Country: Bolivia
Group: Aymara
Date: 10/30/2020
Team: Thomas Chia (lead), Natasha Chandra, Rayna Castillo
Content Warning: slavery, death
Approximate Time Period: 1570-1953
The Aymara have faced forced labor in Bolivia. However, the most recent documentation found is from the 16th century. We rate the information of the group regarding forced labor a 2 as there is more information regarding the colonial period but not for more recent times.
The Aymara are one of Bolivia’s largest ethnic/indigenous groups along with the Quechua (Skutsch, 2005). Around 1570, Aymara were demanded by the colonizing Spanish to work in the silver mines (Skutsch, 2005). Due to conditions in the mines, many of the Aymara laborers died, quickly diminishing the population of the indigenous group (Skutsch, 2005). Since these times, not much has been documented regarding forced labor of the Aymara, however, indigenous groups are often generalized as there is more recent evidence of “indigenous” forced labor. Besides that, little information regarding the Aymara and forced labor could be found, although it is possible that the group is included when it comes to more recent mentions of indigenous forced labor.
Sources
- Skutsch, Carl, ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of the World’s Minorities. New York: Routledge. p. 160.