Decadent Wealth, Degenerate Morality, Dominance, and Devotion: the Discordant Iconicity of the Rich Mountain of Potosí
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Decadent Wealth, Degenerate Morality, Dominance, and Devotion: The Discordant Iconicity of the Rich Mountain of Potosí Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Claudia A. Cornejo Happel, M.A. Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Lisa Voigt, Advisor Lúcia Costigán Elizabeth Davis Copyright by Claudia A. Cornejo Happel 2014 Abstract The rich mountain of Potosí, with its famed silver mines, has commanded the attention of Europeans, creoles (Americans of Spanish descent), and indigenous Andeans since the Spanish colonizers of Peru were made aware of its existence in 1545. Soon after its discovery, the rich mountain was represented in a variety of written and visual texts created by writers and artists from the Andes, Spain, and other parts of Europe. Independent of its physical form, in these representations the rich mountain assumed a discursive meaning, functioning as an icon that, depending on the context, represented abstract ideas of wealth, immorality, dominance, and spirituality. This dissertation brings together texts, images, and maps to discuss the multifaceted iconicity of Potosí and its cultural salience in these representations. Besides functioning as an icon that supported Spain’s “official history,” a discourse that presented Spanish achievements as heroic and providential, other representations of the rich mountain supported alternative discourses regarding Spanish colonial history. To advance individual and nationalistic agendas, authors, artists, and mapmakers strove to control the meaning associated with the iconic rich mountain. My dissertation shows that for an early modern audience the mountain of Potosí was more than just a source of silver; it was also an icon that contributed to discourses negotiating issues of economy, morality, spatial and political dominance, and spiritual expression. ii Dedication: This document is dedicated to my family: Mama und Papa, Martin, Leandro, and Asiri. iii Acknowledgments Accounts of the infamous past of the rich mountain of Potosí have fascinated me since, in 2010, I was first introduced to Bartolomé Arzáns de Orsúa y Vela’s Historia de la Villa Imperial de Potosí, as part of a course taught by my advisor, Lisa Voigt. Dazzled by the spectacles, fascinated despite myself by the descriptions of crime and immorality, and dismayed by the injustices committed against the indigenous population, Potosí and its mines became the focus of my academic work. As my interest made me more perceptive to references to Potosí and I began gathering information on the Cerro Rico, my attention was drawn to the ubiquity of the rich mountain in a variety of textual and visual representations. For the past years, I have gathered information on Potosí in books, the internet, in archives, and at the mountain itself, which I was able to visit in 2012. While this dissertation can only address a part of these materials, I am incredibly grateful to everybody who has supported me in my research and through the writing process. I am particularly grateful to Lisa Voigt, who introduced me to Potosí and who has supported me on my path through Graduate School. Her advice and insightful suggestions have been an incredible help not only in the process of writing this dissertation, but, more importantly, from the moment I started working towards the doctorate degree at The Ohio State University. I would also like to thank my dissertation committee members, Lúcia Costigán and Elizabeth Davis for their interest in my work, their flexibility in helping me meet my goals, and the encouragement they have offered iv for the past five years. In addition I have benefited greatly from the feedback on my work from Byron Hamann, who, in addition to much appreciated comments and suggestions, has provided me with many helpful resources. My appreciation also goes to Maureen Ahern; the memory of her encouragement to question “common knowledge” and to consider different perspectives has been instrumental in helping me define the approach I take to the discussion of Potosí’s iconicity in this dissertation. The archival research for this dissertation would not have been possible without the financial support from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and the Office of International Affairs at The Ohio State University. I would also like to thank my colleagues at UCAT, Stephanie Rohdieck, Laurie Maynell, Lindsay Bernhagen, Elizabeth Brewer, Amy Collins-Warfield, Phil Edwards, Sarah Holt, Teresa Johnson, Alan Kalish, Michael Murphy, Jennie Williams, and Wonneken Wanske, for their support and for giving me a space to think outside the box about academic work. I appreciate the comments and suggestions from fellow Dissertation Writing Group participants, Blake Wilder, Julia Averill, Eunbin Chung, Rachel Mauk, and Dries Vandorpe, who challenged me to express my ideas more clearly and question the “so what” of my ideas. Finally, I am deeply appreciative of the support from my family and friends who provided moral support, an open ear for listening to my frustrations, and, most importantly, reasons to laugh. v Vita 1998 .................................... Abitur, Engelbert Kämpfer Gymnasium, Lemgo, Germany 2005 .................................... A.A. Foreign Languages, Gainesville College 2007 .................................... B.A. Spanish and French, University of Georgia 2009 .................................... M.A. Spanish, University of Florida 2007 to 2009 ...................... Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Florida 2009 to 2012 ..................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The Ohio State University 2012 to present ................... Doctoral Intern, University Center for the Advancement of Teaching, The Ohio State University Publications Cornejo Happel, Claudia. “You are what you eat: Food as expression of social identity and intergroup relations in the colonial Andes.“ Cincinnati Romance Review 33 (2012): 175-193.Web. Happel, Claudia. “El Brasil restituido de Lope de Vega, ¿un caso de propaganda política?” Del barroco al neobarroco: realidades y transferencias culturales. Ricardo de la Fuente and Jesús Pérez Magallón (Eds.). Valladolid: Universitas Castellae. 2011. 111-124. Print. Fields of Study Major Field: Spanish and Portuguese vi Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ................................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................. iv Vita .............................................................................................................................................. vi Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. vii Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. x List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 The Cerro Rico of Potosí as an icon and discursive token ........................................................ 10 Organization of the dissertation ................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 2: Creating a Legend – Echoes of Potosí’s Treasure in Colonial Texts 20 Crafting and Propagating a Legend: The Image of Potosí as the Rich Mountain ..................... 24 The Downsides of Potosí’s Silver and the Discourse of Scarcity ............................................. 40 The Cerro Rico in Potosí’s Spectacles: Enacting Wealth and Excess ...................................... 56 European Echoes of the Rich Mountain: Conclusion ................................................................ 69 Chapter 3: Degenerate Wealth – Moral Corruption and Abuse in the Shade of the Cerro Rico .......................................................................................................................... 73 Thou Shalt Not Covet ................................................................................................................ 78 The monstrous mountain and its gates to hell ........................................................................... 88 The “Black Legend” of Potosí ................................................................................................. 100 Temptation, Ambition, and Moral Decadence: Conclusion .................................................... 113 Chapter 4: Mapping Potosí – Alternative Narratives of the Cerro Rico as an Icon of Spanish Dominance ...................................................................................................... 116 Establishing