Potosi City

One of the most important aspects of human nature is society. Because of the great importance, that is place in interpersonal relationships and communication the gathering of individuals within a city or town is an eventual occurrence. Since cities allows people to engage in a far greater amount of activities than they would be able to on their own. Cities are created in certain areas for many reasons, which often are driven by economic or social reasons. One of the many reasons that cities are created in a certain location is that the location has access to certain natural resources such as water, minerals or other resources. Another reason that cities are created is that the area has a large concentration of people and a city is created

to support those individuals. The reasons for the creation of a city in a particular location is highly dependent on the people who are settling the land however, the creation of cities is something that occurs across the world. One such city that was created that reflects this occurrence is the city of Potosi in Bolivia. When the Spaniards immigrated to the New World, they came in search of natural resources such as gold and silver. The city of Potosi was a city that was created as a result of the cities access to the world’s largest silver mine. Which was one of the many precious minerals that was being sought by the Spanish.
Upon its discover in 1545, the mines of Potosi were worked by yanaconas who were Native Americans that were not bound to the tax system, the encomienda system, that the Spanish conquistadores imposed upon Latin America. The yanaconas were attracted to Potosi because of the discovery of silver in the region that they mined to obtain money to pay the taxes that the Spanish implemented in Latin America . Later in the 1570s, the workers of the mines of Potosi changed from being independent miners such as the yanaconas to being salaried workers. This change to a more structured work system, brought with it changes to the smelting process from the primitive smelting processes that the indigenous population had been utilizing to a new process that refined the silver ore through the usage of a mercury amalgam. The process required the construction of plants where the silver ore would be crushed and then mixed with mercury to extract the silver from the ore . Additionally, because of the requirement of plants to process the silver ore, European businessmen were able to obtain a monopoly over the industry and as a result were able to institutionalize the mita system, which was a system of free and forced labor in which the Native American population as a major component. During Spanish rule, Native Americans were forced to work in the mines and were of such great necessity that when Philip III of Spain banned forcing labor in the mines by royal decree in 1601 he sent secret instructions to order its continuation to not hinder production of silver . Those who were forced to work in the mines often would develop the lung infection choco or as it was also known pneumoconiosis, and often would eventually succumb to the disease. Because of the high fatality of those, working in the mines Native Americans strove to avoid working in the mines.
Although the mita system allowed the forced labor of Native Americans in the silver mines of Potosi, they were not the only labor force that worked the silver mines.

By the 1650s, Potosi was the largest city with a population of 160,000 citizens . Most of the citizens of Potosi during the 1650’s were fortune seekers that had traveled from places such as Germany to Potosi to work in the mines and earn a fortune. Due to the economy of Potosi being highly dependent on the mining of silver from the Silver Hill nearby Potosi, the collapse of the mining industry would have a negative effect of the city. Furthermore, the collapse of the mining industry in Potosi would also effect other regions of Bolivia as well due to Bolivia’s economy being based primarily on

mining.
The collapse of the mining industry in Potosi at the end of the 19th century caused neighboring regions in Bolivia to suffer economic hardships.

In the neighboring colonial city of Chuquisaca’s oligarchy were able to maintain the city’s economic and political hegemony in the haciendas however following the collapse of the silver mining industry in Potosi, the system changed drastically. From having a silver mining dependent economy to having a greater dependency on the agricultural sector of the cities economics . During the 19th century, Bolivia under the leadership of Antonio Jose de Sucre opened up the countries mines to investors from Europe and allowed them to purchase mines that they had abandoned during the revolution. Furthermore, in 1825, in an attempt to stimulate the mining industry in Bolivia, the government began making reforms to the mines in Potosi to increase the cities mines productivity and profits. However, in 1826, the process of reforming and stimulating the mining industry in Bolivia failed due to mismanagement of foreign investors in London and the mines were forced to close . Although in the 19th century, the mining industry of Bolivia collapsed, later in the 20th century the mining industry of Bolivia, resurged with the mining of other minerals besides silver such as tin, lead and zinc . As a result of the event such as the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay the country had a great need to control national resources so as to pay its debts to

foreign countries and as a result implemented policies to obtain a greater degree of control over industries such as the mining industry.

During the 1970s and into the early 1980’s government of Bolivia has implemented measures to gain a greater degree of control over the mines that are located in the northern Potosi. The Jukumani, Native Americans living in northern Potosi are economically dependent on mining to continue the reproduction of their family economy. As a result of that dependency on mining competing mining groups such as the miners of Llallagua are viewed as enemies. In order to obtain a greater degree of control over the mining of northern Potosi the Bolivian government capitalized on antagonisms between both peasants and miners and on ethnic rivalries that exist in norther Potosi, to assert a greater degree of control over the mining industry .
In conclusion, Potosi as a colonial city has had periods of stagnation and periods of prosperity that has resulted in the city becoming urban. However, because of its long periods of stagnation the city has dwindled because of the economic problems that have resulted from the collapse of the mining industry in the country.