Worth a Potosi
June 28, 2015 1:30 PM   Subscribe

Potosí (Silver Mines of Colonial Peru) In 1545, the population of Potosí and its environs stood at around 3,000. Thirty-five years later, in 1580, the numbers had swelled to around 120,000, and by 1650 to around 160,000, making the remote mining center one of the largest urban concentrations in the world.

Of course, there is also a very dark side to all this. This city that grew out of the richness of its mines is nicknamed The Mountain that Eats Men.

From Wikipedia: In Spanish there is still a saying, vale un Potosí, "to be worth a Potosí" (that is, "to be of a great value").

See also: The History of Potosi, Bolivia
posted by Michele in California (9 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
It is a fascinating place. Among other things, it's interesting to note the role that coca leaf, a traditional part of the Bolivian / Andean lifestyle, played in the success of the mines.

The Catholic Church, being the Church, condemned it at first. But once the Spaniards noticed how much harder their native Bolivian miners would work given a coca ration, and how much less they had to be fed, the Church somehow found itself able to turn the other cheek.

This despite the fact that the local miners literally started to worship the Devil.
posted by saturday_morning at 1:45 PM on June 28, 2015 [3 favorites]


Child labor? check.
History of slave labor? check.
Poisoned gas? check.
Cocaine? check.
Mountain opens up holes and eats people? check.
Shift starts at 2 a.m. for children? check.
Devil-worshiping? check.
American unions selfishly don't want to lower their standards to allow their workers to compete with this? check and mate.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 2:53 PM on June 28, 2015 [4 favorites]


(One shortish link about the economy in Spain in the 1600s and how no we didn't get rich on the backs of indigenous people, it was the time when we created the novela picaresca and I'd really recommend to read the Lazarillo or El Buscón to get a feel of Siglo de Oro-era Spain)
posted by sukeban at 3:02 PM on June 28, 2015 [1 favorite]




Today I learned Serra Pelada has been abandoned!

One of Salgado's photos.
posted by bukvich at 3:24 PM on June 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


This despite the fact that the local miners literally started to worship the Devil.

"Outside the mine we are Catholics, and when we enter the mine, we worship the devil."
posted by filthy light thief at 3:41 PM on June 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


A history of the World in 100 Objects discussed Potosi in the episode about the Spanish Pieces of Eight.
posted by Poldo at 6:05 PM on June 28, 2015


Mod note: A few comments deleted; cut out the personal stuff, period. Also, folks, quick snark remarks in the first few comments aren't the best way to introduce thoughtful discussion. Let's rewind a bit here, please.
posted by taz (staff) at 2:12 AM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


Related: The Valiant Ladies of Potosi
posted by Mogur at 5:10 AM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


« Older A Shaggy Dad Story   |   Steer the hallucinations of a neural net Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments