were obtained. This, however, affected the quality of the glass produced, a factor that favored the importation of European glass.