Potosi, Bolivia...Adam, Nicole, Lillian, and I left Sucre for a weekend excursion to the mining city of Potosi. This quiet high altitude city (over 4,000 m) has a tragic history, and, inspite of the city´s growing economy due to the tourist industry, it has a difficult present as well. In many ways it embodies Bolivia in all of its potential and strife.
If you had been alive in the late 1600s, you would have known about Potosi. It was one of the richest and most populated cities in the world. In fact, the word ¨potosi¨ was used as a synonym for weath. In the mid 1500s silver was found in the hill, now called Cerro Rico (rich hill) that towers 800 meters over the city. The Spanish found out about the silver and immediately claimed the hill in the name of King Carlos V. The Spanish enslaved the indigenous people to mine the hill, (later using African slaves when the natives died) set up refineries, and sent the finished silver to Spain. Thousands of natives and Africans perished in the harsh working conditions, while the mercury used in the refining process contaminated the river. Meanwhile, the Spanish monarchy became more and more wealthy. By the late 1600s, Potosi had grown from a mining village into a city of 200,000 inhabitants, with over 80 churches and a mint.
In the 19th century the city took several blows, including the decrease of silver within the hill and a period of looting during the struggle for independence from Spain. During that time, all of the city´s wealth was taken to Europe. Its economy improved when tin replaced silver, but fell again in the 1980s with the crash in tin prices.
Today, miners still work the hill. Machines have replaced the hand picks of the past, and miners work on their own free will, but conditions are still very unhealthy. Miners usually only live until about 40 years old because of prolonged exposure to the dust, toxins (such as asbestos), and extreme temperatures within the mines. Until about four years ago, children still worked in the mines.
We went on a tour of a mine, into the depths of Cerro Rico. No one was working, because it was a Sunday, but we got an idea of the working conditions. It was a bit scary crawling through the dark and dusty tunnels, watching out for holes and trying not to breathe too deeply. It was also fascinating to see the veins of silver and zinc glinting in the light of our headlamps.
Nicole and I visited a museum in which silver is still smithed. We saw the tools the artisans used in the 1600s through the 1800s to turn the unrefined silver into a work of art. The process of separating the silver from the impurities was especially hazardous. For example, the silver had to be heated with mercury, which of course releases noxious gases. In the early days, the heat was supplied by an oven fueled by a fire that women had to keep burning by constantly blowing into tubes. (Later billows were used). The process of molding the silver and creating the designs on it was painstaking, but much nicer. Our guide let us try our hands at tapping tiny designs in some silver.
We also saw some replicas of some of the luxurious items that were sent to Spain, such as crowns, soup bowls, silverware, and dowery boxes.
-editor´s note-). 
