Potosí: Boom Town Supreme -- The Dearth of Printed Histories of Potosí -- Manuscript Material Available -- The Historian Confronting Potosí Today -- Problems in the History of Potosí -- a. Pre-history -- b. Silver production and population statistics -- c. Technological development -- d. Indian labor -- e. Mining laws -- f. Commerce -- g. "Pretensiones" of the City of Potosi -- h. Literature and learning -- i. Potosí, crucible of America -- Tentative Interpretations -- Notes.