Discovering The Working Conditions Of The “Devil’s Miners”
The Mineros del Diabolo or “Devils’ Minors”, inside the Cerro Rico, “The mountain that eats men alive”, Potosi, Bolivia, South America
Already in 1545, the Spanish were aware of the enormous wealth inside of Cerro Rico and forced thousands of Indigenous to work in the mines extracting the huge deposits of silver. To increase production, the “Ley de Mita” was passed that forced Indigenous and later African slaves to work 16 hour shifts. They were kept underground for 4 months. The working conditions were beyond description and an estimated 8 to 10 million died of the forced labor over the three century of Spanish rule! Continue Reading →