Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
time, eating, sleeping and working in the mines. When they emerged from a 'shift', their
eyes were covered to prevent damage from the bright sunlight.
Naturally these miners, who came to be known as
mitayos,
didn't last long. Heavy
losses were also incurred among those who worked in the
ingenios
(smelting mills), as the
silver-smelting process involved contact with deadly mercury. In all, it's estimated that
over the three centuries of colonial rule (1545 to 1825) as many as eight million Africans
and indigenous Bolivians died in these appalling conditions.
In 1672 a mint was established to coin the silver, reservoirs were constructed to provide
water for the growing population and exotic European consumer goods found their way
up the llama trails from Arica and Callao. Amid the mania, more than 80 churches were
constructed and Potosí's population grew to nearly 200,000, making it one of the largest
cities in the world. As one politician of the period put it: 'Potosí was raised in the pande-
monium of greed, at the foot of riches discovered by accident.'
As with most boom towns, Potosí's glory was not to last. The mines' output began to
decline in the early 19th century and the city was looted during the independence
struggles in Alto Perú. The population dropped to less than 10,000 and the mid-19th-cen-
tury drop in silver prices dealt a blow from which Potosí has never completely recovered.
In the present century only the demand for tin has rescued Potosí from obscurity and
brought a slow but steady recovery. Zinc and lead have now taken over from tin as
Bolivia's major metallic exports but silver extraction continues on a small scale and re-
minders of the city's grand colonial past are still evident.
Most of the operations in Cerro Rico today are in the control of miner-owned cooperat-
ives, which operate under conditions that have changed shamefully little from the colonial
period. There's little prospect of change in sight, as the miners barely extract enough ore
to keep themselves in bread. The dream of the lucky strike (there are still a few) keeps
them going, although the number of miners is steadily dwindling.
Sights
In 1987 Unesco named Potosí a World Heritage Site in recognition of its rich and tragic
history and its wealth of colonial architecture.
Casa Nacional de la Moneda
(Ayacucho at Bustillos; admission by mandatory 2hr guided tour B$40, camera B$20;
9am, 10:30am, 2:30pm & 4:30pm Tue-Sat, 9am & 10:30am Sun)
The National Mint is
MUSEUM
