El triunfo de la minería informal. Conflictos por el control de los recursos mineros en Carangas a fines del siglo XVIII

Abstract

The mining crisis of the late eighteenth century in Carangas provoked a decline in resources and competition for control among a small group consisting of silver-refiners, ore-collectors (Indigenous and Mestizo) and bureaucrats, whose conflicts and tensions came to the attention of the Audiencia de Charcas on several occasions. Using colonial records we analyze the struggles that evolved as an imbalance that occurred in the status of the region with the arrival of a new Subdelegado, who set up his own business in competition with the two silver-refiners of the Province (Partido). The tributary population of Todos Santos found itself in the midst of this conflict, and was able to take advantage of the confrontational situation between the highest judge of the jurisdiction and the silver-refiners. The tributaries realized the seriousness of the damage that occurred between the silverrefiners and local authorities, but with the arrival of the Subdelegado and his silver-purchasing business they gained some independence by resorting to informal mining, carried out by women, jucos and ore-collectors.