Here is a biographical link for Eduardo Galeano that may be helpful as you read Chapter One of his book The Open Veins of Latin America.
from Duncan Green, Faces of Latin America (London: Latin America Bureau, 1991).
Many historians and economists find the roots of modern Latin America's economic woes in the colonial-era development of single export commodities like sugar and silver. For them, Latin American underdevelopment and dependence can be traced from the colonial era of Potosí through to the garampeiros of today's Amazon. Do you agree?
Examples from both the colonial and modern eras:
- Silver and the famous cerro rico of Potosí
- Tin in Bolivia.
Play around on the Web and you'll find more on Bolivian Images - Gold in Minas Gerais, Brazil. See also other links for Ouro Preto, and the work of Sebastião Salgado, including this famous photograph, untitled, owned now by the Spencer Museum of Art.
- Copper in Chile
- Bauxite in Jamaica.
