In the 16th century, this area was regarded as the
world’s largest industrial complex. The extraction of silver ore relied on a
series of hydraulic mills. The site consists of the industrial monuments of the
Cerro Rico, where water is provided by an intricate system of aqueducts and
artificial lakes; the colonial town with the Casa de la Moneda; the Church of
San Lorenzo; several patrician houses; and the barrios mitayos, the areas where
the workers lived.
Brief synthesis :
Potosí is the example par
excellence of a major silvers mine of the modern era, reputed
to be the world’s largest industrial complex in the 16th century. A small
pre-Hispanic-period hamlet perched at an altitude of 4,000 m in the icy
solitude of the Bolivian Andes, Potosí became an “Imperial City” following the
visit of Francisco de Toledo in 1572. It and its region prospered enormously
following the discovery of the New World’s biggest silver lodes in the Cerro de
Potosí south of the city. The major colonial-era supplier of silver for Spain,
Potosí was directly and tangibly associated with the massive import of precious
metals to Seville, which precipitated a flood of Spanish currency and resulted
in globally significant economic changes in the 16th century. The whole
industrial production chain from the mines to the Royal Mint has been
conserved, and the underlying social context is equally well illustrated, with
quarters for the Spanish colonists and for the forced labourers separated from
each other by an artificial river. Potosí also exerted a lasting influence on
the development of architecture and monumental arts in the central region of
the Andes by spreading the forms of a baroque style that incorporated native
Indian influences.
By the 17th century there were 160,000 colonists living
in Potosí along with 13,500 Indians who were forced to work in the mines under
the system of mita (mandatory
labour). The Cerro de Potosí reached full production capacity after 1580, when
a Peruvian-developed mining technique known as patio,
in which the extraction of silver ore relied on a series of hydraulic mills and
mercury amalgamation, was implemented. The industrial infrastructure comprised
22 lagunas or reservoirs, from
which a forced flow of water produced the hydraulic power to activate 140 ingenios or mills to grind
silver ore. The ground ore was amalgamated with mercury in refractory earthen
kilns, moulded into bars, stamped with the mark of the Royal Mint and taken to
Spain.
The city and region retain evocative evidence of this
activity, which slowed significantly after 1800 but still continues. This
includes mines, notably the Royal mine complex, the biggest and best-conserved
of the some 5,000 operations that riddled the high plateau and its valleys,
dams that controlled the water that activated the ore-grinding mills,
aqueducts, milling centres and kilns. Other evidence includes the superb
monuments of the colonial city, among them 22 parish or monastic churches, the
imposing Compañía de Jesús (Society of
Jesus) tower and the Cathedral. The Casa de la Moneda (Royal
Mint), reconstructed in 1759, as well as a number of patrician homes, whose
luxury contrasted with the bareness of the rancherias of
the native quarter, also remain. Many of these edifices are in an “Andean
Baroque” style that incorporates Indian influences. This inventive
architecture, which reflects the rich social and religious life of the time,
had a lasting influence on the development of architecture and monumental arts
in the central region of the Andes.
Criterion (ii): The “Imperial City” of Potosí, such
as it became following the visit of Francisco de Toledo in 1572, exerted
lasting influence on the development of architecture and monumental arts in the
central region of the Andes by spreading the forms of a baroque style
incorporating Indian influences.
Criterion (iv): Potosí is the one example par excellence of a major
silver mine in modern times. The industrial infrastructure comprised 22lagunas or reservoirs, from
which a forced flow of water produced the hydraulic power to activate the
140 ingenios or mills to grind
silver ore. The ground ore was then amalgamated with mercury in refractory
earthen kilns called huayras or guayras. It was then molded into
bars and stamped with the mark of the Royal Mint. From the mine to the Royal
Mint (reconstructed in 1759), the whole production chain is conserved, along
with the dams, aqueducts, milling centres and kilns. The social context is
equally well represented: the Spanish zone, with its monuments, and the very
poor native zone are separated by an artificial river.
