The Black Legend

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Robins, Nicholas A. Mercury, Mining, and Empire: The Human and Ecological Cost of Colonial Silver Mining in the Andes. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011.
Nicholas A. Robins is a professor of Latin American studies at North Carolina State University. His 2011 work, Mercury, Mining, and Empire: The Human and Ecological Cost of Colonial Silver Mining in the Andes provides a social and environmental history of the effects of mercury and silver mining on the people, economy, and environment in the mining towns of Huancavelica, Peru and Potosí, Bolivia. In addition to the histories of Huancavelica and Potosí and the effects of mining, the “Black Legend” and the caste-based system of labor drafting known as mita figure prominently in the …show more content…
With the publication of Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias, Las Casas supported the belief in the authentic humanity of the Indians and affirmed the view of Spaniards as overly ambitious, imperialistic, and cruel. Bordering on treason, La Casas questioned the legitimacy of the Spanish conquest of Latin America because of the atrocities committed against the Amerindians. Many Spanish policies aimed to culturally destroy and imperil the indigenous population. The policies were multifaceted, consistent, and enduring, and resulted in the cultural and linguistic destruction of the Amerindians. The genocidal nature of Spanish imperialism affected every part of the indigenous society throughout the Americas. In opposition to the black legend and La Casas, many of his contemporaries advocated the “white legend,” the ethnocentric view that the Spanish brought civilization and Catholicism to the Americas, thus bettering the Amerindians and their ways of …show more content…
Crimes of passion, debts, and minor disagreements were all made worse by madness as a result of mercury poisoning. The phrase “Mad Hatter’s disease” originated in felt production because of the mercury that the felt was treated with. After wearing the felt hats, wearers would often exhibit the symptoms of madness related to mercury exposure. The opening vignette in Mercury, Mining, and Empire describing the madness exhibited by an elderly cleric named Juan Antonio de los Santos is indicative of someone suffering acute mercury poisoning. Father de los Santos’ rage, threats to parishioners, excess saliva, and overall insanity combined with residence in Potosí provides compelling evidence that even residents who were not actively engaged in mining operations were affected by the toxic nature of mercury and silver
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