This website is under construction. We will keep adding more features in the near future, so remember to check it regularly!
In 1955, Lewis Hanke, the renowned U.S. historian of Latin America, created an association called “Amigos de la Historia de la Villa Imperial de Potosí.” Original members included all-stars Gunnar Mendoza, Armando Alba, Teresa Gisbert, José de Mesa, Guillermo Ovando-Sanz, Mario Chacón, Marie Helmer, and Inge Wolff. The idea for Friends of Potosí was sound, but as Hanke recalled in 1972: “The establishment of the Asociación…may have served the useful purpose of alerting widely-scattered scholars to their common concern with Potosí, but no great result was noticeable.” With a bow of gratitude to the late Prof. Hanke, it is our hope that this revived version of the associated “Friends of Potosí/Amigos de Potosí” in a digital age may prove more fruitful and durable.
A vast body of scholarship on Potosí has accumulated since Hanke wrote, and yet scholars of the Villa Imperial and its hinterland remain widely dispersed around the globe and only occasionally have they had the opportunity to meet in person and share notes. Although advances in digital technology have made locating publications and original materials easier and more efficient than ever, and digital communication is astonishing, we still find ourselves ignorant of the work of certain specialists, and of course work-in-progress is often entirely unknown. In lieu of a great reunion in Potosí, which we hope – as Hanke did – will someday be possible, we offer this website as a forum for collecting and sharing all things pertaining to this intriguing and probably unique Andean city.
Here is Hanke’s resolution for a meeting in Potosí, signed by the Friends of Potosí who attended the XXXVIII International Congress of Americanists meeting in Stuttgart-Munich, August 1968:
A Resolution on the History of the Villa Imperial de Potosí
Considering
That the history of the Villa Imperial de Potosí requires further study in its anthropological, artistic, cultural, economic, political, sociological, and technological aspects
Recognizing
That extensive archival records exist which are available for research on Potosí
Believing
That a meeting of scholars concerned with Potosí would be a valuable stimulation to their further efforts…
Source: Hanke, Lewis. Selected Writings of Lewis Hanke on the History of Latin America. Tempe, AZ: ASU Center for Latin American Studies, 1979, pp.188-95.
This website is meant to serve as an archive and meeting place for scholars, students, citizens, lost travelers, and all other friends of Potosí. Although our primary focus is on the colonial heyday of this great city in the high Andes of Bolivia, we hope to expand to celebrate its modern history, culture, and global connections as well. If you have comments or suggestions on how to improve the site or to correct an error, please contact me at klane1@tulane.edu.
Viva Potosí!
Kris Lane, Tulane University