Santa Bárbara's Legacy

An Environmental History of Huancavelica, Peru
Approx. 235 Pp. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-90-04-33978-1
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 5, 228 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 476 g

Reihe: Brill's Series in the History of the Environment

In Santa Bárbara’s Legacy: An Environmental History of Huancavelica, Peru, Nicholas A. Robins presents the first comprehensive environmental history of a mercury producing region in Latin America. Tracing the origins, rise and decline of the regional population and economy from pre-history to the present, Robins explores how people’s multifaceted, intimate and often toxic relationship with their environment has resulted in Huancavelica being among the most mercury-contaminated urban areas on earth. The narrative highlights issues of environmental justice and the toxic burdens that contemporary residents confront, especially many of those who live in adobe homes and are exposed to mercury, as well as lead and arsenic, on a daily basis. The work incorporates archival and printed primary sources as well as scientific research led by the author.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Robins, Nicholas A

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltverschmutzung, Umweltkriminalität, Umweltrecht

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements ix

Glossary xi

Introduction 1

1. Huaca-villca: From Geological Formation to Spanish Conquest 21

2. The Pachacuti: Colonization, Catastrophe and the Rise of Mercury 36

3. “A Horrible Business”: The Mita 73

4. The Bourbon Era: Reform and Resentment 96

5. “They All Come to Die”: Mining, Mishaps and Mercurialism 108

6. Desuetude, Decay and Neglect: The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 141

Epilogue 155

Bibliography 165

Appendix 199

Table 1 Total mercury (Hg) in soil in mg/kg remedial investigation Huancavelica, Peru 199

Table 2 Total mercury in Earthen homes (dust, walls, floors, and vapor) remedial investigation Huancavelica, Peru 201

Table 3 Mercury, Arsenic and Lead in Huancavelica and area rock samples 2015 pilot study Huancavelica, Peru 2015 pilot study Huancavelica, Peru 204

Table 4 Food stock, water, and sediment sample results 2016 pilot study Huancavelica, Peru 206

Table 5 Residential vapor results 2015 pilot study Huancavelica, Peru 208

Table 6 Soil sample results using X-ray florescence 2016 field event Huancavelica, Peru 209

Table 7 Total mercury in fish tissue 2016 field event Huancavelica, Peru 212

Table 8 Residential sample results using X-ray fluorescence 2016 field event Huancavelica. Peru 213

Index 215

Über Autor(innen)

Nicholas A. Robins holds a Ph.D. in Latin American Studies from Tulane University and is a Teaching Associate Professor in the Department of History at North Carolina State University. He is the author of numerous books concerning Latin America, and founder of the non-profit Environmental Health Council.