Arzan de Orsua Y Vela, Bartolome; Historia de la Villa Imperial de Potosí. Brown University. Press, 1965. Three volumes in small folio, reproduction of original 1600s manuscript. And Lewis Hanke’s, Bartolome Arzan de Orsua Y Vela’s, History of Potosi. Brown University. Press, 1965. Small folio, vol. 1, pp. clxxxvi, frontispiece, 407. Vol. 2, pp. xiii, 501. Vol. 3, pp. xiv, 556. Supplement, pp. xiv; 81, 4 plates.
The four volumes are complete in the original cloth bindings with gilt titles. First thee volumes, clear dust wrappers, supplement with original dust jacket. The entire set is in fine condition.
Bartolomé Arzáns de Orsúa y Vela (1676-1736 was a Bolivian writer and historian. He was born in Potosí of Spanish parents. Arzáns dedicated his life to the writing of his multi-volume manuscript Historia de la villa imperial de Potosí, the most detailed and interesting text of the colonial period in that region of Bolivia. Arzáns did not completely finish the work; his son Diego wrote the final 8 of its 322 chapters. The manuscript was then lost for many years. In 1965, in celebration of the bicentennial anniversary of Brown University, the 1,200 page manuscript was transcribed and published for the first time in its entirety and in the original Spanish.
This massive work chronicles life in the Bolivian “Imperial City” of Potosi, once the largest city in the New World and home to the world’s most lucrative silver mine. "I am rich Potosi, the treasure of the world, the king of the mountains and the envy of kings." These words were inscribed on the coat of arms granted by the Emperor Charles V to that famous silver center. From 1572 to 1650 from Potosi’s mountain came the tons of silver that financed the world-wide ambitions of the House of Hapsburg and indirectly stimulated the capitalist expansion of all western Europe. The manuscript records, the social and political unrest of the city, as well as its unparalleled riches. Details are provided on the mines, the metallurgy works and topographical features.
How the manuscript ended up in Paris is uncertain, but it was purchased in 1905, at a book shop, by Colonel George Earl Church (1835-1910). Church was commander of a Rhode Island regiment during the Civil War, an engineer, and well known for his explorations into South America. In 1912, Brown University was left entire library of over 3,500 volumes focusing on economic, historic, geographic, and descriptive studies of the Latin American and Caribbean regions. Historia de la villa imperial de Potosi is the most important item in the collection.
In 1965, in celebration of the bicentennial anniversary of the University, the 1,200 page manuscript was transcribed and published for the first time in its entirety and in the original Spanish.
Lewis Hanke concludes the set with a volume devoted to a study of Arzans and his massive work and includes an appendix which reprints chapter headings of "Historia" in English translation. He also includes an account of early Spanish historical writings in the New World, from Oviedo to Arzans.
