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The readings discussing Yoruba and the South American city of Potosi illustrate the different (and similar) conditions Atlantic cities developed under, and the impact their development had on local culture and the global economy. Potosi is not situated in an area with traditionally favorable geographic features for an emerging city. The Author writes, “…its barren landscape and high altitude can make it feel like it is in the middle of nowhere.” Potosi also has no significant bodies of water near it, a previously necessary feature for a large thriving city. The discovery of silver and commodification of labor would cause Potosi to become an economic hub in the last half of the sixteenth century. Indigenous people integrated their spiritual and cultural customs into the new colonial influenced market. This accommodation on behalf of natives in the area was met with Spanish regulations that ignored tradition and demanded productivity. A staple of the Atlantic economy was slavery, and by the seventeenth century Potosi’s demand for labor was met with the importation of African slaves. The presence of African slaves changed Potosi’s culture and economy as well as the presence of Spanish and other colonialists. Whether silver, alcohol or labor, colonial regulation was as fluid as native attempts to preserve their culture.
The reading on Yoruba also reflects how indigenous culture was altered, but survived an outside colonial presence. Originating “as far back as the 9th century” Yoruba, located in modern Benin and Nigeria, experienced cultural changes according to hegemonic rule. Both local oppressive rulers and colonial regimes displaced the Yoruban population, and manipulated means of production and subsistence for their own benefit. Allison Roberts notes the familiar theme when studying Atlantic economies and the area in general. They all emerged in hopes of profit.