Criterion (vi): Potosí is directly and tangibly
associated with an event of outstanding universal significance: the economic
change brought about in the 16th century by the flood of Spanish currency
resulting from the massive import of precious metals in Seville.
Integrity
Within the boundaries of the property are located all the
elements necessary to express the Outstanding Universal Value of the City of
Potosí, including the ensemble’s industrial mining and urban components such as
the system of artificial lakes, the mines, the mineral processing mills, the
architecture and urban form and the natural environment, all dominated by the
majestic presence of Cerro de Potosí. No buffer zone for the property has been
delimited.
Authenticity:
The City of Potosí is authentic in terms of the
ensemble’s forms and designs, materials and substances, and location and
setting. 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.
The degradation of Cerro de Potosí (also called Cerro
Rico [Rich Mountain] or Sumaj Orcko) by continuing mining operations has long
been a concern, as hundreds of years of mining have left the mountain porous
and unstable. The Bolivian Mining Corporation included the preservation of the
form, topography and natural environment of the mountain as one of the
objectives for its future exploitation. Nevertheless, recommendations by a
World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS technical mission in 2005 to improve the security
and stability of the property, as well as other conditions necessary to allow
for sustainable mining activities, were not addressed and portions of the
summit of the mountain have collapsed. The authenticity of the property is thus
threatened, and urgent and appropriate action must be taken to protect human
lives, to improve working conditions and to prevent further deterioration of
this vulnerable component of the property.
Protection and management requirements
The City of Potosí is protected under the Constitución Política del Estado (Political
Constitution of the State), Art. 191; Ley del Monumento Nacional (National
Monument Act), 8/5/1927; Normas Complementarias sobre
patrimonio Artístico, Histórico, Arqueológico y Monumenta (Complementary
Standards on Artistic, Historical, Archaeological and Monumental
Heritage), Decreto Supremo (D.S.) No.
05918 of 6/11/1961; Créase la Comisión Nacional
de Restauración y Puesta en Valor de Potosí (Establishment of
the National Commission for the Restoration and Revitalization of Potosí), D.S.
No. 15616 of 11/7/1978; Normas sobre defensa del
Tesoro Cultural de la Nación(Standards for the Protection of the
National Cultural Treasure),Decreto Ley (D.L.)
No. 15900 of 19/10/1978; and Act No. 600 of 23/2/1984 to finance the
implementation of the designation of the City of Potosí as a “Monumental City
of America” by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in
1979. In addition the Plan de Rehabilitación de las
Áreas Históricas de Potosí - PRAHP (Rehabilitation Plan of the
Historic Areas of Potosí), its Regulations and several studies also encompass
the protection of the property. There is no participatory conservation
management plan for the property.
Restoration work is realized by international support
from UNESCO, the Organization of American States and the governments of Spain
and the Federal Republic of Germany. The Ministry of Culture of the
Plurinational State of Bolivia is in charge of conservation and preservation
work. The Proyecto de la calle Quijarro (Quijarro
Street Project) was developed in 1981 to encourage rehabilitation of homes in
the historic downtown areas; basic services are provided in collaboration with
the Municipality - of Potosí. However, it should be noted that there is a
strong economic downturn in the region. It is expected that cultural tourism
will help provide social, economic and educational support.
Sustaining the Outstanding Universal Value of the property
over time will require fully implementing the emergency and other measures
identified by the 2011 technical mission; finalizing and implementing an
approved Strategic Emergency Plan, including rationalization and planning of
industrial exploitation in the area; developing and implementing approved
measures to ensure the structural stability of the top of the mountain;
modifying Article 6 of Supreme Decree 27787 to halt all exploration, extraction
and any other interventions under and above ground between altitudes
4,400 m and 4,700 m; completing an analysis and modelling based
on recent geophysical studies to further identify the anomalies affecting the
mountain; putting in place a monitoring system; finalizing and submitting a
participatory Management Plan for the property; and delimiting a buffer zone
for the property.
