During these decades the Peruvian government acquired its normal and stable character, largely through the legislative activity of Viceroy Francisco de Toledo. Lima gradually increased in population and acquired many of the institutions which later characterized its social life, such as the university, the tribunal of the Crusada, the inquisition, and various monasteries. In the meantime the mines of Upper Peru, particularly those of Potosí, continued to pour out their riches, making Lima the market at which the precious metals were exchanged for imported European wares. The increasing wealth was attended by a more elaborate style of living, by the growth of more formal and refined manners, by the multiplication of religious ceremonies, and by the rapid acquisition of property by the Church. At the same time, as the creoles in the population increased in numbers, they became conspicuous for their ostentation, and, by departing from the severe manners and customs of the Spaniards, added a certain lightness and freedom to social intercourse. But in spite of the persistent call of these circumstances to practical affairs, a number of persons appeared in the colony during this period, who by their writings indicated that not all the world was absorbed in contemplating the output of the mines, the gains of trade, or in rivalling one another in the display of newly-acquired wealth. Some of these by their office in the Church were expected to stand aloof, and did stand aloof, from the ordinary economic activity of the community; in fact, this period and the half-century following were especially noteworthy for their literary production, both in Peru and in Chile. [Sidenote: Acosta] [Sidenote: Acosta with Toledo]