Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE KING OF TIN: SIMÓN PATIÑO
Few individuals played a greater role in shaping modern Bolivia than tin baron Simón
Patiño , who rose from humble mestizo origins to become one of the world's richest men,
popularly known as the “Rockefeller of the Andes” and the “King of Tin”. Born in 1860 to
a poor family in the Cochabamba valley, Patiño moved to Oruro in 1894 to work in a min-
ing supply store. A year later he bought his first share in the nearby La Salvadora mine ,
and in 1897 bought out his partner to control what turned out to be one of the biggest de-
posits of high-grade tin in the world. Legend has it that at first he and his wife Albina dug
out the precious ore with their own hands, carried it downhill in wheelbarrows and then
across country by llama train. But in 1900 Patiño struck one of the richest veins of ore ever
found in Bolivia, which was to make his fortune.
By 1905, La Salvadora was the country's most productive mine , operated by foreign
technicians with high-tech equipment. Patiño used the wealth it generated to buy up the
surrounding mines and link them to the main railway line to the coast. Within fifteen years
he controlled about half of Bolivia's tin output , was the country's most important private
banker, and enjoyed an income far greater than the government, which he effectively con-
trolled.Thiswealthcameattheexpenseofthethousandsofminersheemployed.However,
these miners suffered low pay, appalling working conditions and severe oppression .
Patiño also expanded his empire internationally, buying up mining interests and foundries
in Asia, Africa, Germany, the USA and Britain. This corporation controlled the entire pro-
duction process for about a quarter of the world's tin and played an important role in set-
ting international prices . Rumoured to have Nazi sympathies, he was said to have helped
finance Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War. By the early 1920s his fortune was es-
timated at $100 million , making him one of the five richest men in the world. Despite
this, Patiño never really overcame the prejudices of Bolivia's white elite, and from 1924
onwards lived permanently abroad. In 1925 he moved his corporate base to the USA, but
spent most of his time in London, Paris and the French Riviera. He died in Buenos Aires in
1947 and thus never lived to see the nationalization of his Bolivian mine holdings.
Faro de Conchupata
Entrance on the corner of calles La Plata and Montecinos • Free
Three blocks up Soria Galvarro from the Casa Cultura, a left turn takes you up a steep hill
to the Faro de Conchupata , a lighthouse monument built to commemorate the first raising
of the current Bolivian national flag, which took place on this site in 1851. The lighthouse
serves no practical purpose but - municipal budget permitting - still lights up every evening.
There are good views from its base.
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