Cerro Rico - Spain's wealth for over 250 years

"Two sticks of dynamite and a bag of ammonium nitrate, please"

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September 23rd 2012
You'd be forgiven for never having heard of Potosí. Perched at the dizzying altitude of 4,000 metres, Potosí is a bustling but modest town, a cold, windy and far-flung place on the edge of the altiplano - a very long way away from Bolivia's modern nerve centres of La Paz and Santa Cruz. It was not always thus - very far from it. In 17th century Spain, everyone knew about Potosí. For i ... read more

South America » Bolivia » Potosí Department » Potosi

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Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in 1... ... read more