Theodor de Bry, Flemish, 1528–1598
Indian Miners at Potosí, 1590
This engraving illustrates the shocking conditions at the Cerro Rico mine in Potosí that Jesuit missionary José de Acosta witnessed. In this work, we can see the perilous conditions faced by indigenous workers along with the violence mining wreaked on the natural landscape. The workers’ contorted bodies are illuminated by candlelight, demonstrating how dark it was this deep in the veins. The precarious ladder leading out of the mountain furthers this depth, showing both the violation of the mountain, which is practically a husk, and the workers’ descent into a living hell, resulting in Cerro Rico’s nickname: “the mountain that eats men.” In the background, the landscape of Potosí has been indelibly altered by the mining, particularly through contamination of waterways. The poison in the air and the mercury in the water perpetuated violence on the laborers and the landscape (both invaluable), all for shiny pieces of metal. Label by Tori Erisman