Did African slaves work in silver mines?

Few enslaved Africans were used in the silver mines in Peru. The mines were high in the mountains, and the cost of feeding and clothing slaves in this isolated and cold area would be too high. Africans were not used to the lack of oxygen in the air at that altitude, and did not work well.

What industries were slaves used in?

United States. In the antebellum southern United States, industrial slaves were often the property of a company instead of an individual. These companies spanned various industries including sawmills, cotton gins and mills, fishing, steamboats, sugar refineries, coal and gold mining, and railroads.

What were slaves jobs in America?

Many slaves living in cities worked as domestics, but others worked as blacksmiths, carpenters, shoemakers, bakers, or other tradespeople. Often, slaves were hired out by their masters, for a day or up to several years. Sometimes slaves were allowed to hire themselves out.

Why is Potosi infamous?

Potosí is a mining town famous for the incredible riches that have been cut out of the Cerro Rico Mountain ever since 1545, when the Spaniards began with large-scale excavation.

What happened to Potosi?

Potosí survived as a mining centre on a smaller scale until its liberation by Simón Bolívar in 1825, its former riches now existing only in legend and literature. “To be worth a Potosí” appears in Don Quijote de la Mancha, a phrase that is still used in Spanish to this day.

How did slavery in the Americas differ from slavery in Africa?

Forms of slavery varied both in Africa and in the New World. In general, slavery in Africa was not heritable—that is, the children of slaves were free—while in the Americas, children of slave mothers were considered born into slavery.

How did the Spanish mine silver?

The silver was taken by llama and mule train to the Pacific coast, shipped north to Panama City, and carried by mule train across the isthmus of Panama to Nombre de Dios or Portobelo, whence it was taken to Spain on the Spanish treasure fleets.

How many Indians died at Potosi?

It is believed that eight million people have died in the mines of Potosi, most of them either natives or African slaves. They used to be trapped underground for six months at a time, where they worked 20 hours a day.