Social tensions in early seventeenth-century Potosi
Description
This dissertation examines social and political tensions in the silver mining city of Potosi during the early decades of the seventeenth century. More specifically, it explores the complex reasons behind a severe outburst of violence among Spaniards of different regional peninsular backgrounds between 1622-25 A slow decline in silver production provides the backdrop to rising tensions during the first several decades of the seventeenth century. The presence of a large, youthful, and restless underclass of young immigrants from Spain exacerbated competition for labor and other resources among silver mining enterprises. The perception that the close-knit, prosperous Basque community of silver miners in Potosi had manipulated the local political scene to their advantage during the early decades of the seventeenth century led to resentment among both the young recent immigrants and those from other regions of Spain who resided in Potosi. Lax oversight and outright venality among royal officials in Potosi exacerbated the hostility and resentment toward the Basques felt by regional groups of Andalusians, Extremadurans, Gallegos, and others. A long-overdue inspection of the royal accounts in Potosi by Contador Alonso Martinez de Pastrana stirred up this already volatile situation and helped precipitate a three-year period of outright violence from 1622-1625 Based on contemporary accounts and archival correspondence, the dissertation provides a detailed overview of this violent period, while focusing on the competing efforts of interested parties to steer events toward a resolution favorable to their faction. Special emphasis is placed on the efforts of the hostile factions to sway both public and official opinion to view the disturbances from their own partisan points-of-view. Such efforts ranged from extensive narrative accounts of the disturbances sent to influential officials to intimidating strong-arm attempts of persuasion. In this same context, the dissertation explores the important connections between the world of theatrical productions in Potosi to the faction hostile to the Basques arguing that theater provided a key persuasive element in convincing some Potosinos to take violent actions against their adversaries