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Tulane historian Kris Lane writes essay for Zócalo on Bolivian silver mining and capitalism

April 29, 2019 3:45 PM
 | 
Riley Moran

This story originally appeared in Zócalo Public Square entitled How a 16th-century Bolivian Silver Mine Invented Modern Capitalism on April 24, 2019.

A recent essay and podcast by Tulane historian Kris Lane was featured in Zócalo: Public Square, an online journal seeking to create a welcoming intellectual space and engage a new and diverse generation in the public square. In the article, Lane discusses the costs and benefits of silver mining on the Bolivian town Potosí. Lane notes that “Potosí offers sharp lessons about who wins, who loses, and how profoundly a mother lode of shiny metals can shape a region over the course of nearly 500 years.”

Read the entire article here.