In June 1622, the silver mining metropolis of Potosí, Bolivia, erupted in gangland violence, only halted three years later. Basque immigrants were at the center of the controversy, squaring off against nearly a dozen other nations known collectively as Vicuñas. This rich collection of original sources allows readers to play historian.
"Made up of original, contrasting narratives translated and published here for the first time, Basques and Vicuänas at the Mouth of Hell explores one of the great puzzles of colonial Latin American history: Why did "nationalist" factions arise in the midst of the world's greatest silver bonanza in the highland city of Potosâi, Bolivia, and why did they attack each other with murderous violence? Just as importantly, how was this dispute resolved, or was it? Newly discovered documents help tell this fascinating, true story of gangland violence, political intrigue, and an unstable government"--
