Mercury, Mining, and Empire the Human and Ecological Cost of Colonial Silver Mining in the Andes - Robins, Nicholas A. 1964- (Indiana University Press, 2011)
Cover; Contents; Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Amalgamating an Empire; 2. Toxic Travails: Mining in Huancavelica; 3. Blood Silver; 4. Connecting the Drops:The Wider Human and Environmental Costs; 5. From Corrosion to Collapse:The Destruction of Native Communities; Conclusion; Glossary; Notes; Bibliography; Index
On the basis of an examination of the colonial mercury and silver production processes and related labor systems, Mercury, Mining, and Empire explores the effects of mercury pollution in colonial Huancavelica, Peru, and PotosÃ|#x00AD;, in present-day Bolivia. The book presents a multifaceted and interwoven tale of what colonial exploitation of indigenous peoples and resources left in its wake. It is a socio-ecological history that explores the toxic interrelationships between mercury and silver production, urban