What is the significance of Potosi?
Potosí is a mining town famous for the incredible riches that have been cut out of the Cerro Rico Mountain ever since 1545, when the Spaniards began with large-scale excavation.
What was Potosi and what happened there what was the significance of this in the history of globalization?
During the sixteenth century the population of Potosi grew to over 200,000 and its silver mine became the source of 60% of the world’s silver. From the 1550’s Potosi was at the center of the first explosive development of global intercontinental exchange creating the first true globalized economic and trading network.
What does the name Potosi mean?
In Potosí …in the shadow of fabled Potosí Mountain (also called Cerro Rico [“Rich Mountain”]), which is honeycombed with thousands of mines. Legend attributes its name to potojchi or potocsi, a Quechua word meaning “deafening noise,” or “crash.”
How was Potosi ruined?
Potosí was founded as a mining town in 1546, while Bolivia was still part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Thousands of the indigenous people were forced to work at the mines, where many perished through accidents, brutal treatment, or poisoning by the mercury used in the extraction process.
Is Potosi poor?
From the discovery of silver there in 1545 until today, it has been a city of suffering for the indigenous population, while for Europeans, it was a mythical land of riches. While European powers claimed the riches of Potosi’s mountain, indigenous laborers died by the thousands. Today it is a city of poverty.
Is there still silver in Potosi?
Located in the Bolivian Tin Belt, Cerro Rico de Potosí is the world’s largest silver deposit and has been mined since the sixteenth century, producing up to 60,000 tonnes by 1996. Estimates are that much silver still remains in the mines.
How did Potosi affect the world?
“Potosí made the money that irrevocably changed the economic complexion of the world.” The production of silver in the city exploded in the early 1570s after the discovery of a mercury amalgamation process to extract it from the mined ore, coupled with the imposition of a forced labour system known as the mita.
How many died at Potosi?
It is believed that eight million people have died in the mines of Potosi, most of them either natives or African slaves. They used to be trapped underground for six months at a time, where they worked 20 hours a day.
How many Indians died at Potosi?
Potosí, once one of the largest and richest cities in the world, has an incredible history. It is estimated that as many as eight million Andean Indians died because of the mining of its Cerro Rico (Rich Hill). The workers were brought from all over the region – in today’s Bolivia and Peru – to serve the Spanish Crown.
How many natives died in Potosi?
eight million
The mine at Potosi became the world’s biggest after silver was discovered there by the Spanish in 1545. African and indigenous slaves worked the mines – it is estimated as many as eight million may have died.
What happened to Potosi?
Potosí survived as a mining centre on a smaller scale until its liberation by Simón Bolívar in 1825, its former riches now existing only in legend and literature. “To be worth a Potosí” appears in Don Quijote de la Mancha, a phrase that is still used in Spanish to this day.
What was the purpose of the German ship Potosi?
Potosi was a five-masted steel barque built in 1895 by Joh. C. Tecklenborg ship yard in Geestemünde, Germany, for the sailing ship company F. Laeisz as a trading vessel. Its primary purpose was as a “nitrate clipper” collecting guano in South America for use in chemical companies in Germany (mainly for making explosives and fertiliser).
What is Potosí famous for?
Still dominated by the majestic Cerro de Potosí, the “Imperial City” of Potosí’s streets, squares, civic and religious buildings, parishes and churches remain as faithful witnesses of its great splendour and tell the important history of mining in the Americas.
What is the origin of the name “Potosi”?
Potosi was named after the Bolivian town of Potosí, the highest city in the world), its name beginning with “P” according to a Laeisz’ tradition begun in the 1880s.
What was the size of the Potosi?
The Potosi was steel-built, with a waterline length of 110 m and a total hull length of 122.42 m. The hull was 15.15 m wide and the ship had a displacement of 8,350 tons, for an effective carrying capacity of 6,400 tons. The ship had only one bulkhead in the bow section—the collision bulkhead.