Slavery played a very large role in Mexico. The Spanish tried using indigenous people but since there weren't enough they used Africans as slaves. Africans worked in silver mines, textile factories, sugar plantations, households, and cattle ranches (Palmer). This means that we wouldn't have all these resources if it weren't for African slaves. As Colin Palmer wrote, "Although black slaves were never more than two percent of the total population, their contributions to colonial Mexico were enormous, especially during acute labor shortages." The population of Black Slaves was a very small percentage, and they still were able to do all the work.