K'ajchas, trapiches y plata en el cero de Potosí en el período colonial

TY - JOUR

T1 - K'ajchas, trapiches y plata en el cero de Potosí en el período colonial

AU - Barragàn, R.

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - This article is a contribution to the history of the k’ajchas or self-employed workers that produced 20 to 35% of Potosí’s silver in the 18th century. The paper began remembering the contribution of Gunnar Mendoza and other authors to the study of the k’ajchas. For the mine owners, they were simple “thieves” who stole their ore. The analysis is centered then, in the property rights to the mines because these k’ajchas undoubtedly challenged and questioned the ownership and exploitation of the ores. These ores were amalgamated in the trapiches or rudimentary mills. This is why the analysis is centered in the ensemble k’ajcha-trapiche that meant the emergence of a quasi-parallel economy that burst into the scene with considerable energy. This is also an example on how workers did not just resist but struggled to have their part in the new economy. In the conclusions there are some thoughts about the consequences of the k’ajchas/trapiches to approach the labour system in Potosi in a different way.

AB - This article is a contribution to the history of the k’ajchas or self-employed workers that produced 20 to 35% of Potosí’s silver in the 18th century. The paper began remembering the contribution of Gunnar Mendoza and other authors to the study of the k’ajchas. For the mine owners, they were simple “thieves” who stole their ore. The analysis is centered then, in the property rights to the mines because these k’ajchas undoubtedly challenged and questioned the ownership and exploitation of the ores. These ores were amalgamated in the trapiches or rudimentary mills. This is why the analysis is centered in the ensemble k’ajcha-trapiche that meant the emergence of a quasi-parallel economy that burst into the scene with considerable energy. This is also an example on how workers did not just resist but struggled to have their part in the new economy. In the conclusions there are some thoughts about the consequences of the k’ajchas/trapiches to approach the labour system in Potosi in a different way.

KW - Labour History, Self-Employed

KW - Technology

KW - Production of silver

KW - Social History

KW - Workers

KW - Trapiches

M3 - Article

SN - 1819-7981

VL - 20

SP - 273

EP - 320

JO - Anuario de Estudios Bolivianos, Archivísticos y Bibliográficos

JF - Anuario de Estudios Bolivianos, Archivísticos y Bibliográficos

ER -