Potosi was founded in 1545, following the discovery of silver ore, and became the wealthiest city on the continent by the end of the 18th century. Silver from its mines underwrote the Spanish economy and extravagance for over two centuries, but that wealth came from the labour of more than eight million indigenous people forced to work the mines. The boom, however, did not last. Silver production waned at the turn of the 19th century, and Potosi is now one of Bolivia´s poorest cities.
Our tour of a mine was fascinating, but sad, as we witnessed the poor working conditions within. Boys as young as 15 work for as little as US$6 – 8 a day, and most miners don´t live beyond 50 due to mining accidents and diseases such as silicosis pneumonia.
We did have fun, however, purchasing and detonating dynamite which is perfectly legal here and can be purchased for as little as US$1 by anyone (including children). We combined our sticks of dynamite with fuses and fertilizer, and shown how to estimate how much time we would have to evacuate depending on the length of the fuses (about 2.5 minutes). I was given the opportunity to blow up a small Garfield toy, and hurried back to our designated watch area as soon as my fuses were lit, but the majority of our group took their time. It was funny to watch them break into a run after our guide raced past them shouting, ¨Vamos! Vamos! I´m not joking!¨ The explosions were deafening, and the shockwaves unexpected. We all jumped and Warren, who took a video of the action, will now have to edit the bit where he swore : )
Our tour of a mine was fascinating, but sad, as we witnessed the poor working conditions within. Boys as young as 15 work for as little as US$6 – 8 a day, and most miners don´t live beyond 50 due to mining accidents and diseases such as silicosis pneumonia.
We did have fun, however, purchasing and detonating dynamite which is perfectly legal here and can be purchased for as little as US$1 by anyone (including children). We combined our sticks of dynamite with fuses and fertilizer, and shown how to estimate how much time we would have to evacuate depending on the length of the fuses (about 2.5 minutes). I was given the opportunity to blow up a small Garfield toy, and hurried back to our designated watch area as soon as my fuses were lit, but the majority of our group took their time. It was funny to watch them break into a run after our guide raced past them shouting, ¨Vamos! Vamos! I´m not joking!¨ The explosions were deafening, and the shockwaves unexpected. We all jumped and Warren, who took a video of the action, will now have to edit the bit where he swore : )
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