During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was under the authority of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Local government was implemented by the Real Audiencia of Charcas, located in Chuquisaca or La Plata (modern Sucre). Bolivian silver mines produced much of the Spanish Empires wealth, and Potosí, site of the famed Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain) was for a couple of centuries the largest city in the Western Hemisphere.