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Potosi - "The Silver city"
As I wrote in the last blog entry, the spaniards never found El Dorado (the city of gold) but they got Potosi instead. The city is named after the mountain, which it's situated below. In Quechua the mountain is named Potojsi, which means thunder or explosion, or it might also have been from Potoj, "the springs".
I am rich Potosi, the treasure of the world... and the envy of kings.
In 1544 a local Inca was searching for a lost llama, and stopped at the foot of the mountain to make up a fire. After a little while, the fire grew so big that the ground beneath was melting and it oozed shiny liquid from the ground. He couldn't keep his mouth shot, and the spanish conquerors started a large scale excavation. (this is a shortcut of the tale of Potosi's origin)
The city Villa Imperial de Carlos V (now Potosi) was founded in april 1545, on the foot of the hill.
A dark history
The work in the mines was, and still is, dangerous! Thousands of indigenous slaves was forced to work, and many died. Actually so many that the Spanish imported millions of slaves from Africa to work in the mine.
Only a few survived and the descendants are mainly living in the Yungas today.
At the worst, the workers were required to work 12 hour shifts and they stayed underground for up to 4 month at a time. When they came out, their eyes had to be covered to prevent damage!
Of course this led to heavy losses, and from 1545 to 1825 its estimated that around 8 million slaves died!
In 1672 a mint was established to coin the silver. The city was full of money, and grew to a sice of nearly 200 000 inhabitants. This made Potosi the biggest, and also richest, city in the world at that time.
A little history says that they had enough silver to build a bridge over to spain!! But a more depressive story says that they could propably build a double bridge with all the bones from the dead people who worked in the mines....
But of course, the golden, or silver, days didn't last....
The output of the mines started to decline in the early 19th century. The silver prices as well, which dropped in the mid 19th century, dealt a blow from which Potosi has never really recovered.
In 1987 Potosi became a World Heritage site, in recognition of its rich and tragic history and for its wealth of colonial architecture.
The mines today
The big tourist attraction in Potosi is a visit inside the mines.... and that was of course the reason I went there as well : )
Today the mines are in control of miner owned cooperatives. But the working conditions, unfortunately haven't changed much... but the dream of a lucky strike is still there, is what keeps them going.
It's quit normal to start the working when you are between 12-14 years old! The children are following their fathers, and so on...
We stopped at the miners market to by some soft drinks, coca leaves, and dynamite for the miners. Yes, you can actually by dynamite here!! Even children are allowed to by it, but all is going to the mines anyway. It's not any terror risk here : )
We also bought some for ourself, for a test explosion outside after the visit in the mines.
The guide told us that noone reach an age of more than around 55 years old. An that was old to
be a miner! In the old days they died after 3 years, eather because of accidents or destroyed lungs. The air in the mines is filled with all kind of toxid gasses, and all the miners get's lung problems!
The reason that they can work longer today, is that they change places in the mine all the time, so they can get some "fresh" air now and then.
They normally work in groups of 5-6 people and change the working tasks between them.
The visit was really interesting, but depressing... to see, and feel, the conditions was like a journey back to the 15-18th century. The air in there was horrible, and the working conditions wouldn't gone through a check from the working supervision in Norway!!
All work is still done by hand, and one miner for example, could spend from 3 to 5 hours making a hole for the dynamite.
They normally work from 10 to 12 hours every day and at least 6 days a week!
Casa Nacional de Moneda
But Potosi is not just about hell...
During the wealthy periode, they built more than 80 churches, and a lot of colonial buildings can
bee seen in the city centre.
Casa Nacional de Moneda is one of the most important museums in south-america... that's in any case what they say here : )
It started with mint production in 1572, and is today turned into a museum. The building itself is from 1753-1773 (it took 20 years to build it...) and replaced Casa de Justicia.
The building has one meter tick walls, and has also functioned as prison, fortress, and headquarter for the Bolivian army during the Chaco war with Paraguay.
The last coins was minted in 1953.
The San Fransisco Convent
This convent was founded in 1547, and it's the oldest monastery in Bolivia. But the buildings was demolished in 1707 because of its inadequate size, and rebuild during the next 19 years.
A guided tour was quit interesting, but the highlight was the great view from the roof/tower.
I aslo witnessed many great paintings and a trip in the catacomb.
Heading for Sucre next!
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Sterke innslag Magnus
Flotte bilder og tekst Magnus! Sterkt og flott å lese om kontrastene til samtalen om klatringens gleder her forrige dagen! Bildene og historiene fra gruvene minner oss både om en nær fortid og en nåtid faktisk. Tenker at du vil sitte igjen med sterke minner som også kan brukes konstruktivt her hjemme! Vi skal jo ikke lete lenger enn til dagens aviser for å lese om hvordan storkapitalen igjen (og igjen) elegant klarer å overse hvordan vår egen rikdom øker på andres bekostning (denne gangen Telenor). ta med deg minnene i langtidsminnet!! Ellers "går nu dagan" her hjemme med noe mer trivielle aktiviteter. Farfar er 85 i over i morgen og feires på lørdag, Ingrid leser til eksamen og mamma har begynt i "ny" jobb. Ta vare på deg selv og samle flere viktige inntrykk!